This film has a very distinctive soundtrack that continuously plays through most of the opening scene. There are elements of it that completely changes the mood of the scene. The opening shot, an extreme closeup of a hand moving through a field, is accompanied by a peaceful, coral soundtrack. Linking this into elements of mise en scene, the idea of the man wearing a wedding ring really helps the audience understand how he's feeling and the fact that he has to leave his wife at home and not be able to see her again. To start the film like this, it makes the audience feel rather calm and relaxed. By doing this, the fight scene comes as more of a shock to them and is more impacting. The opening titles are even accompanied with this soundtrack, making the audience feel almost in a daydream but as the main title 'Gladiator' appears, the soundtrack slightly changes, bringing the audience back down to reality. Linking this part into the film, it has the same tempo as some of the fight scenes but then the sound then changes again to highlight an element of peace whilst the field scene is shown.
Diegetic sound is used to its maximum in this opening scene. The sound of men shouting is one of the main noises that can be heard but there is also the sound of the dog whining/crying before the fight commences. Most of the sounds in this sequence are very exaggerated. Pleonastic sounds are used to emphasise the impact and power some of this noises have. It also puts across their importance in the film. The sound of the arrows being fired by the Barbarians, the way they fly through the air and also going through the bodies of the Roman soliders. The armour on the horses as they run along can be heard as well but one of the more common sounds that can be heard throughout the fight scene is the clinking of the metal swords.
Ridley Scott, the director of this film, cleverly chose to use a soundscape in this scene. This has a major effect on the audience because it makes them feel part of the chaos that is happening in the scene. The noises of men screaming, horses neighing, swords clinking together, dogs barking and growling and also the sound of the roaring fire that is taking up part of the battle ground. I personally think this was a brilliant way to get the audience involved with the goings on in this sequence. Just before the beginning of the slow motion section of the scene, the soundscape seems to become louder and more overpowering than it started off to be. This is very impacting on the audience as you can really feel the pain of the men that are facing, their screams and shouts seems to run straight through every individual member of the audience.
Throughout the slow motion sequence, the soundtrack becomes very impacting and the tone of it completely changes. It becomes almost like the start of the film, when the scene is filled with an extreme close-up of a hand. At this point, the soundtrack is extremely contrapuntal to what is being shown in the scene. It gives the impression to the audiene that the men who are fighting for their country are actually in pain and do have feelings of envy of the people at home. It makes the audience feel the same pain that the soliders are going through.
Adding to the opening shot of the hand, the calming music then quickly changes to a more up tempo, faster paced music to match the beat of the soliders riding in on their horses. To the audience, this shows them that this is the beginning of something different, that the whole film is not all peaceful and happy.
The changing tempo in the music helps build suspense throughout the opening. It makes the scene more dramatic in some points but also changes the mood from sad to anger and then back to sad again. It may confuse some audience members but if this particular soundtrack wasn't accompanying this certain piece of filming, it would be very dull and confusing. The suspense wouldn't be the same and it wouldn't be the same when it came to believing the scene and making it more realistic.
Linking this into the slow motion section of the film, the soundtrack seems to drown out any element of diegetic sound but Scott decided to add specific noises into the soundtrack, making it more serious and more impacting. As the audience is listening to the saddening soundtrack and watching the men getting killed in various ways, they also get the odd noise of a man screaming or a sword hitting another sword or even squearing an opponent, they begin to feel sympathetic to all the men dying in this war.
Mise en scene is used to really makes this film believable. Lighting and colour are major elements in this film because it helps establish the mood from the very beginning. The film opens with very bright lighting and warm colours creating the fields, making the audience feel comfortable with what they are watching but when it changes to the fight scene, the colouring and lighting changes completely. After the darkness sets into the scene, it seems to stay there throughout the rest of the opening scene. The use of blacks, greys and whites really establish the dullness of the scene. The only real colour in the whole opening scene is the red and the yellow of the Roman's shields and flags. The colours that are used are mainly brusied and discoloured into a darker shade. The most extreme colour that is used in this scene is the orange of the fire. This is also used to light up the whole setting as they explode in the forest and in other places of the battlefield. Also the closeups on the burning trees and rocks that are being launched really light up the whole screen and shock the audience. It also connotates the feeling of danger.
The costume in this opening scene really distinguishes who that characters are. The Romans are shown to be wearing the same outfit for their specific ranks, the higher ranks are wearing more armour than the others. Their cloaks and headwear are all the same colour showing them as a tight unit and are fighting together. Even their horses have the same colours and amounts of armour on as the humans. The Barbarians on the other hand, were wearing less protection with cloaks made from animal fur with big beards. Some other important costume elements are the bandages that are tied around their heads and other limbs. As they are stained in blood but they are still fighting, it shows the audience how determined they are to win this fight and be victorious with the reward of freedom.
The props link into the costume really well because of their colours and the way they are made. The Romans are seen carrying around flags with their symbol on it in the colours of red and yellow. Their shields as well are made from rounded wood colours a dark red and yellow colour. The Barbarians are seen with really basic weapons, probably handmade from local resources such as wood and string. This shows to the audience that the Romans are more advanced and have the resources to be able to win the war but the Barbarians have used all the helpful resources they can to build every weapon possible that can help.
The setting that Scott used for this opening scene really impacted the audience because of the way it changes. When the first shot is shown, the wheat field can be portrayed as a peaceful place, where people go to think or even die. It is shown as a light, spacious place that people can enjoy. This is a big contrast to the setting used for the rest of the opening sequence. An empty field and a deserted forest is used in a way to show how many people are actually included in this way. Where the field has been walked over countless times, the floor consisted of slushy mud. Also the trees that are still standing, they seem to have no branches or leaves so they could be used as potential weapons.
Makeup is used in a minimal way as it isn't a big feature in this opening. There isn't a lot of facial shots as they are always focusing on the amount of people who are fighting. The makeup that is used makes the characters look really dirty, like they have been there for a while. There is also the use of wound makeup to establish all the pain and destruction that the soldiers are going through. It also helps to impact the audience because they can realise how serious this war is and how many people are actually getting hurt.
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