As part of my New Year’s Resolution to start branching out more with my film blog, I decided to do more film centric articles, almost in the same vain as the Top Ten Lists or even more analysis/praise of particular things about film. As of late I have been reading a lot of different film blogs and appreciating all the work that others have done with the medium of film, but one particular has caught my eye and really made me appreciate what it is I love most about movies.
In some ways, we as a movie going audience have become numb to what all goes into a film. The beginning, middle and ending of a film are just the parts of the film that we think begins with the start of the story. Once the title cards roll past the screen, we assume that is when the movie begins. In reality, there is a subtle art that goes into the opening title sequences. It isn’t just about telling us who is in the movie, but the title sequence can be a mechanism in which a story it setup or thematic elements of a film can be explained. The blog entitled, Art of the Title, is a fantastic site that goes into deep, critical analysis of the title sequences of some of the best movies out there. Another fantastic site called, Forget the Film, Watch the Titles, expands upon the art of the opening and even crosses over to television openings. Both sites feature amazing interviews and chronicle some of the previous incarnations of opening sequences. While they are sites strictly dedicated to that art form, I am doing this as more of an expansion on my repertoire of film postings.
While I will try and give some insight in the thematic elements and meaning of the opening sequences, if you want to explore more of the art and direction that goes into the title openings, check out the sites mentioned above.
So to start off the first of many posts on the subject, today will be about the opening sequence for the film, Lord of War.
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