Casino Royale 007: Mise en scene

When applied to the cinema, Mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting. Casino Royale is of course a 007 film; as you know the opening sequence in any Bond movie is important as it sets the mood and informs the viewers of where the film may be set what the film will be about. It is imperative to have a successful opening sequence and even more pinnacle to have one for James Bond. I believe this is a successful opening sequence and one of the best in Bond's history.  

CGI Bond

We start the opening sequence in a old, gritty bathroom, which previously Bond has used this to torture a suspect. The bathroom is shown in black and white which is a brilliant effect as it symbolises the two characters choices in life write and wrong. It adds to the sombreness of the room too. Bond is classically dressed in a tuxedo but the shirt has been pulled out and stained by sweat and the grubbiness of the room. This shows Bonds determination as he doesn't care about anything except for the mission. The two props in this small section of the scene are pistols. These are important features as they both have connotations of death. The director has purposely chosen the pistol to be black in this scene as it matches Bonds tux, therefore it is as if the gun is part of Bonds persona. It is as if Bond is not Bond without his pistol. The lighting is dull but also bright at the same time. As the camera is in a point of view shot it seems as if the villain who is watching Bond may be close to death as he can see bright lights. In a last ditch attempt the close to death man pulls a gun on Bond, the actor who plays this man grunts as he uses a lot of effort to aim for Bond. We see the use of the classic point of view gun barrel which is digitally embedded into the clip, this displays the threat to bonds life and how close Bond was to dying. 

   Now we get the trademark blood smearing down the screen. Obviously symbolising the death of the criminal, we then hear the vintage theme tune hit out. Then the opening titles truly begin. We have now reached the stage in the sequence which is mostly virtual and not reality.  We can tell from the title that the film will have some connection to casinos but by watching the opening sequence the viewers can see clearly that the film will have a heavy connection to it. The director Martin Carol uses the suits of cards in the opening sequence of the film as this displays foreshadowing or the thrilling poker match Bond plays during the film. The opening sequence is mostly made up of CGI however the director has cleverly digitally inputed Daniel Craig in to the sequence. By mixing CGI and the Bond it brings a new essence to the scene. We see here that the silencer has been added to the pistol which displays Bonds need for stealth as he is always on a secret mission. Bond is in silhouette form which also adds to the theme of stealth, there is a juxtaposition though because Bond in silhouette form doesn't blend in The director has made him stand out.