Opening Sequence Analysis: Kill Bill vol.1

Although Kill Bill is more of an action film, it's opening sequence is more of a thriller. Very little action goes on and the events are very mysterious.

The sequence begins with a quote. Indicates the genre of the film and suggests what it might be about.







The production ident. No fancy animation, just a fade in and out from black. Sets a serious tone to the following scene. During the black out (before the scene starts ) deep breathing and panting breaks the silence and creating tension from the wonder and confusion as to what is happening.

Straight into the action with a black and white close up of the main character. It clearly shows her pain and emotion creating empathy from the audience towards her.
 The voice of a man speaks to her. His identity is not clearly shown throughout the sequence. Adding to the sense of mystery created.



A close-up cut to boots walking. His identity still remains hidden to the audience. The only things we know about him is his voice, what kind of clothes he might be wearing (a suit due to the smart leather shoes) and that he probably caused the whole event to happen.






He appears to be caring and starts to help her. He uses his personalized napkin to remove the blood of her face. Suggests a close relationship between the two characters.

Out of the frame you can hear him fiddle around with a metallic object and out of the blue he shoots her in the head. We never see the gun but its clear through his dialogue and his reaction to her that he caused her pain and ended her life.

Title sequence. Still in black and white in the center of the scene. The gun shot still echoing in the previous silence, exaggerating what the audience had just witnessed.

A single shot of character's silhouette. Makes the audience argue about whether she's still alive or not.

The whole opening sequence is very basic but at the same time its very effective at drawing in the audience. There is only 3 shots in the opening (the girl, his shoes and the silhouette). On its own the scene would be rather dry and boring but combined with the dialogue it intrigues the audience and makes them what to see more.



Published: 16/12/2014
Technology: Blogger