Cape Fear (opening title sequence)

•  During the opening of Cape Fear, credited roles appear in an order of importance. For instance the first title (at 00:27 seconds), is "amblin entertainment in association with Cappa films and Tribeca productions presents". This is an important title, as without the production teams listed; the audience wouldn't have a clue as to who the film was run by and what type of genre film it would be. For example Disney are well known for children's fantasy films, where as Tribeca (which was founded by Robert De Niro; who stars in this film) is better known for its more action-packed thriller type genres! 
• At 00:33 seconds, the film states "a Martin Scorsese picture". This is an important title, as it explains to the audience who has directed it, suggesting to them what type of film techniques will most likely be used and perhaps what genre. For example, I know that Martin Scorsese used a blend of cinema - vérité techniques with the dreamlike imagery of avant-garde films. I also know that Scorsese filmed a lot of gangster films, period films or biopics, in which he explored many aspects of masculinity, identity and violence. (His protagonists were often loners in a chaotic world trying to make sense of the madness around them, grappling with issues of guilt, penance and spiritual enlightenment.)
• After 00:47 seconds up until 01:27, all the key actors and actresses are mentioned. (Starting with "Robert De Niro" (the most crucial actor in this film/ main character), this could be the reason that his name is up on the screen the longest!) However the last four actors and actress are listed after an "and". This makes them seem more important/ bigger personalities then others within the film (best for last...).
• From 01:31 up until 01:47, the title sequence purely lists those who worked on things such as props, casting... (behind the scenes). For example, it says "title sequence by Elaine & Saul Bass", this is there to show other production companies who worked on the film (so that if they were ever interested in their technique/style of work, they would know who's work it was). 
• At 01:53 until 02:20, the opening title sequence list the varies production team members and the screenplay the film was based on and who wrote the screenplay used. For example, "produced by Barbarade Fina" and "based on a screenplay by James R.Webb and 'The Executioner's', a novel by John D.MacDonald". This allows the audience to research the book the film was based on, before it has actually come (whilst it's still just a trailer)!
• The very last title, again states the the film was "directed by Martin Scorsese". This just goes to show that the Director gets the most credit; making his role a little more important than the rest (as he has to do a storyboard and plan every last detail of the film out)! 

Throughout the opening title sequence, the titles seem not to differ (constantly staying a jagged white font). This is to perhaps resemble an offline nature to the film, stating right from the beginning of the film that something is off-key! They font is also different in size depending on the words, for example, all the names are a lot larger than the job role listed. The style of font is also fairly modern, suggesting that the time the film was set was the time of which it actually came out (1991).

The genre of this film is thriller, we can learn this from the narrative of the film. For example:

• The film starts of quite still/ calm, this can be shown through the use of a still river and the dull colours (nothing is out-of-the-ordinary).
• However towards the end of the opening scene, the colours become more vibrant (with hints of yellow, green and red bursting through on the dull screen). This implies that the action of the film/ theme will grow deeper and more mysterious.
• We can also see images starting to come through, for example, at 00:59-01:09 you can see an extreme close-up of a pair of wandering eyes, at 01:33-01:37 you can see a close-up of a face fade in and back out again and 02:13-02:16 there is a medium shot of a black silhouette of a man's body! These all start to suggest to the audience the type of characters that will be involved in the film. For instance, the fact the "Robert De Niro" is mentioned already starts to question the idea of a thriller (as he quite often stars in that genre of film).
• Towards the end of the opening title sequence, you can see an extreme close-up of a pair of eyes (at 02:34-02:42), they first appear in red and then fade in to a bright, ghostly white. The camera then begins to zoom out, turning to a simple black and white (before eventually coming to plain colour). The camera is now showing a woman, and as she begins to speak, she describes Cape Fear as being a mystifying area. This is shown, by the mist outside the window (she looks as though she's in a classroom). 
• She also goes on to say "magic would end and the real life would come crashing in".This suggests that everything used to be very happy and peaceful there (like paradise), however it has now turned nasty and grim (due to some type of devastating event. For instance someone may have drowned or been drowned, referring back to the extreme close-up of eyes at 01:00 under water.

In conclusion, I believe this film will endure plenty of heart-ache and distress for the characters involved. This is because even though nothing has really been given away in the opening title sequence, the use of dramatic orchestral/ eerie music catches the audience's attention and draws them into watching (as they can tell there will be some type of dramatic life-changing event for certain characters and want to know what)!  

By Maddy Fox