The opening scene of the classic film noir Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder achieves in keeping a constant level of suspense throughout the first two minutes. It achieves this by cleverly using different techniques in order to intrigue the viewer.
Moreover the editing used in the scene is a mix of fade editing, along with straight cut continuity editing as well as more notable cut edits also. Additionally the fade out of one shot into another is what film noir use frequently, with the next shot slowly overtaking the screen of the previous shot, and this is used when to as an editing technique when the car is shown on the road and then fades to being parked. The titles are bold and stand out on the screen with each letter having shadows underneath to create a 3D effect. Another use of editing on the titles is shadows of the man walking with the aid of crutches which again is used as an eye catching tool for the audience. It is interesting that further into the opening the man (Neff) is seen walking with some discomfort but not with crutches as in the title. The crutches are linked to later on in the film and part of the double indemnity plan however viewers would not be aware of this when first watching the film so it is a clever technique to slightly confuse the viewer.
The cinematography used in the opening is very much dark lighting and sets the scene for night time. The streetlights being on further this at the beginning of the film. Much of the opening minute following the titles is shot using long and wide shots although there is an establishing shot of the car approaching at the very start. Furthermore the high pace action with the car weaving past other cars and through a red light works well in setting up and exciting high action start to the film which sets the theme for the rest of the movie. Another thing which a film opening like seen in Double Indemnity achieves in doing in surprising the audience as in a scene set at night you would not expect a car to be driving dangerously and this in turn tells the audience that the driver of the car is central to the scene and perphaps film straight away just over a minute into the movie.
Mise-en-scene is used in the opening sequence to establish the location of a city at night and the streetlamps are used to further so the time of day although the dark lighting does this also. After the credits shows there a worker roadside shown on screen with the car approaching, the beam of light from whatever the workers are doing is clever used to show the viewer the location of the film, the beam reveals are sign saying ‘Los Angeles Railway Corp’. So this makes the audience aware of the setting.
Throughout the titles and the every part of the film opening there is music playing which changes in mood as it goes on. It starts off with a very bold sound which continues through to the start of the film where it gets more frantic and the car weaves through traffic then begins to die down as the car is parked at a building. The sound used keeps the viewers interested even through the opening titles. As well as doing this the frantic music playing in the background which is non-diegetic sound also suggests that the film will be a thriller type film as by having this music that is the suggestion to viewer.
In addition one thing which the elements of ECMS create is an enigma through the narrative in the opening. The audience wonder why the man is on crutches and also why the car is driving dangerously. So this is a clever opening to the movie.
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