Casino Royale Analysis

 

Casino Royale:

Opening sequence:

The starting sequence starts with showing the company indents such as Dolby Digital, MGM studios and Columbia. These are shown for recognition and credit for being part of that film. The film then starts its main narration with an establishing shot of the building the sequence is taking place in to tell the audience the location, weather and the time of day at this point. The establishing shot is also accompanied by the place name (Prague) in the bottom left hand corner to indicate to the audience what country they are in. This sequence is in black and white to indicate that it’s in the past and has already happened. There is no sound at this point apart from ambient sound such as footsteps and the lift door.

The first thing we notice about the opening is the unusual film noir setting which displays classic elegance and silence and adds the perfect mood, but this set alongside a very modern building gives it an even more unusual mood as the only light we see bounces off the glass walls of the building making it almost spooky. The camera shots at this point range from all different angles and use close ups at the same time to get the audience in a detective frame of mind and forcing them to think about the obvious changes in the environment, this again adds a spooky mood with a tinge of thrilling suspense. It is only until the character we are watching enters his office that we start to look for James Bond.

The scene then develops a darkened mood as the music fades in with spiking violin tunes that excite the audience's senses, as the character moves across the room our eyes are struggling to see any light and start to see things as the character and understand them as the character does. The pinnacle of this suspense is reached when we finally hear the voice of James and the audience is rewarded with a shot of his face but with his body covered. The shots are all slow and mid angled but little do we realise that they slowly reveal where James is sitting.

The effect all this has on the audience is making them search for the light in the room and with clever positioning the light only falls on James's face and the back of the mysterious character. Already the gripping music and mysterious dialogue maintain the film noir background but also start to make us anticipate some brutal action that reflects the gritty mood. Overall this is a perfect example of setting the scene; the soft realism makes the scene entirely believable and prepares the audience for a rocket ride of gritty action that hooks the audience in new way.

The audience's hopes are rewarded quickly with a flash of action completely separate from the setting we received but to keep the continuity of mystery the film remains in black which adds to the flashback's abrupt entrance. This highly basic setting for the action would have very little colour in it but by placing it all in black and white the geometric shapes become very drab and claustrophobic, which is perfect for the realistic edge the scene has to give. At this point we are drawn to the harshness of it all and almost request that the realistic nature of it ends and the man is dealt with but as we establish beforehand this is the first kill and it had to be shocking enough to give the sharp and cold image James Bond has about him. This is critical for me to achieve, if I manage to give the spy a cold hard status the chase will instantly look realistic. This combined with thrilling music and sound effects will ultimately hook the audience to every slight movement and make them feel the danger and seriousness of the situation.

After the initial flashback the action is heated up in the original setting when the enigma of the gun gets more thrilling. As we're so used to James Bond handling these situations with ultimate knowledge and being able to stay 2 steps ahead we start to fear for his life even more and wonder if the danger is going to be resolved. This works by breaking the conventions of a spy thriller and showing a weak spot to the hard shell these characters give off. I will try to replicate this as best I can by showing the spy to make simple mistakes but actually coming out on top afterwards.

 All the action is finally and supposedly resolved with another flashback that finishes with a brutal death and the slow realisation of what has happened. Expecting the scene to end with some more dialogue yet another convention is broken and the man is killed abruptly during his final line. This is yet again realistic by breaking the code of action films and not letting the villain finish his monologue, however it does add to the supreme suave nature that resonates throughout the whole scene.

Trailer:

Overall the areas of the film that I will take away are the film noir setting and how the strong use of black and white photography strengthened the mysterious nature of it. Furthermore I will now look into using longer flashbacks that break up the scene even more and give a more detailed description to the film so it can be as hooking as possible without leaving the audience lost. And last I will strive to use unusual camera shots that incorporate close ups, back drops, pans and slanted angles to grip the audience and show them something new.

I thought that the Casino Royale trailer was very exciting to watch as it was compacted with action. The trailer balances dialogue for instance the black and white scene at the beginning which you see first which is a quick paced action shots towards the end. There are also longer shots throughout the film which show the audience more of the film to get the idea of the plot of the film so that you’re interested.  But on the other hand the fats paced editing and the shots help to excite the action so that the focus is kept towards the trailer. The shot types are similar in regards to what they are showing; mid-shots and close-ups are used when the trailer focuses on characters and their emotions whilst they are shown or speak. Like other trailers establishing shots are used to show the location of the action sometimes this attracts viewers as it could interest you into the films location for instance in this film there are plenty of cites for which you feel this vibe from watching the trailer. Towards the end of the trailer, fade-in and fade-out is used to go from one piece of action to another. 

Throughout the trailer dialogue is used very efficiently. Unusual for an action thriller trailer long shots was used a lot and dialogue was continuously used which mostly in some trailers is only used as a voice over. The music throughout the trailer is very iconic and is largely associated with James Bond which is the traditional 'Bond Theme' which is used towards the end. Before that, the music is low and heroic whilst Bond is seen at the poker table and fighting during the inter-cuts. After that the music is in beats and starts then stops whilst a character speaks; almost as if counting down and Bond is running out of time.

There are titles at the end of the trailer which are stylised to front the Bond following. This is a great way to get recognition from the audiences which could get a lot of focus from audiences who of which may be fans of the James Bond films. This could also be the case in which why the soundtrack of James Bond has been recognized all around the world.