Film Titles

For this post I am comparing the title sequences of the 1970's TV series "The Incredible Hulk" with the 2008 movie of the same name. These are particularly interesting as the show was so successful and popular that when the movie was made it made great efforts to be as reminiscent of the show as possible, particularly in the title sequence. As such many of the iconic images of the original title sequences are faithfully recreated down to almost the most minute detail such as the red flashing danger sign, the cross hairs from the machinery panning across the characters face and the black chin strap holding him in place. This has the effect of evoking nostalgia from fans of the show so that they will be enjoying the film before it even begins as well as assuring the audience that the film will be closer in tone than the poorly reviewed hulk movie that was released in 2003 and caused many to question the characters ability to carry an entire movie. 

The major differences in the sequences however lies in how the character is currently dealing with being the hulk and the subsequent government reaction. In the film he is deep in hiding whereas in the show he has taken it a step further and faked his own death. As such this is where the 2 narrative driven title sequences begin to differ as the movie shows a number of news reports and newspaper clippings and how they are effecting and influencing a military search for Banner particularly by General Ross, one of the main antagonists in the film. The sequence also shows a fair amount of Ross' motivation or at least explains his hatred for Banner as he and his daughter were very seriously injured during the initial experiments. All of this is missing from the shows sequence however as Ross is not featured in the show and there is no military search due to the character faking his death. Instead it shows some of the damage the hulk does when unleashed as well as him trying to hold back the monster and the great effort he put in to properly fake his death. General Ross is replaced in this version by a reporter who believes that he is onto a big story and as such follows Banner hoping to uncover his secret.

The shows sequence is very heavily narrated whereas the film tells the story using just imagery. Both are very effective and both seem to be much more suited to the time they were made. When the titles end and the real narrative begins the viewer fully understands the set up and needs no further explanation.