Wednesday, February 2, 2011

HBO movie intro from early 1980s


Back in the early 80s cable television was an exciting novelty offering a then enormous variety of programming. For my youthful inclinations, I was most interested in the movie channels offering the R-rated parade of fun.

While there were intro pieces for all channels, the ones created for HBO were often the most lavish and one I've always remembered was the stedi-cam fly over a miniature cityscape and beyond. It's an intricate and effects laden few momemts, whetting your appetite for the feature presentation. Included below are both the intro itself, as well as a behind the scenes, making of short film.


early 1980s long HBO opening


HBO Intro - Behind the Scenes

4 comments:

  1. They were still running this intro well into the mid 90s.

    I'm amazed the streaks were actual film & not hand drawn.

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  2. Quite labor intensive to produce, but the end result is still a visual treat.

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  3. Yes! I loved this, and the music was quite exciting, almost as if you were in a theater.

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  4. agreed, the miniatures and opening visuals are spectacular, but the bombastic intro music adds a lot to the whole thing

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