Thriller film opening analysis: Taking of Pelham 123

In this thriller film opening clip from the film, Taking of Pelham 123, an interpretation of the meaning are constructed through the use of the four micro-elements: camerawork, sound, mis-en-scene and editing. A recurring theme seems to be the impending doom as the group of men in the offices does not know the plans of the four other men.

In the opening the choice of soundtrack as the credits are shown gives the audience the feeling discomfort. A short train honk can also be heard, which briefly suggests that trains may play a large part in the narrative of this film. Editing of the credits with the black strip in the centre of the shot moving in slow motion as it passes the text builds up the tension and ominousness. Furthermore the skyline of New york city can be seen in the background as the credit is played. As the empire state is shown, this provides an overview of the setting in this film being New York city or United States of America. This empire state building is symbolic of NY and USA which the audience is expected to know as part of their general knowledge. This is followed by a sudden change in soundtrack and the speed of the objects increases. The non-diegetic upbeat music along with fast forward high angle shots of objects moving in New York city connotes the busy environment of the city and the large amount of people. This could later contribute to impending doom which may affect many people.

^

The background of Movie title shows the fast movement of the train. A reinforcement of association with trains/subway is shown here.

An eye level shot showing a large group of people moving can then be seen which again contributes to the idea of a busy city and chaos. A slow motion close-up shot of a man walking pass the camera. He has tattoo on his neck, he is dressed in dark coloured jacket, a black beanie and sunglasses. The use of the gun tattoo and the choice of black clothing has connotations of the man being an antagonist. The importance of this man is shown by the slow motion shot which differs from the previous shot of fast movements, as well as the music tempo changing with the rhythm of the man walking pass the camera. A shot of a duffle bag followed by a clip of 3 other men. The first man is wearing a black suit with an MTA badge, sunglasses and hat. The second man is bald and wears a white and blue jacket. As for the third man, only his back can be seen,  from this the audience can see that he is wearing a black cap, sunglasses and a khaki coloured coat. The audience come to a realisation of a link between the 4 men from the clothing they wear and the colour represented. As it shows a sense of secrecy. This is reinforced by the duffle bag as it is commonly seen in other films to be carrying weapons, drugs or money. A connection between the three men can be seen, as all three are heading towards or is at the subway. 

A setting of the office is then shown by a panning shot. The audience can immediately acknowledge that it is an office from the diegetic sound of the phone ringing and men walking wearing buttoned shirts which instantly shows a contrast of clothing between the 4 precious men and the people in the office. A medium shot of two men (Denzel Washington and Ramón Rodríguez) having a conversation is then shown. The mis-en-scene shows an outer shell of their personality, the man on the left is seen wearing a brown vest and a tissue bib, this suggests that he is more uptight and older as the other man its wearing a light coloured shirt with is tie loose which shows that he is a more laid back.

This is followed by a constant fast shift of music playing and pausing as the scene alternates between a train running infront of the camera, the office and a shot of the men dressed in dark colours. Several numbers and graphs are said by people who are in the office along with the shots of the dark dressed men looking at a watch repetitively which may suggest that time is very important to all the characters.