Last week, I posted this question: What are the best opening scenes in movie history?
I was having this discussion with a writer the other day. So many fantastic opening scenes of all sorts. Some of them bombastic, some subtle, some of them funny, some brutal, all of them great. Tough to write, too, because it’s not only about being entertaining, it’s also about introducing the story universe and key characters, setting the mood and so forth.
And while we’re at it, let’s analyze the scenes as to why they’re so stellar, and hopefully get some takeaway as far as our own writing goes.
The list of suggestions was so great, I thought it would be a good idea to post some of them over the next week or two because here is the reality: A great opening scene or sequence can go a long way in how a reader perceives your script. In other words, they can be pivotal to the success of your screenplay.
Today let’s kick things off with a movie that was suggested by three GITS readers: Teddy Pasternak, David Proenza, and jmclarkejr22: The 1968 movie co-written by Sergio Leone [along with Sergio Donati].
Check out this opening sequence. Why is it so powerful? Why does it work so well? What screenwriting lessons can we learn from it?
Tomorrow: Another great movie opening.
UPDATE: Be sure to check out Teddy Pasternak’s masterful analysis of this sequence in comments. He really breaks down the fine art of visual storytelling as exhibited in the opening to this film.
No surprise why Q.Tarantino mentions Sergio Leone as major influence. This opening seems in his logic close to the opening of Pulp fiction : take time to install the set up that others normally cut. PF is all about dialogue, here there’s none. It’s a silent opening of an opera. The function of the scene could be “harmonica comes, shoots well, wants Franck”. But as in PF, Sergio Leone installs his own iron hand upon a powerful and economic narrative. Even the credits on the image of the locomotive suggests total control of time and effects. So for me, this opening is all about power, strong elegance and a sense of threat. Time is his, we are in his story. Just for the record, Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci also collaborated on the writing. Again to underline the importance of writing in any great movie.
Here’s the entire scene in HD (totally worth it!)
The most amazing thing about this scene is that it was all scripted – even the fly. Although the fly landing on Jack Elam’s face must have been a bit of luck, with the help of some honey or jam. What I mean is that the scene wasn’t built in editing. Nothing we see or hear in the scene was an afterthought – it was carefully planned.
Here’s an excerpt from the script:
96-98 – Zzzz, a fly buzzes obstinately around the face of Snakey, who doesn’t move but only follows the insect intently with his eyes.
99-100 – The fly lands on the wooden panel near Snakey’s head. And suddenly, flashing like the tongue of a chameleon, Snakey’s right hand quickly grabs the pistol and presses it against the panel.
101 – The opening of the barrel is resting on the wall, in ECU [extreme close-up], and Snakey puts his ear against [the barrel] and with him we hear THE BUZZING OF THE FLY IMPRISONED IN THE BARREL
102 – Snakey reveals his gapped teeth in a smile. Carefully, he removes the pistol from the wall, blocking the opening with a finger, and approaches the barrel to his ear, listening with amusement to the furious buzzing of the imprisoned fly.
OVER THE BUZZING OF THE FLY IS SUPERIMPOSED FOR A MOMENT THE VERY DISTANT WHISTLE OF A TRAIN
103 – Snakey’s smile fades. His eyes focus in the distance, on the train tracks. He removes his finger from the barrel, the fly flies away.
A SECOND DISTANT WHISTLE.
This was translated from Italian and taken from this essay by Richard Raskin on the film. Apparently the script is not available anywhere so this excerpt was made available to Mr. Raskin by ‘West’ co-writer Sergio Donati. It’s worth the read and also features some insightful comments by Sig. Donati.
The interesting thing to note is that the filmmakers are using the different sounds to build tension. There’s no dialogue or music, but the sculpting of sound is as important as the visuals to create the mood and to set the scene; buzzing flies, dripping water, telegraph ticker, knuckles cracking, birds, train whistle, etc. It’s so long that we the audience almost get frustrated at the slow pace, (not to mention irritated by the squeaking noise of the wind turbine.) But it also shows the patience these three thugs have and there’s a building anticipation that you can only get from time. It takes time to build this kind of tension. You can’t fake it or rush it. They wait, so we wait. And because we wait so long, the pay-off is even greater.
A red herring with the postal package delivery and a reversal (they think he wasn’t on the train) keeps us guessing what will come next. The smart thing Leone does is that when the showdown finally comes, it’s relatively quick. Plus, we have no idea who the good guys or the bad guys are, really. We can guess, considering how the three treat the station agent, but I think it becomes clear after the snappy comeback line “You brought two too many.” Much like killers Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction who wins us over with their humorous dialogue, general coolness and badassery, Harmonica sets it up with that snappy comeback and seals the deal by shooting all three opponents. He’s the guy to watch. He’s our hero.
But Leone doesn’t stop the tension there. He leaves us guessing whether or not Harmonica got killed too. He’s milking this as much as he can. As much as we want to know the outcome of the shootout, he makes us wait for it with that shot of the irritating wind turbine. He’s in charge here, and he’s letting us know it. Leone leads us along and he’s got us exactly where he wants us. We can’t guess what’s coming next and we can’t wait to see what happens.
This scene is a master class in the language of cinema. This can be used to study everything from shot economy, camera placement, sound design, music use, character introductions, dialogue and much more. Great opening scene in a great movie.
Fantastic analysis, Teddy. I was just going to say “visual storytelling,” but you sort of blew me out of the water with the depth and quality of your analysis! I’m going to update the OP to steer people here and promote your analysis in the next post in this series.
Thanks!
Teddy – thank you for your brilliant analysis. I have only recently found ‘go into the story’ I am learning so much – thanks Scott.
I have loved this movie as a shiny example of what the art of filmmaking is all about – every aspect of it masterfully engaged. Thanks for the analysis.
-gl