“What do you like about it?” One day, we as a people might finally break down all the possible ways to answer that question about any given movie. For now, here’s another tally mark: opening studio logos. More specifically, when and where the opening studio logos are placed and what that means for mood - yours and the film’s. A few Commandments to bear in mind: 1) for technical reasons, these will usually be modern movies, 2) studio logo animations are always better without SFX (except for Lions Gate’s), and 3) Amazon Studios’ logo will never not look ugly. Screw you, Bezos.
Warner Bros, Doctor Sleep
It’s funny: the spoonful of nostalgia we’re served with this vintage card + Wendy Carlos’ main title theme is more potent than anything in the final act of the film (which is partly a criticism). This is exactly where nostalgia belongs: at the front. Trailers, posters, cold opens, title sequences -- hook me in with what I know, then gimme something I don’t. This film mostly succeeds in that respect...
New Line, Boogie Nights
It’s still the best opening to a PT movie, period (followed by Ricky Jay), and “The Big Top” is still my favorite piece of music from this film - original or otherwise. But what makes the New Line logo so essential in the magic of this opener is how it evokes a vast, pitch-black void. The same goes for Magnolia: both films begin in sustained darkness complemented by this animation.
Annapurna, Foxcatcher
Possibly (probably) my favorite on this list. I like to assume it’s intentional when those ominous strings swell right as the fuzzy, distorted animation begins. There aren’t many instances in my life that I can recall when a production logo gave me chills.
Warner Bros, The Dark Knight Trilogy
Speaking of timing: when the Zimmer score syncs up with that “ripple” effect at the beginning of the Warner Bros animation? C’mon. C’mon!
Lions Gate, Saw II
It seems so long ago - when studio logos would get me excited for a horror movie. I guess it’s what the old folks used to call “movie magic”? The ‘golden gears’ Lions Gate logo, specifically, was oftentimes scarier than the horror film it was attached to, and Saw II is no exception. Indeed, that very asymmetry might’ve even improved this movie.
Blinding Edge, Glass
The design of this logo is wonderfully spooky in itself without being overzealous (*cough* Blumhouse *cough*), but when you pair it with the equally spooky echoes of the Horde in a vacant industrial interior it becomes my favorite opening to any M. Night film.
Paramount, Interstellar
Like Foxcatcher and Dark Knight, it’s a special vibe when the logo and the music line up so well, but even specialer (?) is the vibe when the logo design resembles the mood and aesthetic of the feature.
Paramount, Zodiac
I’m a sucker for vintage cards in general - Three Dog Night pushes it over the edge, just as they do with anything. That’s really all there is to it.
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