Tag: titles
Thank You for Smoking
posted: 10.24.2006 3:39 pm tags: design, movies, titles
Saw this over the weekend and was reminded about the great opening title sequence I had read about online earlier this year. Using cigarette packaging as the inspiration, the titles and name plates drift effortlessly from style to style. I particularly love the attention to detail in the form of scuffs, creases and ink patterns. It’s amazing how real it all looks. The choice of music running in the background, “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette!” by Tex Williams, adds to the nostalgia for the days when everybody smoked and nobody really knew how bad it was for you. Kudos to Shadow Play Studio for making a highly enjoyable film—Aaron Eckhart is particularly entertaining here—even better.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
posted: 09.18.2006 2:15 pm tags: design, movies, titles
I heard/read that this movie had a nice off-kilter approach to the standard (?) caper/buddy/noir genre. Much like my fairly recent viewing of Mrs. Henderson Presents, I was somewhat shocked by the quality and “new originality” of the title sequence. I put that in quotes because although I’ve seen great work like this before (Catch Me If You Can comes to mind), it’s always welcome to see people trying something new and different from the current status quo.
Featuring a distressed take on noirish, silhouetted drawings, these really pop with reds, whites and blacks. The movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, wasn’t half bad either. Twisty, briskly paced, and winking at the cliché and convention of the genre, it was a lot of fun. Check out some more screen grabs here, here, here and here, or rent the movie and see for yourself.
Credits: Prologue (company info)
Mrs. Henderson Presents
posted: 08.30.2006 3:03 pm tags: design, movies, titles
So I Netflixed this movie last week, without much expectation. I knew it featured a mildly bawdy (if that's possible) performance from Dame Judi Dench, but not much otherwise. Upon pressing play I was immediately hit by something you don't see very often in the movies anymore—a well-constructed title sequence. Even better, this one was illustrated.
To say this was the best part of the movie for me would do injustice to the film, which was cute and occasionally entertaining. Yet the titles were my favorite part. In an age where we roll credits over a black background or the opening scene, actual title sequences are a welcome diversion.
Featuring a World War II-era illustration style, some very inventive scene transitions, and playful use of type, the opening truly captured my fancy. Check out some more screen grabs here, here, here and here, or rent the movie and see for yourself.
Credits: Foreign Office at Foreign Office & Pathe Pictures.