Giving credit where credit is due

We're living in the golden age of movie ... film credits.
Think about it. Most classic movies use a simple scrawl to tell us the names of the people responsible for the film in question. Today, even indie movies serve up imaginative credit sequences that must have taken significant planning to pull off.

The opening sequence of "Married Life," which opens in limited run this Friday, serves up a sumptuous display of imagery to set up the narrative. I just popped in the new-to-DVD actioner "Outlaw" (to be released March 11) and ate up the simple but arresting way the credits pulse on screen.

When did it all began? I remember watching the credits to 1995's "Seven" and thinking, wow, that's an impressive achievement - and the film hadn't even started yet. Perhaps with so much movie content available studios feel the need to make every second of a film stand out. Or, they realize their audiences won't sit still through a long slog of names. Either way, it's a winning formula for movie lovers.