OscarGuy wrote:Not everyone believes they are a waste. The OFTA has a category for Best Titles Sequence.
2004: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
2002: Catch Me If You Can
Amazing ones...
Sweeney Todd's has an interesting opening credits sequence... very Burtonesque of course...
I thought of another film that early enough didn't have an "opening" opening credits sequence: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. It's not after the first glimpse of the accident that we actually start seeing the credits (with an amazing accompanying score by DeVol), and that's like 15 minutes or so after the film started...
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
If you think U.S. trailers are bad, Filipino trailers are a lot worse. They last at least 5 minutes and they practically give away all the plot twists and turns of a film and all the good scenes. (If it's a comedy, they give away all the good jokes.)
Damien wrote:I hate the fact that trailers nowdays give the entire plot of the movie away.
I couldn't agree more with that...it borders on ridiculous now where I try to avoid the trailer for any movie that I am interested in that stands alone as a film, I guess one would not necessarily need to avoid the Atonement trailer having read the book.
I find the two and half minute trailer montage of every scene in the movie to be utterly annoying...makes me respect that Napoleon Dynamite trailer that simply showed him playing tetherball with himself.
Yes, but thsoe random scenes in traielrs from the 40s and 50s often showed shots not seen in the film until the last reel often providing a kind of plot giveaway.
I like trailers because they give you a sense of whether you'd want to see a film. Rarely, if ever, have I seen a really bad trailer obscuring a really good movie. It's usually the other way around, but as Mister Tee says, they're a part of going to the movies. However, one or two, maybe three or four are enough. Any more than that is overkill, and the number of times a particular trailer is shown should be limited to being shown before one or two films otherwise there's a danger of getting sick and tired of the film before you've even seen it.
Mister Tee wrote:You don't like trailers, Damien? Commercials are a blight on the land, but, for me, coming attractions have always been part of going to the movies (despite how mortally sick I am of that one guy's voice).
I hate the fact that trailers nowdays give the entire plot of the movie away. I used to love trailers, when you would just see random scenes from the film, but now they take away any sense of surprise. And also, if you go to the movies several times in a short span, you're subjected to the same ones again and again.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
You don't like trailers, Damien? Commercials are a blight on the land, but, for me, coming attractions have always been part of going to the movies (despite how mortally sick I am of that one guy's voice).
flipp525 wrote:The commercials are another matter entirely. With DVR, I've managed to completely eliminate commercials from my life. Then I have to watch them at the theater. It's a total bust.
I always bring my iPod to the movies and plug in during the commercials and the trailers.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
I like the new trend of just getting on with the movie already, however I do miss some opening title sequences from days of yore: the train tracks moving at a stead clip in Fried Green Tomatoes; the title sequence in Deceived with that haunting score; the flying baby in The World According to Garp.
IIRC, Ordinary People had a great opening as well.
The commercials are another matter entirely. With DVR, I've managed to completely eliminate commercials from my life. Then I have to watch them at the theater. It's a total bust.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
Count me in also as one who also misses the opening credits sequence. I second everything Mister Tee said for his reasoning...he took the words right out of my mouth.
I wonder if the trend has something to do with the rise of the Internet. I don't know about you, but it is rare that I go to a movie without having read about it online (usually a look at the IMDB page) and know the actors and people behind it. The credit information is much more easily found these days in the past. Still, I like the reminders at the beginning of the film.
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
There is one thing I don't understand about the commercials at the beginning. You would think some theaters could make money by promising no commercials and then raising ticket prices slightly.
Actually, Sonic, we're even bigger geeks than you can imagine, and I can assure you you're not the last to notice this trend because...you and I had this very same discussion 2-3 years ago. (Ah -- it's the memory that goes first)
If it makes you feel any better, you took the same position then you do now, so you're consistent. I was against the New Normal (all credits at the end) because 1) I like to be on the lookout for certain actors from the start, and then to have the additional option of matching them to character names at the end (yes, I can check IMDB later, but I prefer instant gratification); 2) I like to know who the major tech contributors (esp. cinematographer, designers, composers) are prior to watching; and 3) pushing everything to the end makes the post-action segment of the film last ten minutes or longer. This may not bother those who get up and leave shortly after final fade, but my wife and are both from the stay-in-your-seat-till-the-lights-come-up-absorbing-the-mood school (it was a delightful thing we discovered on our first movie date), and, these days, my bladder is often crying for mercy by the time that moment arrives.
As others have indicated, it's not yet a universal thing, but it seems to be happening more and more, and I just don't lke it much.
Not everyone believes they are a waste. The OFTA has a category for Best Titles Sequence.
2006: Casino Royale
2005: Sin City
2004: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
2003: Down with Love
2002: Catch Me If You Can
2001: Moulin Rouge
2000: Almost Famous
1999: Man on the Moon
1998: The Truman Show
1997: Contact
Not all great choices, but every org has its bad years.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
