Here in 2014, movie and TV opening credits are arguably more complicated and divine than they’ve ever been, as “telling audiences who’s in the project” has largely been replaced by “awesome visuals that tie into themes, plus the cast and crew names.” And according to those who make it their duty to report on such things, the greatest title sequence of 2014 is apparently from the AMC techy drama Halt and Catch Fire, as created by Elastic. Really? Let’s take a look at the colorful opening before going on, shall we?
Now, it’s a solid opening title sequence through and through, as we actually see a trail getting blazed through glitchy electro-visuals, as some actors appear in vagueness over the constantly colorful movement. But still, it kind of looks like a downloadable game for a phone that I would never play.
The number 2 spot, however, is held by Adult Swim’s maniacal short Too Many Cooks, in which Casper Kelly deconstructed a traditionally corny 1980s opening segment into one of the creepiest things that aired on TV all year. And I get that it’s not actually introducing anything, but it’s still eleven minutes of the most inventive and expertly crafted titles ever. This is a crime, I tell you!
I have no problems with the rest of Art of the Title’s list, though, as it’s a solid assortment of TV, movies, a video game and a couple of conference vids. True Detective’s eerie opening, set to The Handsome Family’s “Far From Any Road,” hit the third spot, while Manhattan’s two-dimensional minimalism hit Number 7. Check it out below.
On the movie side of things, the awesomeness that was The LEGO Movie’s credit sequence made it to the fourth slot. (TV for the top three though, because TV!) Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s striking titles made it to Number 5, which almost feels like a lowball; that was actually one of my favorite parts of the Marvel sequel. Godzilla’s throwback opening, with all of its redacted paperwork, hit Number 9.
And then rounding things out are the opening from Sega’s Alien: Isolation (Number 10), and the two conference titles “Playgrounds Festival 2014” (Number 6) and “Semi-Permanent Sydney 2014” (Number 8). That “Playgrounds” one is pretty fantastic.
All that, and no mention of the incredible stop-motion madness of American Horror Story: Freak Show. Did you agree with Art of the Title’s list? What were your favorite opening titles from 2014?
