Reservoir Dogs (1992) and The Butterfly Effect (2004) - Film Openings

Reservoir Dogs (1992) Opening Sequence

In order to become more familiar with film openings of different genre’s I have looked at the opening sequence of the film Reservoir Dog’s. The whole mood and tone of the opening make it very clear that the film of the Gang/Gangster genre as it has quite an intimidating atmosphere about it as we see a large group of men together who look like troublemakers. The costumes used in the piece are particularly important in the set up of this atmosphere and the characters in the opening. We see a group of men who are mostly wearing some sort of suit and some wear dark glasses and are smoking cigarettes which lead the audience to see them as a ‘gang’ who are quite intimidating. One of the men also wears a chain around his neck which is used as a signifier of the gang genre as it is very stereotypical of the ‘gangster’ image.

The sound in the opening sequence is quite a cool, rock style soundtrack which fits with the action of the opening sequence and makes the atmosphere feel quite ‘cool’ and suave and sets up the characters to seem very manly and cool. The music however is quite old fashioned and is incongruous to the genre of the film but does still add to the cool and somewhat relaxed feel of the group which seems to put them in the position of the ‘top dog’s’ and gives a sense of power. The exterior setting of the street also adds to the intimidating feel of the sequence as it is only those characters we see which introduces them the be the main characters and the street is empty which makes them seem very unapproachable and reinforces the idea of power and authority. The setting is also stereotypical to that of gangs and therefore reinstates the genre of the film.

The narrative of this sequence is very linear and invites some questions as to what will happen next as a film opening should do. For example, we see a group of men walking but there is an air of mystery about them and we are led to ask questions about who they are and where they are going to. It seems that they are ‘on a mission’ as they look focused and as if they know where they are going and what they must do. The titles in the opening sequence uses a font that is very simple and plain which reflects the characters we see as they too seem very straightforward and focused. The titles appear by very smoothly rolling up from the bottom of the screen which emphasises that smooth, controlled element that the characters give off and the use of the colour yellow signifies power because it is bright and gives the impression of standing out and being noticed.

The Butterfly Effect (2004) Opening Sequence

I have looked at the opening sequence of a different genre of film to analyse the differences in how things are presented according to the style of film. The elements and tone of this opening sequence make it clear that the film is perhaps a psychological, sci-fi drama as the atmosphere that is very mysterious and serious and so we are intrigued as to what is happening. We are introduced to one main character, a male who is dressed in what looks like a hospital robe and who seems to be running and hiding from someone. This costumes acts as a signifier that perhaps the man has an illness or will be spending time in a hospital of some sort and his hiding indicates that perhaps he has done something wrong.

The narrative is very linear and leads us to question what is happening and who this man is and the girl he is hoping to ‘save’. The frantic, fast paced editing adds to the feel of mystery to the opening and the use of sound also shows this mysterious feel. There are some quite sci-fi sound effects at the very beginning which indicate the genre as well as the up tempo drumming beat that plays when the man is frantically blocking the doorway of the office. This makes it seem as though there is some sort of chase going on and that perhaps this man is a criminal and it becomes quite intriguing, grabbing the viewer’s attention. The combination of the hospital robe and the office setting could also mean that perhaps it is some sort of psychiatric unit and that this male character is perhaps mad or mentally unstable. The letter that the man is writing also invites some questions as he is talking about something he is going to do ‘back at the start’ and that perhaps he is going to die and with this accompanied by the music, the psychological-sci-fi genre is emphasised.

The sequence begins with the logo’s of the production companies, New Line Cinema and Film Engine which is very typical to the openings of films. It is then followed by a quotation called the ‘chaos theory’ which explains that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly can have a huge effect somewhere else making it clear that the narrative of the film will be related to that in some way.  The simple font and transition of the titles means that they are not distracting in anyway however the film title itself is brought about by the words ‘save her’ with transforms into fluttering butterflies and then transforms again into an image of the brain which indicates all the elements of genre and narrative. The simplicity of the words ‘the butterfly effect’ shows that the film is very serious and fits with the genre.
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By looking at these two contrasting genres, it is clear that there are strict differences in how the films are created. There are the obvious differences like sound and narrative along with the differences in costume, setting and atmosphere which define the genre and style of the film.