Casino Royale opening Macro analysis

Narrative

The opening of Casino Royale sets up our expectations for the rest of the story by building the suspense. The use of the casino-colours and cards in the background gave the audience the impression that the film would be based on gambling/card games, which is also shown in the title ‘Casino Royale’.

We begin to gather an idea of what the film is about once James Bond has killed the contact that had been sent to kill him. James Bond killed the man quite easily, showing that he must have been trained. The clip then changes back to show us James Bond in the office with a man who had double-crossed MI6. This is when it becomes clear to the audience that the film will contain a lot of action, especially after James Bond kills him.

Both of them speak in a calm tone; however there is tense music in the background (un-diegetic) showing that they know each other but have a mysterious/troublesome past. This could be why the opening is in black and white. The opening shows that there is a story behind James Bond and possibly being the reason why the Spy was trying to kill him, and eventually Bond killing the Spy and his contact. Therefore, we expect the rest of the film to be violent, tense and unexpected.

Title Sequence

The title sequence begins with James Bond standing in the centre of a bullet he has just shot whilst it is getting further away from him and he is getting smaller. Blood then begins to drip down the screen and it changes to the actors name ‘Daniel Craig’, surrounded by the symbols on a card, clubs, spade, hearts and diamonds. It then moves on to see the other actors’ names on the screen along with the directors, producers, etc. their names are placed in front of card designs which are moving around the screen. James Bond is shown as a black, shadowed silhouette shooting clubs and spades out of his gun and seeing them travel around the screen. There is a knife fight between James Bond (black) and another silhouette (red) which has a 3D card background. Towards the end of the title sequence there are silhouettes of men who have been shot and a bullet goes through a card before the title appears. The names and titles are shown in the middle of the screen surrounded by cards very clearly in bold black so we can read it with all of the other colours in the background.

Character Types

The only ‘star’ that I recognise from the opening is Daniel Craig, the only reason for that is because it was made well-known that he was going to become the new James Bond and I recognised him from some of the other films he has been in. Daniel Craig has been in quite a few popular films, such as The Golden Compass, Dream House, Archangel and many more.

He has experience with action from the film ‘The Cowboys and The Aliens’ because he was having to act in various ways which could be related to James Bond, teaching him many skills which he then took with him. For example, he had the ability to act strong and to be able to fight opponents in a professional way. He was in a black suit which portrayed his authority and that he is a man of business; he doesn’t want to mess around.

Cinematography

The camerawork is very good and catches the most important parts of the opening scene using a range of different shot types. When the spy enters the dark room there is a low angle shot to portray that at this point he may seem powerful, and he feels as though he is in control. Also, whilst the spy is talking to James Bond he is shown in a background shot to show he is less powerful than James Bond and we don’t need to pay as much attention to him. It also gives us the impression that something is probably going to happen to him. There is a close up of James when he kills the contact and the spy to show his facial expression and that killing them doesn’t faze him at all. When the Contact is first shown he is being pushed into the wall at a high angle shot implying that he is rather vulnerable and weak.

Sound and Lighting

In most thrillers the sound and lighting is used to make it feel tense. The first thing that you hear is the car pulling up to the glass building (offices) and the Spy slamming the door as he exits the car. In many thriller films there are car chases, so therefore could mean that danger is approaching. From this the music builds in suspense and the pace increases, inferring that something is about to occur. When we first hear James Bond it is un-diegetic because we cannot see him, however, when he appears the music stops so that the audiences’ full attention lies on him and suspense continues to build. The opening is in black and white which could represent the tension between the two characters and maybe even their binary opposites (hero vs. villain). Whilst James Bond and the Contact are having a fight the music resumes to get faster and louder, again building suspense and making the scene seem more explosive and powerful. In between the music you can hear both men groaning and the punches which are being thrown; they have been timed to fit in perfectly with the action music.

Themes

The theme ‘Crime Fighter’ represents James Bond and fits in perfectly with the thriller genre. Action Thrillers are full of fighting and there is always the ‘hero’ who wants to stop a ‘villain’. James Bond represents the ‘Crime Fighter’ and as with the spy, who double-crossed MI6, he puts a stop to it. Another theme which is referenced in Casino Royale is ‘criminality’. James Bond can be seen as having ‘skills and expertise of a hero’ because he fights crime.

However, Bond also kills a person which is a crime itself. He is going against the law but at the same time doing the best for others. Therefore leading some people to believe that he is a hero and others to believe that he is not.