Analysis of opening sequence Reservoir Dogs

after,

The second film which I will be analysing is Quintin Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs which is in the crime film genre. The plot follows a group of men which are planning on robbing a diamond store, the film consists of the events which took place before the robbery and also the events which took place however never shows us the actual robbery take place. The reason why I have chosen to analyse this particular movie is because is because I found it to be very uni ue and out of the ordinary as it presented in a very alternative and unusual way to what we are used to which is e!pected by the writer and director Quintin Tarantino.

The opening se uence to this film starts off with the original logo for "etropolitan films with the image of the white horse with wings behind a sun or moon. This logo is a very unusual as it is not one that we tend to see much, from research on the company I have understood that it is a #rench film distribution that it is more popular in #rench, however also own "omentum pictures which is more popular in the $%, comforting the audience as they believe that they will be see a high uality movie which has been distributed by trustworthy and professional distributors. &e then see a black background with the title '(I)* +merica Inc. ,resents in the centre of the screen, the font is very casual and not very eye-catching, as well as the colour which is a dimmed orange however still manages to attract its audience with its simplicity. +fter this we then see the production credits etc. follow on in the same si.e, font and colour as the first with a plain background. This ends at the /0th second and the audience is provided with the first shot of footage. &e first see a group of man around a table which are all talking very fast and aggressively, the camera is slowly moving around the tables showing us peoples faces through the backs of the others. &e are then shown that they are at a diner eating, very messy and un-neat which suggests that they are fulfilling the role of a stereotypical male, and does not have many manners at the dinner table. The men all-round the table are also found to be smoking and in deep conversation, when we hear them speak we realise that this is something which is very popular with Quintin Tarantino and suggests that the topic which they are talking about

may be one with a strong point or one with an opinion which is worth to be debated through this movie by these characters. This is very important because the characters within the film have to be able to suit the topic which they are talking about and have genuine understanding of what they are saying, the topic has to be able to reflect on the characters personality and be something that they are aware of and have opinions about. The characters so far in the opening se uence look similar to a mafia group as they are all well-groomed with their hair 1elled back and are all wearing suits, drinking smoking at the same time. This appearance gives of a very bad looking group of guys which are wealthy and harm people, however this theory is proven wrong when the we are aware of what topic that they are talking about which is about the tips which waitresses deserve to have. In contrast to what I had stated before about how the topic should reflect on the characters the topic which these guys are talking about, is something completely different to what we had e!pected and is in fact portraying a alternative view to the group of men, suggesting that the audience should not 1udge a book by its cover and assume that they are hard-core men when they are debating about the tips for waitresses. 2owever the audiences immediate interpretation is not entirely wrong, as when having this conversation the vocabulary and choice of words which have been used are very strong containing swearing. This suggests that they are partially the way they look and mafia typed men, which is what there appearances give off. The choice of so much talking at the start of the film with a group of me e!cites the audience, this is because the audience can also think and decide which side of the debate that they are supporting and do favouritism to a certain character from the start of the film. In a way this could be a good thing because it could attract the audience and make them want to watch the film with e!citement3 however it could also have the disadvantage of boring certain audiences as the conversation may not attract any interest in them and could cause them to decide to stop watching the movie. +n e!ample of this could be a female viewer getting bored at the start of the film as there is too much talking and only 1ust men. Quentin Tarantino on the other hand has done this in a very smart way as he has managed to get a group pf me to talk about female working status which would automatically attract the female audience as well, as they will be interested in what they are saying about feminism and unemployed mothers.

+fter the long but intriguing start to the film, the talking of the men then come to an end as we are introduced to narrator speaking in the background. +s all of them men get up from the table they were sitting around we then see the credit 'Quintin Tarantino #ilm appear in behind a black background in the same font, si.e and colour as the credits which had appeared before. This then triggers to start to the title se uence which plays on whilst the film is showing, we see the same group of me from a long-shot from there side walking in slow motion with cigarettes in their hands smoking, the give of a very cool and high authority effect. &e are able to tell that they are not respected business men but mafia typed people. This may suggest to the audience that the film is about a group of hustlers which fool people into getting there money and steal which is a very e!act and appropriate interpretation. +s the walk in slow motion we are shown close up of each of their faces one by one as the cast names appear according to who is being shown. The camera angle varies from long shots and close ups during the appearances of their names however the long shot view of the camera which had been first shown stays in its place and we are back to that view showing the group of men walk away from the back. +s they are walking the credit 'are comes up which is showing us that their names was interpreted as a list of names and the rest of the sentence is carrying on with 'are. This creates enigma and suspense for the audience as they are unaware of what is going on. &e shortly afterward see the end of the sentence which is also the title 'Reservoir Dogs. The title is also in the same font and colour however is a few si.es bigger than the credits before attracting more attention to the title. The opening se uences takes place like a mini movie, showing credits at the start and at the end giving it a very uni ue but interesting feel keeping the audience wanting to watch more. +fter the title the screen cuts to black and the other credits follow in the same manner as before, which is where the opening se uence officially ends. 4verall I found the opening se uence of Reservoir dogs very interesting and unlike any other as it am full of talking which is something the general audience is not use to but it still manages to cling on the audience and make them watch it. 5y analysing this film I am now able to develop the dialogue between characters in my pro1ect as I am able to see that by using smart and interesting a vocabulary I can make a realistic and general conversation within the film without boring the audience.