Classic Movie, Classy Credits

Follow this link for a fun look at what the opening credits for Star Wars: A New Hope would have looked like if they were designed by the legendary Saul Bass.

I love it, even though the music is cheating a little bit; it would be interesting to see if a similar effect could have been achieved while still using John Williams' score.

Then again, quick looks at opening credits for Anatomy of a Murder and The Man with The Golden Arm show why the designer scored it as he did.

Other great works by Saul Bass (a small selection out of many): the openings of three very minor Alfred Hitchcock films; the openings of Casino and Bunny Lake Is Missing; a whole slew of wonderful movie posters; and the old AT&T logo.

While we're at it, check out an (arbitrary) compilation of "25 of the Best Title Sequences" (Part 1 and Part 2). I've always been a huge fan of the Soylent Green title style, which will creep up on you if you haven't seen it before. It's a fun collection of great sequences, and well worth the twenty minutes.