Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five titles and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Opening Title Sequence
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I've been really looking forward to this week's theme TV opening title sequence which is more on the visual aspects of the opening (next month's TV TMP will be for theme songs). You know how most streaming platforms like Netflix has an option to "skip intro"? I almost never do that because I love watching opening title sequences (OTS) and appreciate a well made and well thought out one. And if you like opening title sequence too there's this excellent site you might want to check out that has been around for several years https://www.artofthetitle.com/ Today's post is going to be quite long. My picks are going to be the OTS I like and will be based on 5 themes so there will actually be more than 5 TV series here.
A Different Opening Title Sequence for Each Season
The Politician (2019 - )
The OTS starts off with an opened wooden mannequin. There are compartments in it and we see it is filled with objects that are important to the main character (MC) and story. The objects in season 2 are different from that in season 1. The mannequin is then closed, painted, clothed and ends with it becoming a real man, the MC. It's a great looking OTS and has a catchy song to go along with it.
Deutschland 83 (2015) Deutschland 86 (2018) Deutschland 89 (2020)
OTS has this pop art collage-ish look with scraps of paper pasted together with images from the season. Each new season is a new collage scene with images from the new season. The series is about the cold war so coupled with a great song the OTS has this almost colorful upbeat spiralling sense of doom.
Artsy
Anne with an E (2017-2019)
The OTS has this really beautiful storybook decoupage diorama-like look. It fits very well with the title character and how imaginative and dreamy she is.
Comic Book Inspired
iZombie (2015-2019)
Unlike the other series I picked today, I don't love this series but I do like it and like the OTS. Loosely based on a comic book, the OTS is presented as comic book panels that shows how the MC becomes a zombie and also introduces the major characters in the series. Subsequent seasons would add new panels introducing new characters important to the season.
Unlike the other series I picked today, I don't love this series but I do like it and like the OTS. Loosely based on a comic book, the OTS is presented as comic book panels that shows how the MC becomes a zombie and also introduces the major characters in the series. Subsequent seasons would add new panels introducing new characters important to the season.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
Similarly as above, while I don't love this series, I do enjoy it. And I do like the OTS and how it pays tribute to it's comic book roots. The graphics has this very vintagey comic book look to the tune of an eerie Halloweenish music.
Transforming Images
The Night Manager (2016)
Last of my picks that I don't love but do like the OTS. It has this clever sort of playing with the images where when the camera zooms out it transforms the images into something else. A tea set on a round tray from above becomes a barrel of a gun. Moving boats in the ocean from above transforms into missiles in the sky. This is a spy thriller so the OTS is very fitting in that nothing is what it seems.
OTS here is less sleek than The Night Manager but it still has the same transforming images thing going on. A blade of a knife becomes the light coming from beneath a door. Branches in a dense woods becomes a finger print.
Each Episode a Slightly Different Opening Title Sequence
Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
The OTS shows a map of the Game of Thrones world. With each episode highlighting the locations that the story goes to in that particular episode. I absolutely love the OTS here. It is just looks so stunning and has great sound (the sounds of metal clanging, fire burning and gears moving) plus there's also that now iconic theme song.
Home Before Dark (2020 - )
The series is about a young girl looking into the unsolved case of her father's still missing best friend who was abducted as a child. The OTS shows the girl's notebook being flipped open on a desk and each episode highlights new things on the desk or in the notebook reflecting the girl's new findings in that particular episode.
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I haven't seen most of these, but the openings were cool. The Anne with an E sequence is stunning - it comes as modern but with antique-inspired illustrations. I never realized that Game of Thrones had a different map for every episode. That's something I'll have to keep an eye out for next time I rewatch the series. We share Defending Jacob as a pick this week.
ReplyDeleteGame of Thrones - I still haven't finish the series, but when I do start it again, I too will be paying more attention to the opening.
DeleteWe match on Game of Thrones! I haven't seen your other picks, but I enjoyed their themes.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I didn't think of Defending Jacob as I loved the sequence.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite a short limited series so I totally understand forgetting it.
DeleteI have seen a few of these. I thought about adding The Politician to my list too since it's one of the few I watch from start to finish these days but went with a crime route. Some other good picks here too, minimalistic every week a new title card would be Watchmen for me too. That was cool.
ReplyDeleteAhh I haven't seen Watchmen, but it is on my too watch list.
DeleteSo you have dropped a lot series?
I haven't seen any of these but love the game of Thrones theme which is often played on the classical radio station I listen to. The German theme I know well as well as the Ahead by a Century...poor Gord Downie-he died of cancer only a couple of years ago. I know about Sabrina but never seen this one although I saw the campy one years ago and loved that black cat. some are great like that one where everything morphs into something else. Love the mannequin one too.
ReplyDeleteGoT theme song on classical radio? I suppose because it's an instrumental.
Delete