The Silence of the Lambs Opening Sequence In Depth Analysis

Film: The Silence of the Lambs
Director: Jonathan Demme
Year: 1991


(This was the only version of the clip I could find. Annoyingly it is back to front to avoid copyright issues, however, the clip is still useable and will be incredibly helpful to me when I eventually create my own opening sequence)
0:00-2:30

Sound
A non-diegetic string score is also used in this film, although most of the tension comes from the two differently pitched melodies at the beginning that create a rather haunting and unnerving atmosphere. The second half of the clip has three different melodies that create the tension, and the long quavering notes of the higher pitched strings hold on just long enough to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

The ambient diegetic noises of the bird of prey, the small birds tweeting, the crickets and the footsteps on the leaves are also used to create an atmosphere.The contrast between the predator and the prey of the two birds links in with one of the themes of the movie although this is not immediately obvious. The combination of all four sounds makes the female character, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) appear to be incredibly isolated and vulnerable. This is in keeping with the female stereotype, something that the film initially uses to eventually discount the stereotype.

Camerawork
The very first shot of the film is an establishing shot in a forest, the camera stays like this for a short while before tracking and tilting to allow the audience to see down a hill. This long and slow take creates an eerie atmosphere as it allows us to focus upon the mise-en-scène.

Overall, a lot of the clip is tracking. This includes a mixture of rear tracks, frontal tracks and side tracks to add to the momentum of Clarice's run. This quickens the pace of the clip a bit and also makes the audience question why she is running. The side tracks of her running are of particular interest to me, as this is the type of shot that I am planning to use in my thriller and it is good for me to be able to see something similar to what I plan to create being in such a critically acclaimed thriller.

Editing
Most of the takes in this opening are incredibly long, with the first shot taking up 1 minute and the second taking up 20 seconds. These create a slower pace to the opening for the opening segment, but when the clips shrink to around 5-7 seconds the speed increases with the momentum created by the tracking. By including Clarice in all of the shots it is clear that she is the protagonist of the film as she controls all of the edits.

As with 'Memento', all of the cuts are very simple and very blunt. This adds to the tense atmosphere created by the other codes and conventions.

Mise-en-scène
The location of the forest is incredibly important to the tension. Forests are stereotypicall associated with isolation, murder and horror especially foggy forests during Autumn. This perfectly captures the creepy atmosphere of the film and sets the audience on edge due to its naturally creepy nature.

Clarice's costume and actions are incredibly interesting. Normally, the audience would expect to see a female charcter in either a white dress or a skirt running for their lives through the creepy forest as that would fit into the stereotype of women, however, Clarice is in jogging bottoms and a jumper training. This completely goes against the stereotype and this is something that recurs throughout the film as it represents Clarice's struggle in a male dominated profession. By introducing Clarice in this way, it is obvious to the audience that she is a complex character who will be interesting to watch.

Titles
The titles in this opening sequence are incredibly simple, just like in 'Memento', although in this film they are black with a white stroke and are sans serif. This makes them stand out against the background, allowing them to be easily read and understood. The sans serif font and large sizing is also used for this reason. The black and white suggests a battle between good and evil through the connotations of the colours but it also suggests good and evil working in harmony through the idea of Yin and Yang.