Opening scenes to 'Once Upon A Time In America' - Case Study

Film title: Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Director: Sergio Leone
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller

Plot: A tale of New York from the period of the early 1900's through prohibition, and climaxing in their subsequent reunion in the 1960's. Loyal child friends enter a life of crime together that inevitably leads to tragedy.

Reviews:
 '' A profound expression of truth regarding friendship and betrayal'' - Robert Cartland, Los Angeles (2000)





  The movie begins with opening credits, during this the song ''God Bless America'' quietly fades in. By doing this Sergio Leone is portraying irony as the song depicts America as being a peaceful, justified and all round perfect place to live. However, just after the song is played Sergio Leone leads us to the killing of Eve by some corrupt cops. This shows us that Leone is trying to communicate his views on the real America by introducing what people want to believe and then contrasting it with a more authentic and negative interpretation. The use of this could also be seen as an inter textual reference to Drama/War film 'The Deer Hunter', where by characters sing a rendition of the song at their friends funeral. This interpretation of 'God Bless America' is also used in an ironic context linked to the tragedy in the film.
    
  Furthermore, the sound of footsteps can also be heard in the opening credits getting louder and louder this then proceeds to the noise of a door being unlocked and opened. The benefit of these sounds being inserted into the opening credits is that it creates tension and makes the audience wonder who is coming through the door as they are not yet visible. Once the opening credits have finished we are introduced to a dark figure in the doorway, this is a good example of chiaroscuro lighting, a frequently used element in noir films. Chiaroscuro lighting inflicts mystery, particularly in this part of the movie as we still don't know who the character is yet, aswell as this the noir lighting establishes the genre as it is frequently used in classic

thrillers. 
  As the scene continues light is shed on the character's face in a close-up shot, this type of shot is effective as it allows the audience to identify the character's emotions. We can then establish that Eve is the femme fatale due to her pretty face, glamorous hair and pearl necklace (which also symbolizes teardrops) Whilst the background of Eve shows that she is deviant due to her relationship with gang member Noodles.

  Eve proceeds to turn on a lamp in the room, brightening the setting up. Sergio Leone may have used this non-ambient lighting to further establish the noir lighting as the unnatural light source is commonly used in the thriller genre i.e street lights, flashlights, etc, this is as it can be used at night or in dark places to show that the character is vulnerable. The camera is still focused as a close-up shot on Eve, however, the change of tone brought on by lighting connotes even more that Eve is the femme fatale as the shade of light carries out across her person and further highlights her elegance.

As Eve lifts up the covers she discovers bullet holes outlining the shape of a body in her bed. This refers to when a line is drawn around the body after a death, usually within cases developed by the police. Therefore, this sign is an indication of danger as the warning suggests that the outline will be where the dead body of Eve may lie. In addition to this,  the camera moves in order to portray a high angle shot. This is significant as it indicates that Eve is much more vulnerable.

This shot contains three corrupt policemen. We can infer the the three men are corrupt officers as the main officer is holding a gun, this shows that the men are going in with an  unorthodox approach by intimidating Eve and threatening death upon her, as apposed to just questioning her. This further highlights the ironic portrayal of America as it sees policemen whose jobs are to enforce the law and safety of citizens completely breaching this order and using their own unlawful methods. Sergio Leone also establishes the thriller genre in this scene through the costumes that the policemen are wearing i.e. long trench coats and trilby hats. This is as garments like this were very typical for men throughout classic noir thrillers. For example, Harry Lime in 'The Third Man'.

This shot further expresses the amount that the corrupt policemen are intimidating Eve. This is as their positions are trapping her in a claustrophobic place and therefore connoting that she will not be able to escape. The contrasts of lighting and tone in this shot particularly highlight the divide between the powerful and the helpless. The darker clothing and longer range from the light source shows the policemen as being more iniquitous, where as Eve's clothing blends with the lamp and she is a lot closer to the light source. Therefore, she could be perceived as the more hopeless character due to her brighter image.

Furthermore, in this shot we are left with an out of focus shot of Eve whilst the cops surround her in the background. Sergio Leone represents the tradition of the femme fatale in the way that Eve's deviance i.e being in a relationship with a gang member, has lead to her deadly fate. Also, the cops are perfectly framed in the archway,  suggesting that they are all involved in this murder together. Maybe to insinuate that no matter who killed Eve they are all responsible.