The mise en scene reflects the meanings of what the opening shots are all about. The colours are golds, yellows and pale coppers. They work very well with the setting which is the desert; and in the opening sequence of the film, the colours reflect the type of lifestyle aristocratic Egyptians are believed to have led. The city is all computer generated, and the lighting high key. It is realistic to a point, that it shows what the city would have been like when it was still standing. The lighting also tries to create a feeling of heat in a very warm late evening.
Costume is also very important to the audience’s impression of the film. Seti is the Pharaoh of Egypt when this film is set. It is visually obvious that this character is wealthy and royal. He wears a large headdress, accompanied by feathers from an exotic bird. He is dressed in gold armour, and his horses also wear golden metal plates upon the crown of their heads. The chariot which he rides upon is beautifully elaborate in gold, and one thing that strikes the viewer is the golden spurs on the spokes of its wheels. By this, the viewer can see that this man is of some noble origins.
Imhoteps costume is seen very briefly, but it shows that he is somebody in the religious aspect of the city. His robes are long and black, and he wears many ornate golden necklaces. His hands are adorned with rings, and this shows the viewer that he has wealth. The sharp viewer would recognise that Imhotep wears a Scarab beetle. This was a symbol of good luck in Egypt and everybody wealthy enough possessed one. However religious leaders usually had larger, more ornate scarabs.
This small sequence is very effective as it enables the viewer to take a glimpse into to what Egyptian life was like, and displays Egyptian culture very accurately. This small section differs somewhat from the other film’s opening.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was directed by Ang Lee and released in 2001. It tells the story of two martial arts masters, who try to regain the stolen green destiny sword, whilst battling their long time enemy, Jade Fox.
The film opens with a black screen and non diagetic music accompanies it. The music (oriental) is calm and smooth as credits roll; white letters upon a black background, and suddenly there is a large crash and the title for the film appears. The title is in English and above it in mandarin. These large letters are filled with moving trees. In the film one of the major action sequences, takes place in the canopy of a forest as the characters jump from tree to tree as they fight. The trees are being moved by the wind; not vigorously, but slowly and calmly and this is a general trend for the atmosphere of the film.
The non-diagetic music returns to its slow rhythm, and the sequence opens with a long shot of a town. Unlike The Mummy, this film is shot in actual settings in China; so the film has a lot of natural high key lighting. Sunlight is seen a lot in the film, and this differs from The Mummy’s computer generated lighting. The long shot sets the scene, where for the first time the viewer sees the town. There is a jump shot into the town. This is then followed by a medium shot of a location in the town, another jump shot, and then a close up of a business man in the town. At this point, the diagetic sounds of the town moving begin. This sequence of shots differs from The Mummy; instead of using a panning shot to view the area in the opening, Lee uses shots that directly observe the people and what is happening in the town.
We see the reaction of the business man, which is one of happiness, followed by some dialogue. There is then another jump shot, and we move to the river; were a tracking shot follows a man and his horse. This is the main character, Li Mui Bai, and we begin to hear the diagetic sounds of his horse walking along the path. The non-diagetic instrumental music is still playing at this point.
This is followed by a jump shot, to a building. We see the entrance, and here begins a tracking shot of a woman entering the building. This shot follows the woman, and we hear the diagetic sound of her calling for somebody. As we see her leave into another room, there is a rolling shot of the buildings interior and within it we see the beautifully crafted entrance room. There is then another jump shot and we see a close-up of the other main character Julienne whilst she is packing clothes. We hear the now non- diagetic talking of the woman but this compliments the scene so it is a parallel sound. The camera is still focusing on Julienne. The woman informs Julienne of the arrival of Li Mui Bai, and the camera tilts up towards her face and captures her expression beautifully, a look of absolute surprise and anxiety.
The mise en scene in this section complements the filming of this sequence. The colours are very earthy, lots of blues, deep greens and browns. This emits an image of serenity and peacefulness; and differs greatly from The Mummy where the colours are more yellows and coppers and show a warmer and hotter atmosphere. The setting is natural, and in the first long shot we see a light forest that surrounds the town. The lighting is used in a number of different ways. In the close up of the business man, it is visible that the character has under lighting. This highlights him for this particular scene and draws the viewer into the bright light source. In the rolling shot of the building, there is high key natural lighting, which comes from the roof. This projects the surroundings, and it enables the viewer to observe the house. This lighting envelops the city in a very realistic and tangible manner, whereas The Mummy’s lighting clearly displays a synthetic and artificial quality.
The costume in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is very simple. There are a lot of cottons and dark dyed fabrics, which help the viewer, actually become a part of the town. In The Mummy the costumes portray a more rich and regal image of the people living in Thebes. The landscape is realistic in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon so it is easier to imagine this town actually existing, whereas The Mummy’s landscape is computer generated and this shows the viewer what the city could have looked like, not what it realistically could look like. The overall arrangement of shots in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon allows the viewer, for a very brief period of time, to step into the life of the people in the film. It does not generalise, it shows people for who they are, and how they work in every day life. In The Mummy, however the opening shots are a lot more generalised and only allow the viewer to imagine what the people are like, not visually see them in the frame.
The openings of both films are tremendous in their own right. The Mummy is a story of magnificent proportions, and allows the viewer to only focus on the theme of the film. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon however allows the viewer to step into the imaginary world of the film. It realistically portrays life in this period, and is a film which requires a lot more thinking and emotion. Overall, I feel The Mummy has a much more dramatic opening, and it is the way a film should begin
Simran Singh
30/03/04
