The three film openings compared - The Dark Knight, Star Wars, and Skyfall - all use action sequences and suspenseful music to engage audiences. They introduce heroes, villains, and high stakes situations through these set pieces. While different genres, each draws viewers in visually and establishes protagonists and antagonists. Similarities include gripping action openings and contrasting heroes from villains through costumes, while each film's style suits its genre.

1. The opening of these three films all make use of different narrative choices and stylistic codes
to produce their opening scenes.
The dark Knight opening
The opening to the dark knight is one of the most impressive film openings of all time. It is often
compared to be a short film, being a short five minuet filmabout a gang committing a daring
heist at a Gotham city bank. Every moment of the sequence is exhilarating and captivating.
Each characters face is hidden by a scary clown mask, showing that each of the robbers is not
integral to the plot, since you never even see their face, and as each robber is picked off one by
one, we finally get the revival of the joker, who in a short space of time is established as the
films central villain and a menacing evil to be reckoned with. The audience is immediately
thrown into the action, with a scene that shows a wide shot of the location, which is Gotham
but could easily just be a generic US city, and a huge bank that is robbed at gun point by
villainous clowns. Every moment is captivating and detailed, with quick cuts that keep you in
the action and right alongside the robbers as they commit the daring heist.
There is no hero's journey in this opening scene but is instead used to introduce the audience
to heath ledgers joker, who would soon become an iconic legend. It does a perfect job of
introducing the villain and making for an explosive and immersive opening sequence. A three-
act structure still exists within the sequence, beginning by showing the robbers arrive at the
bank in different ways, having small talk about the joker, introducing him as the villain without
even showing him. The robbers then begin their task of the heist and rob the bank and it
reaches a climax and conclusion ending with the heist and the joker leaving with all of the cash.
The sequence is structured simply, with a clear-cut beginning, middle and end. The story moves
fast, but still moves forward the overall plot of the filmforward.
The sound used is very tense and keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats.
The opening uses a liner story, in which it follows one single story that runs throughout the
entire scene which ends open to the story followed by the rest of the film. The opening makes a
small use of exposition, by having the gang members discuss the joker during the start of the
robbery in order to give the audience information regarding the character. There is use of levi
Strauss polar opposites seen in batman and the joker, who are complete opposites of one
another, batman preaching for order and the joker sparking chaos.
The close shot of the joker revialing himself to the audience captures the ecence of evil in his
face, showing in detail his makeup and scars. This close shot is very important in demonstrating
who the villain is.

2. Star Wars opening
The opening of the original Star Wars filmwas a huge shock to audiences do how revolutionary
the practical events where and just the sheer scale of what was being put to screen. This is a
huge example of exposition, with the film's opening crawl explaining lots of details to help
move the plot forward quickly. This includes giving details of the heroes are and who the villains
are. The opening shot of space and then a huge battle between two starships immediately
throws the audience into the action. The smaller ship is immediately recognized as the
underdogs and the hero faction, whereas the larger more dominant ship is obviously the
villains. This opening was unlike anything ever seen before in cinema and really brought a wow
factor to the audience.
The three-act structure of the opening sequence introduces our heroes, has them cast into
jeopardy when their ship is boarded by the villains and then their final escape. We also see a
hero's journey in this sequence, with the hero's introduced as C3PO and R2D2, two droids who
are given some crucial information to get back to the hero's base. This is a perfect example of
the hero's journey used in the opening to the film. There is also use of the opposites, with the
princess being shown in all white, which is a pure color that can be used to represent good and
then darth Vader in all black which represents him as evil and villainous. The music is loud and
dramatic and some of the most famous filmmusic in history.
There is great use of genre representation, with it immediately obvious that this is a sci-fi film,
and it its own right a space opera, with the setting of star ships and outer space, the use of
droids and also soldiers armed with futuristic looking outfits and laser weaponry.
The stunning visuals of the opening make for an immersive experience, that at the time was out
of this world, and like nothing ever put to screens before. The practical effects 8used where
detailed and stunning, and the camera work during the opening laser battle brought you
directly into the action, and it felt as if you were part of the battle. The contrast of white against
dark portrayed exactly who the heroes and villains where. Darth Vader contrasted against the
princess, because his costume was all black whereas hers was white. The empire thought they
were the heroes and saw the rebels as the villains, possibly why they inverted expectations by
dressing the empires stormtroopers in white and the rebel's soldiers in dark blue and black,
opposing the colours that would usually represent their sides.

3. Skyfall opening
The openings to James bond films are notorious. The action sequence at the beginning of the
film is something the audience expects to come with a James bond film, but also with a spy
action thriller in general. The film's opening is exiting and grabs the viewers' attention from the
outset. The music is fast paced and exciting, and then in the credits they use Adele's Skyfall,
which is classic bond music and sets the tone for the film well.
The opening scene of Skyfall unravels an indication towards the genre of the film. The scene
starts off with dim lighting and a dark building with James bond shown, before we then thrown
into a huge action sequence including a car chase and race across a train, all crucial to a crime
and spy thriller film, this suggests the genre that it fits into.
The scene is extremely suspenseful and works well with the expectations of the target
audience, who want engaging action from the outset.
The stylistic codes used within this opening give the filman overall stylish and clean finish, with
snappy and smooth editing techniques such as fast cuts and lots of close shots bring the
audience right into the action. The camera techniques also use lots of overhead shots to show
the landscape in which it is being filmed, creating an impressive and immersive atmosphere.
The setting of the scene is very important, and the beautiful landscape contrasts agsint rhe
action that is demonstrated, and the scenery of the location fits in to the action, with the train
being a huge set piece used in the sequence.

4. Comparison
Each of the films are now part of larger franchises that are recognizable classics within their
genre. All three standing out of their genres as instant classics, this is down to many significant
features of the films, being their characters, plot points, cinematography and visual effects.
At its time Star Wars was seen as a visual masterpiece and certainly the best of its time. The
opening sequence was stunning and technologically amazing for its time. This was made before
the time of computer-generated imagery, so the all the effects used where practical. The film
received praise for its large-scale set pieces and use of practical effects. The Dark Knight and
Skyfall have both been released in the modern age, although both made use of practical sets to
make the action more immersive. Overuse of CGI is often slated, this is particularly apparent in
the Star Wars prequel series in which the majority of the filmmade use of CGI. The train seen at
the start of Skyfall was real, and a large production team was used to ensure this seen was
carried out safely and correctly.
The start of the Dark Knight and Star Wars both introduce their main villains. By doing so this
helps to capture the audience attention by gaining their excitement and interest from the
outset. Both of these filmvillains have since become some of the most recognizable villains in
cinematic history. These are important narrative devices that help to forward the plot and
convey menace to the audience capturing their attention. Although both films contrast due to
their difference in genre, both films draw similarities due to the way they have their central

5. villains make a dramatic entrance, with the joker revealing himself as one of the robbers, saying
the instantly classic line ‘whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you, stranger’. And then darth
Vader's intimidating entrance aboard the rebel ship, although there is no dialogue, a menacing
theme song plays, and his classic breathing sounds can be heard. Both villains are extremely
recognizable in their appearance, Darth Vader dressed in an all-black robotic suit, contrasting
against the white walls of the rebel ship, making it obvious he is the villain and they are the
heroes, without any context. The joker pulls back his mask to reveal the face of a clown, with
bad makeup resembling a new incarnation of the classic character. It is already known he is the
villain, but this is the first time he speaks in the film, and immediately makes a psychotic and
scary mark on the audience. Skyfall takes a different approach, giving little detail or establishing
any new characters, but instead throws the audience directly into the action
When drawing a comparison between these film openings there is a lot of similarities and some
differences when looking at their narrative styles and choices. Each of these films includes
action, and their openings draw in the attentions of their audience by presenting a large action
sequence to outstand and amaze the audience. Although each film sits within a different genre,
with the dark knight being a superhero drama, Star Wars being a large-scale space opera and
Skyfall being a spy thriller, but they all use elements of action to capture the viewers attentions.
Each films opening is dark in tone and involves a high stakes event, the dark knight being an
intense bank heist, Star Wars introducing the main villain and having some of the main heroes
escape just in the nick of time and Skyfall follows an intense action sequence and chase across a
large landscape, and ends with bond getting shot. These are all exiting sequences that have
over the top action and very high stakes.
The dark knight makes use of tense music to build suspense throughout the scene, as does the
bond sequence, whereas Star Wars uses loud and theatrical music to create an immersive and
cinematic experience that fits in with the sci-fi themes of the film. The score of each opening
sequence is very important and significant to the plot and impact on the audience. John
Williams the composter of the score for Star Wars, and Hans Zimmer, the composer of the Dark
Knight are both very famous and instantly recognizable for their work on these films, also
Adeles song ‘Skyfall’ instantly became a hit and brought lots of attention to the film.
With little context other than Star Wars opening crawl and previous knowledge in the other
two films, each film uses action and costumes to let the audience know who the hero is and
who are the villains. Star Wars is the best example of this, because after having been told who

6. the empire and rebellions are, it is obvious that the large ship is the empire, chasing after the
tiny un underdog ship of the rebellion, and that’s before any characters are even seen. It is
apparent that James Bond is in fact the hero in skyfall due to the way the chase is showcased
and the appearance of the character, and in the dark knight it is made clear that the joker is the
villain and someone to be afraid off. Each filmis different in the way it shows their characters,
Star Wars introducing both the heroes and villains, skyfall just the hero, and the Dark knight just
the villains.
The main similarities between the three film openings is their ability to draw their audiences
directly into the action by making use of huge set pieces, high stakes, and suspenseful and
impactful music. They are all shot in a standard way, each using an establishing shot to dictate
the films location, before then making use of medium shots that include the characters to show
the action. Darth Vader's boarding party and the bank heist are certainly more claustrophobic
whereas the chase sequence in skyfall is a lot more open and reliant on the cinematic landscape
and daring chase across it to draw in the audience.
Conclusion
It is important to identify genre in film works and to make use of narrative and codes and
conventions. This helps the audience to identify with the films and have an understanding for
them. All three films have similarities and differences in their stylistic codes and choices in the
way they are presented by the directors.