The Analysis of A Thriller - Reservoir Dogs

Before beginning the storyboard and thinking of any original ideas for my thriller opening I have watched a couple of opening scenes for thriller movies in preparation. I have decided to analyse Reservoir Dogs, a thriller; directed and written by Quentin Tarantino, certificated 18 in the UK to get ideas such as camera angles, lighting affects and themes.

The film begins with a black screen with the credits rolling with dialogue over the top; this creates a sense of un-expectancy for the audience as they don't know what is happening. The scene shown next is of a circle of men, while the character who was speaking over the credits continues. The shot to show this scene is over the shoulder and the camera tracks around the circle at shoulder level, by doing this the audience are excluded from the circle and not a part of what is happening, this creates a feeling of uncertainty and mystery.

The characters are stereotypical gangsters with a New York accent and suits, there is a definite authority figure that is standing up compared to the others who are sat down, and this puts him on a higher level showing his power. The dialogue of the characters matches their portrayal of gangsters, for example one character says "shoot this man" this aggressive talk and swearing which is used frequently relates to its certificate of 18. The characters are also smoking, by doing this the setting is in this fog of smoke and everything is not clear, this could have been used instead of the stereotypical dim lighting.

This scene carries on for a while but as the characters leave the setting another voice over begins in a New York accent, there is then a fade to a black screen and music that fits with the setting, characters and pace of the film begins and the credits start rolling again. While the music still carries on playing over the credits there is a voice over of a man screaming in pain and shouting "I'm going to die". The audience are clueless of what is happening; again this creates a sense of un-expectancy, mystery and suspense.

From analysing the opening of Reservoir Dogs I have learnt that effects such as a black screen, camera shots, voice over and music all create a feeling of ambiguity and keep the audience on tender hooks. I will definitely consider this when planning my opening scene.