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Quick Big Mi6 Title Sequence Ranking Game

13567…16

Comments

  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,162
    On to our penultimate place:

    CASINO ROYALE (1967)
    Main title sequence designed by
    RICHARD WILLIAMS

    cr_c.jpg?k=daf9a4a620

    Two-time Oscar winner Richard Williams stepped in for CR67’s title sequence. A considerable effort was clearly put into this, but unlike Burt Bacharach’s music, this one fails to beat some of the official entries.

    That being said, it has quite a few admirers, with one 11th, one 12th, one 14th and one 15th spot.

    With eleven bottom 5’s, of which eight were penultimate placements and two were bottom finishes, it was always going to be tough to end up higher though.

    CR67’s main title sequence obtained 38 points.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,219
    This is a sequence I truly admire. It isn't so much trying to spoof Binder and Brownjohn in my opinion; rather, I think it delivers a playful Pink Panterish collection of beautifully drawn and colored jokes that charmingly work with the opening theme. They may not feel like anything "Bond", but in their own way, they create a pleasant experience that feels natural in this wicked film.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,853
    While I had the title sequence for CR’67 at 26, I actually have a great deal of affection for it - and the film in general.

    And @DarthDimi, you can actually see the style of these titles in other films of that period. I imagine, in the wake of Pink Panther "cartoon" type titles became very popular.

    “What’s Up Pussycat” (1965) – also by Charles Feldman


    "After the Fox" (1966)


    In fact, someone actually did (on YouTube) a version of the CR’06 titles in the style of CR’67!!!!
  • mattjoesmattjoes THE MOONRAKER TAPES ARE LOST THE MOONRAKER TAPES ARE LOST
    Posts: 7,040
    The After the Fox theme is so catchy. I think this was one of Victor Mature's last films.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,619
    Sorry chaps, I had to put CR67 in last place because I hadn't seen it in years. However, in getting a recap from the images above I think I would still rank it there. By the time we play this game again, I may have seen the film a third time and found a new respect for it.

    NSNA's title sequence came in at #22 mostly for nostalgia reasons. Takes me back to '98 when I taped it off the telly. I like the training mission (plus the title song, even if the first note or two sounds warped). It was possible to make the '007' pattern also read vertically and diagonally too - but that is just a minor detail I would've personally added.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,985
    Close enough for me, as I had it in 25th place. It's not the worst but it really doesn't offer that much to stand out amongst most of the official title sequences.
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    21st for me mostly on account of how it's stylistically interesting and there was clearly a lot of effort put into it.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I like it better than many others. Halfway up the tree for me.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,487
    CR67 ended at 21 in my ranking. It defintely is more creative than some of the latest Binder sequences...
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited February 2022 Posts: 2,157
    Number 14 for me. Joyful, colorful and just plain fun, like the movie itself. I love it.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,162
    I quite like this title sequence too. I think Williams also did the amazing title sequence of The Pink Panther Strikes Again.

    Still though, there is not a single Bond title sequence that I dislike, and that’s why this one ended up penultimate for me. Its placement is more an acknowledgment of how much I love all the others than anything else really
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    So the first two are exactly where I put them. CR67 might suffer from being overlooked a bit. It's actually not that bat, it just seems a bit unbondian to me.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 7,520
    Richard Williams is a superb animator, and I have a soft spot for this title sequence, one of the better things about ths movie!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,162
    Right, let’s start off the week with our worst-ranked EON entry:

    MOONRAKER
    Main title sequence designed by
    MAURICE BINDER

    m_c.jpg?k=f412940558

    I was actually expecting one of Binder’s 80’s efforts to end up here, but just one year prior to that decade there was this one, which doesn’t seem to be immensely popular either.

    MR’s highest ranking was one 9th spot, which proved to be its only top 10 spot.

    The most common rankings of MR were three 20th spots as well as three 21st spots.

    MR also ended up once in each of the four last slots, giving it four bottom 5’s as well as one last place.

    Only two EON films finished at the bottom in this contest, MR is one of them.

    In total MR’s title sequence acquired 54 points.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,219
    Interesting! To be fair, it is a pretty weak sequence. A lot of smoke, some gymnastics, and the horrible bicolour splitting of a shape. I love the film, I adore the theme song, but the sequence itself is pretty weak.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited February 2022 Posts: 40,985
    It came in a bit stronger than it did for most others who participated at 19th. It's really nothing special, one of many that really don't make an impact on me and are rather repetitive and dull in their themes or imagery.

    Though this is exactly why I graded them all with the song muted, because it might've landed even higher had I not.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 7,520
    Yes, It is rather ordinary, I had it at 21. Love the theme, but Binder could have done a lot more with it!
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited February 2022 Posts: 1,711
    I had it at ninth. It doesn't have any of the technical flaws or cringey choices that pop up in some of Binder's other work, and the tramploine-aided floating silhouettes look pretty great. I of course didn't factor in my love for the song, but the visuals complement Barry's theme very nicely.
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou, but I now hear a new dog barkin'
    Posts: 9,054
    Sorry, people, I hate to be a spoilsport...but the ranking of title sequences is probably, to me, second only in irrelevance after the gunbarrel sequences. Never cared for either, never tried to rank them. Couldn't remember most of them if I tried. Dismissed them if I didn't find anything special, found some of them ok. But definitely irrelevant as long as the movie around them was good. Or bad, for that matter.

    I'd say the only title sequence that I found special (because it was *different* from everything that went before) was CR 2006. The rest, whether by Maurice Binder or Daniel Kleinman or whoever, was the usual, and actually tedious, "silhouettes of nude women do horizontal bar routines on a handgun barrel" nonsense. Nice backdrop for the better theme songs, but no more than that.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,711
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Sorry, people, I hate to be a spoilsport...but the ranking of title sequences is probably, to me, second only in irrelevance after the gunbarrel sequences. Never cared for either, never tried to rank them. Couldn't remember most of them if I tried. Dismissed them if I didn't find anything special, found some of them ok. But definitely irrelevant as long as the movie around them was good. Or bad, for that matter.

    While I believe you when you say you're indifferent to the relative quality of minutes-long sequences unique to a film series you love, I do not believe that you hate to be a spoilsport.
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou, but I now hear a new dog barkin'
    Posts: 9,054
    Oh, I do. I just don't pretend I'm not. Case of basic honesty, apart from the fact that it shouldn't deter anyone else to see it differently. I go to church services and stand in respect without praying myself.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,711
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Oh, I do. I just don't pretend I'm not. Case of basic honesty, apart from the fact that it shouldn't deter anyone else to see it differently. I go to church services and stand in respect without praying myself.

    :)) You mean you don't enter churches you have no interest in being in, and say "Hate to be a spoilsport, everyone, but I think this is all kind of a waste of time!" That's a relief! ;)

    But anyway, I wanted to add one thing about Moonraker. I think it's one of the last times Maurice more or less stuck to a relevant theme for the title sequence. The floaty silhouettes, which I like, are obviously relevant, and the opening and closing circles are evocative of rockets taking off.

    Honest inquiry: I'd love to know, perhaps when we get there, what people think OP and TLD do better in their title sequences.... :-?
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited February 2022 Posts: 2,157
    #16 for me.
    Nothing really special and it may certainly seem bland compared to the knockout title sequence that came before it, but it’s far from the worst imo.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    Have it at 21. It could also been 18th or 19th or 23th. It is certainly one of the less inspired ones which is a shame since one could have created a really good one. Isn't MR the film where Bond goes into space? How can you not build something around that topic...
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou, but I now hear a new dog barkin'
    Posts: 9,054
    ProfJoeButcher wrote: »
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Oh, I do. I just don't pretend I'm not. Case of basic honesty, apart from the fact that it shouldn't deter anyone else to see it differently. I go to church services and stand in respect without praying myself.

    :)) You mean you don't enter churches you have no interest in being in, and say "Hate to be a spoilsport, everyone, but I think this is all kind of a waste of time!" That's a relief! ;)
    I only go to churches (except for architectural interest in the building) when someone in my family or friends' circle has a religious occasion. Like a baptism or confirmation. And yes, I don't believe in any of that but try not to turn it into a dispute. Which is why I try to silently fit in. Just like here.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,219
    This thread has taken a weird turn... ;)
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,619
    Can someone please post a screenshot of Valdo on the phone?

    "Yes, I like ranking title sequences! Bye bye."
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    QBranch wrote: »
    Can someone please post a screenshot of Valdo on the phone?

    "Yes, I like ranking title sequences! Bye bye."

    On an even simpler vein, to happy new future for GoldenGun's ranking threads!

    I was a little surprised to see Moonraker's quite this low, but I also didn't have it that much higher myself. The smoky blue backdrop with full moon that bookends the titles is nice, but there's not a whole lot of invention here and there are some rather odd choices like the falling circus imagery at the beginning and the bicolor shape divider mentioned by @DarthDimi. Not one of Binder's better ones.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,487
    I ranked MR as #20. I expected a Binder sequence from the 80s to go out first.
    Yes @ProfJoeButcher , I ranked OP and TLD lower than MR. I was surprised how underwhelming they were when I rewatched them without music. They are all a bit too similar without enough new ideas.
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    That spinning silhouette over the drumroll at the start of this doesn't do it any favors. Probably the worst individual moment in any of Binder's sequences.
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