Opening scene research on a war film 'Inglourious Basterds'

 

 

The war Film opening sequence I'm going to be analysing is from the film 'Inglourious Basterds' which was released in 2009, directed and wrote by Quentin Tarantino. Starring actors including Brad Pitt. The Film had a budget of $70 million USD. At the box office it received good profit making $321.5 million USD worldwide.

The film tells an alternate history story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germany's leadership, one planned by Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent), a young french Jewish cinema proprietor, and the other by the British but ultimately conducted by a team of Jewish American soldiers.

The opening begins with an establishing shot of where we are where it tells us the time in which this is set in 1941 which we can tie in with the time when World War 2 was going on, we can also see that the location is in the countryside somewhere. We can hear diegetic sound of the man in the background chopping wood and the wind blowing around him, suggesting to the audience that where this man may live is tranquil and could contrast later in the film if it involves the War, also on the right side of the frame there are cows implying he may live on a farm. By one shot in the film we can already get a sense of what the plot might be for the film going forward. 

The shot changes to a girl hanging up some washing again to show the reader that this may be a part of their everyday lives. the next shot is a low angle shot of a man chopping wood with an axe. In this shot we can start to understand this character, We can see a building in the background of the shot which the audience can assume this is his home and the chopping of the wood represents his domestic lifestyle and a part of their everyday lives, it connotes that this man is hardworking and is a strong character  and is a stereotypical character contrasting from the woman doing her job. This already is conveying to the audience to the time in which this film is set in the war having the woman doing the job they would normally be doing in those times.  

The next shot which in an over the shoulder shot of the woman continuing to do her domestic duty, this is useful during this shot because the director has managed to create a type of curtain with the sheet that his hung up that in the very far background reveals cars approaching them breaking the stability of the lifestyle which they were living. This for the audience creates suspense with the interruption to their life along with the non-diegetic soundtrack that starts when the cars are revealed implying to us that danger is coming. 

After the woman has seen the cars she calls to her "papa" so now the audience know that this is a family. The shot changes to a view of the perspective of the man, in showing the cars from far away it makes the arrival of these people a lot more ominous. To the audience this is showing the looming danger that is approaching the family, we are able to tell that it is a sense of danger approaching from the way that the family react to the arrival especially the girls. 

From the doorway of the house we see 2 more girls walk outside with the father telling them to go back inside and to shut the door this part of the opening sequence is telling us that the wrong attitude and behaviour that the girls display could lead to bad consequences and that the family have to act very carefully with the people approaching them. This can be implying to the audience that maybe they have gone against the government again as this is set during the war. 

When the daughter spots the cars coming towards them it cuts to a close up of the father showing through his facial expressions the is no attempt to protest of resist, only a kind of subtle dread and acceptance that he has done something wrong. To the audience this may make them think that he may die as we now know in which time this film was set in.

The shot changes again to an over the shoulder shot of the man, here the director has used a good sense of imagery of having him sitting there, and in front of him he has a sort of barrier of his own domestic life being broken and intruded by an approaching danger. leaving the audience with the anxiety for this character as a sense of trauma maybe he has been hiding from the war conveying to the genre of this film which is about war these first few shots manage to build a high idea of tension surrounding the film so far which could continue all the way throughout. 

The shot used of the man washing his face shows us that whoever is approaching is of some importance and the man is quickly trying to make himself look presentable to them, also an external reaction showing us how he should be internally preparing himself. To the audience this makes us feel on edge as to why does he have to clean himself off and why he is looking very worried.

From what we have seen in the opening this is the first time the camera moves beyond panning. This is to show whilst its moving the Man dressed in black to show he is in control while walking past the clothes line and the axe in the wood because the camera hasn't moved yet. The contrast of his movement up to the father allows him to stand out to the audience along with his attire making him important to the audience. We also learn from the characters greeting we learn the name of the man in the black suit is called 'Hans Landa' and the father of the family is called 'Lapedite'. The director took his time when introducing us to this character to leave us in suspense, without even showing us him.

When the men enter the household the camera is pointed in an over the shoulder shot between the two girls as if we were standing with them in the moment. This is used to make the audience feel involved with the moment as if they were really there and that they too should be scared by Landa's arrival. In the background of the shot you can see out of the window soldiers that are positioned there to remind the audience that they are being watched and can't escape. The camera tracks left to where Landa introduces himself to one of the girls showing to the audience again that he is in control and not the family.

When landa goes to sit down the camera again pans with him showing to the audience that he is still in power. Landa asks for a drink from one of the daughters he even grabs her wrist giving to the audience a very uncomfortable setting to be in. Also showing to the audience that he is a very controlling man. This also tells us about the time in which it is set as Landa is very hands on with the girls. By this point we also know that Landa is German which means he is a Nazi, Which the audience can now connote that he is a bad man which explains why the family would be scared as the french did not get on with germans in the war.

There is a medium shot of Landa looking up at the girl who from her facial expressions is clearly on edge about something that is going on and is nervous, which Landa can tell by staring at her. This moment to the audience again is to make them feel uneasy and want to know what she is hiding from Landa.

Once Landa receives his milk the camera is pointed in a low angle shot that allows to show to the audience that Landa is of higher status than us and in a way to belittle us. The key to these angle changes is that they parallel changes in the tone of the scene playing out. This to the audience now makes them want to know the motif for this family and what they are so desperately trying to hide from the supposed Nazi's in the film, so i think the film will be about what this family have hidden or what happens to them after whatever they are hiding is discovered.