The overture is a lost art with movies. It used to be a staple from epics to musicals, in everything from King Kong to Oklahoma!, but Jerry Goldsmith's smashing intro to Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of the last to open a major Hollywood film. But for a time in the 1980s, millions of cable television watchers were treated to one of history's most memorably brief overtures before the credits ran. Remember this?:
Is it wrong to sing along to that theme? I always did.
Loved seeing it again.
It's funny, I go on Youtube and watch clips like that, or the network movie openings that are up there (NBC Sunday Night at the Movies) yet at the time, I couldn't wait for them to end and for the film to begin.
Great clip, Adam, that brings back a flood of memories. My parents had HBO since Day 1 (and there's a funny story in that when my mother called to cancel cable a few years back for their satellite package, the operator stated "wow, customer number 17???"). My dad, unwilling to advance into the digital DVD age, still has cabinets full of copied VHS movies that bear that same logo because he'd set the VCR timer up 2 minutes before showtime. I bet there's some great lost trailers in those tapes. Anyway, thanks for the memories.
Moviezzz: I was actually the complete opposite, there were many shows back in the day I watched only for the introduction before tuning out, like Magnum P.I. and (strangely) The 700 Club.
Joseph: Great story! My father-in-law actually grew up in the first community in the U.S. to receive cable (Astoria, Ore.). Its geography made it tough for television signals to penetrate. Luckily, the previous family that lived in my childhood home had pirated cable and so we received free HBO, otherwise my family would have never ordered it -- maybe it was fate?
Here's another clip you'll like, full of HBO promos from 1987:
I remember the post-HBO overture anticipation effect too, Adam. And the tantilizng list of "adult themes, adult language, nudity," etc. made it all the more fun to try and guess what the feature would be and decided if I would get to watch with my parents or be sent to my room (only one TV in the house back then). :D
I ~really~ wish HBO would release these on DVD. I'm half amazed that someone at the top hasn't at least seen fit to use them on HBO today. People would LOVE it.
710. Write n' Wrong
709. Start-Stop Kid
708. Trouble On the Milk Brigade
707. A Time for Springs
706. How 'Bout Now?
705. Freeze Thinker
704. Wonder Tax
703. Mind Fridge
702. These Messages
701. Goblin
Want more?? Here's 700 more!
My dreams aren't as empty, as my conscience seems to be
5 comments:
Is it wrong to sing along to that theme? I always did.
Loved seeing it again.
It's funny, I go on Youtube and watch clips like that, or the network movie openings that are up there (NBC Sunday Night at the Movies) yet at the time, I couldn't wait for them to end and for the film to begin.
Great clip, Adam, that brings back a flood of memories. My parents had HBO since Day 1 (and there's a funny story in that when my mother called to cancel cable a few years back for their satellite package, the operator stated "wow, customer number 17???"). My dad, unwilling to advance into the digital DVD age, still has cabinets full of copied VHS movies that bear that same logo because he'd set the VCR timer up 2 minutes before showtime. I bet there's some great lost trailers in those tapes. Anyway, thanks for the memories.
Moviezzz: I was actually the complete opposite, there were many shows back in the day I watched only for the introduction before tuning out, like Magnum P.I. and (strangely) The 700 Club.
Joseph: Great story! My father-in-law actually grew up in the first community in the U.S. to receive cable (Astoria, Ore.). Its geography made it tough for television signals to penetrate. Luckily, the previous family that lived in my childhood home had pirated cable and so we received free HBO, otherwise my family would have never ordered it -- maybe it was fate?
Here's another clip you'll like, full of HBO promos from 1987:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkhMZlL2dC0
I remember the post-HBO overture anticipation effect too, Adam. And the tantilizng list of "adult themes, adult language, nudity," etc. made it all the more fun to try and guess what the feature would be and decided if I would get to watch with my parents or be sent to my room (only one TV in the house back then). :D
I ~really~ wish HBO would release these on DVD. I'm half amazed that someone at the top hasn't at least seen fit to use them on HBO today. People would LOVE it.
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