One of the best things about the series overload in recent years, beside of course the great variety of shows to keep you busy 24/7, is the fact that opening credits are back en vogue. If you resist the temptation of skipping them (ok it really is okay to skip GoT once in a while) you might find that some of them are a cinematographic masterpiece themselves, not so much just introducing characters but generating a mood horizon and managing viewer expectations. The opening credit creators of Dexter and American Gods did a hell of a great job, but my favorite opening is the creepy as f*** True Blood theme by Digital Kitchen already forecasting the dark theme of the TV show.
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Twin Peaks (the original series from 1990-91) by creator Mark Frost and the master of cinematographic surrealism himself, David Lynch, is beautiful small-town tranquility turned into a shady dreamworld between tough reality and yearning human delusion. Don’t be fooled by the hypnogogic opening credits, David Lynch knows his trade and every episode will be provide an enthralling mixture of supernatural mystery, casual crime and 90s high school drama.
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The silent movie A TRIP TO THE MOON (original title Le Voyage dans la lune, 1902) was born in the first decade of motion pictures and is today regarded as one of the most influential cinematographic works. It also is the first Science Fiction movie ever, the storyline following a group of astronomers who travel to the moon. French illusionist and director Georges Méliès, being way ahead of his time, has topped his masterpiece with a range of special effects like multiple exposures, dissolves and time-lapse photography. Pure magic back than and somehow still is.
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The Last Circus (original Balada triste de trompeta, 2010) by spanish director Álex de la Iglesia, truly is the material nightmares are made of. It took my dreamy nostalgic view on life in a travelling circus and just crushed it under a unsettling mountain of violence, sadism and savagery. A surreal and enthralling ballad that, in best case, leaves you with only a fear of clowns.
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French canadian director Xavier Dolan has done quite a few great films in the last couple of years, he has become a regular guest on well-known festivals in Cannes and Toronto and even won one or another fancy award. Therefore my favorite Dolan movie Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats, 2010) was already banned to the “Earlier Films” section in his wikipedia bio. But what a film! This very specific and almost poetic film language, the dramaturgy of colors and the extraordinary blend of the soundtrack. Heartbreaking cinematographic art!
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