Saul (and Elaine) Bass- Opening title sequence #2

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) link to opening sequence Anatomy of a Murder (1959) is a drama/crime film directed by Otto Preminger. The film is based the novel on a murder case that took place in 1952. The sequence opens with a plain grey screen. The camera shoots from a bird's eye view, simple black shapes, placed together to form a corpse. The choice of the colour grey, creates an eerie, dark atmosphere. It could also represent a floor pavement which could suggest the film is located in the city. The animation of the corpse relates to the title of the movie 'anatomy' which literally means 'body parts' The movie title appears spread around the body parts. The typography is used to create a liquid effect- blood perhaps. The scale of the words vary in size. The words 'anatomy' and 'murder' are bigger compared to the rest of the words to emphasize their importance. The placement of the word 'murder' on the body's chest may suggest the cause of death. The rest of the sequence are multiple short, mostly closeup shots of these body parts as the credits continue to roll. The parts then split in thirds before disappearing. A certain shot shows the two arms placed together as if it is being dragged. These sinister and violent action/s foreshadow something bad will happen in the movie.