Touch of Evil Opening Shot

A detailed Summary of Touch of Evil Opening Shot

In the opening shot of Touch of Evil, Orson Welles is able to create tension and suspense by effectively using the off frame aspect of the mise-en-scene. By allowing the scene to move outside the focus of action, at particularly untimely moments, Welles places the audience in short but effective moments of unresolved tension and suspense, effectively luring the spectator psychologically further into the opening shot and the rest of the film.

At the very beginning of Touch of Evil, the scene begins with the bomb. The bomb is a main focus of the entire first shot. It will never leave the spectators memory. The audience sees someone activate the bomb, then suddenly, after a woman laughs, the camera swings away showing a couple walking. The scene continues as the man with the bomb moves outside the frame. At this moment, the camera is moved to slightly follow just behind the man with the bomb. We see shadows, but he is not allowed back into the frame. This short moment creates the foundation of the rest of the opening continuous shot. The audience gets its first sense of tension at the very second the bomb moves outside the frame. "Where's the bomb going? Follow him!"

Before long, the man is back in the scene placing the bomb in

Orson Welles was a master at effectively using the off frame aspect of mise-en-scene in order to psychologically affect his audience. The bomb was purposely let to escape the spectator in order to create the suspense Orson Welles wanted the audience to experience. He used the off-frame technique to further emphasize the danger and evil of the bomb in the car, and to very precisely leave us unresolved and anxious. The brief moments of this unresolved tension lured the audience further and further into the film, setting up the perfect beginning and foundation to this classis film noir.

The amazing three-minute shot that starts the film is actually a good insight into the theme of the rest of Touch of Evil. Like the relationship between the bomb and the spectator, the Vargas's, throughout the entire film are separated, reunited, and separated again, finally being reunited at the very end. Does the audience feel tense when the Vargas's are separated? Yes.

Towards the end of the continuous shot the car again is stopped, this time by a border officer. The Vargas's also arrive at the same time on the scene. The cameras attention shifts a few times between the Vargas's and the car. It's on the car one second, and in the next, the camera moves to Mr. and Mr. Vargas and their conversation with the guards. Eventually the car is let to pass through, and once again we are left with the two

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies