Analysing an opening scene
The opening scene to The Untouchables
The music in the background of the credits is building tension, with the jumpy music. Also, the shadows in the background is like soldiers marching to the beat of the music, as the names are appearing in a serif text, and then the shadows crossing the screen turnout to be the letters of the words, The Untouchable. As the titles fade out into a dark scene, the audience represent this as there will be an unknown happening in the film, and there will be some enigmas, in the narrative structure. The music continues in to a scene, and ends with a bang into a scene with a bird’s eye view of this ‘unknown’ man, to the audience, who is in the centre if attention by all, so we assume that he is very important and the min man, so he is not to be messed with. There is there a wee paragraph informing the audience of what is going on in this time, 1930. The image then starts to pan into the unknowns mans face, and he is uncovered and is being interviewed, like a mini press conference by some men, with pads, representing that they are interviewers, or journalists. This then represents the man in the centre must be high up in the ranks of people, as he seems very proper, with a suit shirt and tie on. Then, when the man, who is shaving him cuts him, we assume by the shocked face he is making that he is going to take a rager on the guy who accidently sliced his face, as the man looks disgusted, and appalled by what the other man has done to him. But, then instead, he just basically forgets it happens and says ‘It’s alright’, the audience is then like, what? As we just automatically assumed he would crack. It then changes scene to outside, in a run down looking town. The audience sees this village as a bit shabby as everything is dull, and there is like no colour on the walls or anything buildings. The camera then appears to use a steady cam motion, as if someone is crossing the road and following the action. We are then introduced to what seems an ex-bar, cafe place, with a suspicious man in a white suit in the background, he looks suspicious as he stands out from everyone else, as he is in white, and everyone else is in greys, and cold colours. The man in the white suit then flicks something on his briefcase, and leaves. This leaving the audience puzzled as to what he is doing, just leaving. The wee girl then follows the man shouting at him to come back, but he ignores her. Our questions are quickly answered as to why he left as there is a bomb in the case. This is therefore leaving us as the audience with an enigma, as to why he wanted to blow up the place anyway, and who he is as his face is always hidden, buy a hat. He then runs away and gets into a car leaving the audience puzzled, and wanting to continue watching the film, so it has caught the audience’s attention from the very start.
By watching this opening scene, it gave our group an insight on what to do for our own opening scene production, and gave us some ideas too. 