Technique used in some film?

Giruilla

I saw two programmes the other day where at the start of them (the opening scene) it showed police overlooking two, - and in other programme four dead bodies - with the body bags zipped up over their faces so you can't tell who's dead. Obviously you're wondering whos dead and how did it happen. Then it comes up on screen - ''12 Hours Earlier'' and continues the show then from 12 hours before hand and shows the events leading up to the deaths. I thought this was a bit of a coincidence seeing I watched both programmes on the same day!
I seem to remember this happening in a few different shows and films but can't remember any of them. Both shows are notorious for ripping techniques off from other shows and films too! Does anyone remember other shows/films this technique was used or who was the first to use it?

btw if you want to know which programmes it was from:

One was Prison Break the other Hollyoaks (I know... its ****)

quazzy

Dunno who used it first, I imagine it's a pretty old trick.

But it is used very effectivly to grab the viewers attention.

Just to think of a few that are simialar:

Pulp Fiction
Memento
Maverick
MI:3

durandal

Most shows have used it, from HBO mini sreies like band of brothers to utter nonsense like voyager. As a way to shoot the show, with the last scene first, it's pretty pointless, but used how it was in memento it's pretty cool.

Retr0gamer

I think Sunset Boulevard was one of the first if not the first film to do this.

BlitzKrieg

I saw two programmes the other day where at the start of them (the opening scene) it showed police overlooking two, - and in other programme four dead bodies - with the body bags zipped up over their faces so you can't tell who's dead. Obviously you're wondering whos dead and how did it happen.

hmm, so its a nonlinear narrative your wondering about? Or are you looking specifically for the crime/murder variant of it.

Cause I guess the first big hollywood film to do it was citizen kane (opens with "Rosebud" and goes back through the central characters life trying to explain the line, course it jumps back and forward a bit.)

Giruilla

BlitzKrieg wrote:

hmm, so its a nonlinear narrative your wondering about? Or are you looking specifically for the crime/murder variant of it.

Its not really a nonlinear narritive i'm talking about, like Taratinos style, but theres some good input there on films who've used the nonlinear narritive, which is almost the same thing anyway. I was more talking specificaly about the crime/murder part of it. Such as you don't actually know who is dead or if they are really dead. Then throughout the film/show the director can create tension by playing with who could die. He/she could put characters in dangerous situations so you think its them that dies but they don't really and in the end its someone you never suspected. I think as someone said MI:3 used the exact technique!