The film I have studied here is called 'No country for old men' a neo- western thriller.

I have studied the conventions of the genre mainly

regarding the audio and visual elements such as lighting techniques, variable editing, sound FX, camera techniques and
cinematography and music as well as diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. No country for Old Men shows several screens of credits
toward companies etc the film is associated with then showing the title directly afterward. Having conducted research which has
included watching the openings several times and taking notes, having seen the film and have a good knowledge of the characters and
plot and seen other films like it in the past so am accustomed to the genre. Furthermore I have researched the feature on IMDB.

Edit/Length of Shot : 6 seconds

Shot No: 1
Movement: Title fades in
Briefly, as not to shock the
viewer but instead ease them
into the quite intro and its
visuals. The title naturally
suggests a thriller because it
seems to state that the place in
which the film is set isnt safe
for older, weaker people.
Dangerous even.

Sound: None, setting the mood and,

audible scene of the rest of the intro.
Music: None, again to make it quite.
Something very noticeable in this film is
its complete lack of non- diegetic
sound. This gives the film a very
realistic feel and immerses the viewer
into the story completely with the
constant ominousness of quite scenes
lacking in non-diegetic sound and music
and louder scenes alike.

Shot no: 2
Movement: Nothing on the
screen is visible, just blackness
to get the audience anticipating
the films beginning for the few
seconds that the darkness lasts.

Sound: Faint gust of wind begins (non

Diegetic).
Dialogue: Narrator: I was sheriff of this
county when I was 25 years old. The
dialogue in the opening comes from
character Ed Tom Bell a police officer
and detective talking about his past
experiences in law enforcement
immediately establishing the crime
Thriller genre.

Shot No: 3
Type of shot: scenic extreme wide
angle longshot. To show the entire
landscape and introduce the lonely
atmosphere.
Camera/ movement: Very low light, the
land is in the shadow of a canyon with
the sun rising over the edge of the
landscape which is completely obscured
by darkness producing a mysterious
atmosphere which is continued for the
next 7 seconds of the opening.

Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind

continue the ominous atmosphere.
(Diegetic)
Dialogue: Narrator: Hard to believe
Grandfather was a lawman. Father too
Narrator speaks as though having a
conversation with the audience and
addressing them directly as oppose to
discussing the narrative. Furthermore
the connotations of a Sherriff are
associated with action or gun slinging
making it conform with the thriller
genre.

Shot No: 4
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot. Shots of this kind are
repetitive for the most part of the
opening to continue their effect.
Camera/ Movement: A very similar
vibe to the previous shot both visually
and audibly. The sun rise at the horizon
and the landscape forming a silhouette.
The dark lighting in this shot makes it
seem mysterious, another thriller

Sound: Faint gust of dessert

wind continue the ominous
atmosphere. (Diegetic)
Dialogue: Me and Dad where
sheriffs at the same time; him in
Planulae and me out here I
think he was pretty proud of
that The narrator discusses
positive things about it before
moving on to the darker side of
law enforcement.

Edit/Length of Shot: 4 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 6 seconds

feature.

Edit/Length of Shot: 7 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 5 seconds

Shot No: 5
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot.
Camera: The shots are edited in
chronological order as the sunrises.
In This the sun having risen. This un
rise signifies the beginning of the
story.
Movement: Very little, just the
grass blowing atmospherically
amongst the still landscape. Similar
to all these land scape shots; the
silence and lack of movement or
life creates an ominous and
therefore thrilling atmosphere.

Sound: Faint gust of dessert

wind continue the ominous
atmosphere. (Diegetic)
Dialogue: Narrator: I know I
was The narrator pauses
frequently this reflects his very
thoughtful, hesitant, old and
tired personality in the film.
Music: No music or nondiegetic sounds, all are diegetic
and/ or atmospheric.

Shot No: 6
Type of shot: Scenic extreme
wide angle longshot: fits the
entire landscape in the frame.
Camera: Fixed to highlight the
movement of the rising sun and
the rays it casts to strengthen
the wilderness atmosphere.

Dialogue: Narrator: some of the old- time

sheriffs never even wore a gun Alotta folks
find that hard to believe, Jim Barber never
carried one, That the younger Jim Baston
Bourkins wouldnt wear one up in Kaman chi
county The sheriff discusses how in some
areas police didnt bother arming
themselves because they rarely had to
defend themselves in the past. The fact that
the sheriff talks about how safe it was in the
past suggests that the present time is far
worse and far more dangerous. Danger is
agreeably a thrilling feature.
Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind continues
the ominous atmosphere. (Diegetic)

Shot No: 7
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot.
Camera: Fixed.
Movement: None. The scene is
ominously still and still slightly
shadowed.

Dialogue: Narrator: I always liked

hearing about the old- timers.
Never missed a chance to do so
Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind
continue the ominous atmosphere.
(Diegetic)

Shot No: 8
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot, but this time with a
fence in the foreground.
Camera: Again unmoving to
highlight the landscapes minimal
movement.
Movement: Blowing grass, now
the sun is fully in the sky and there
are far less shadows and obscured
land.

Dialogue: Cant Help but compare

yourself against the old- timers Cant
help but wonder how theyd have
operated in these times Here Ed Tom
Bell wonders how other policemen
behave or might have behaved with
criminals in the time at which the film
is set (1980)
Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind
continues the ominous atmosphere.
(Diegetic)
Mise En Scene: The clearly
unmaintained fence represents the
desolation and loneliness of the
landscape, the lack of human presence.

Edit/Length of Shot: 10 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 5 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 5 seconds

Shot No: 9
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle shot looking up hill.
Camera: Again it is fixed in place, to
highlight the minimal movement of
the landscape.
Movement: The grass blows quite
energetically but the landscape
remains still invoking the bleak yet
slightly ominous, silent mood.

Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind

continue the ominous atmosphere.
(Diegetic)
Dialogue: Theres this boy I sent
to the electric chair in the hospital
a while back The Narrator begins
to discuss the dark side of law
enforcement. Immediately saying
how he sent a boy to the electric
chair. Something he must have
been moved by to make his
character discuss it in the
monologue.

Shot No: 10
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot, overlooking a
valley.
Camera: Fixed.
Movement: Grass blows
consistently, all else is motionless.

Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind

continued to generate the ominous
atmosphere. (Diegetic)
Dialogue: My arrest and my
testimony in this extract of the
monologue it seems as though Ed
Tom Bell is almost confessing to
sending the boy to die. In the way
that he says MY arrest and MY
testimony. He feels guilty, blaming
himself almost making the viewer
sympathetic towards him.

Shot No: 11
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot, showing another
landscape.
Camera: Fixed so that the viewer
concentrates on the moving
vegetation, this helps to create the
directors desired atmosphere.
Movement: Desert plants, shrubs
and bushes blowing.

Dialogue: He killed a 14 year girl

papers said it was a crime of
passion dialogue reflects how
scary and merciless these killers
can be the idea of fear and
murderers is a strong feature of a
thriller.
Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind
continued to create an ominous
atmosphere. (Diegetic)

Shot No: 12
Type of shot: Scenic extreme wide
angle longshot. To show the entire
landscape and convey its
emptiness.
Camera: Fixed.
Movement: Very subtle shrub
movement as the wind is dying
down as day time sets in. The lack
of movement as usual depicts the
loneliness and desolation of the
land.

Sound: Faint gust of dessert wind

continued to create an ominous
atmosphere. (Diegetic)
Dialogue: But he said there
wasnt any passion to it This part
of the monologue shows the
strangeness and pointlessness of
some murderers actions which is
very much reflected in the
behavior of antagonist Antoine
Chiguhr.

Edit/Length of Shot: 6 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 5 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 6 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 4 seconds

Length of shot: 6 seconds

Shot No:12
Type of shot: Narrow Longshot to centralise
the windmill.
Camera: Still to match the landscapes lack
of motion and further highlight the desolate
atmosphere. Ive noticed that the landscape
sequence doesnt conform to a 180 degree
rule as there is no significant, moving object
or subject in the frame and the opening
focuses merely on the beauty and vastness
of the western landscape.
Movement: The fan spins quite slowly. Ive
noticed that in each of these shots there is
only one type of motion or none. Be that
vegetation blowing in the wind or a windmill
rotating.

Sound: In these opening shots it appears that wind is the

key sound in the effect that they create as wind, when
combined with few or no other sounds can very well be
associated with loneliness or desolate locations as few
people tend to be around windy areas, i.e. tundras,
deserts or on mountains. Wind can also be very ominous as
it is often used visually to show represent moods of stress
and/ or intensity. So wind as just a sound alone creates a
slightly tense and unsuspecting atmosphere. The
ominousness it creates is assisted by the way it can obscure
all other sounds.
Dialogue: told me hed been planning to kill someone for
about as long as he can remember. Said; if they turned him
out hed do it again The narrator conveys the insanity of
some people he has arrested. This corresponds with a
thriller because the idea of people wanting to murder and
murdering no matter what for no apparent reason is scary
to some.

Shot No: 13
Type of shot: wide angle long shot. To
accommodate for both the arrest scene and blend
in with the previous land scape shots. Camera/

Sound: The sound of wind is very faint by this

point to allow the viewer to adjust to the more
active arrest scene.
Dialogue: Narrator: said to me he was going to
hell. Be there in about 15 minutes I dont know
what to make of that I seriously dont The
monologue ends on a dramatic note where the
sheriff explains that the boy said hes going to hell
and he replied hed meet him there because the
sheriff doesnt believe he is innocent either then
conveys his confusion as to why the boy said those
things.
Mise en scene: Police car, symbolises crime.
Chiguhrs black outfit connotes death. The police
officers outfit symbolises justice.

movement: The shot pans away from the landscape to

establish the setting one last time before introducing us to
the main point of the entire narrative, also building tension
as the camera slowly turns, making the viewer curious and
anticipating. A police officer trying to arrest a criminal
doesnt only establishing the genre further but introducing
us to the films main antagonist; Anton Chigurh who is
throughout the film portrayed as an unpredictable
Psychopathic with Motives that transcend money or
drugs He is very similar to the grim reaper due to his
constant black clothing and murderous nature however he
always behaves calm and calculated no matter what even
here when hes being arrested making him very
intimidating.

Edit/Length of Shot: 18 seconds

Shot No: 14
Type of shot: Mid- shot to keep the viewer
focused on the policeman and Chiguhr. Camera/
Movement: The policeman opens the car door and pushes
Chiguhr in by his head, carrying a very serious expression.
What Chiguhr is being arrested for remains
a mystery showing that Chiguhr is a criminal without
revealing that he is a murderer. However Chiguhr, despite
his size is very compliant making him mysterious and
suggesting he has a trick up his sleeve. The camera remains
still in this shot, fixated on the cars roof. These three shots
of the policeman and criminal do conform to the 180
degree rule as the scenery always points to the left of the
frame.

Sound: Feet shuffling on dirt, car door

opening as the officer puts a
handcuffed Chiguhr in the passenger
seat of his car.
Dialogue: Narrator: its not that Im
afraid of it, I always knew youd have to
be willing to die to even do this job
The narrator reminds the audience that
he isnt afraid of death but doesnt
want to have to deal with something
he doesnt understand and doesnt
know how to deal with.

Shot No: 15
Type of shot: Medium close up, so that the
viewer focuses on the object that the
policeman places on the car seat.
Camera/movement: No Camera movement.
The policeman places a mysterious device
onto the seat, which is later revealed to be
Chiguhrs weapon of choice that the officer
has confiscated. A sadistic and impractical
weapon used to slaughter livestock
efficiently, representing how often Chiguhr
kills people.

Sound: Car door opening, gas canister

tings as it hits the foot well, device hits
leather seat and car door closes.
Dialogue: But, I dont wanna push
my chips for it, to go out and meet
something I dont understand This line
of dialogue has been cleverly edited
over the shot of the device which poses
many questions; what is it? What does
it do? Why does Chiguhr use it?

Edit/Length of Shot: 8 seconds

Edit/Length of Shot: 7 seconds

To conclude No Country For Old Men has a very influential opening which effectively invokes Joel and Ethen Coens desired emotions
including suspense and anticipation yet it is relaxing and calming; an interesting juxtaposition. It also does not apply to Vladimir Propps
theory of a standard story plot (i.e. a hero, heroin, villain) as none of the characters in this opening or in the entire film plot dont seem
to completely correspond with Propps stereotypes making it more original. Analyzing this opening has helped me to further
understand utilizing settings and landscapes to invoke emotion. It has also helped me to understand the effect of weather in a film and
using pathetic fallacy and the effect of having a narrator and what the narrator talks about, even if it seems irrelevant to what is on
screen. I am considering using these or one of these techniques in my main coursework.