The Great Gatsby Opening Scene Analysis
Analyse the Significance of the opening scenes in the film you have studied
The opening scenes in the film The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrman are captivating and as a result hook the audience completely into the film. They do this by introducing the stark contrasts between 1929 in the sanatorium to New York in 1922. They also begin to develop the characters of Nick and Gatsby. Finally the first two scenes introduce some of the main themes and symbols that reoccur throughout the film.
The first scene starts with old, early 1920s music playing to set the time of the film. ON screen we see the logos shift from grey to gold, which could symbolise the change in prosperity during the 1920’s (also known as the roaring 20’s). The scene begins with a long shot, allowing for us to get a feel for the general gloomy and depressing mood that is sent throughout the whole scene. It does this by showing a dark, foggy shot while it is snowing. This is pathetic fallacy and it helps to set the dark, depressing mood of the scene. As the camera zooms in we see a big, dark and sinister looking building called Perkins Sanatorium. As we enter the sanatorium we hear Nick saying, “I always try to see the best in people, but even …show more content…
He also effectively uses them to create interest in the film. If this was not enough he also introduces the symbol of the green light and the themes of hope and mystery to the film. While his film techniques make us start asking questions such as what happened to Nick, the themes that are introduced hook the viewer into the film so securely that the viewer cannot help but watch until the mystery of Gatsby is solved. I think that as a result of this the two opening scenes of The Great Gatsby are extremely important to the whole film due to the masterful manner in which they hook the audience into the film and do not let them
The opening scenes in the film The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrman are captivating and as a result hook the audience completely into the film. They do this by introducing the stark contrasts between 1929 in the sanatorium to New York in 1922. They also begin to develop the characters of Nick and Gatsby. Finally the first two scenes introduce some of the main themes and symbols that reoccur throughout the film.
The first scene starts with old, early 1920s music playing to set the time of the film. ON screen we see the logos shift from grey to gold, which could symbolise the change in prosperity during the 1920’s (also known as the roaring 20’s). The scene begins with a long shot, allowing for us to get a feel for the general gloomy and depressing mood that is sent throughout the whole scene. It does this by showing a dark, foggy shot while it is snowing. This is pathetic fallacy and it helps to set the dark, depressing mood of the scene. As the camera zooms in we see a big, dark and sinister looking building called Perkins Sanatorium. As we enter the sanatorium we hear Nick saying, “I always try to see the best in people, but even …show more content…
He also effectively uses them to create interest in the film. If this was not enough he also introduces the symbol of the green light and the themes of hope and mystery to the film. While his film techniques make us start asking questions such as what happened to Nick, the themes that are introduced hook the viewer into the film so securely that the viewer cannot help but watch until the mystery of Gatsby is solved. I think that as a result of this the two opening scenes of The Great Gatsby are extremely important to the whole film due to the masterful manner in which they hook the audience into the film and do not let them