Famous Thriller Openings (Blue Velvet and Jaws)

Before my group and I started working towards writing the beginning of our thriller opening we thought it would be fitting to take a look at some of the great thriller openings and why movie openings are important to setting the tone for the rest of the movie. I decided to look at movie openings from movies that spanned between 1960-2010, looking at a movie each from the various decades.

There were two movie openings that particularly stood out to me. The first was from Auteur David Lynch's Mystery Thriller 'Blue Velvet.' Blue Velvet is my personal favourite movie by David Lynch, it follows a vigilante detective played by Kyle MacLachlan on a strange trail of clues trying to help an exotic torch singer played by Isabella Rossellini get her family back who are being held captive by the perverted criminal Frank Booth, who is brought to life expertly by Dennis Hopper.

The opening depicts a seemingly perfect town in America with flowers present and children safely crossing the road, the song 'Blue Velvet' which is sung in the movie by Isabella Rossellini is present in the background. The song is very calm and pretty and seems to set a very positive tone for the movie. The opening then goes onto show an elderly man watering the garden. The 'heavenly' tone of the opening created by the music and the visuals are suddenly forgotten as the man begins to keel over and have a heart attack whilst his dog and child watch on helplessly. This opening is very successful in setting the tone for the rest of the movie as it prepares us for the surrealism present within the movie as well as the element of suprise which is utilised so effectively throughout the whole of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDEzzFtrCTs

The next opening that stood out to me was a more famous one. This would be the opening of Steven Speilberg's 'Jaws.' Jaws is a movie that needs no introduction, the original 'blockbuster' shocked viewers all around the world with its frantic yet thrilling opening. The films opens on a beach in an unnamed town where a teenage beach party is taking place. A boy flirtatiously chases a girl across the beach to the sea where they both begin to undress in order to skinny dip, however the boy who appears to be intoxicated falls over and falls asleep before he is able to get into the water. The female, who is called Chrissie, does not notice the absence of the boy until she has swum far into the water. Approaching shots are then shown of Chrissie from below the water until Chrissie is savagely attacked by the shark who is not pictured within the scene. Within the opening of this famous movie it is made easy to see why Jaws won the Oscar for Best Original Score and Best Sound Mixing, as sound is used so effectively within this scene, as well as the rest of the movie, to create tension and suspense. The famous 'Jaws' music is present whilst the shark stalks Chrissie from underwater and it is successful in creating the tense atmosphere present throughout the whole of the movie and create such a stunning opening to the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrEvK-tv5OI