No Country For Old Men Opening Analysis



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first couple of shots are establishing shots which all show  a rural landscape of Texas at dawn. The use of these shots introduces the spectator to the setting and shows them the landscape.  These shots are not still but there is no camera movement and there is no major movement within the shot. While these shots are being shown there is a voice over by Tommy Lee Jones who is one of the main characters within the film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The opening continues to show shots of the vast landscape in Texas with no camera movement. However, these shots have been taken after the sun has come out. The colours are slightly desaturated which I think was used to emphasise how dry the landscape and to represent the time that the film is set in. These shots are also establishing shots and they have been used to introduce the spectator to the setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first two shots are again establishing shots with no camera movement. The third and fourth screenshots are both taken from the shot. The camera pans from right to left which provides a smooth transition from the still establishing shots into the rest of the film. It is in this shot that we first see characters in the film. The shot shows a police officer walking a restrained man to his car. They are both positioned in the centre of the shot and we can see that there is no one around them for miles.

 

 

 

 

This shot shows the police officer placing an object used to kill cattle. This becomes a key prop later on in the film. This shot is used to foreshadow future events within the film.

 

This shot shows the police car driving away. It is the last shot of the rural landscape in the opening sequence.

 

In these two shots the police officer is the is the dominant aspect and Bardem’s character is the subsidiary contrast. This shot shows the police officer talking about his suspect while Bardem escapes from his handcuffs in the background.

 

The first shot here shows Bardem’s character walking towards the police officer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shot shows Bardem’s character killing the police officer by strangling him with his handcuffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next shot shows the two characters from behind. It shows Bardem’s character taking the police character to the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

The following shot shows the two characters on the ground. It shows the desperation of the police officer as he is being strangled by Bardem’s character. 

 

 

 These shots also show the police officer being strangled by Bardem’s character. These shots show the police officer struggling and fighting for his life. 

 

 

I think that this murder scene was used to shock the spectator right at the start of the film and to foreshadow other events that are yet to be seen.

 

 

These two screenshots are both taken from the same shot. The camera slowly moves up and zooms in onto Bardem’s face. Bardem’s face is very disturbing in this shot as it appears to the spectator as if Bardem’s character is getting a sense of enjoyment from murdering the police officer.

 

 

 

These two shots show Bardem’s character twisting his handcuffs so that they cut into the arteries in the neck of the police officer. A large amount of blood quickly spurts out from the neck of the police officer.

 

 

 

 

The last shot here is a close up of Bardem’s character. It shows his unflinchingly cold reaction to the murder he has just committed.








 

This shot shows a sink from above. It then shows Bardem’s character washing the blood of his hands. We can see in great detail the cuts on his wrists from the handcuffs he used to strangle the police officer. This has a profound effect on the spectator as it shows how much pain must have been inflicted on him in the process of him murdering the police officer.

The last shot shows the dead police officers feet and the marks on the floor from his shoes. This further represents the desperation of the police officer.