Title Sequence Clip Review

 

            As stated in the article “First frames: title in the digital realm”, the title sequence of a movie gives the audience the first look and feeling of a movie. As I watched the title sequences clips, I got enough of a feel for each movie to predict how I would feel about watching the entire movie. The opening sequence of “Raging Bull” made me want to see the entire movie. The combination of music, imagery, and action allowed me to infer what the movie would be about. The movie starts with a piece of classical music, with a boxer shown warming up before a presumably major match. This contrast between the bruteness of the boxing and the gentility of the music made me think that this film would take a deep and meaningful message about the boxer, and not just be a fight movie. The black and white medium, being very uncommon for a movie produced in 1980, increased my feeling of the implied deep meaning in the movie. The black and white medium makes the imagery simpler, meaning the audience will focus more on the characters and their emotions. This gives the feeling of an emotion and character based film, not one based solely on action and event. The black and white medium also hints to the film taking place sometime in the past, where the present-day problems can be ignored so the audience focuses more on the characters. The title sequence of “Pulp Fiction” gave me a very clear sense as to the content and plot of the movie. The opening scene is in a standard American diner. The two main characters are a seemingly normal lower-class English couple eating breakfast. As the scene progresses, the vulgarity of the conversation increases until the couple decides to rob the diner. This gives me the feeling that the movie will use normal settings and characters but make drastic twists and subvert the audience’s expectations. Based on the initial scene, I think it is obvious that the film will be about crime. The absurdity of the initial scene also makes me think that the film will be a comedy, despite the initial feeling of disgust towards the vulgarity and criminality of the characters, and that by later in the film I will feel great glee and satisfaction at the unpleasant actions of the characters. The title scene of the original James Bond easily shaped my perception of the individual film and the franchise as a whole. The plot within the opening scene undermined the credibility of the character of James Bond for me. His mission of blowing up a cliché villain’s bunker was forgivable, but his following actions are ridiculous in the context of a superspy. After blowing up a building, the last thing a secret agent would do is go into a nearby saloon completely overdressed and as an obvious foreigner. He is in what appears to be a poor Latin American country; a well-dressed British man does not blend in well. To follow up on this incredibly idiotic action, Bond proceeds to go to the chambers of a dancer, where he is almost killed. The title scene makes me think that James Bond is a joke of an agent, that the film takes itself too seriously, and leaves me questioning my decision to watch the movie. I think that the title scene of “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a masterpiece. The scene starts with blackness, giving the viewer an immediate sensation of the empty void of outer space. The scene then shows the Earth from space with the sun rising over the horizon. The scene then shows a group of apes in a desert environment. One of the apes starts using a bone to smash a skull. The scene then shows a satellite in a similar shape to the bone. While this scene is presented visual, the piece Also sprach Zarathustra. The piece has a grandiose feeling that overwhelms the listener and evokes a deep emotional feeling. This piece was composed in 1896 and has the distinctive sound of classical orchestra-based music, giving it a seemingly timeless quality and ensuring that the emotional effort will remain intact over time. The use of this music with the scene of an ape smashing a skull with a bone is absurd, but the transition to the satellite implies to the viewer that bone is the first tool and that all subsequent human achievements (including the satellite) derive from this bone. Overall, the opening scene makes me feel that the movie will deeply explore humanity and that the futuristic setting will show how humanity remains constant. In contrast to all of my other examples, the title scene of “She Has to Have it” gave me little idea as to what the movie was about. The scenes of deep poverty definitely display the setting, but give the view almost no idea as to the plot. This creates mystery and forces the audience to continue intently watching. The opening’s mysteriousness makes me want to continue watching the film just to find out what it is about.