R.I.P. Opening credits?

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Sonic Youth
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Post by Sonic Youth »

I've noticed the Harry Potter films only use end credits.

The first film I remember seeing without opening credits that was contemporary at the time of viewing was "Lethal Weapon 2", which began with the WB logo and thrust us right into an ongoing car chase.

Another film that struck me at the time was Clint's "The Bridges of Madison County", which doesn't even have an opening title. I thought that was very savvy at the time. The novel was both much loved and greatly derided, and I figured he did away with an opening title so that he wouldn't provoke snickers in the screening rooms. But I don't think he's one to use opening credits, usually.

And I don't hate opening credits at all. If Oscars were handed out to opening credits, they should go to such recent films as "Thank You for Smoking" (shame about the rest of the film), and the already mentioned "Catch Me if You Can" animated opening, with what is probably John Williams greatest score accompanying it. That's how I came up with this subject, because sometimes I think "Which movies would deserve Oscar noms for their opening credits?" And then I realized, there aren't so many opening credits anymore, but there are a lot more end credits. And considering the 25 minute long BS pre-show before the movie (which, among other things, makes it impossible for you to have a nice conversation with your spouse/companion/friends), I could do without opening credits for now. Give me an inventive end credit, and I'm happy.

I've learned one thing, though. We're the biggest geeks ever. I mean, we're so particular over the credits? :p
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Post by OscarGuy »

My experience has been that most people, unless they know there's some "tidbit" at the very end of the credits, get up as soon as the credits start rolling. Of course, our theaters have lights that come up at that point. From my experience, Animated Films tend to keep audiences in the theater longer because they frequently put in strange or interesting character animations. The only other films that tend to keep audiences in their seats are the ones that have extraneous or excised material running alongside the crawling credits.

And for my money, I prefer the credits before the film so I can see who did everything in the film I'm about to see and a reminder afterwards is good, but when I see credits at the beginning and I get to the techs and see names I recognize from past achievements that have caught my eye, it increases my anticipation for the film.

A lot of action films, thought, especially the comic book ones, have a tendency now to keep credits at the beginning so they can have fancy opening credit montages.
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Sonic Youth
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Post by Sonic Youth »

cam wrote:I quite agree with you, Big Magilla. Not only are they annoying at the end--we are constantly asking each other: Who is that girl? We have to with till the end to find out.
What's the diff? Do you take note of everyone's names before the film for reference purposes? I wouldn't have the inclination for it. I'd be waiting for the end of the movie to find out in any case.

Cam, I would be very suprised if your DVD player didn't have a zoom option.

My experience has been the opposite to yours, Magilla. Most people sit tight during the end credits and don't get up until the scroll. This is partly because the theaters don't light the theaters until the scroll begins, but it's also because the end credits feel like they're part of the film, an organic extension. The scroll is extraneous, a nice reason to listen to the score but that's it.

Then again, I'm not watching too many movies where crowds are an issue.
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Post by 99-1100896887 »

I quite agree with you, Big Magilla. Not only are they annoying at the end--we are constantly asking each other: Who is that girl? We have to with till the end to find out.

A further bitch: For those of us who do not have 50-inch TV screens, and have no room for one even if we had one: the credits at the end of a DVD are often( as they were in the A Mighty Heart for example) written in such tiny ,tiny script that we cannot read them at all.
Although most people leave at the end of a film in a theatre, I always take time to savor what I have seen, as if I am loath to leave behind the emotion that I had been feeling. At that point I do not mind the catering, the limo driver for Brad, or whatever, but not the actors, as reading them and pondering their individual performances destroys the mood that has been set up by the director.
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Post by Big Magilla »

I think putting credits at the end of a film instead of the beginning is just plain stupid. I don't know about the rest of you, but at my local cineplex people get up and leave as soon as the film is over. If you want to stay and watch the credits very often you miss half of them because of the traffic moving in front of you. Even the ushers look at you like you're a complete moron for staying until the last credit rolls, so I ask, what is the point? Cast, director and other principal contributers, e.g. writers, composers, cinematographers, art directors, cosutme deisgners, make-ups artists, etc. should be acknoweldged at the start of the film. Nonentities such as the caterers from Tucson to Tallahasee to Miss Jolie's personal trainer and Mr. Pitt's limousine driver who have nothing to do with the making of the film should be part of the the end credits if they have to be mentioned at all. But really, the only thing that belongs at the end of the film are the cast credits in case you missed an actor's name at the beginning or want to make note of an actor you hadn't been aware of before.
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Post by OscarGuy »

There has always been that fear, Kaytodd, and I believe the guilds have to sign off on a shift-to-end set of credits. However, it's becoming more common as everyone has said, so either they aren't focusing on permissions or, if it's not individual guilds and one in particular (maybe PGA), then that could be the cause, but there is an org/orgs they have to get permission from to move them.
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Post by kaytodd »

Are there any issues with unions or guilds if a film decides to put credits at the end of a film? I thought some of these groups objected to this practice, assuming that large numbers of filmgoers will take the beginning of the credits as a signal that it is time to get up and leave.
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Post by Jim20 »

I feel opening credits have an opportunity to set the mood for the entire rest of the film. Sometimes, it's just reading the credits over black, while the main title (almost like an overture) plays. For example, "The Sixth Sense." Or the animated sequences of "Catch Me if you Can" or any of the Saul Bass titles of "Psycho," etc.

Of course, certain directors need to have a talent on how to use the opening credits to good effect. That director, of course, is not Ron Howard.

This is just a nitpick, but have any of you ever noticed how he distastefully uses his opening credits? For example, "Apollo 13." Right over the center of the frame during a crucial moment like the moon landing party. Or even when he doesn't place the opening credits at the beginning of the film, like "A Beautiful Mind" he takes what feels like five minutes for the multiple studio logos to appear, then "Universal and DreamWorks Pictures present," and so forth. By the time he gets to the title fading in, I feel exhausted not even wanting to watch the damn movie.

Like I said, just a nitpick...
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Post by dws1982 »

anonymous wrote:I don't mind opening credits. I don't get why you have such a hatred for them.

He didn't say that he had a hatred for them.

He did say that after ten minutes of commercials, and twenty minutes of trailers, he's more than ready for the movie to get going, which is understandable and is something other than an outright hatred for opening credits. And I understand where he's coming from. I hate going to a movie that's supposed to start at 1:00 when it really means that all of the ads and trailers start then, and the movie starts at 1:20, at the earliest. After sitting through that, I'm pretty much ready to just get into the action myself.

I went to a theatre the other day to see Into The Wild. It's a relatively new theatre, and it was the first time I had been there. Most of those Auto/Drink/"Pass It On"/Video Game ads were playing before the movie, as people came into the theatre. I expected more of them after the lights went down (which was about 3-5 minutes later than the 1:10 showtime), but they started right up with trailers. And they didn't even show more than three or four trailers, whereas there were about ten attached to 3:10 to Yuma. (Into The Wild did have opening credits. I don't remember any in 3:10, but I may have forgotten.)

I have mixed feelings about opening credits myself. With certain movies, I think they're better served by throwing us right into the action. Others work better if they take a few minutes to establish the mood.
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Post by Penelope »

Superbad had opening credits--the neon outlines of Jonah Hill and Michael Cera dancing.

Just came back from seeing Lars and the Real Girl, and it had opening credits.

Opening credits work for some movies, and the lack of opening credits work for other movies. I enjoy them when they're there, but have gradually become used to them not being there.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

As long as the James Bond franchise is still going strong, they'll always be OPENING credits.

I don't mind opening credits. I don't get why you have such a hatred for them. The inventive opening credits of Psycho, Dr. Strangelove and Once Upon a Time in the West is reason enough that opening credits can set the mood/tone of the film.
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Post by Sonic Youth »

Just an observation. I've noticed a minor, interesting change in contemporary American movie. As the film opens, you see the studio logos, then MAYBE the title of the film... and nothing else. No actors or actresses names, no Director of Cinematography, no Producers, no Director. Just straight to the film. I'd say this happens in half the films I see now. The film begins... no opening credits. What's happened to them?

Answer: the opening credits are now at the END of the film. Michael Clayton used the credits in the final shot to great effect. Eastern Promises used elaborate graphics to supplement the credits that would have ordinarily made a nifty opening, and instead served as a neat coda. Superbad nixed opening credits until the end as an excuse to show off the "penis drawings" that would have made no sense at the beginning. Even animated films, like Ratatouille and The Incredibles, hopped on the bandwagon and waited until the end of the film to display the credits.

And part of me says, good riddance. After the automobile commercials and Diet Coke commercials, and the advisories as to where the emergency exit doors are, and the American Gangster trailer, and the Beowulf trailer, and the Bee Movie trailer, and the trailer for ten other movies, I just want to get the movie started already. Five minutes worth of credits over opening scenes played at adagio speed is just another delaying tactic. And I think filmmakers and the studios realize this. It's tough enough to grab an audiences attention without making them sit through more preliminaries. And I think audiences are more likely to actually read these credits when placed at the end, when they don't want to get up to break the mood and when they're eyes aren't glazing over.

Anyway, I've probably spent so much time on so little, and maybe I'm even the last to notice. But let me take this opportunity to mark the eventual demise of opening credits altogether. Farewell. Take a seat next to b/w.
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