Similar Products - Film Noir Openings

Sunset Boulevard
The opening scene of Sunset Boulevard bares all the usual conventions of the Film Noir genre. In the opening scene will learn that the film is set in Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. Hollywood is a very conventional place for a Film Noir to be set. The titles of the film such as characters and cast are all shown in the opening scene which is also very conventional for Film Noir films whereas we would expect them at the end of the film in the modern day. The movie was also set in 1950 and the way in which the titles are shown on the screen as the camera is tracking down the road would show high levels of editing with the technology available in the 50s. We also are allowed straight into a big story in the movie with a crime taking place. The first characters we see are the police in police cars and detectives which again are very conventional for the Film Noir genre. It is also interesting to see the way in which the narrator describes the man who has been murdered in the pool when we actually learn that it is him. There is a sudden transition from talking in the third person about himself and then beginning to talk in the first person. The way in which it is narrated we can also relate to the modern film 'American Beauty' where the character, Lester Burnham, talks about the street where he lives and a lot about what happened in his life before his death.

Double Indemnity
The opening scene to this film shows something that we are used to commonly in Film Noir films, lighting. It is filmed at night with many different lights such as street lights, traffic lights and car lights as it shows this car speeding down a city road. The way in which the character, Walter Neff, is driving very dangerously would suggest that he is a daring character. We also him wearing a hat and long trench jacket which is very conventional to the Film Noir genre. Unlike Sunset Boulevard we don't develop a narrative into what is happening in the film straight away and instead just see the opening scene as a man, who we presume is rather wealthy by the way he is addressed as Mr Neff, just walking into an office. This would leave the audience questioning who this man is and wondering how the film will develop with the way in which the opening scene leaves strangeness in our minds about what is actually going on.

Scarface
Something that becomes very apparent and purposely done at the beginning on this opening scene is that there is a message to the film aimed to the government at the time. We can tell by the words used "What are you going to do about it?" that something will happen in the film that is above government control which also states "You are the government" which indicates that this message is aimed at everyone watching. Something very notable about the opening scene is that it is all filmed in one shot. We know that the film is set in America by the sign '22nd Street' which is the way in which American streets are labelled. The characters sitting smoking after the party that had taken place are Italian which makes us think they are from the Mafia and are gangsters which are very conventional to Film Noir. The use of shadows where the man is shown against the wall and then with the gun killing the Italian man is very effective and again conventional to the Film Noir genre. The killing is also not shown which is something used a lot in the Film Noir genre and again the Italian characters are wearing suits and the killer is wearing a hat and trench coat.

From the film poster we can tell instantly that the film is about a Hollywood film with it stating 'A Hollywood Story' and the film tape wrapped around the poster with the title' Sunset Boulevard. The big face of the woman with an evil glare would suggest that she is the villain in this film. She also has red hair and is staring directly at the couple who seem scared of her which would suggest that she is the villain even more and the couple are the good people in the film. We are also able to tell that they are a couple by the way in which they hold each other in the poster.

 

From the film poster we are able to tell that there is a love triangle going on with the couple holding each other possibly being Walter Neff and his lover. This also suggests the third character present is probably being killed with the words 'From the moment they met it was murder' next to the couple. The actor’s surnames are in massive capitals on the poster which shows that they may have been well known at the time and easily recognisable. It is also interesting to note the poster is pink which isn't something we would expect from a Film Noir poster involving murder as we see pink as a very 'girly' colour.

Something is very strange about this film poster is how it doesn't seem very dark and scary compared to what would be expected of the film, it is instead seems very happy and colourful. Again in this film poster the actor’s surnames are in large text suggesting that they were well known in the 30s when Scarface was filmed. At the bottom of the poster the pictures are in black and white and yellow which is very different to the top of the poster which is in full colour. Interestingly, Scarface seems to be wearing lipstick in this poster which isn't something that would be expected of a gangster.