A great movie's first few minutes provide the key to the rest of the
film. Like the opening paragraphs of a novel, they draw the viewer in,
setting up the thematic concerns and stylistic approach that will be
developed over the course of the narrative. A strong opening sequence
leads the viewer to trust the filmmakers. Other times, opening shots are
intentionally misleading as they invite alert, active participation with
the film. In Cinematic Overtures, Annette Insdorf discusses the
opening sequence so that viewers turn first impressions into deeper
understanding of cinematic technique.
From Joe Gillis's voice-over in Sunset Boulevard as he lies dead in a
swimming pool to the hallucinatory opening of Apocalypse Now, from the
stream-of-consciousness montage as found in Hiroshima, mon amour to
the slowly unfolding beginning of Schindler's List, Cinematic
Overtures analyzes opening shots from a range of Hollywood as well as
international films. Insdorf pays close attention to how the viewer
makes sense of these scenes and the cinematic world they are about to
enter. Including dozens of frame enlargements that illustrate the
strategies of opening scenes, Insdorf also examines how films explore
and sometimes critique the power of the camera's gaze. Along with
analyses of opening scenes, the book offers a series of revelatory and
surprising readings of individual films by some of the leading directors
of the past seventy-five years. Erudite but accessible, Cinematic
Overtures will lead film scholars and ardent movie fans alike to
greater attentiveness to those fleeting opening moments.
