Analysis of Casino Royale- opening scene

Casino Royale- Opening Scene Analysis

Casino Royale is a thriller, and part of one of the most iconic series' of films in the world, James Bond. This film is from 2006, and was the first time Daniel Craig had played the key role as '007'. The opening scene, typical of a Bond film, is very fast paced, and uses all 4 key areas, those being cinematography, mise en-scene, editing and sound to create the action and the thrill.

Cinematography
There are many times that camera angles and shots are used during the opening to casino royale. One of the most dramatic is the two shot/extreme long shot of the two characters on a crane, high in the air. The affect of this shot is that it gives a wide picture of the surroundings, and makes it clear that they are very high in the air. During this sequence, there is also a crane shot as they are climbing along the outside of the crane. Once again this helps to give a good idea of how high they are and a clear view of their surroundings. The movement of the crane towards the characters also adds to the shot, as it makes the shot seem more realistic, as of it was being taken from a helicopter. There are also a lot of close ups of the main character, James Bond, to show his facial expressions and emotions, which are often quite neutral, to fit in with the character he is playing.

Mise en-scene
One way in which mise en-scene is used during this sequence is with the Bond. The choice of clothing for him says a lot about the type of character he is. With a very informal, almost casual look, it shows that he is a very casual, laid back kind of person. However his actions show he is also very good at getting down to business when needs be. This is the way all Bond characters have always been. There is also a lot of focus on Bond through the positioning he has in shots, for example the constant need for him to be in the middle of shots after action, or holding heroic poses after such events.

Editing
Although there are not a lot of examples of editing being used during the sequence, there is a lot of slow motion editing used to create an 'epic' feel to most situations. In moments of intense action, it is used quite frequently to emphasize the brilliance of what has just happened. 

Sound 
Sound is probably the most important feature out of the four in what it gives to the opening scene. Throughout most of the scene, non-diegetic, parallel sound is used to create tension and add to the atmosphere. The tempo of this sound rises and falls depending on the level of intensity. The sound only goes away during the last part of the scene, as Bond holds a man hostage, there is very little sound. The most important piece of information that sound gives us about Bond is simply the fact that he does not talk for the entire sequence. The director obviously wants to give us the impression that with bond, actions speak louder than words.