Fight Club Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening starts with a quick sound of an old classical music and after about 2 seconds the soundtrack changes into a loud, full of beat tune and it being low key creates a creepy atmosphere. 

The movement on the screen is fast paced in dark colours and it is supposed to reflect the inside of someone's brain. The camerawork shows  very precise details and there are sort of electrical impulses running through the brain that can represent different feelings, in case of this atmosphere it is more likely to be fear and confusion. The scale is changed the whole time, so the audience are able to see close ups of different lobes and also medium shots of other brain chords, nerve connections and particles. What is also interesting to notice that as the sequence goes on the pores seem to be more and more clogged. Overall this represents and shows that the film will have a lot to do with someone's thinking, mental stability and there is going to be a lot to think about for the audience as well. The credits are going on at the same time and Brad Pitt has one of the main roles, which will attract more audience. 

As the credits finish the pulling out of the brain fades into an extreme close up of what we discover to be a gun inside someone's mouth. At the same time there is diegetic narration that mentions the name "Tyler Duran." This establishes two characters for the audience and creates and enigma, as we are wondering what is the link between them. At the same time another enigma is created as the person who holds the gun speaks, but we can only see a close up of his arm and later backside, which creates a mystery of who he is. He mentions the time of "3 minutes" and asks if the other person has any "last words to mark the occasion." This is another confusion for the audience, as we are wondering why he is so specific with time and if the occasion is killing the man or something else. There is a slight humor to break the tension as the man attempts to talk with the gun in his mouth and when his mouth is free he says "I can't think of anything." This little moment in the opening is a huge enigma, as the film has a non-linear narrative and as it starts at the end, we have no idea what is the story behind what is going on. 

The antagonist-potential killer and the protagonist-victim are established, as well as the mysterious persona Tyler Duran. The setting is in the dark and the atmosphere with gun is very tense and nerving, which creates a worrying mood. Just from this little clip the genre of the film can be established as a thriller and there are a lot of enigmas and puzzles created for the audience right from the start.