Thriller Analysis #2

Donnie Brasco -

Donnie Brasco is a Biopic crime thriller which tells the true story of Joseph D. Pistone, an undercover FBI agent. This thrillers intro is very interesting to the sub genre that it is within. We are first shown the credits on black background; the absence of colour immediately tells the audience where the movie is genre wise. A soft ballad plays with the first few credits, giving us a feel for the period the movie is set, but softly dies down into sombre violins playing as we are introduced to an extreme close-up of the protagonist’s eyes.

From the shifting eyes we are then led on to a montage of what looks like surveillance photographs of the mafia family going about the business, meetings , bars, burnt out cars. This montage is very important in setting the scene; it introduces the viewer to the location of the story and some of the characters going about there day.

Throughout the montage we still see small glimpses of close up’s of Donnie’s eyes and face, these shots bring us back to the main character and make us think about what he may be doing.

From the beginning of the sequence, opening with the credits on black background, there is very little colour. As the montage begins it is completely black and white, as it progresses the colour increases, and as the montage starts to come to an end the violins quieten, and we are shown more shots of the protagonists face as it fades into the real time of him sitting at a bar.

Throughout the opening sequence the credits are continuously rolling, including the majority of the main characters and production team, the credits then stop as the fade from photo to film begin.

There are two more bits of information to be seen during the after the credits, a date, to set the period, November 1978, as well as telling the audience ‘the following is based on a true story’ this line is introduced just as dialogue is 1^st heard nearby the protagonist. The absence of colour is used to great effect in the opening, slowly slivers of colour are added as the credits start to end and the film begins. Music is also key in the sequence, the melancholy violins playing over the montage helps to add a deeper meaning to the pictures we are seeing; they are showing us a story before the story. Over all, this intro is very fitting to the thriller theme, may not be what an audience is expecting to first see, but none the less is very interesting to watch and listen to.