This is my analysis of several movie openings

1. FILM OPENING’S ANALYSIS
Analysis of a couple of movie openings
Caelum Allett

2. RAGING BULL (1980)
• The opening of Martin Scorsese’s Raging bull’s setting is a smokey boxing ring in
the 1940s
• The character featured in this sequence is Robert De Niro’s character who is
also the main character in the film, and he is wearing his robe while he shadow
boxes air and practises footwork, as if before a fight. This is to symbolise the
characters troubles and career as a whole.
• The opening tells the audience what the film is going to be focusing on, the
athletes boxing career
• The lighting is interesting as the ring is very dimly lit, perhaps to show the
audience what to come as the life story of Jake Lamotta is dark and brutal, this
is signified in the opening credits as it shows Lamotta fighting the air, this is to
symbolise Lamotta’s fight/struggle in life and in his career. Lamotta’s character
is always fighting something not only in the ring but in his personal life.

3. THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
• The opening sequence of The good the bad and the ugly starts with an image of
splashed blood, in the blood a little figure of a man riding a horse can bee seen
until the whole screen goes red and the horseman is blows up in to thin air. This
image is followed by with an amazing soundtrack by Ennio Morricone a very
famous composer known for his works on many Sergio Leone movies.
• The soundtrack combines cheerfulness along with sorrow and hope, death and
victory these themes expressed in the sequence suite the movie’s storyline very
well thus making a very well rounded feeling towards the film as the music fits
well with the film. The sequence continues to go through names and credits to
those who worked on the film while images flash through the screen drawings of
the characters to come in the film, along with other images of characters, old
western towns villages, armies and so on.
• The opening sequence exudes themes of old western times in America, greed
money and power all in one opening sequence.

4. The Godfather (1972)
• The opening to the Godfather is quite simple, after the conglomerate
corporations such as Paramount show up on screen the movie begins with quite a
simple yet strong opening sequence.
• The screen is dark, with the soundtrack keeping a tense, strong atmosphere, The
Godfather (title) appears on screen, with puppet strings, perhaps symbolising the
way in which organises crime families can manipulate and control areas of the
government like a puppet.
• The opening sequence still just a dark screen continuing with someone talking
about America, this is perhaps to symbolise the dark times of the great
depression in America at the time the film is set.The unknown character then
talks about his daughter getting assaulted, facing the audience, then we see
finally that he is talking to Don Corleone (Marlon Brando).

5. Goodfellas (1990)
• The film begins with credits, then follows a car travelling down a dark road, then
back to a black screen with New York, 1970 then back to the interior of the car
with the films main characters in the car, there’s a muffled noise in the car which
raises a mysterious question of….who else is in the car? Soon enough we find out
that there is someone in the trunk of the car.
• The films protagonist played by Ray Liota parks the car, all three characters are
waiting weapons ready, the trunk of the car is opened and Joe Pesci’s character
repeatedly stabs the bloody character in the trunk of the car, then Robert De
Niro’s character shoots the body a few times just to make sure.
• The films protagonist then closes the trunk with the camera focusing on him, with
this movies protagonist’s voice can be heard saying “As far back as I can remember
I’ve always wanted to be a gangster” This line is quite funny as it is said right
after a horrible, gruesome scene