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NTTD Main Titles & Gunbarrel - Designed by Daniel Kleinman (SPOILERS)
Looks like Kleinman is officially back, and these guys even have a quote from him
"I have started having ideas for B25, and met with @cary_fukunaga who is a very nice talented man. It’s very early days for my process, there is no title or song as yet, but I’m already excited to be thinking about visuals for the main titles."
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Comments
Kleinman has outstayed his welcome in my opinion. I adore what he did with SF but SP represented something of a career nadir.
The imagery was baffling and just nonsensically weird. Why the heck was Daniel topless with women weirdly stroking his chest next to a raging fire?!?! What the bloody hell was going on with that idiotic squid. It was a vulgar CGI mess.
Spectre was by far Kleinman’s weakest titles.
I was really hoping for a female title designer. Someone who could possibly bring in the female gaze and make the titles more like a high-end fashion spread. Maybe a talent like Melina Matsoukas.
Alternatively, they should of got Ben Chappell. He’s the guy who has shot all the Arctic Monkeys videos:
Instead of something edgy and cool. We are getting the bloke who thought this was a cool image:
Jeez….. Kleinman really screwed the pooch on that one.
I agree with you, @QBranch. I like the minimalist and somewhat story-driving titles of CR, but SF and SP were layers and layers of perfumed, artistic douchebaggery. I'm not saying they were "bad"--hell, I couldn't create such a thing even if I had a lifetime to do it--but there was something self-indulgent about them, versus the almost truculent (in a pleasing way) nature of CR's title sequence.
I still think Kleinman did his best work with GE and CR and I must admit that I have a soft spot for what he did with DAD, keeping the mood going despite a weak PTS and despite Madonna's song. What he did with SF and SP was, of course, in keeping with that particular style Mendes brought to the game, so if Fukunage injects the series with new energy, maybe he'll demand Kleinman do the same.
Overall, I'm a fan of Kleinman's titles. As with Binder's, there are more highs than lows. Incidentally, Kleinman's rapidly closing in on Binder in terms of years of service (though not of number of films of course.) It's just something I grew aware of just now. ;-)
On a side note, the SP one made me laugh out loud unintentionally in the theatre because I was immediately reminded of a scene from Bullshot (1983), featuring a giant squid.
Mk12.
Is what he says true? That there is still no title for BOND 25. :-/
I know people love his CR titles, but personally they always seemed a little lacklustre to me.
SP was a total mess. I was so confused when I first saw it and it still gets unintentional laughs out of me.
However, the one glimmer of hope here is SF. I really loved it and still do. I love it’s haunting Halloween imagery with Bond’s slow descent into the underworld. It’s a surrealistic depiction of Bond’s death kitted out with burning effigies of 007.
But whatever goodwill Danny had was squandered with SP. I’m frustrated that Fukunaga jazzed things up so much behind the scenes just to keep Kleinman of all people……..
I don’t want a CGI mess, I want them to channel this style of energy:
Or imagine something made by Nicholas Winding Refn! They should just take this video and make the titles from it.
Back when they wanted SPECTRE title sequence to be part hentai and part The Little Mermaid.
I agree on Nicholas Winding Refn, who is a terrific visual director. I'm sure he himself has contributions to make to the Bonds, though maybe not as a director.
As for SP, I must admit I loved the Cthulhu theme of the whole thing. ;-)
I think you're misunderstanding what is meant by the 'female gaze'. It doesn't mean ogling at man meat. I'm referring to what might be deemed a high-fashion interpretation of femininity and sex. Think more Vogue or London Fashion Week than the Spectre titles.
I also liked the skull used to represent Blofeld at the head of the octopus as that reminded me of a few of the Richard Chopping Fleming Bond novel dust jackets featuring skulls as well as the smiling glowing skull Coronet paperback cover of John Gardner's Icebreaker. The two folding skeletal hands (with Blofeld at the table) put me in mind of the Thunderball novel Chopping dust jacket as well. It was all very Bondian in my book.
All of this considered, I think that's why I liked the Spectre titles so much, even if it seems I'm in the minority on this. Come to think of it, I am often in the minority here on matters Bondian (most especially on the continuation novels), so it's no big surprise to me!
So, I'm glad that Daniel Kleinman is back. He's very good at what he does and is a continuing asset to the James Bond fims. We're lucky to have him.
I get why some wanted new blood but I think there is a danger of messing with something that isn't broken, as they already found out the hard way when they replaced him for QoS and when they replaced Arnold with Newman. Different isn't always better.
Plus what's good about Kleinman is you never really get the same thing twice. Binder's titles by the end were fairly forgettable imo, he repeated himself a lot (bird, gun, maybe a shot of Bond, wash rinse repeat). Kleinman though is versatile. He does reuse concepts (silhouetted Bond in CR and SF, dancing girls in the Brosnan era) but he always manages to make every sequence feel completely unique to that film. I don't see any need to replace him and I'm excited to see what he comes up with for Bond 25.
High-fashion interpretation could be easily infused into the film itself with little trouble, but unfortunately in a 2-3 minute title sequence, it has a high chance of being, well.....a bit boring. The energy given off in the images you posted is limp at best, and I fear the inspiration taken from them or others of their kind would lead to something that's simply not very visually stimulating.
The best title sequences have always shown a creative twist on something that's plot relevant (or at least a play on something in the film), as opposed to taking on board this kind of thing.
See GF, TB, OHMSS, GE, CR, SF....
For me, at least.
Exactly, you're absolutely right. It's about themes and means to present them.
That's not to say the two ideas couldn't be merged together in an interesting way, of course. I just get very little from the pictures posted above in terms of energy, in an abstract way.
I am with those who don't particularly like the SP titles. Objectively, they are no worse than Kleinman's other efforts but because they reflect the themes of the film so strongly and I also happen to not like the film's execution of those same themes, I find them a tad underwhelming as a result.
Say what you want about Mk12’s sequence for QoS but at least there was some coherency to the images, a focused theme, and an energy to them.
So you kind of want a return to the Maurice Binder title sequence for Dr. No? I could get on board with that.
My feelings exactly. About Kleinman and Mk12.
DC Octopus porn was risible and like @Univex I put my TV on mute so I don't get subjected to the worst title song of the series and the most forgettable.
It actually makes me nauseous. Really. It really does. It's like a reflux spasm or something. And I get an eye twitch...it doesn't actually bleed like Le Chiffre's, but it might at some point, so I put the tv on mute to play it safe.