My Chosen Film Opening.

I chose to use the opening of the film 'The Prestige' because it's one of my favourite films and when I first saw the opening of it, I was instantly captured by the story. The audience is shown a variety of characters straight away, with no explanation as to how they relate to one another. For example, Michael Cane's character and the little girl seem to have no relation to Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale's characters. This is just one technique used in order to draw the audience into the film.

Another element that builds dramatic tension is the contrast between the two different events occuring. The audience sees one successful trick, a very light-hearted, simple trick done by an older man to entertain a child. The audience are also shown a trick being done on a much larger scale, with much panic and confusion, as it cannot be sure whether the man claiming to be part of the trick is telling the truth or not. (Another minor detail which creates an impact on the audience is the short time of silence when the magician falls under the stage. This too builds the dramatic tension.)

The fact that the audience does not get shown whether or not the magician survives or if he completes his trick plays a huge part in the attraction of this film. The opening also causes the audience to ask many questions (such as why does the magician need blind stage-hands?). All of these aspects of the opening together, culminate in a very compelling opening to a great film, making the viewer desperate to know what's really going on with the strange mix of characters and situations.