Opening Sequence Research

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Simple camera shots- subverted shot as the king is shown with a high angle, making him look powerless, compared to the guards who are shown with low angles and who are high up, looking down on him, showing they are in control.
Date and location given before with graphic shot.

The Pursuit of Happyness
Simple titles, black background, white, simple, lowercase words.
Music, orchestral like a children’s film in a similar style to old Disney films
Establishing shot includes important land mark, the golden gate bridge, sets the location as San Francisco early on. Also shows busy city with people walking around whilst still focusing on main characters. Scenes are interspersed with graphic shots with titles.

Atonement
Typewriter noise and prop motif and theme features heavily throughout the film. It is the first noise heard and one of the first shots in the film.
Deceptive first shot, a dolls house with the subtitle of location, at first glance looks like a real house, the camera then pans to reveal that it is in fact, a dolls house.
Era and the class of the family are made clear by the clothes and the way the characters speak. The family of the house speak in Received Pronunciation as to make it clear that they are well off and obviously have a lot of money, due to the clothes they wear and the size and decor of the house. The opening shot is mirrored later on with an exterior shot of the real house.

The Naked Gun
Music fits location.
The opening sequence sets the film up with genre, using serious setting, events and putting a comedic spin on them. As well as the character, who is clearly good at his job of policeman, but clumsy, a major factor in the film which owes itself to much of the plot and comedy of the film. Also includes iconic opening sequence POV shot from the police car roof. Film titles/credits in big letters, stands out from the background scene.

Nacho Libre
Music identifies location as Mexico. Lyrics ‘a real religious man’ links to main characters job as a monk. Titles ‘written’ in scribbly, childlike font, which relates to the young age we see the character at, but also his childlike behaviour when we see him grown up.
Instead of a flowing sequence of events. It shows various important events in the characters history.
The link between the character as a child and as an adult is made clearly with the use of a prop, in this case the food.


El Mariachi
Writing on van and walls shows language of film (Spanish)
Foreboding music
Location is in low quality, barely any security, and small, local prison, very poor area.
Contrasted with a posh expensive mansion.
Background for film given within a telephone call between two main characters.

Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
Black and white.
Starts with disclaimer
Narrator/Voiceover gives background for the film.
B52 bombers, key parts of the film flying behind the titles.
Titles written in words with different sized letters and words, in a thin white font.
Music, strings, lullaby like.

In Bruges
Fade to and from black scenes of a church, gargoyles, statues etc. Foreboding.
Angled shots, (black graphic shot, white titles fade in and grow, simple font) minor key piano music, sad sound. Voiceover. Juxtaposition to the images of old churches with mention of Burger King, this also reveals the time period, up until now, it could be have been set in any time.