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(Credits: Far Out)<\/p>\n
Sat 2 August 2025 22:15, UK <\/p>\n
When the pandemic hit in 2020, and people the world over were confined to their homes for months at a time, many of us chose to use that time wisely: by watching movies<\/a>. <\/p>\n I, like a lot of people, took it as an opportunity to fill in the gaps in my cinephile credentials, meaning I wound up watching a ton of films I\u2019d never seen before from the 1950s, \u201960s, and \u201970s. I saw lots of great films in that period, and even if I didn\u2019t care too much for some of them, I still felt gratified that I could check them off my quote-unquote \u201cclassics\u201d watchlist. <\/p>\n To tell you the truth, if there hadn\u2019t been a global plague hanging over our heads that threatened to alter life as we knew it forever, I\u2019d have said those few months spent binge-watching old movies were an unmitigated delight.<\/p>\n The more films I watched from these periods, though, the more I began to notice a common theme: almost all of them had extended credits sequences at the beginning.<\/a> Some of them would be animated and very elaborate; some would simply follow the main character as they accomplished a task of some sort; and some would be more of an esoteric visualisation of the core themes of the film. All of them, though, would last a few minutes and run through the primary cast and crew\u2019s names.<\/p>\n Overall, I mostly enjoyed returning to a time where movies could leisurely establish their credentials and hint at the tone of the film to come, before they launched headlong into the plot. Sometimes they were a bit dull and forgettable, but mostly they were great ways to get yourself in the correct headspace for the upcoming film. In a way, they functioned like the opening titles of a TV show<\/a>, and I never skip those. In fact, if you are someone who skips credits sequences when watching shows, you\u2019re a monster.<\/p>\n So, why have opening credits become a thing of the past?<\/p>\n Naturally, seeing all these unique, intriguing opening sequences in movies made me think about why we barely ever see them in modern cinema. These days, movies tend to show some production company\/studio logos, and then immediately go into the story, before ending with five to ten minutes of credits that show you the name of everyone who worked on the film, including all the below-the-line crew members. <\/p>\n In reality, though, digging into why credits were moved from the beginning to the end of films reveals several factors at play. For starters, audiences\u2019 tastes have changed hugely, especially in the internet age. In the 1990s, Steven Spielberg conducted research into the likes and dislikes of moviegoers and found that the majority believed opening credits sequences were boring, and they\u2019d rather get into the meat of the film without as much preamble. This likely saddened him, but hey, who was he to argue with the people actually paying to see the movies?<\/p>\n
![\"Hollywood](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Hollywood-Hollywood-Sign-General-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ Philippe Collard)<\/p>\n