Analysis of Opening Scenes in Crime Thriller (Bullitt and Nightcrawler)

Bullitt (1968) and Nightcrawler (2014) are crime thriller movies that both take on a very different approach. This differentiation can even be seen as early as the opening scenes of the two films.

Bullitt’s opening scene consists of a jazz music backing-track, allowing us to identify the era in which the movie is set, and a lot of low key lighting, presenting an idea of mystery and suspense. This usage of lighting allows us to define a genre for the movie (thriller). There is a multitude of shots used- starting with a panning shot that cuts to close-ups of specific objects. This allows us to identify the genre of crime as we can see some stereotypical items like costume (long coats) and props (a gun). The opening scene of this movie shows the credits for the movie (like the cast, producer and director). The opening scene does not conform to either of the narrative theories (Propp’s character theory and Todorov’s theory). Firstly, we cannot tell who is the hero and villain in the clip as there is no clear moral diversity. Every character shown in the clip seems to be violent and out to hurt others, alongside there being no actions like saving a damsel in distress that could paint a particular character as the protagonist. This presents a sense of mystery to the audience as they cannot identify with a particular character, so we want to find out who is the hero – convincing us to carry on watching. Alongside this, the opening scene does not conform with Todorov’s theory- where every movie starts with an equilibrium followed by a disruption. Bullitt instead starts with a disruption, showing the audience that this movie is going to be very action packed because it doesn’t start with a feeling of calm and normality.

In comparison to Bullitt, Nightcrawler’s opening scene displays very coherent signs of a state of equilibrium, as it opens with establishing shots of the movies surrounding setting, backed with a calming soundtrack. This very clever usage of serenity and stillness at the start of the movie allows the viewer to be far more surprised when the dark turn that the movie takes actually occurs. The scenes are all shot at night, with very stark contrasts between the darkness due to the time and the glowing light coming from the urban parts of the setting (the roads and the city) along with the bright moon. This colouration is enchanting to the viewer and symbolic of the movies themes itself. Toward the end of the opening scene we see the main character displaying villainous qualities, from breaking and entering, lying to an official and then proceeding to assault said official and stealing his watch. This creates a moral grey area for the movie as this character in which we are meant to associate with and follow throughout the movie, is actually presented as a bad person. This contradicts what we as an audience are used to in movies but it also compares to the way in which we cannot identify a hero or villain from the Bullitt opening scene.