fumanstan

12 year bump, impressive.

RocShemp

The last movie I recall with the credits all at the begining was Francis Ford Copolla's Youth Without Youth.

Ash Ketchum

When William Friedkin offered Bernard Herrmann the opportunity to score THE EXORCIST, he ran the final edit, sans music, for Ol' Bernie, who got up at the end and turned down the job, saying to Friedkin, "Only one great movie had its credits at the end--CITIZEN KANE!," which, of course, Bernie had scored.

Obi-Wanma

You could do that, you know, before the movie.

EctoCooler

Because back in the day movies didn't require that they list the catering company, assistant to the dolly grip assistant and any personal messages the filmmakers may wish to add for their loved ones to pick out.

RocShemp

I still don't get why caterers, personal assistants, or personal drivers get listed.

Alan Smithee

I've heard they sometimes do that because they don't want people thinking of the animated characters as the actor who's voicing them- of course putting them at the end just keeps you guessing longer.

Ever since I first saw Star Wars in 1977, I've never understood why people are in such a hurry to leave a theater. If you liked the movie and if the theater is doing its job (good presentation quality and comfortable seating), leaving should be the LAST thing on your mind. Most of the time, end credits are a good way to 'decompress' after a movie and you never know when there will be something extra at the end (and when there is I want it to be a surprise, not hear about it beforehand.) I always thought if I made a movie, I'd have some end credits and maybe even a few minutes of black screen with music, THEN have about an hour or so of scenes that wrapped up the movie properly! (I remember working as a projectionist, sometimes I'd even see idiots walking out during the ending shot before the end credits even started rolling!)

If they put all the credits at the beginning of a movie, more people would likely come into theaters even later, and at home they would fast-forward them (which makes a good case for the ability to lock out player controls!)

Norm de Plume

I hate that so many movies now open without so much as a fucking title, let alone production credits. Irritating.

dugan

It's not a movie, but the longest end-credits sequence I ever sat through was for one of the Batman games (either Arkham Asylum or Arkham City). It was 60 minutes long.

Solid Snake

City's was about 14 mins. long. Jesus... went slow as hell.

dhmac

This thread got a 12 year time bump (!)

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/im_5QdHp04E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's long past the time to roll the end credits on this thread.

Alan Smithee

I forgot about video games, as I was a video game nut in the 80s but lost interest in them by 2000- it's VERY funny that many games actually have an end-credits sequence as a reward for when you beat the game, and I assume people watch those attentively, but when they roll in a movie the audience bolts for the exits! (Personally I never liked games that ended at all, I liked it when they just kept starting over and getting harder and faster. Some people went for literally days on end on some of the old classics.)

whotony

http://runpee.com/

This app runs black and tells you when to pee and if there is anything during or afterthe credits.

mndtrp

I don't typically care about the credits. I'll sometimes sit through them to see if there's anything interesting, or just to wait for a theater to clear out. At home, once the movie is over, I fast forward to the end in case there's something after the credits. I'm glad that everyone involved with a movie gets their moment, but I don't need to see it.

kgrogers1979

There are very few video games that have a post-credit sequence. Post-credit sequences are much more prevalent in movies than in games. I also very much doubt that most people sit through the credits in video games like you assume.

In fact, the recent Arkham Knight video game is controversial for requiring the player to get 100% completion to get the "true" ending of the game. Many players didn't even bother getting 100% completion, and instead they just watched the ending on youtube.

EddieMoney

You were watching the second half of the movie and didn't realize? How? Is there a chance you can return from your 12 year absence and explain?

fujishig

Great, now we have someone who wants the credits in the middle of the movie...

Jay G.

Considering he wasn't immediately aware that the credits for that film was at the front, he probably thought the movie was starting in medias res, and that certain details would be explained via flashbacks, etc.

The original Gone with the Wind DVD was a "flipper," meaning half the movie was on one side, the other half on the other, and it was split at the original intermission point. So the DVD starts the 2nd half like a film starting up after an intermission, which can look similar to how the beginning of a movie can start.
http://www.filmsondisc.com/dvdpages/gonewiththewind.htm

I don't have experience with that particular DVD, but it sounds like either side 2 starts playing the rest of the film automatically, or the menu on side 2 doesn't clearly indicate it's the 2nd half.

Timber

When they start listing "Mr. Downey's wardrobe provided by..." They've gone way to far.

kgrogers1979

I had a similar experience with my first flipper DVD. I believe it was Goodfellas, but I am not 100% sure. It was the first time I had ever seen a flipper where half the movie is on one side and the other half on the other side. I had never seen the movie before, and I accidentally started it on the side with the second half of the movie. I felt very confused watching it, but I figured it was in media res like you mentioned. However, I was still left with a lot of confusion by the end of the movie because it felt like I was missing something. Yes, I was missing something. I missed half the damn movie. I rewatched it properly later on, and I enjoyed it much better the second time.

inri222

They are at the end because of the short attentions span of the average viewer.

kgrogers1979

Not really. I have a good attention span, but even I get bored as hell watching credits scroll for ten minutes. Credits aren't so bad when they have something extra like a blooper reel or whatever, but just watching plain text scroll for ten minutes is as exciting as watching paint dry. The reason credits are at the end is because they are so much longer nowadays. Nobody should be forced to sit through a ten minute credit scroll before the movie starts.

Drexl

I wouldn't say that I watch them attentively. I tend to just skip them, but some games won't let you do that. I don't want to just turn off the machine, because I want to be sure that my save file will record that I reached the end (for new game + or some other post-story reason). Sometimes an achievement may not get triggered until the credits are over.

Regarding video games, one of the ridiculous things is that some of them even outdo IMDB by listing not only the people that developed the game and were involved in the production and marketing of the US version, but also those that were involved internationally - even including the actors for the dubs in several different languages. When I finish an Assassin's Creed game, I get up and do something else when the credits start.

Count Dooku

They should run the credits on a ticker at the bottom of the screen throughout the whole movie.

Draven

They are at the end so I can leave because I don't get two shits who ran craft services or answered the phones at the effects house.