RESEARCH : Art of the Title - Lord of War

RESEARCH : Art of the Title - Lord of War

At the beginning of this sequence there is the sound of rushing wind, this builds the image of a
deserted location with nothing going on there, almost reminiscent of old western movie openings and
it helps with building the image of danger, as western movies have often been a story of discovering
themselves through being put in near death situations and coming out of it alive, which forces that
image into the viewer’s mind, almost begging the viewer to start to think of this film in a cliche sense.
Whilst these sounds are playing there is a plain black screen with bold white text indicating to the
viewer the company’s involved in the production of this film. 

A six second plain black screen then follows this is clearly used to build tension in the viewer and
make them think about what is happening and to engage the viewer into the experience. Following
this there is a close up, upwards pan shot over a large field of bullets symbolising the fall in humanity
and democracy, whilst also showing the viewer what kind of movie they are about to watch. After
fifteen seconds of panning over the field of bullets it shows a long shot of a man standing in this field in
a full suit and holding a briefcase, connoting, due to his content in standing in the sea of bullets that
he must be involved in it somehow, causing the viewer to think over and come to a conclusion that he
must have something to do with the production of the bullets and firearms. Whilst the camera zooms
into him there are sounds of gunfire, to which he doesn’t react in the slightest, again reinforcing the
idea that he had something to do with the production of firearms and bullets.

It continues to zoom in, again reinforcing the idea that he has something to do with the bullets, and
gunfire. It then pans to a close up of the man’s shoulders and head, he then turns around, breaking
the fourth wall, telling the audience that he is about to monologue. He then tells the viewer something
shocking : ‘there are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation’, this is a shocking fact and
delivered in a way that is seemingly mimicking charity commercials, making the viewer think that this
will be a movie about stopping production of guns,or informing people about gun crimes. He then
continues to say ‘ that’s one firearm for every twelve people on the planet’, again this makes the
viewer realise that this is a horrific number of guns, and makes them think about the facts and it
makes the viewer think about what they can do to change this. This is followed immediately with this
character asking ‘the only question is’, this engages the audience as they want to know what this
question is, however, he cuts himself off by raising a cigarette to his mouth and inhaling a puff, which
is the thing that ticks the viewer off and makes them question why this man, who is seemingly trying
to be a good Samaritan is doing something that is known to be harmful to himself and others. To
which it is answered ‘how do we arm the other eleven’. This subverts expectations and makes the
viewer question what they thought they knew about this movie and what they thought they knew
about this man.

Following this it cuts to a downwards pan of a factory, this tells the viewer that we are about to
witness the production of something. As it is quite dirty, it connotes that whatever is going on is illegal
and immoral, as the workers are not working in good conditions. The song being played in the
foreground is ‘For what it’s worth’ by Buffalo Springfields, being played in a very cocky manner, this
gives the opening a warm , almost humorous sense that is absent on any aspect of the opening so
ar, contrasting the very cold, lifeless conveyor belt of the weapons manufacturing center, and the cold
delivery of Nicholas Cage’s character’s facts. Also this song became a well-known protest song, which
holds the unease spreading across america in the late sixties , soon becoming an anthem for civil
rights and the Vietnam war.

The pan is a long shot, focusing on a man in a full jumpsuit standing in front of a machine, which
shows that he is working class and is possibly forced into this job as the conditions are so bad. This
man is shown to be a victim, but not in the traditional sense, for he is not hurt , but he seems to be
trapped in this job as no-one would want to work here, showing that victims of war spread far from just
those that are hurt, but also those that must work to support the side that they may be helping.

The camera then pans toward the equipment whilst text appears on the screen, stating one of the
actors involved in the film: ‘Nicholas Cage’. His name is shown first and soon after the start of the
title sequence as he is a well known actor, and also because he is the main character. Following this
it pans towards some kind of machinery, representing the beginning of the production of a single bullet,
almost like it has been given birth to, which is ironic as bullets are often used to end lives.

The title then shows, displaying the words ‘Lord of War’ in a Font similar to that used in propaganda
posters, which seems like it could be trying to mimic the style for comedic purposes as there is a war
going on and by using this font it builds this image of propaganda which is usually done to get people
to sign up for the army as a war rages.

There is then another shot with text on the screen, indicating to the viewer another actor involved in
the production of this film. It then falls onto yet another conveyor belt and is then picked up, then
swiftly put down, this represents the efficiency of the bullets production and their efficiency in combat.

It cuts to a shot of the bullets in a crate and being transported to the back of a truck, representing the
idea of sending people to war, and the pointlessness of it, then a crate lid is put on top and hammered
down, mimicking gunfire and as the shadow covers the bullet it clearly represents death, as nothing
is seen, and the bullet is in a dark box.

There is then text displaying who the costume designer is and a flash of light in the slit of the box,
which is clearly representing the common saying ‘i can see the light’, which again is related to the
theme of death and tools of war that the sequence is displaying. Following this it shows a soviet union
soldier, presumably a commander based on the uniform he is wearing, looking at the cargo, and
closing the lid quickly after, suggesting that he cares very little about the cargo and is just doing his
job, which is similar to the theme of the workers and their job.

The text is then illuminated, showing the editor’s name, and shortly after that the production designer’s
name, this tells the viewer who gets credit for these specific aspects of the film. The lid then opens,
illuminating the cargo, and showing the viewer where it has been transported to, and helps to show
the viewer what kind of story it is going to be. Then the crate is hit, which causes the cargo to fall
everywhere, it almost rolls over the edge, symbolising a possible escape from war, and from death,
but is then picked up and thrown back into the crate, symbolising you being the one to die and be cast
into the mass graves.

More text is shown, telling the viewer who the director of photography and the executive line
producer’s were. Then the crate shakes for a moment and leaves, carried towards the battle grounds.
Again clearly representing the soldiers being forced into the battlegrounds. More text then appears,
telling the viewer who co-produced the film. The cargo is then stacked, and a shadow covers over it,
again it indicated the loss of life and the loss of light from a life.

A cut to black is then shown with the executive producer’s names being shown in the same, white
font as before. Then the crate lid is lifted up, and light shines on the crate, illuminating the bullets,
which shows the viewer that they are about to be used and who is about to use them. Followed swiftly
by a fall back into the darkness as a few bullets are taken out of the crate, with the names of the
executive producers being shown as well.

The crate is then lifted back into the light, and then dropped to the floor, similar to bodies when shot,
which is ironic as bullets are tools used to end lives, more text is shown telling us who the producers
were.

The bullet is picked up and placed into the ammunition chamber, which represents the start or entering
a war and the lives that will be taken. The stack of bullets placed on top of this bullet, and almost
pushing it down, can be seen as a representation of the lives being dropped towards the ground after
being shot. Following this there is then a cut to black and it shows more text telling the viewer who the
producers of this film was.

A flash appears on the screen and the bullet makes its way up the magazine chamber, and looks out,
creating tunnel vision that is representative of the people in war and how they feel when they see a
target they must shoot. There is then a long four second shot of the bullet traveling through the air
and into a small boy’s head, again suggesting towards the pointlessness of war and that war spares
no-one, that even kids can be a target and must fight.

It then finishes with a screen of black, telling us who wrote and directed the film, with no more music,
just leaving you to wonder how the kid got involved in this seemingly pointless conflict.