Kiss Me Deadly (Aldrich, 1955, US)

The title of the film is presented in a large, bold white font which is simple and plain, not giving anything away. The letters appear to have a faded grey haze around them, giving a ghostly feel. The fact that the letters are in capitals and the title itself takes up most of the frame makes it appear striking. The title is scrolling diagonally downwards which is unusual as normally in a film, if credits were scrolling, they would be going upwards. The fact that the creators have chosen to present the credits downwards goes against the typical technique of credits scrolling upwards, implying that the film is unusual and peculiar. The title of the film is called 'Kiss Me Deadly', however in the credits it is wrote as 'Deadly Kiss Me'. The words have been rearranged, having the word 'Deadly' in front instead of behind. It flows with the downwards scrolling because it is as if we are reading it from bottom to top. This could suggest that the film is quite mind puzzling.

The setting is revealed in the first shot when the women is running. It is a mid shot of her feet. We can see she is running on a road because of the familiar white stripes that separate the sides on the road. It is dark meaning the time of filming was late at night. Because there are no street lights we are unable to see further in the distance, this makes the location feel unsafe. Besides the road is grass and hills, suggesting to us viewers that it may be set in the countryside. The road most probably goes on for a while which makes us ask where has she come from or how long has she been running for. The fact that there are often cars passing by and headlights visible make the set look realistic.

The women is wearing a trench coat which in the 1950's, was part of some sort of uniform which makes us wonder where she had got it from. We can see she is wearing no shoes and there appears to be nothing underneath her coat, this makes her seem venerable also we wonder why she is dressed like this and has she possibly escaped from somewhere. This choice of costume was done for a reason but at this point it is not clear to us, which being part of a thriller convention, leaves us curious and wanting to find out more. The male character appears to be wearing a suit underneath his coat, suggesting that he is possibly a successful business man, reinforcing this is his car which would be the type that is owned by a higher class in that period of time.

The film is in black and white, reason being because in the 1950's, they had not yet discovered the technology for coloured films. We are shown a variety of short, fast shots of the women running, first shot being a low mid shot of the women's feet allowing us to see the fast speed in which she is running, secondly a mid shot of her face and then finally a shot from further back allowing us to see her full body, by doing this it emphasises her eratic movements. The effect this has on the audience is that it keeps us on edge and adds more energy to the scene. Another interesting use of camera work is when the opening credits are rolling and they are in the car. The shot is from behind their heads and the camera movement is jagged following the movement of the car.

The sound is used to make the scene feel more dramatic, for example when she is running trumpets are used to emphasis her eagerness and her determination. When she stops the music also stops and when she continues to run it follows with her. This alerts us and draws our attention into the film. We can hear a radio backtrack in the mans car making it seem more realistic. The fact that the chosen music is a piano playing subtly in the background influences our opinion on the character, making him seem classy and sophisticated which links to his appearance. The choice of dialogue also relates to this personality as the first line he says to the women is "You almost recked my car" suggesting that he is stuck up and rich, only caring about himself. During the credits, we can hear the women heavily breathing which suggests that she had been running for a while. However if you listen carefully to the way she is breathing, it almost sounds like she is expressing mixed emotions - laughing, breathing and crying. This seems strange and suggests that she is unstable or has problems mentally.

This opening sequence suggests its a thriller because it gives us loads of unanswered questions which makes us want to carry on watching to find out. One example of an unanswered question would be when the man asks "Whats this all about?", the women ignores his question, making the audience more curious. This also reflects the conventions of a thriller holding information in for a long period of time, so we have to watch the whole film to find everything out, although we are given lots of little clues. There are other parts of the opening that give away the genre such as the backwards titles that relate to the fact that thrillers are puzzling and the heavy breathing which makes the scene feel more frantic and dramatic. There are certain ways in which the characters act that suggest a thriller genre such as when the man looks back at the police, showing suspicion and not giving her in suggesting that he may be a bad guy himself and the fact that the women doesn't give away anything. It draws us in and leaves us curious which is the main convention of a thriller.