Vertigo (1989) opening credits and scene analysis

Vertigo goes straight into the opening credits throughout the credits there is tension building music. The music is to add suspense to the credits and give the film a mysterious and sinister atmosphere. This type of music and mystery are both common thriller signifiers. To add to the mysterious atmosphere there are extreme close ups of a woman’s face in black and white during the credits, however you never see the woman’s full face; this is to add a sense of mystery because the audience wants to know who she is and what relevance she has.

There is an extreme close up of the woman’s eye during the credits which widens abruptly as if she is shocked or scared and at the same time the shot has been edited to go a blood red which shows the connotation of danger. As this is happening the music becomes louder and faster to build more tension and keep the audience on the edge of there seat. The use of red to symbolise danger, violence, blood and death is commonly used in thriller genre films. There are many spirals that appear in the credits. Spirals are a common thriller signifier, and have been used many times before as they can show twists and turns, which many thriller films include in their narrative.

The opening shot of the first scene is an extreme close up of a man’s hands. Already, the audience in intrigued as they instantly want to know what he is doing and who he is. The opening scene is as whole consists of a man being chased by two policemen across high rooftops, this is important because it ‘hooks’ the audience from the very beginning of the film but going straight into an action scene, also the audience will be suspicious due to the fact the men are on rooftops and the film title ‘Vertigo’ (which links into the main character having a flaw which is a fear of heights). A police chase implies that the film is about crime which is a common sub-genre of thrillers.

The Mise-en-Scene of the opening scene is dark and gritty; the location is a urban city. This is a thriller signifier that is commonly used in the thriller genre. This helps give the film a thriller feel to it. The music during the opening scene of the chase is fast paced to help keep suspension and tension during the scene. Death is part of the opening scene in Vertigo; this adds to the sinister and dramatic feel of the film it also gives the audience and idea of what the rest of the film will be about. The opening scene is filmed at night and in the background in some shots you can see street lights. This shows a contrast between light and dark, this can sometimes symbolise good and evil; chiaroscuro lighting is a commonly used thriller signifier.

The narrative of the opening scene is shown through one of the policeman’s perspective. Putting what is happening in the perspective of a character is commonly used in thriller films to help the audience see what the character is seeing and feeling to understand the situation in the film and relate to the character. In the opening scene there is a plot twist; a policeman dies (people may not expect ‘good guys’ to die, and may be surprised by a death so early on in the film) this kind of plot twist is a major thriller signifier as they help add mystery to the film. There is a small cliff hanger at the end of the scene where the main character is left hanging from a rooftop, in a life threatening situation. This is effective at keeping the audience on the edge of their seats because they are left wondering what happens to him. Cliff hangers are also a common thriller signifier.

The entire opening scene is an all male cast. A predominantly male cast is a common thriller signifier. Also, the surviving male police officer turns out to be a hero with a flaw – a fear of heights. An important thriller signifier is a hero with a flaw. There is a male protagonist in the film and this is another thriller signifier.

Vertigo relates to our own thriller because they both create mystery in the opening scene, a death is involved in our opening scene, like in Vertigo. The use of tension building music is used in both thrillers, and finally the use of dark and bright lighting to cause a contrast of the two.