Textual Analysis - Cape Fear

Cape Fear (1991) starts with the credits. The font that the credits are shown in is quite distort and almost suits the film genre with it being scary and mysterious. The font is also sharp and jagged to show the film genre and that there is going to be trouble. The music at the beginning of the title sequence is loud and builds up a lot of tension. With the loud music building tension, it can tell the audience what they are going to see, and what the general atmosphere is going to be like. With the music that they have, we can tell it’s a thriller and something scary is going to happen. This music is played over the 'Universal' title, and with the known company that made the film, we can tell it’s going to be a big film.

At the start of the credits, the background is water. The water in the credits represents the setting that the film's main scene could be located. It could be located on the water or possibly at a lake. As the sequence progresses, there is a reflection of an eagle. From the eagle we can feel an immediate threat within the film. As the eagle reflection is shown, Robert De Niro's name is shown. This almost tells us that Robert De Niro is going to be the threat within Cape Fear. The eagle itself represents a predator, suggesting that there is going to be a potential murderer or crime.

There is a face that appears in the water. The face is in black and white, and also distort. The director, Martin Scorsese, wanted the images that appear in the water to be distorted to show reality in the way he thinks. There are other images that appear in the water, all of which are De Niro, the villain in the film. They consist of images of lips, faces and eyes. The lips are open and from my opinion show screaming which conveys the thriller conventions. Towards the end of the credits, the water goes red. Red itself represents, love, passion, hatred, anger and tension. With the music, we can immediately tell that the red represents blood, as with the music, gives us the feel of a thriller. Within the eyes, they are 2 different eyes. Of what we can tell, one eye is the victim, and one is the killer. The whole of the beginning title sequence creates an enigma for the audience and leaves him hanging until the film actually begins and they can start making out what is happening.

It cuts into a montage of images. The images shown are famous dictators and as he is working out facing them, it’s almost as though he is worshiping them. The photos are almost symbols and show that he wants to be them, and that he seeks violence. This links in with the images in the title sequence of his distort face and then the blood ends the title sequence, representing violence. When the guard comes to take him, the prisoners are silent. This represents the respect they have towards him and the guard walks behind him, almost as though De Niro is in charge.

When it fades into a woman on a chair, the women is dressed in white. White represents innocence and repression along with her buttoned up gown. She talks about an important event which occurred on a lake. Instantly we thought about the link between the lake she is talking about and the water in the title sequence. When he finally gets outside, there isn't anyone waiting for him. This gives us the impression that he wants to be on his own; he is a one man force of nature. When there is a low angle shot at the end when he is walking out of the prison, there is thunder and lightning in the background. The thunder and lightning represents fear and disaster, and sets the genre of the film along with the thrilling music playing in the background.

By Charlie Head