Film opening analysis

1. Film Opening Analysis
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The firstclipis of matchesbeinglit,whichthenmovesontoa
man usingthe matchesto lighthiscigarette.Hissurroundingsare
not veryvisiblebutwe can see thisscene isseta night.The
followingclipisof oil barrelswhichseemtobe leakingontothe
ground,thismakesthe audience feelunsteadybecause firehas
alreadybeenseeninthe firstclipandfire andoil isvery
dangeroustogether.The nextscene thenreturnsbacktothis
unknownmanwhois sittingonthe groundand thendropsthe
matchesontothe floorwhere aline of fire thenignitesdue tooil
beingplacedthere. We cannow guesshissurroundingswhichwe
see he ison a boat,due to typical objectsbeingaroundhim
whichsuggestthat.There alsoseemstobe soundsof running
waterin the backgroundwhichhelpsuggestthis. We thenfollow
the line of fire,whichthengoespasta deadman.This givesus
the ideathat a fighthas happenedresultinginthe deathof someone.The camerastill followsthe
fire until itgetsstoppedbya watersubstancestowhichwe thenfollow tosee asilhouette of aman
urinatingontothisfire.We thenreturnback to the firstman whobowshisheaddownas he seems
to be exhaustedorhe couldpossiblybe injureddue towe know some fightmusthave happenedin
orderfor someone tobe dead.We thenfollow the shadowedmandownthe stairsandheading
towardsthe otherman whowas sat on the floor.
The camera switchestothe shadowedmanwalkingpastthe dead person,thisgivesusanideathat
he could have in fact beenthe personwhokilledthismanashe isjustwalkingpasthimand doesn’t
acknowledge himinanyway.The firstmannow looksupat thisunknownperson,while still smoking
hiscigarette.He looksconfusinglyatthisunknownperson.The nextscene showsthe unknownman
witha lighterinhishandsto whichhe lightstolighthisowncigarette.The firstman thensighsand
looksdownas if he nowknowswhothispersoniseventhoughwe still don’t. The firstpartof speech
isthenaddedwhichisby the unknownman.The firstman states“he can’t feel hislegs”sonow the
audience knowhe mustbe injuredaswell.The unknownmanthencloseshislighterandputsit inhis
pocketwhile saying“ready”. Thismakesthe audience anxiousandpossiblyhave anideatowhat
couldbe happeningnext.We thenreturnbackto the first man wholookssorrowful butasthe
audience we feel he knowsthathe isgoingto die.Inthe same seenwe canfaintlysee the unknown
man pullsouta gun.The firstman thenasksa questiontowhichthe unknownmanrepliesandlooks
at hiswatch, he thenbringsthe gun intohisotherhand towhichwe now thinkhe hasan intention
to use it.We are thenshownthe firstmanshuttinghis eyesasif he’spreparedtobe killed.Then
camera thenreturnsback toa close upof the unknownmanpullinghisgunupand tiltingtothe side
as if he’sreadyto pull the trigger.To whichhe doesbutwhenthe gun shothappensthe camera
changesto imagesof the surroundingsthattheyare in,thisgivesusmore of an ideato where the
locationactuallyis.The musicoverthe top isverysuspenseful andgivesmore of anedge tothe
scenesthathave justhappened.Aftershowingafew clipsof thisdark,desolatedplace theyare,it
returnsto a sloweddownclipof the unknownmandroppinghiscigarette,towhichitagain ignitesa
line of fire.Sothroughoutwe have thisuse of fire whichmakesthe audience thinkof dangerand
possiblyexplosion.We thensee the unknownmanfleeingthe seenagainshadowedbecause he
doesn’twantto showhisidentity.We follow thisline of fire thatgoespastthe deadman soits
referringbackto that the fire isinthe locationthisman wasjustat. To whichwe thensee abig

2. flame of fire whichisan explosion.Duringthislittlescene clipskeepcomingbacktopilesof rope
whichwe don’tknowwhybut mayhave some sort of significance duringthe film.The lastcliphas
police sirensfaintlyoverthe toptoinformusthat now the police are goingtobe involvedandthe
audience getanassumptionthattheyare now goingto findwhodidthis.The scene endswith
dissolvinginto ascene where possiblynew character,whowe don’tknow, isincourt.
I like the ideaof the shootingscene,wherewhenthe manactuallyfiresthe gunthe scene changes
and doesnotshowthismakingit more suspenseful anddramatic.Ithinkthiswouldbe goodideato
incorporate intomyfilm.