Comparing Casino Royale's opening scene to the title sequence of LA Confidential.

                                                   

Casino Royale's opening scene

The genre of this scene is thriller but also action and crime.
The camera work uses a range of different shots such as the 'dutch-tilt' used during the establishing shot of the building,this gives the impression of disorientation and establishes the scene is going to be mysterious. There was also a use of a wide shot at the start to establish the scene, along with the words 'Prague, Czech Republic' fading in.
The mis-en-scene reminds me of film noir. By using a black and white effect along with the low key lighting it creates an eerie and mysterious ambiance that immediately tells the viewer this film will have a thriller element to it.
The costumes of each character,the villain wearing a large black coat reflective of villainous characters such as Dracula and many other characters from simple films mainly Disney. Having Bond in a suit shows his grand status and importance within the film.
Having the mirror on the wall for Dryden look into and see the reflection of Bond is hugely effective in adding the mystery to Bond, the first sight of him is not in the real view but in the reflection, giving him a slight hidden nature within the scene.
Even the set adds to Bonds mysteriousness, by having him already at the apartment, which the audience were following Dryden into, it gives the audience the impression that he must be this amazing and intriguing man whom can figure anyone/anything out quickly.
The sound in the scene greatly enhances the anticipation the audience feel, by not only adding a low ongoing not to create a creepy atmosphere, the sound technicians have also left in the sounds of footsteps, the car door closing, the lift and Dryden opening and closing the apartment door to immerse the audience in the scene, and give a depth to the shots.



LA Confidential title sequence

The genre of this film is another crime thriller full of suspense and mystery, it takes conventions from film noir but is also shows a classic thriller film nature.
The camera work uses shots from both t.v and home videos to join the images to the narration and also create a sense of comfort.
The mis-en-scene presents a t.v advert style film, by dipping in and out of colour, the cinematographers are able to keep the idea of how the media presents L.A in comparison to how it really is. The black and white gives a sense of old home videos giving the audience something to relate to.
The narrative is first perceived to be an advert for L.A- "come to Los Angeles"- this is later turned around when the narrator says " That's what they tell ya anyway..", immediately the narrative shifts to someone who you feel is telling the 'real' truth about L.A- this allows the narrator to move onto the bad side of the film, the main character Mickey Cohen. The key themes of this film are corruption, deceit and above all mystery.


Similarities/Difference

There are two main similarities between these scenes. 
The first one is that they are both shot in the style of film noir which gives each film a defined sense of mystery within the crimes. The nature and conventions of film noir allow these films to establish the genre, almost all film noir pieces are crime, and to add a defining sense of mystery using the black and white. The second is that both opening scenes use wide shots to establish scene- this is extremely common in films and is often followed by a close-up shot. The main difference the two films is the narration on the second one explains each character in detail whereas the first film relies on mis-en-scene and the audiences intuition.