Kiss Me Deadly Opening Sequence

The cinematography throughout the beginning of this sequence is very successful in making it an effective opening. The very first shot shown is the high angle mid shot of the woman's legs running, this automatically creates a creepy atmosphere as the audience are waiting to see who it is also why she is running bare foot and who she is running from.

This is then followed by a long shot of her running which is almost the establishing shot as it shows the location and reveals to the audience that it is a young girl. The rule of thirds can be used in this shot, with vertical lines separating the scenery on either side of her. I have chosen this shot as it is one the most important shots in the opening sequence, it shows how she is vulnerable and weak she is of a low status due to the surroundings that look like they are taking over her, the road she is running on is huge compared to her.

There are many over the shoulder shots shown of the man and woman in the car which connotes that people are after her/them, although it is not from the point of view of someone watching it still portrays the fact that the woman is trying to get away from people as it is shown following her from behind.

The mise en scene is also quite creepy and eerie as it very dark and quite hidden. The majority of the opening is set in the man's car which is driving along the road, it is quite empty apart from the odd car that drives past. The man that is forced to stop and let her in the car is portrayed as being quite heroic, due to his new clean white car he also seems to be of importance as he is dressed smartly and looks well groomed. The woman has nothing but a coat on, therefore this gives her a low status as she is not dressed for being outside, running along a tarmac road gives the impression someone as taken her shoes.

Sound in this particular opening sequence is very dramatic, giving an even more tense atmosphere, the fast paced non diegtic sound of music is quite daunting. It seems like it is there to make the audience feel sorry for the woman as at the beginning she is breathing heavily and crying, this may be for the man to feel sympathy for help and give her the help she needs. They use the radio to inform the characters and the audience that she has escaped from an asylum, this creates a few seconds of anxiety as the action slows and the audience have to wait to see if the police realise she is the person that has escaped.

The titles are in block white capital letters, shown by rolling up the screen, this automatically grabs the audience's attention. The titles at the beginning of the opening are detailed, many names and job titles are mentioned.

The titles include:

• Main star
• Supporting actors
• Art director
• Set decorator
• Assistant director
• Assistant to producer
• Film editor
• Music composer
• Screenplay
• Produced and directed by