Cape Fear is made by Universal, who are famous for their thrillers such as, Psycho and Shutter Island. The Universal emblem begins to be encapsulated by water, whilst the drizzle of water is heard. The first shots are of murky water, which is symbolic for thrillers because water is a sign of tranquillity, although it is very dangerous because you never know what is lurking beneath. The water looks murky due to the sun looking as if it is setting, which is another common norm film directors use because darkness heightens tension and adds to the fear of not knowing what’s in the dark. The music is eerie to ease the audience into the film and the white font for the credits are distorted like the water it’s on, also symbolising a fractured personality. White is a typical colour for a thriller, along with red and black, it symbolises purity and innocence. Some credits pass until we see a flying eagle in the reflection of the water representing a predator swooping down, ready for the kill. As the eagle ascends off camera Robert De Niro’s name is shown to be symbolic because he is the predator. The music picks up its tempo a little when the eagle glides down.
The water begins to enhance a shade of red to represent blood, anger and passion, whilst a non-diegetic sound sting can been heard. The title ‘Cape Fear’ fades onto the screen with melodramatic music to give the audience a positive reassurance that this is a thriller. The tranquil water juxtaposes the intense music because it shows a disturbance to this film and foreshadows an upcoming event. A terrified, distorted eye fades onto the screen to represent Robert De Niro’s life; eyes are usually thought to be windows to the soul during thrillers, the feeling of not being able to see frightens everyone. A giant mouth consumes the screen, as if to say ‘nothing will stop it’, once again symbolising De Niro. Another distorted figure appears, this time it’s a face that shows sorrow and pain, the water is still surrounding the screen. Shortly after, yet another distorted face appears but this time the music has become more frantic and the red tint in the water is back to repeat the notion of blood, passion and danger. The low angle shot of him makes the audience feel as if he is superior.
The climax of the music is higher pitched to elaborate the disturbing image of a silhouette of a man with a green background. The mans stance shows him to be ready for some thing, whereas the green represents envy, so already the opening is leaving questions drifting around the audiences mind. 
Cape Fear – (1991) – Part 1
2:16 seconds
Once again the image of the silhouette fades away, possibly like the characters soul. The water and music become calmer again until a sound sting is used as a tear/blood drop falls down the screen covering it in an incredible sea of red to secure the thoughts of blood and danger. A pair of eyes fades onto the screen, surrounded by the blood to repeat the notion of thrillers being about looking into people’s eyes (or their soul). The eyes turn from red to blue to symbolise the stillness of the scene as the blue pair of eyes convert into a young woman wearing a white shirt. The white shirt has it’s top button done up to show how she is repressed and the colour shows her purity and innocence. She is sat upright with a slight smile on her face; behind her are a pair of windows which are trapping her. Outside is raining to foreshadow that something bad will happen, then suddenly there’s another sound sting occurs and pictures of religious people and dictators, such as Starling are stuck to a wall.
The pictures are in Robert De Niro’s prison cell. The iconography's placed in his cell are very symbolic, his books show his intelligence because he is reading the Bible and he also has books about trial cases and how to keep fit. As he comes into the shot, the first thing the audience see’s is the tattoo dominating his back whilst he’s working out. The tattoo is of a pair of scales reaching across his back and on one side it says ‘faith’ and the other says ‘justice’, which shows his religious beliefs and makes the audience realise he believes in the saying ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. This man looks like he has a purpose in life with his physical strength and knowledge.
[Robert De Niro’s religious tattoo]
The camera zooms out to show that he is imprisoned, he pushes his hair back to look good and puts on his shirt as the guard opens the gate to let him out. The music is still playing the same melody over and over as if to taunt him because he has been waiting and waiting for this moment to be released. As he walks from his cell, the guard follows him to show that he dominates the prison and every over prisoner keeps quiet because it shows they are scared of him. Constantly his composition is in the centre of the screen also showing his power in the prison.
He is about to leave the front gates of the prison, but dialogue is exchanged between him and the guard. He tells the guard that no one’s coming for him and that he’s already read his books. This shows that he doesn’t need anyone and shows his intelligence; once again backing up the point that he has a purpose in life. A storm is in the background of the long shot views him leaving the prison foreshadowing a bad upcoming event. His composition shows his dominance whilst he walks straight into the camera to move onto the next scene and his eye contact is so strong it’s like he’s looking at the audience saying he wants revenge.
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