I was trolling around the internets and stumbled upon this article about the demise of the title sequence in film. A great title sequence can jumpstart a film or provide a subtle look into what the film is about before it even gets going. I found the following which I found to be pretty entertaining:
Anyway, I got to thinking about how few films have title sequences anymore. As a composer, I'm highly interested in the title sequence for several reasons, not the least of which is that if the filmmaker has an original score this is an excellent opportunity for the composer and director to set the tone of the film. It also got me thinking about the Grand Master of film title designers, Saul Bass and some of the incredible title sequences he designed.
One of my favorites, North by Northwest:
While the title sequence seems to have gone the way of the dodo, there are some recent entries that are nice:
But the title sequence that really stands out in recent memory as capturing that sense of Saul Bass's animation style and setting the tone is Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can:
So my question to you, dear reader(s), what's your favorite title sequence, new or old?
11 comments:
I loved the title sequence for Fight Club.
It's funny that you wrote this today, because this morning I read an article from CNN.com that talked about how hollywood seems to be completely doing away with mid-level movies due to people wanting big explosions and whatnot... all style, no substance type of argument.
I think this is also contributing to the fact that title sequences are going away... unfortunately.
BTW... love the sequence from Catch me if you can... now I've got that awesome music in my brain.
Had to laugh...when i started reading your post, I immediately thought of both Panic Room and Catch Me If You Can (and then found the below). Great taste!
I LOVE title sequences... The very first thing I did on my feature (and one of the few things about the film I still really enjoy) was storyboard the opening credit sequence (and was very glad when Mr. Reimer turned in a great cue for it).
Would have to agree about Fight Club as well, Reed. Am trying to think of other modern film title sequences I've liked and am coming up lacking at this point. Maybe some will come to me later. :)
I agree that the title sequence seems to be a lost art, ironic that you open with a faux title sequence for the film that had no small part in its demise. Lucas was actually fined by the some Hollywood guild for not have opening credits with the names of all who were involved in the production.
As for recent title sequences, one of my favorites of recent memory is not from a film, but TV. The opening titles for "Mad Men" harkens back to those classic film sequences and has a pretty cool song too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcRr-Fb5xQo
As for recent films, I'm not as sure. "Finding Forrester" had a pretty interesting title sequence that broke the fourth wall in terms of the audiance seeing the clap board as the film started before. Also, we can always count on Bond, Goldeneye is my fav or the more recent films. Or at least the one I remember the best, though "Casino Royale" has a pretty sweet seqeuence also. Though "Die Another Day" sucked on just about every level, including titles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk6VR3TNgrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfc9GLxlhEw&feature=related
I knew that about Star Wars. I just enjoyed the heck out of the Saul Bass-styled titles and thought it worth sharing.
Fight Club does have a great opening sequence. Was it borrowed pretty heavily for the opening titles of Spider-Man?
I think both Spider-Man and X-Men borrowed heavily from the Fight Club title sequence (especially X-Men).
I forgot about X-Men.
I've always been kinda partial to Signs myself. Kind of the "poster child" for suspense through simplicity.
While I'm not going to disagree with you, Signs is only effective because of the music.
I nearly shit myself the first time I watched the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which included an actual overture and intermission. I didn't realize I had even been missing it.
For what it's worth, I think the opening sequence to The Happening is just as good as Signs, too... though the film itself is vastly inferior.
True, the genius of Signs is in the music, but then I would also say that at least half of what makes any title sequence great (including all of your examples) is aural.
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