This chilling scene from No Country for Old Men delivers on all levels. They use the classic hollywood style for the introduction. A wide establishing shot. Shot reverse for the conversation. Gradually moving in closer for the building drama. However every shot holds just a fraction too long and audio is mixed almost silent to create a grindingly slowly build of tension that tightens and tightens on you, making you more and more nervous. The terrifyingly cold dialogue and acting put more and more weight on the scene until finally it explodes.
Wall E's opening is a drawn out silent scene which explores the setting, main character, tone of the film, and the world in about two minutes. We see the opening music piece which explores themes of exploration, going beyond your comfort zone, and the larger world beyond the one our hero is familiar with. The howling winds and the hollow empty sounds of a dead planet contrast the bombastic music and the visuals zoom from a beautiful but empty universe to the hollow empty shell of a planet. Each shot brings us closer to the planet and to the tiny little robot wandering this world all alone. Finally the music returns but not as an abstraction, instead as a product of our hero. As such the song becomes symbolic of him. All with no dialogue.
So I once listened to a man explain the problems of the prequels versus the original star wars trilogy then he told me how the light sabre fights were one of the biggest problems. I was aghast at the notion. With all the plot problems, overuse of CGI, lack of practical effects, and the frustrating bland characters I felt like the light saber fights were one of the last things you should worry about. However as he explained the original scenes I began to understand. There was no advanced choreography in the original version. These weren't acrobatic or complex fights. They were raw and emotional but told a story. We see Vader toying with Luke, we see Luke being compelled to use emotion to hit harder and faster. We see characters being played out even in just the fights. These weren't overblown acrobatic hyper choreographed dance numbers, these were emotional confrontations between two complex characters and every gesture held meaning for the characters.
This scene is both tense and hilarious. As Indy carefully prepares to swap the two we see the camera hang on him for long periods only cutting away to show his ally. He nervously acts as the camera slowly moves in on him until finally he makes the swap and the tension releases... For a second. Then it's quick cuts. Each shot is short but close to Indy. We see camera movement and dynamic shots of our hero as he runs through trap after trap. Finally we see a wide shot. Every cinema instinct was have tells us this wide shot is the end of the scene. However as the wall begins to crumble we realize it's not over yet. The boulder falls and now we have the amazing shot of floating ahead of indy as he runs, a unique perspective very reminiscent of Hitchcock's 'running from the crop duster' sequence.
What can you say about this scene that isn't obvious? Incredible music drives the tension through the roof. The slowly alternating shots give us a building tension that makes your heart pound in your chest. Your combinations of close ups of our three main characters contrasted against long shots of them backing away from each other. The long shot of all three surrounded by graves and you know before it's all done at least two more graves will be added. Then just as we're ready the music cuts out and we hear only the crowing of birds. A shot of each man. A shot of each gun. The music gradually builds back in. This is an absolute mastery of tension so that when the shot is finally fired everything after is an instant satisfying feeling of release.
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