Gladiator analysis - opening sequence

Gladiator

Cinematography

While watching the opening sequence of Gladiator I analysed the cinematography as well as sound. The beginning of the film opens up with a extreme close-up of a mans hand while the focus is clearly on a wedding ring on his finger. The mans hand is running through what looks like a grassy field.  The camera moves along with the mans hand in the grass. This is therefore a tracking shot. The effect of this shot is that it brings us with the character and makes us as an audience wonder why we aren't seeing his face or who is he and what is his relevance to the film. This is therefore an enigma code and hence makes us want to watch on.

The second shot in the film is a medium shot of Russell Crowe looking down at the ground. This could suggest that he's thinking. The medium shot also allows us as an audience to pick up on his costume and hence the referential codes of the film. The fact that this shot is also the first shot of a character in the film just goes to show that Russell Crowe's character is significant to the narrative.

There is an establishing shot of the whole location named "Germania" and this is an extreme long shot which clearly shows the full extremities of the battlefield in which the battle between the Romans and the Barbarians is taking place. The effect of this shot is that is clearly identifies the location in which the characters have been positioned in and hence helps you as the audience to put the whole narrative into perspective. After this establishing shot of the location there is then another establishing long shot of the armies that are preparing for battle. The camera movement of this is a crane shot and this shot moves above the battleground. The effect of this whole shot and camera movement is that it emphasises the theme of war and bloodshed in the film as well as the fight that is looming.

Ridley Scott the director of Gladiator frequently chooses to cut to a medium shot of an old man standing in front of his army. The old man is seen to have a concerned look on his face and every time the camera cuts to him the zoom gets closer to him. The reasoning that Scott has chosen to use these shots frequently is possibly because it suggests he has a key role to the narrative and that he has a bigger part to play relating to the opening sequence during the course of the movie.

Sound 

While watching the opening sequence of Gladiator I chose to analyse the use of sound. In the very opening shot non-diegetic sound is used when the mans hand runs through strands of grass in the field. The non-diegetic music layered on top of the shot sounds very mysterious and eerie. This yet again adds to the enigma of the mystery as to what this shot is all about. The non-diegetic sound also makes it seem like you are in a dream world and that the hand is only a dream. This idea is made to seem more realistic as the opening shot of Russell Crowe is him looking down with his eyes shut and then him looking up. This could suggest that he is waking up from a dream.

When Russell Crowe's character is seen talking to his men giving them advice and a morale boost for the upcoming battle there is a non-diegetic trumpet sound as he is talking. The effect of this is that a trumpet can often be associated with victory and positivity. This therefore could suggest that Crowe's character connotes victory and that he can be seen as a token of good luck. This non-diegetic music could also suggest that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that there is good to come.

There is a tense/victory sounding non-diegetic music as well as the ambient sound of fighting during the establishing long shot of the battlefield location. This all adds to the mise-en-scene of the shot because it shows the fear of war and the intensity of fighting which helps the audience to understand the feelings the characters are going through. It also helps to create drama which keeps the audience engaged. The non-diegetic sound of victory music also helps to show that there is hope out there. This gives the audience some hope that the narrative can keep moving forward while entertaining them at the same time.  The ambient sound of fighting and human movements also adds life to the film which makes the shot seem more realistic and dramatic.