Thriller Opening Analysis

Thriller opening analysis 

The Maltese Falcon

• Warner Bros
• Black and white
• Shadows
• Title and establishing shots at beginning
• Man rolling cigarette
• Woman dressed formally, a dress, hat etc.
• Woman asking for help from man
• Men smoking
• Urban city
• In a dark office
• Orchestral music - somber, sets a serious mood

This film noir opening is a stereotypical thriller opening, and does not challenge the codes and conventions of thrillers, as it sticks to what would be considered the classic codes and conventions of a thriller film. For example, there are many examples of shadows, dark rooms and orchestral music is used.

In addition, it includes typical stereotypes, such as men rolling cigarettes and smoking them and women wearing formal clothing, including dresses and hats. However, this could also be because the film is not as modern as other thriller openings that I have studied, as it was released in 1941.

We noticed that an enigma is created while the detective is talking to the woman in his office, as she asks them to track down a man she believes that her sister has ran away with. She adds that she has not talked to her sister for a considerable amount of time, leaving the audience to question where her sister is, why she ran away and if the man she has run away with had harmed her. This creates a question to be answered for the oncoming film.

Se7en 

• Dark room
• Ticking noise
• Background voices and noise when in quiet room.. as if these are someone's thoughts
• Shadows
• Strange music
• Photographs
• Obtrusive editing
• Quick cuts
• Flickering images
• Titles look "wonky" and as though they were hand written

This thriller opening uses many of the stereotypical codes and conventions of the thriller, such as the use of shadows, photographs and quick cuts. The opening creates an enigma, by showing the audience someone working, which would appear to be "evil" or simply negative, yet not revealing their identity. This therefore leads to the audience questioning who they are watching and why they are doing the things that they are doing. However, the opening does not use orchestral music as many other thriller openings do, the music included is low pitched "scratchy" noises, creating suspense. At the end of the opening, lyrical music is also played for a short time, this is done for effect as it becomes the climax to the suspense already created by the music prior to this.

The obtrusive editing and quick cuts used enable suspense to be built, as they make the audience feel claustrophobic and their attention is quickly drawn to the text as it is fast-moving and paced. This pace ensures that the audience remains interested and feels involved with the film, keeping them "on the edge of their seat", critical in a thriller. The use of flickering images is also interesting, as it brings negative connotations (something being faulty, not correct, broken, old) and therefore creates the idea that what you are watching is a negative act. This is later reinforced by the use of imagery.

"Parity" AS Media Thriller Opening

• Orchestral music
• Quick cuts - beginning from black screen to close up of face
• Flashbacks
• Titles fade in and out
• Titles in a font that appears "scratchy" or handwritten

This thriller opening, created by another AS Media class, uses many codes and conventions of the thriller. They have used orchestral music at the beginning, to create atmosphere when the close up of the face occurs. They have also used flashbacks, such as when the boy looks in the mirror, this gives the audience a further insight into what had previously happened, and if often designed to give information that doesn't "quite fit" in order to leave an air of mystery. 

We also notice that the titles both before and after the film fade in and out with a circular spotlight, drawing the viewers attention to the text. However, this could also have been done to imitate the sight of a gun, as although the murder weapon in the film is not a gun, the use of this sight has connotations of weaponry and danger as a result of being used in James Bond films. The idea that the titles also appear in a font that is scratchy and handwritten creates the idea that it is an intimate film, rather than being commercialised and digitalised. It also suits the genre of the thriller well as it promotes the idea that the film is dangerous but also mysterious.

In addition, we notice that the opening creates an enigma right at the end, with the only piece of dialogue included, "today I killed a man. Yesterday, a man was reborn". This enables the audience to question why he killed someone, why this made him feel "reborn" and also if he would do it again. This therefore is a successful thriller opening as it creates an enigma to be answered for the rest of the oncoming film.