The opening image in “Bond” is a familiarity to any true “Bond” fan.
It sets the standard of the film and it has appeared on the screens of fans since the first film “Dr No” which was released in 1962.
Maurice Binder designed it. The image is always accompanied by the 007-theme tune. This may vary in style and tempo throughout the films but it always has the same base for its melody. People hear the theme tune on their television screens and they automatically and quite rightly assume that Bond is on T.V.
In this opening image you first see a plain black screen with one white circle appearing. Then, to the right of this another immerges. This process is repeated another six times. Although at the beginning you may wonder what the circles are you would probably think that they were something to do with the action and spy genre of the film. Perhaps the barrels of guns, several camera lenses, pairs of binoculars or possibly the viewfinder of a rifle. When only one circle is left on screen Bond is followed into its path and he quickly turns in an action hero type pose to shoot. This circle then turns into the inside of a barrel of a gun. This gun barrel is then covered in red as Bond fires. This most likely represents the blood of the person who tried to shoot Bond.
The fact that there is so much black in this scene portrays the secrecy or maybe the sophistication of the character involved in this case Bond. It could also represent the darkness or evil being broken by light or good showing the black as evil and James Bond as the good.
This image involves the audience right from the start using the actions that it does. For example when Bond turns to shoot it’s as if he’s turning to shoot at you. It could be an attempt to make the audience feel a part of the film. This also applies later on when the film begins to have a roller coaster affect and you feel that you are on that roller coaster with the characters in that scene.
The establishing shot of the pre-credits sequence shows a plane flying low over a dam.
This shot is a mixture of camera angles mainly high angle shots and very low shots. Most of the camera work is panned. The mixture of these angled shots give a roller-coaster effect and at times you feel you are either just above the plane or just below it. In this scene you feel as if you are on a roller coaster because you are seeing the scene in a panning shot which means it follows the action from one point rather than moving with it. It also gives the scene a huge feeling of perspective, you see that it is high above the ground as it shows the planes size in comparison with the dams size. The only sounds to be heard in this scene are that of the plane engines. This in its self creates tension as it breaks the silence that was present before.
“The plane scene” shows the breath taking scenery you see in most Bond films. In this case the scene is set in the Contra dam near Locarno Switzerland instead of being near the Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility in northern Russia.
This location was probably chosen as it is surrounded by mountains and lush countryside. It is also in a remote location, which tends to be the setting for most action films as it gives the hero a chance to prove himself even more.
The part of the pre-credit sequence when a figure dressed all in black is running along the top of the dam is important because you still don’t know who it is. You assume its Bond because the character seems calm and cool and extremely sophisticated and in control of the situation. He isn’t panting or out of breath in any way, which also builds up the image of an action hero, as they never seem to be defeated either mentally or physically, even when they are injured they carry on and succeed in any task or situation. Again there is little noise in this scene except the sound of running feet. This adds to the ever-growing tension because you still don’t know who this person is or what they are doing. The camera man/ woman in this particular series of shorts is running along behind the runner and it is jogging wildly. This is for more than one reason. The first reason that comes to mind is the fact that it is a point of view shot and so you see it as you would if you were running behind the character. The other reason that the camera is jogging wildly is that the person running isn’t actually the actor that plays bond but it is a stuntman named Wayne Michaels.
When “Bond?” reaches the edge of the spot from where he will jump you see the distance he is going to jump and also see it from a point of view angle. This creates suspense and tension because you know what he’s going to do but you are just waiting for the reassurance that he’s going to do it. At this point you see that the actor is Bond and you know that what is about to happen I going to be dangerous.
The bungee jump was the first jump ever to be attempted next to a wall of concrete. The stuntman, Wayne Michaels, had to do it from 640ft at an average speed of 100mph. In order to keep him away from the face of concrete in front of him he had to find a pocket of air to bounce him away from it. If he had timed anything wrong he would have had to do the whole jump again.
The use of high and low angle shots in this scene adds to the roller coaster effect as it make s you feel you are there and involved in some way with the action. You feel the tension and know that something amazing is about to happen and then it does. The caption telling you where you are is a very important part of the film as it sets the scene and theme of the action. It specifies the place in which you are Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility. It also tells you that you are in Communist Russia during the Glasnost period. You also now know that James Bond has something to do with it.
The Piton and the laser gun, which are shot at the end of the jump, are the first two references to gadgets in the film.
He pose straight after the jump is a typical Bond pose and it is the first time that the theme of iconography is brought out. Iconography is the idea of things associated with a character that for some reason is idolised. The pose with the gun and the tuxedo are only two of the things involved within the iconography. Iconic things are the bits and pieces that can make you recognise a character whit being told who it is for example James Bond
“The names Bond, James Bond.”
Also Arnold Swarzeneger and his well known phrase
“I’ll be back.”
Iconography plays an important part through ant film and the Bond films are no exception, they familiarise the audience with one or more characters.
The Bungee jump itself is extremely important as it sets the pace for the film. Having sped the pace up the audience feel more engaged and settle to the idea of more excitement like that of which has just occurred.
After breaking into the nerve gas storage plant via the Gents toilets Bond is shown in a close up. This is to show that Bond is the most important part in this scene and that all focus should be on him. This also distracts the audience from things that are going on all around Bond. This in itself brings the meeting of the mystery person in the darkened room as a shock. On his way to the room where he meets the mystery person you begin to realise the overwhelming odds against him. He is on his own with hundreds of guards patrolling the plant and yet he manages to miss every single one of them while on his travels. This adds to his role as fictional super hero because he will never die, he may be terribly injured on more than one occasion but he will never die. As Bond enters the darkened room the percussive sounds grow louder this creates tension and you know that something is about to happen, yet you are not sure exactly what. Then you hear some words spoken in a foreign language, which you assume, are Russian. At first you think he has been caught and yet then Bonds reply tells you that he knows the person. He says, “I’m alone.” This response is delivered again in a cool and calm way. There is no sign of faltering in his voice. This would probably put the audience more at ease knowing that Bond is still in control of the situation. As the mystery person emerges into the light that Bond was and still is standing in you know that they know each other. You know this because conversation although quite short and precise is warm and humorous. Comments such as “Long time no see” and “Ready to save the world again” show that they have worked together before and shows the Bonds between them as being friendly. The fact that the character who we now know to be Alec Trevelyan has moved into the light maybe suggests that he is on Bonds side. Th light illustrates the good and the dark represents all evil. This is ironic because later in the film Alec betrays Bond and turns out to be working as a double agent.
Wit and Humour are clearly evident in this scene after being told that he is late Bond tells Alec that he had to “Make a quick stop in the bathroom.” This has a double meaning and could make the audience laugh. Most of Alecs comments in this scene are ironic because instead of saving the world he’s actually trying to bring social disorder and destruction.
The use of timers when they both enter the nerve gas storage area adds to the tension as it shows you that they are in trouble but you know that they have to escape as it is only the beginning of the film. The use of gadgets in this scene is again evident as Alec uses the decoder on the code panel. The next comment made is ironic as Alec says; “It’s too easy.” At this point the alarm bells start ringing and you hear the thunder of Russian Soldiers footsteps. This adds even more tension as everything has run smoothly up until this point.
The camera work in this scene shows the teamwork between Alec and Bond as swift and seamless. They have rehearsed this before or it at least looks as if they have. They know exactly where each other should be and this shows the huge amount of co-operation needed to pull of a mission of this stature.
The death of the Russian soldiers are all displayed n a cartoon strip way and this is because of the films certificate. Even though the audience knows that the enemies are dying there is hardly any blood, sympathy or suffering.
After the falling of many Russian soldiers Ourumov, your traditional Bond villain, appears on the scene. At this point the percussive sounds of Bonds earlier meeting with the mystery person reappear and the hissing gets louder. He is displayed as your typical villain by his fraudulent and insidious grin. He has scars on his nose and looks as if he has many a story to tell. He too is full of jocular comments, which always seem to backfire on him.
Bonds escape brings an appropriate end to the pre- credit sequence and although Alec is now “Dead” there is still a sense of accomplishment. To begin his escape Alec is at gunpoint. Bond is given a small length of time to “Come out with your hands above your head.” To which Bond still has a witty comment. After setting the timers to 3 minutes instead of leaving them for 6 Bond, rather exaggeratedly, throws down his rifle and steps circumspectly out just a little way. Alec tells Bond to finish the job and is then shot. Seeing as Alec has been shot leaves no reason for Bond to give himself up and after a, rather obvious, hint from Ourumov, that no one is to shoot him as they may blow the gas tanks up. Bond hides behind a trolley upon, which is stacked several tanks of Nerve gas. He rolls the trolley along the floor, which squeaks. This builds up the tension but also adds yet another bit of humour. Ourumov tells Bond he “Can’t win!” and of course Bond sees his escape upon a conveyor belt and he is free.
The chase after this is some what prolonged. After catching up with a plane, Bond, in the process of throwing the pilot out, is thrown out himself. This knocks a bike driver off his bike and just as you think the mission is over another twist occurs. With Ourumovs men no longer in pursuit he has to catch up with the plane which is rapidly approaching the edge of a cliff, and drive it to safety. He catches up with the plane after it has gone off the cliff and he sky dives down to the plane and climbs in. Then to take the biscuit he pulls the plane out of a rather speculative nosedive and some how manages to escape unscathed. All of this shows Bond as an unreal super hero because after going through so much already you would have thought he would have given up both emotionally and physically.
In the pre credit sequence there are no women. This may seem unusual for a Bond film but this is to give Bond himself the limelight, and in this sequence there is no need for women as it is just setting the scene. There are however women in the rest of the film. One is a villain who eventually gets her comeuppance and the other is a heroine as she assists Bond. She isn’t portrayed as someone who needs help with everything but she is shown as being strong, clever and also quite witty. This is another instance in which Bond films have been up dated. Women in the 1960’s were proud of how they were portrayed or if they weren’t then they weren’t bothered about how they were portrayed but today women take a more active part in society and expect to be shown how they really are. They tend to be brainier today and know how to deal with business and the development of new technology.
The fast paced pre credit sequence has not only set up the audience to watch the rest of this film but it has geared them up to watch another Bond film. This is because it shows the audience what to expect in the line of stunts, gadgets and wacky and extremely unrealistic escapes.
The whole of the pre- credit sequence is full of action and never actually slows down. It would be difficult to watch the rest of the film if you hadn’t seen the pre-credit sequence because even though the film is quite easy to follow most of the film action happens within the pre-credit sequence and the final sequence.
Altogether Bond is portrayed as an unreal Super hero in what are quite possibly unreal situations. Or if the situations do happen then the odds against the hero/agent involved would be a whole lot higher. Bond hasn’t yet been killed because it is impossible to make the film last any longer if he is dead. Also Heroes hardly ever die in situations like this, there is Alec Trevelyan but he’s not really a hero and he’s not really dead. I think that most super heroes would probably end up dying because of old age just to show that the hero doesn’t die because he’s not up to his job. Bond is portrayed as your typical action hero in a typical action film. The series of films could go on and on not because the actor never dies, but because Bond never dies.
by
kimberly123 (student)
