Image via WikipediaWhen I was a kid growing up watching movies at a local theater, I couldn't wait until the main titles were through and off of the screen. I thought they held up the movie, especially if it was one I really wanted to see. Yes, I had no patience, then. [wife: "You have it, now?"] I think it was during my college days that I began to appreciate the creativity behind those titles, or end credits. The playful use of graphics, music and motion (or fonts) that were on display in the really great ones, lent to the story that was on-hand. Or sometimes, the main titles gave a brooding foreshadowing of what was to come via whatever method the skilled designers behind them employed. Whether it was subtle, or blatant, those sequences could and did mesmerize me. It would be years later that I'd learn about some of the masters of this special art, like Saul Bass and Maurice Bender (and if you've ever seen any of the older James Bond movies, you've seen this man's excellent work). In other words (and especially when they're great), I've come to genuinely enjoy, and look forward to, the main title sequences and/or the closing end credits of the movies I take in. Here are some of my favorites, in no order or ranking:
Main Title - The Wild Bunch: this is the now famous (and fabulous) entrance of the "Wild Bunch" into a quiet southwestern border town. Peckinpah's use of the black & white titles, via intercuts and freeze frames, are just so elegantly done. It is a truly effective sequence with the clear message that these are very serious, violent people encased on the screen. Any illusion to the contrary is surely ended when the director's title credit comes across on Pike Bishop's (William Holden) order:
Main Title - Superman (The Movie): This is the great translucent graphic main titles director Richard Donner used for his now classic 1978 comic book adaptation. Those swooshing title images (a clear reference to the main character) cutting across the screen is augmented by John Williams' heroic score leading the way. It is as good as it gets for a superhero movie introduction, then or now.
Closing Credits - Angel Heart: This is the closing credits from Alan Parker's 1987 film, Angel Heart. It is the movie adaptation of the novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. The dark, contrasty images of Harry Angel's "elevator ride to Hell" are intercut with the closing credits, along with creaking sounds and sinister musical score. All of it, make this closing sequence well worth staying to the end for.
Main Titles - Alien: This is the famous slow fade-in of the film title sequence in director Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror classic, Alien. The title appearance is played across the top of the screen (with the interstellar expanse as a backdrop), moving from out to in (hint, hint). Jerry Goldstein's eerie score lets everyone know what they're in for, too.
Opening Title - Duel at Diablo: Ralph Nelson's 1966 western, with its bloody Apache knives cutting across the opening black screen is one of the best (and most grim) western preludes ever. It sets up what's to come in a most effective and direct manner possible.
Main Titles - The Outlaw Josey Wales: This is the main title sequence from Clint Eastwood's early masterpiece from 1976, The Outlaw Josey Wales. After the pillage of the Wales homestead, the simple titles are overlaid on the scenes of the avenging Missouri guerrillas on horseback. All of it done to the marching score by Jerry Fielding. It's a great introductory sequence and it provides the backstory of the main character. As well, it uses some of the best of Bruce Surtee's beautiful cinematography.
Main Title - The Wild Bunch: this is the now famous (and fabulous) entrance of the "Wild Bunch" into a quiet southwestern border town. Peckinpah's use of the black & white titles, via intercuts and freeze frames, are just so elegantly done. It is a truly effective sequence with the clear message that these are very serious, violent people encased on the screen. Any illusion to the contrary is surely ended when the director's title credit comes across on Pike Bishop's (William Holden) order:
"If they move, kill'em!"
Main Title - Superman (The Movie): This is the great translucent graphic main titles director Richard Donner used for his now classic 1978 comic book adaptation. Those swooshing title images (a clear reference to the main character) cutting across the screen is augmented by John Williams' heroic score leading the way. It is as good as it gets for a superhero movie introduction, then or now.
Closing Credits - Angel Heart: This is the closing credits from Alan Parker's 1987 film, Angel Heart. It is the movie adaptation of the novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. The dark, contrasty images of Harry Angel's "elevator ride to Hell" are intercut with the closing credits, along with creaking sounds and sinister musical score. All of it, make this closing sequence well worth staying to the end for.
Main Titles - Alien: This is the famous slow fade-in of the film title sequence in director Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror classic, Alien. The title appearance is played across the top of the screen (with the interstellar expanse as a backdrop), moving from out to in (hint, hint). Jerry Goldstein's eerie score lets everyone know what they're in for, too.
Opening Title - Duel at Diablo: Ralph Nelson's 1966 western, with its bloody Apache knives cutting across the opening black screen is one of the best (and most grim) western preludes ever. It sets up what's to come in a most effective and direct manner possible.
Main Titles - The Outlaw Josey Wales: This is the main title sequence from Clint Eastwood's early masterpiece from 1976, The Outlaw Josey Wales. After the pillage of the Wales homestead, the simple titles are overlaid on the scenes of the avenging Missouri guerrillas on horseback. All of it done to the marching score by Jerry Fielding. It's a great introductory sequence and it provides the backstory of the main character. As well, it uses some of the best of Bruce Surtee's beautiful cinematography.
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