Cape Fear Opening Review

  The task I was asked to do was to analyse an opening sequence from a thriller movie and I have decided to analyse Cape Fear, directed by Martin Scorsese it stars Robert DeNiro as one of the main character.

  The opening shot is of a distorted lake surface that is very dark in colour, right away this builds tension in the audience. Very soon an eagle can be seen in the water but it moves as though it were underwater and not a reflection on the surface. The ripple effect changes when the title is shown and an eye starts to fade in. the eye is in black and white and so stands out against the waters darker colours. When different parts of faces are being shown tension builds within a viewer because the faces are in black and white and there is a rippled reflection of some sort of building on the waters surface. The viewer is then confused because the ripples are changed from going horizontal across the screen to being flipped so that the lakes ripples are going vertically. A whole face appears and its colour scheme is white. The faces eyes are closed and this suggests a death of some sort, possibly drowning, as the main focus of this part is a body of water. The ripples continue to change angles and flow and black and white objects keep appearing and disappearing, this causes the audience to feels disoriented and confused about what is happening in the film as there is no clear main focus that keeps showing up. Near the end a drop of liquid is shown and the whole screen goes red, this is similar to the end of Vertigo’s opening sequence, it even has a pair of eyes appear right at the end.

  The music plays a key part in creating tension and suspense in this opening because it starts slowly, builds when the title is shown and then slows down again while the scene plays out. The way it links with the ‘dead’ faces and bodies tells an audience member that something bad or evil will happen during the films running time. The atmosphere built by the music alone is creepy, tense and cautious. This part of the soundtrack fits well with the conventions of a thriller.

  This title sequence is by Elaine and Saul Bass, so it’s easy to see the link between Vertigo’s opening and Cape Fear’s opening. Both use distorted images and shapes to create tense and eerie atmospheres for the audience watching. Most of the openings I have seen by Saul Bass are made to create tension and mystery in the film and leave you wondering about them after.