Casino Royale - Micro Analysis

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Casino Royale – Micro Analysis

In the opening pre-title sequence of Casino Royale (2006,) directed by Martin Campbell, which is shot in black and white (the rest of the film is in colour), Bond meets with a co worker in Prague, Czech Republic, in an office setting. The scene is set at night, perhaps suggesting a suspicious or dangerous event is about to occur. The scene is presented with a flashback of a fight scene that takes place in a public toilet.

Within the office setting, a prop used by Dryden, the deflected spy, are his leather gloves; he takes them off perhaps suggesting an arrogant confidence about the situation as he feels he does not need to wear them as he feels in control. Other props include a desk placed between the two men meeting; this creates a barrier, suggesting their differences in roles. Other props are the chairs and a lamp suggesting the setting they are in is a professional office. Dryden’s draw is storing the gun he attempts to shoot Bond with, which creates an air of mystery as it is more unexpected as it is pulled out of a draw.  A significant prop is the gun; it is used to assert authority and create fear and suspense amongst the audience. During the flashback, in contrast with the previously seen gun, Bond instead uses the toilet’s facilities for the killing of the victim, thus making the scene particularly brutal, as he is using strong material to kill his victim. The scene is particularly violent, and Bond kills him by smashing the victim’s head on a mirror and a sink, then using another sink to drown him, this, in turn, creates more suspense for the audience and makes it particularly graphic. There also appears to be photo frames hanging in the bathroom; they are black and rectangular. The black and the angular shape suggest something evil as opposed to soft, bright colours and rounded edges. The use of the bathroom as the place of murder is also interesting, a bathroom is a familiar environment to many viewers and for a killing to take place in one, it adds an element of realism to the viewers. It is also quite intimate as it is as invasion of privacy.

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The narrative is told from Bond’s point of view. The start of the scene begins with a long shot of the office block, which establishes the setting and the arrival of Dryden; it is then followed immediately after with a low angle shot of Dryden before he enters the office block. This signifies authority as the shot makes him appear larger, thus more important. As he waits in the lift, a close up shot is used of the floor level he is entering. The levels follow, ‘3, 4, 5, 6.’ This appears much like dynamite counting down to explode, ...

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