Analysis Of A Film Opening Sequence - Rambo: First Blood

The opening sequence that I have decided to examine is from ‘Rambo: First Blood’. I like the opening of this movie as it doesn’t expose any of the content of the film or even the genre to an extent. This stands out to me as it isn't conforming to the conventions of a title sequence. A title dequence is supposed to expose the genre to the audience whereas this does not.  In the opening, Rambo is walking through a forestry area towards a house. As the audience, we do not see his face close up, only the clothing that he is wearing. From seeing his clothes it is not apparent what he is like or what his profession was.

Towards the end of the sequence there is a close up of Rambo’s face. Even from this shot we cannot tell that he is a ‘dangerous’ man. In the shot, he looks calm and peaceful. He looks innocent and seems to be a genuine person. He also smiles at one point. His smile denotes happiness. Given his situation, the smile, for Rambo, could connote a sense of belonging or home; he feels accepted again.

The music in the opening scene also makes the film appear to be calm but also sad. The music seems to be sorrowful. This connotes that Rambo could get upset in his near future or that he has led a sad life.

Rambo is an action film. The conventions of an action film include: fast, upbeat music, bright colurs such as red and yellow that would connote danger. Fighting and violence are key to action movies along with guns and weaponary and maybe even explosions. Rambo goes against the conventions in the opening scene by using slow, sorrowful music that does not indicate an upbeat film. The colours are also very natural which indicate and calm and laid back person. The natural colours connote a peaceful and non violent man. Also, in the opening scene there is no sight of danger or violence. Througout the rest of the film, each of these conventions are expressed which then shows conformity. As the movie progresses it becomes more upbeat and violent.

The credits in the opening are a verbal code. The font and colour of the text are symbollic codes. The font used is large and bold. This could connote the type of character that Rambo is. He was an ex war fighter which therefore meant he was brave and extremely physically able. This font may have been used a subtle way to introduce Rambo. The content does not indicate much about the genre so instead the producers chose to do it this way. The colours used for the text is red and white. The red connotes danger, death and blood and the white connotes innocence and surrender. These together connotes that Rambo has a mixed personality. It suggests that he is an innocent person however, his dangerous side over writes that and that is how people percieve him. It could also connote that he is a violent and dangerous person and that he targets innocent people to make them surrender. The use of these colours has enabled the auience to generate their own opinion of what they think Rambo is like. There are multiple ways in which codes can be percieved and this helps the audience to make their own idea of the film. 

Both the filming and the music together in the opening give nothing away about the film. For someone who has not watched or knows anything about Rambo, the story would be a surprise.

(The permission for the video does not allow me to embed to the blog so i have posted a link to the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-dWpyb7ww