Thursday

On the day I posted about the greatest tracking shots, Alex sent me a link to the greatest credit sequences. I've never put much thought into such things, so the list interested me. However, I immediately noticed that all of these films were quite recent. And given the description of the opening sequences as 'kick ass', I imagine this list was compiled by a young gentleman, possibly of the undergraduate disposition. Alex recommended that the comments were just as, if not more, interesting than the actual list. They are revealing, but the first remark suggests Superman - a credit sequence that starts well, but goes on for over five infuriating minutes. I didn't read them all, but couldn't see anyone who proposed a Hitchcock film. For me, North by Northwest and Psycho are some of the best credit sequences ever (created by Saul Bass, with music from Bernard Herrmann), but as I said at the beginning, I had never thought about compiling a list of such things. I'm not sure if I prefer the modest method of Woody Allen - white writing on a black background for all his movies, I believe. I wonder, though, at exactly what point it was that filmmakers started using credits creatively? I wouldn't be surprised if it was with Saul Bass. Anyway, what I recommend you look for at the beginning of a movie is what I call the 'director shot'. Usually, the writer of the music will give you some cue when his name comes up, but for the shot when 'directed by' appears (the last of the sequence) see if there is anything unusual or outstanding about it. This shot will give you a lot of information about the type of film you're about to see, how good the director is, the detail he goes into, and how much control he had over his movie. If it doesn't differentiate itself in any way from what's come before, be cautious. I don't believe it's arrogance to insist on something special when your name comes up, rather a dogged perseverance towards a creative undertaking.

In other news, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is breaking box office records, despite the generally negative verdict of critics. You'll be able to read my review next week.