Analysis of 'The Italian Job' Opening Sequence

'The Italian Job' written by Troy Kennedy Martin and directed by Peter Collinson in 1969 is a classic British crime caper film. It starts out with an establishing shot of the Italian alps following a 'Lamborghini Miura' making it way through the mountain range. At this point the music begins,'On Days Like These' by Matt Monro, this gives the start of the film a relaxed light hearted feeling that you would expect from the caper. A number of different shots are designed to show of the land scape adding to the atmosphere drawing the audience into the film. This allows time for the credits to be shown. The writing looks almost hand written which is also an aspect which shows its soft side. As the car heads towards a tunnel the music fades out and you hear the car racing through the tunnel, with a screech of the tires an explosion takes place dragging the audience out of its relaxed state and boosting their interest of the new situation. The camera switches to the other side of the tunnel where we see men and a truck back out of the tunnel telling us this was a deliberate act to get ride of the character in the Lamborghini. this is the point were the story actually begins with the truck pushing the car of the cliff and dramatic music accompanying the action as the reef rolls down the cliff after him. We have established the location in the sun of Italy, the use of sound has changed as the visual image has. the audience is now eager to see how the rest of the film pans out.