Analyse how the opening of sin city/ the third man uses film noir conventions and how it sets up audience expectations?
In the opening sequence of Sin City, the directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, use a number of conventions to establish the film, as a modern film noir.
The setting is that of a classic film noir, a big, dark American city. With sky scrapers dominating the sky line. Showing the characters insignificance in the large city. The night time setting, along with the rain, creates an unsettling atmosphere, making the viewer feel uneasy and as though something bad is about to take place.
The characters represented in the opening are stereotypically that of a film noir. The female in a red revealing dress, is straight away shown to be the femme fatale. The red dress is the only colour used in the opening scene, this red against that black and white background stands out, with connotations of danger, and inner anger. The male character in a suave suit, with a deep intriguing voice, containing an air of mystery, and deceit is that of a typical film noir character. This is confirmed later on in the scene, when he murders the female, after declaring his love for her. These typical characters instantly confirm Sin City to be a modern film noir.
In the opening sequence of Sin City, the directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, use a number of conventions to establish the film, as a modern film noir.
The setting is that of a classic film noir, a big, dark American city. With sky scrapers dominating the sky line. Showing the characters insignificance in the large city. The night time setting, along with the rain, creates an unsettling atmosphere, making the viewer feel uneasy and as though something bad is about to take place.
The characters represented in the opening are stereotypically that of a film noir. The female in a red revealing dress, is straight away shown to be the femme fatale. The red dress is the only colour used in the opening scene, this red against that black and white background stands out, with connotations of danger, and inner anger. The male character in a suave suit, with a deep intriguing voice, containing an air of mystery, and deceit is that of a typical film noir character. This is confirmed later on in the scene, when he murders the female, after declaring his love for her. These typical characters instantly confirm Sin City to be a modern film noir.
The voice over is a convention often used in the opening of a film noir. The opening voice over used by that of the male character, to show his thoughts, and inner motives towards the female, are worded very poetically, “the wind rises electric”. By the end of the scene the language in the voice over changes, his words become less poetic and cold “I’ll cash her cheque in the morning”.
In this scene iconic props, that are stereotypical of the film noir period are used to represent the genre, and in some ways are used to show a connection between the characters, such as the physical contact between the characters, when the male lights her cigarette for her.
The characters are strategically placed outside, as though they are isolated from the rest of the party. This shows how they are cut off, and are in their own world.
The camera angles used highlight the sexual tension between the characters, with close up on their eye contact, and other physical contact such as the passing of a cigarette. The scene ends with the camera panning out over the city, showing how insignificant the murder that has just taking place is in the big dark city
You use media terminology effectively here to examine the connotations and effects of the conventions used in the opening sequence. A solid analytical piece.
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