Casino Royale Analysis

From Columbia pictures, a sony-entertainment company, they present Casino Royale. Dolby digital produce the sound, as they also do in Bad Boys II.

I find this opening sequence absolutely incredible! It is so slick and sophisticated, however that is partly to do with the film noire effect that it has been given, which called is translated to "black film", usually used in "hard boiled school of crime fiction", giving it an elegant approach. It is often used to describe 'Hollywood Crime Dramas". The columbia sign is also in black and white, letting the reader know what the rest of the scene is going to be like. The film noire effect is only used in the opening sequence, before the title sequence, not in the rest of the film. 

Personally, I think that this has been used in Casino Royale to give off a straightforward approach, not over complicating the action, however giving it that 'slick' feel allowing the audience to reflect on Bonds highly sophisticated skills. 

It isn't a very long opening sequence as it lasts just over 3 minutes, unlike the Hunger Games which nearly lasted 7 minutes. 

The opening sequence starts of with an ES, enabling the reader to establish where the location is and what's going on. Titles are also shown here, much like they are in Bad Boys II, telling the audience where they are. This also gives them a feeling of escapism, as they can escape from their every day lives. Bad Boys II shows the title in a typed manner, however these titles just fade in. 

There are so many cross-cuts that I identified throughout the opening sequence and this was on one of them...

The clip immediately jumps to the man getting out of the car that entered the ES after a few seconds. The MS/CU allows the audience to get a feel for the character and they're able to judge how they feel about the expression on his face and the character in which is he playing.

Another cross-cut takes place, and this time it's to inside the mysterious building...

The lift is shown going up to a higher level, then it cuts to the man inside the lift and a MS of his face is shown to the audience, as that's all they need to see to gather his blank expression on his face, suggesting that he could be important. The camera then shows the numbers rising as the lift goes up.

A follow/pan shot takes place as the audience feel as if we are following the man through the use of a panning shot, as he walks further away from the camera. This represents that he could be distant within his thoughts, allowing the audience to question why, linking to what'll happen next.

We aren't shown his exact movements, suggesting that he is trying to hide himself from something, perhaps Bond.

The man is shown under minimal lighting, much like Bad Boys II, entering his office and walking over to his desk. As he does that the camera pans and there is an OTS of the man and the back of a chair (last image above).

When a CU of the mans face is shown, Bond kindly introduces himself and we learn that he was been sat there all the time, suggesting that the man was trying to hide from Bond in his office. As the CU of the man is shown, it switches to an open safe and a non-diagetic sound effect starts, signifying fear and fright, which then leads to Bond's voice.

 Another non-diagetic sound effect is played here, signifying that the man that is being shown is bad as he has been going against Em.

The man sits down underneath the spot light, suggesting that he is in trouble and it about to be settled.

The man takes a seat at his desk and he clearly feeling threatened by Bond's presence, representing that Bond is the villan and he is Bond's next victim. The MS of the gun in the door allows the reader to reflect on the genre of then film, action, making them think that something is about to happen. 

A MS of the man then switches to a LS of both Bond and him, showing the audience that there is a conversation talking place. It also signifies the distance between them both.

A SRS is used to show the conversation in a closer light and when the exchange gets a little uncomfortable, a CU of the mans face is shown...

The clip then cuts to a flashback of Bond fighting with one of the mans men, and as the action kicks in it cuts to the man pointing a gun to bond and the sound of the gun click is played...

I think the exposure has been changed in the flashback scene to make it have more of flashback feel, rather than just the black and white effect.

Once the gun has been pointed at Bond, it jumps to his expression...

His expressionless face is shown, which suggests that he has a plan thought out, representing the normal reaction of a villan, as they can never be hurt. Much like in Taken where the protagonist, Liam Neeson, can never be touched.

The SRS then shows a CU of the man and his gun...

This allows the audience to get a closer insight into his emotions and feeling and the expression on his face gives off a worried effect, that he is unsure where this is going. Here, the gun is also out of focus, highlighting its lack of importance as it goes on not to work!

It then turns into a smiley expression as he gathers up confidence and when he pulls the trigger, there is no amo in the gun, and he facial expression soon changes...

The SRS then cuts to Bond and he hols up his gun - "I know where you keep your gun"...

This represents the clearness of Bond and the highly skilled nature of his training. This links to the stereotypical view of to "never mess with a bad guy".

A conversation then takes place through a SRS and then it switches to the flashback...

A number of different shots are used here and the particularly effective ones are the CU's of Bond's face and it shows the concentration feeling, showing that this isn't just something he is doing because he is being portrayed as a villan, he has planned it out. Also, the clip cuts from the CU of Bond's face, to a CU of the man drowning, reinforcing that Bond is the one who is drowning him. The last image shows the MS of his emotion after he has "killed" the man, showing that he is in shock and he is out of breath. As he is breathing calms down, the clip then cuts back to the office.

Another short conversation takes place and then Bond shoots and as he does so, it has been edited in a extremely fast-paced way, showing that he died a quick death, however I had to pause it to pick out minor details. As the man is falling backwards from his chair, his hand knocks over a picture of his family, reinforcing that death is the end and he will no longer be a part of his family life, giving Bond a 'bad look'.

The above images show Bond after he has shot the man and his facial expressions don't seem to have changed, linking back to previously in the clip. The lack of change in his expression represents the cold hearted nature in which he must be part of, to kill someone and feel no emotion at well. The clip cuts to the flashback...

Bond bends down to reach for the gun after he thinks he's killed the man by drowning his, however the sound of his stretch for the gun triggers Bond to turn around and shoot. The title sequence then leads on from there. 

I think this is a very clear way to introduce the title sequence as Bond shoots the bullet and it continues from there.

Well, I think that this is the most sophisticated film so far, due to the film noire style, so I will have to consider that when I am making mine.

I though about having an office type start to my final project, however I thought of that from memory after watching Bond films and that would be done in black and white.