The Art of the Opening Credit Sequence: David Gordon Green's Undertow (2004)

A whole lot can be said with a great opening credit sequence. I always feel like unimaginative and lazy opening credit crawls are a real missed opportunity for filmmakers, so I greatly admire the ones who put a lot of thought and creativity into them. They don't have to be showy (Woody Allen's wonderfully minimalist white on black openings are as instantly recognizable as his films) and when done correctly they can rightly be labeled as art all on their own. As a companion to my ongoing celebration of my favorite closing shots, here is a new series at Moon in the Gutter focusing on truly splendid opening credit sequences. I find the one designed for David Gordon Green's extraordinary Undertow (2004), featuring both frantic action shots and still photography, to be breathtaking in every way and it seemed an ideal opening to the series.