The opening credit sequence often reveals what will happen in a film
by Ashley Utnage
When was the last time you paid close attention to the soundtrack of a film? Music enables viewers to “bridge the emotional gap… between these two [emotional] extremes…much faster than dialogue or visual stimulation” (DePree). Isn’t that what movies are—a makeup of audio and visuals? If one were to pay attention to the music accompanying the opening credit sequence, how much of the story would be foreshadowed to the viewer?
Let’s look at the films Spellbound, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Inception, each one showcasing a different level of foreshadowing to viewers—romance in mystery, peril in play, magic in the mundane, and a chanson to dream of.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1945 Spellbound is a murder mystery with music composed by Miklós Rózsa. The main suspect, John Valentine (played by Gregory Peck), cannot seem to recall the murder, and here psychoanalysis becomes a central element of the plot. Valentine shows up at a clinic where the main psychotherapist (played by Ingrid Bergman) befriends him, attempting to help him uncover his memories through psychoanalysis. Not surprisingly, their relationship develops into a romantic one, and the film ends with the murder being resolved and the romance fulfilled.
Viewers first hear a spooky tone in the opening credits, creating an overall dangerous mood that is felt throughout the film. Another portion of the opening credits—when information about psychoanalysis is shown on-screen—slow string music is heard that is later used in each romance scene between John Valentine and Constance. Although we don’t yet know how the murder mystery will be entangled with romance, the music raises our expectations that it will.
(“‘Alfred Hitchcock’_“Spellbound”1945_‘Classic Thriller Movie’”)
The Hunger Games, produced in 2012 and composed by James Newton Howard, tells a story of a dystopian society in which children are selected for a “game” where they fight each other to the death. The opening credits use text to explain these games, and the intertitle ends with an ominous sentiment: “Fight to the Death, until a lone victor remains” (The Hunger Games). The song being played utilizes a guitar sound at a slow tempo and eventually brings in more stringed instruments. A dissonant note is played at the end of the track while this last line appears onscreen.
(“The Hunger Games – First Scene HD”)
Fitzgerald notes that: “a sudden shift to the parallel minor key enhances the sense of foreboding associated with the Games event” (Fitzgerald). The brief use of the minor key is ominous, even for musically untrained viewers, who can tell the difference between the major key tune played at first, and the later switch to minor for this dark message. While this opening music does not foreshadow any specific event, viewers are warned that this “game” is not to be taken lightly.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has captured the hearts of readers and viewers around the world, in part because of the score by veteran film composer John Williams. Viewers follow the story of a young boy who discovers that he is a wizard. At the beginning of the film, we hear “Hedwig’s Theme”. Brass instruments carry the lighthearted melody with random strings in the background adding a sense of chaos and uncertainty. According to Ojala, these instruments “open the main story with a hint [of] darkness and mystery” (Ojala). As Dumbledore enters, the strings grow in volume and dissonance. Hagrid then flies in on a motorcycle with baby Harry Potter, and when they carry him to the front porch, the music crescendos to the point when Dumbledore says, “until he is ready” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). As they set him down on the porch, he says, “Good luck, Harry Potter” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and the same main melody is heard with a bell-sound creating the tune this time.
(“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – the first scene (HD)”)
As Morgan notes, “The most foundational element of Harry’s existence becomes the concept of magic. In the same way, the most foundational elements of Hedwig’s Theme are those that are chromatically altered, thus rendering Hedwig’s Theme a musical projection of magic” (Morgan). Since chromaticism is the use of notes that vary from the scale being used for a piece of music, the slight uneasiness in the main theme suggests to readers something mysterious about this child. The leitmotif therefore represents “the wizarding world as a whole, and signifies the existence of that world to the audience for the first time here” (“Filmic Techniques”). Again, while the opening music does not foreshadow a specific event, such as in Spellbound, it suggests that the story will be suffused with magic.
Inception takes foreshadowing to another level, using one song in the opening scene to function as a key to its intricate plot where a team of “dream hunters” enter into people’s subconscious dreams to extract information. They implant an idea inside someone’s mind—dubbed “inception”—which requires a very complex plan of creating multi-leveled dreams within their target’s mind.
Because this entire concept is so complex and dangerous, the team utilizes a specific song as their countdown for waking up outside the dream: the French chanson “Non, je ne regrette rien” made famous by Edith Piaf. Used “both as a diegetic as well as a non-diegetic source” (Engel), this song plays a massive role in the plot.
Take a minute to watch minute 2:15 through 4:05 of the following video…
Was it Diegetic, or Just a Dream? Music’s Paradoxical Place in the Film Inception
As viewers, we not only hear this song used as the “dream hunters” cue to wake up, but also as an indicator of being inside the dream. When inside one’s subconscious, the tempo is slowed down to an unidentifiable rhythm (or at least I was unable to identify it). The original French song uses higher-pitched brass instruments, but the slowed-down version has a much lower pitch. We hear this “dream-distorted version” (Doll) in the opening credits.
Musical score for “Non, je ne regrette rien” versus the slowed-down version (Doll)
Without knowledge that this opening music from the soundtrack is a slow-tempo version of the French song, the opening music serves as a simple foreshadowing of a dangerous plot. After giving some thought to the use of this song (and after obtaining the knowledge that these two songs are the same being played at different tempos), however, this opening track reveals the ending. I must applaud Professor Doll for making this suggestion: “Perhaps this is diegetic music from up above, and everything we see in the film is just a dream” (Doll). If the dream-distorted version is an indication to viewers that the “dream hunters” are inside a dream, and this dream-distorted, slowed-down version is played in the opening credits, then is this song ultimately foreshadowing the fact that the entire film takes place inside a dream?
I had never realized the extent to which foreshadowing could be used, but these four examples of films showcase various possibilities, whether that be a suggestion of emotion, as experienced in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Hunger Games, an indication of romance, as witnessed in Spellbound, or an entire plot concept, as discovered in Inception. Musical composers of films play a significant role in developing the plot, and in some instances, offer pieces of the plot to viewers who choose to pay close attention.