War Films Opening titles: Battle of britan

Battle of britan 

The opening title sequence of the 1969 war drama ‘Battle of Brittan’ by director Guy Hamilton  portraits a ‘a to b journey’ of a Nazi Commander being in a air plane then they drive from the landing strip to a Military base. Especially younger male adults seem to be the target audience of this pictures judging by the topic of war, the images of war machineries wich are stereotypically masculine things  and offcourese the historical context of cinema manly being made for men back then.  This being a war film is clearly set up through the mase if military gear and soldiers. Hundert’s of solders are being shown but only a few are actually seem important as emphasised by their status as they for example get driven around in a car. They are also the only characters shown in medium shot enabling the viewer to connect with them in a distant manner. A tilt medium shot implies the power of one of the commander as his movement controls the viewers perspective. The sequence features multiple pans which reveal new locations demonstrating the degree of facilities of the German arme. There is a non diegetic voice over by a radio anker at the begging of the movie offering some exposition. A non diegetic marsh accompanies the scene adding further feeling of precision and setting the mood for the military. There are diegetic snip bits of shouted German frasses emphasizing the strict militance. The scene is slow pasted and  consist of simple cuts  thereby not distracting from the scenery which features true to time uniforms, gear and signs. The credits are kept in a red blue and white layout reminding the audience of the topic of the movie and contrasting itself to the dark colour pallet used for the Germans. Nearly every shot features a swastika highlighting that they are Nazis and thereby implying their evil. The grey fogie sky further adds to the menace feeling. One commanders coat has white spots making him stand out of the crowd and from a long distance, the director hints his high status. The sequence seem at first glance out dated. But initslef it isshot beautifull the long lasting shots allow the viwer to emerge in the envaiorment. The soundtrack is questionable without context it seems as if it was celebrating the German military due to its heroic sound. A more typically evil soundtrack might have undue this effect. On the other hand is the soundtrack maybe the perfect choice as it highligthsd the threat of by the Nazis.

Sources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064072/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1