Heat opening

Heat

Director: Michael Mann

Genre: Crime Drama

Distributor: Warner Bros

Year: 1995

Budget: N/A

Total Gross:

No establishing shot or soundtrack is used in this sequence immediately dropping us into confusion as we struggle to understand what our characters are doing and where they are, this links to previous openings I have looked at and seems to be a common theme across crime film openings. Handheld camera is used and mainly and close up shots on the car drivers are used to show the close proximity and not reveal what they are doing or the location they are in. A tense score is then introduced which allows us as a viewer to understand the situation is dangerous and something bad is inevitable. Low angles are used on the characters as they become more and more seemingly villainous. The use of sudden violence is a recurring thing in the crime dramas I have looked at and it is often used to shock us as an audience and also help illustrate the world surrounding the characters who are involved in crime. Costumes in this sequence differ greatly from previous openings I have looked at in the sense they are not formal business attire, in fact the costumes are used to hide the identities of the criminals masking them as everyday workers and not violent bank robbers. The use of masks in this scene however stops us from understanding the true identity and persona of each individual in the scene, hiding them from the outside world. Violence in this scene is very clean and thought through, something of common occurrence in crime drama films. Emotions are masked through the masks so we cannot see how the characters are feeling and it also shows the lack of remorse and feeling they have towards the killing of the people, its almost treated as standard procedure and not given a second thought. Brutal and graphic violence is used to end the sequence showing the brutality and mind-set of the protagonist, it links to other crime films I have looked at also how defenceless people are often hurt or killed in the openings of these films. Shaky camera is used to add to the drama of the scene and immerse us in the chaos and action creating a very disorientating view on the robbery sequence. A very calm exit to the crime scene concludes the sequence using a Jib shot to reveal the previous vehicle (ambulance) which then explodes showing the protagonists to not be who they seem from the scene. Breaking the fourth wall is used in this sequence to create directed address to the viewer and make us feel uncomfortable as the we see the criminal through the eyes of the police man who is later executed.