Dan Perri
Personal Info
Known for
Art
Gender
Male
Birthday
1945-08-11 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, U.S.
Dan Perri
Biography
Daniel Richard Perri (born August 11, 1945) is an American film and television title sequence designer. He has worked in film title design since the 1970s, and has been responsible for the main titles of several notable films including The Exorcist (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Star Wars (1977), Raging Bull (1980), Airplane! (1980),[1] and Suspiria (2018).
Perri made contact with the film graphics designer Saul Bass and began to pester him for work at his studio on Sunset Boulevard. Eventually, Perri found work with Bass through his illustrator, Art Goodman. During his service in the US Navy, Perri served on the USS Repose and designed an on-board newspaper, entitled The Repose Reprise.
After serving in the Navy, Perri went to work with Cinefx alongside Phill Norman, Wayne Fitzgerald Don Record, and a former school friend, Steve Smith. After a year, both Perri and Smith quit and went on to form their independent design studio, Perri & Smith. The pair worked together from 1969 to 1973, mostly on small, low-budget television features, but their credits also included films such as Electra Glide in Blue and several of Gene Corman's blaxploitation films. The designers were often exploited and clients sometimes failed to pay, and eventually, the business folded.
Perri's big break came in 1973 when he was commissioned by Billy Friedkin to produce the main titles for The Exorcist, his first solo project. With a blockbuster film in his portfolio, Perri was now able to attract more work and soon found himself working on high-profile titles. For Nashville (1975), Robert Altman commissioned a main title sequence and a logo to be used in marketing. Perri produced an unusual, kitschy sequence inspired by low-budget K-Tel Records television commercials, complete with a loud, brash voiceover by Johnny Grant.
In 1976, Martin Scorsese brought Perri in to design the titles for Taxi Driver. Perri took second unit footage and color-treated the film through a process of film copying and slit-scan, resulting in a highly stylized graphic sequence that evoked the "underbelly" of New York City through lurid colors, glowing neon signs distorted nocturnal images and deep black levels, accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's jazz soundtrack.
Possibly Perri's best-known title sequence project came about in 1976 when his friend James Nelson was working on post-production for a new space fantasy film, Star Wars. Nelson recommended Perri to director George Lucas, who invited Perri to Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm's post-production operation at Van Nuys, California. Lucas briefed Perri to take inspiration from old 1930s cinema serials such as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers that had inspired Lucas to write much of his Star Wars story. After struggling to come up with a concept that Lucas liked, Perri eventually developed a concept for presenting a textual introduction based on the opening credits of the 1939 Cecil B. DeMille film, Union Pacific, in which the credits are shown distorted by a sharp perspective and rolling along a railroad track towards a distant vanishing point. Lucas approved of the idea and Perri produced sketches and prototype mechanical artwork, supported by storyboard artwork drawn by the production artist Alex Tavoularis. This gave birth to the now-familiar opening crawl sequence that appears in the Star Wars films.
Known For
Acting
(2023)
The Exorcist Untold
as Self
(2021)
(2015)
Sharkskin
as Waiter
Crew
(2023)
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Title Designer
(2022)
Sam Morril: Same Time Tomorrow
Makeup & Hair
(2022)
Dead for a Dollar
Title Designer
(2021)
Mosquito State
Title Designer
(2020)
I'm Your Woman
Title Designer
(2019)
The Public
Title Designer
(2019)
Lake of Death
Title Designer
(2018)
Suspiria
Title Designer
(2017)
All Saints
Title Designer
(2017)
First House on the Hill
Title Designer
(2016)
Internet Famous
Title Designer
(2015)
Sharkskin
Producer, Director, Screenplay, Title Designer
(2011)
Pound of Flesh
Title Designer
(2011)
The Beaver
Title Designer
(2010)
The Warm-Up Guy
Title Designer
(2009)
Spread
Title Designer
(2007)
In the Valley of Elah
Title Designer
(2007)
There Will Be Blood
Title Designer
(2007)
Even Money
Title Designer
(2007)
The House of Usher
Title Designer
(2007)
Spinning Into Butter
Title Designer
(2007)
Have Dreams, Will Travel
Title Designer
(2006)
Eight Below
Title Designer
(2006)
Hoot
Title Designer
(2005)
Pizza
Title Designer
(2005)
Santa's Slay
Main Title Designer
(2004)
Mojave
Title Designer
(2004)
The Aviator
Title Designer
(2003)
The Battle of Shaker Heights
Title Designer
(2002)
Tropix
Title Designer
(2002)
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
Title Designer
(2002)
Sorority Boys
Title Designer
(2002)
American Gun
Title Designer
(2002)
Insomnia
Title Designer
(2002)
Gangs of New York
Title Designer
(2001)
James Dean
Title Designer
(2001)
15 Minutes
Title Designer
(2001)
Speaking of Sex
Title Designer
(2001)
Bartleby
Title Designer
(2000)
Luckytown
Title Designer
(1999)
She's All That
Main Title Designer
(1999)
She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'
Main Title Designer
(1999)
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Main Title Designer
(1999)
Freak City
Title Designer
(1999)
The Road to 'Dracula'
Main Title Designer
(1999)
Varsity Blues
Title Designer
(1999)
East Is East
Title Designer
(1999)
In Too Deep
Title Designer
(1999)
Thick as Thieves
Title Designer
(1999)
Vendetta
Title Designer
(1998)
A Night at the Roxbury
Title Designer
(1998)
54
Title Designer
(1998)
Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights
Title Designer
(1998)
A Price Above Rubies
Title Designer
(1998)
Since You've Been Gone
Title Designer
(1998)
The Very Thought of You
Title Designer
(1998)
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
Title Designer
(1997)
Gridlock'd
Title Designer
(1997)
This World, Then the Fireworks
Title Designer
(1997)
Soul Food
Main Title Designer
(1997)
Traveller
Title Designer
(1997)
Cold Around the Heart
Title Designer
(1997)
Playing God
Title Designer
(1997)
Love Jones
Title Designer
(1997)
Tinseltown
Title Designer
(1996)
Freeway
Title Designer
(1996)
Rainbow
Title Designer
(1996)
Harvey
Title Designer
(1996)
Mulholland Falls
Title Designer
(1996)
Curdled
Title Designer
(1996)
House Arrest
Title Designer
(1995)
Species
Title Designer
(1995)
Dazzle
Title Designer
(1995)
Picture Bride
Title Designer
(1995)
Mallrats
Title Designer
(1995)
Congo
Title Designer
(1995)
Separate Lives
Title Designer
(1994)
Color of Night
Title Designer
(1994)
Safe Passage
Title Designer
(1993)
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Second Unit Director, Title Designer
(1993)
Iron Monkey
Title Designer
(1993)
Mr. Wonderful
Title Designer
(1993)
Alive
Title Designer
(1993)
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Title Designer
(1992)
Traces of Red
Title Designer
(1992)
Original Intent
Title Designer
(1992)
The Distinguished Gentleman
Title Designer
(1992)
Deep Cover
Title Designer
(1992)
Night and the City
Title Designer
(1992)
The Player
Title Designer
(1991)
The Taking of Beverly Hills
Title Designer
(1991)
Palomino
Title Designer
(1991)
Prison Stories: Women on the Inside
Title Designer
(1991)
Guilty by Suspicion
Title Designer
(1990)
Men Don't Leave
Title Designer
(1990)
The First Power
Title Designer
(1990)
Pacific Heights
Title Designer
(1990)
The Rescuers Down Under
Title Designer
(1990)
Internal Affairs
Title Designer
(1990)
Stella
Title Designer
(1990)
Lord of the Flies
Title Designer
(1990)
RoboCop 2
Title Designer
(1989)
Miracle Mile
Title Designer
(1989)
Field of Dreams
Title Designer
(1989)
Out Cold
Title Designer
(1988)
Mystic Pizza
Title Designer
(1988)
Fresh Horses
Title Designer
(1988)
A Time of Destiny
Title Designer
(1988)
Vibes
Title Designer
(1988)
1969
Title Designer
(1988)
The Seventh Sign
Title Designer
(1988)
Everybody's All-American
Title Designer
(1988)
Bull Durham
Title Designer
(1988)
The Beat
Title Designer
(1988)
Midnight Run
Title Designer
(1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Title Designer
(1988)
Tequila Sunrise
Title Designer
(1988)
Talk Radio
Title Designer
(1987)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Second Unit Director, Title Designer
(1987)
Leonard Part 6
Title Designer
(1987)
Chuck Berry - Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Title Designer
(1987)
La Bamba
Title Designer
(1987)
Raising Arizona
Title Designer
(1987)
Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
Title Designer
(1987)
Wall Street
Title Designer
(1987)
The Allnighter
Title Designer
(1987)
In the Mood
Title Designer
(1986)
Dream Lover
Title Designer
(1986)
Deadly Friend
Title Designer
(1986)
Streets of Gold
Title Designer
(1986)
Platoon
Title Designer
(1986)
Quiet Cool
Title Designer
(1986)
The Color of Money
Title Designer
(1986)
Wise Guys
Title Designer
(1986)
Willy/Milly
Title Designer
(1986)
Nine 1/2 Weeks
Title Designer
(1986)
Quicksilver
Title Designer
(1986)
Where the River Runs Black
Title Designer
(1986)
Tough Guys
Title Designer
(1985)
Compromising Positions
Title Designer
(1985)
Beer
Title Designer
(1985)
Key Exchange
Title Designer
(1985)
Grace Quigley
Title Designer
(1985)
White Nights
Title Designer
(1985)
The Last Dragon
Title Designer
(1985)
After Hours
Title Designer
(1984)
Circus
Title Designer
(1984)
Beat Street
Title Designer
(1984)
The Goodbye People
Title Designer
(1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Title Designer
(1984)
Blood Simple
Title Designer
(1984)
Against All Odds
Title Designer
(1983)
Spring Break
Title Designer
(1983)
Star 80
Title Designer
(1983)
A Night in Heaven
Title Designer
(1983)
Curtains
Title Designer
(1983)
Streamers
Title Designer
(1982)
White Dog
Title Designer
(1982)
If You Could See What I Hear
Title Designer
(1982)
The King of Comedy
Title Designer
(1982)
An Officer and a Gentleman
Title Designer
(1981)
The Hand
Title Designer
(1981)
The Fan
Title Designer
(1981)
Honky Tonk Freeway
Title Designer
(1981)
Cutter's Way
Title Designer
(1981)
Threshold
Title Designer
(1980)
Blood Beach
Title Designer
(1980)
The Long Riders
Title Designer
(1980)
Times Square
Title Designer
(1980)
Raging Bull
Title Designer
(1980)
The Idolmaker
Title Designer
(1980)
My Bodyguard
Title Designer
(1980)
The Stunt Man
Title Designer
(1980)
Why Would I Lie?
Title Designer
(1980)
First Family
Title Designer
(1980)
Airplane!
Title Designer
(1980)
American Gigolo
Title Designer
(1980)
Caddyshack
Title Designer
(1979)
The Double McGuffin
Title Designer
(1979)
The Warriors
Title Designer
(1979)
Dreamer
Title Designer
(1979)
Players
Title Designer
(1979)
Americathon
Title Designer
(1979)
Bloodline
Title Designer
(1979)
An American Christmas Carol
Title Designer
(1979)
Norma Rae
Title Designer
(1979)
Going in Style
Title Designer
(1979)
Promises in the Dark
Title Designer
(1979)
Hanover Street
Title Designer
(1978)
Girlfriends
Main Title Designer, Title Designer
(1978)
FM
Title Designer
(1978)
Blue Collar
Title Designer
(1978)
House Calls
Title Designer
(1978)
F.I.S.T.
Title Designer
(1978)
The Betsy
Title Designer
(1978)
Coming Home
Title Designer
(1978)
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Title Designer
(1978)
The Last Waltz
Title Designer
(1978)
Stony Island
Title Designer
(1978)
Days of Heaven
Title Designer
(1977)
The Late Show
Title Designer
(1977)
Capricorn One
Title Designer
(1977)
Sorcerer
Title Designer
(1977)
The White Buffalo
Title Designer
(1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Title Designer
(1977)
3 Women
Title Designer
(1977)
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Title Designer
(1977)
New York, New York
Title Designer
(1977)
Star Wars
Title Designer
(1976)
Taxi Driver
Title Designer
(1976)
The River Niger
Title Designer
(1976)
All the President's Men
Title Designer
(1976)
Marathon Man
Title Designer
(1976)
Griffin and Phoenix
Title Designer
(1976)
Paco
Title Designer
(1976)
(1976)
Welcome to L.A.
Title Designer
(1975)
Mr. Sycamore
Title Designer
(1975)
Lucky Lady
Title Designer
(1975)
Lepke
Title Designer
(1975)
Once Is Not Enough
Title Designer
(1975)
The Day of the Locust
Title Designer
(1975)
Nashville
Title Designer
(1975)
The Hiding Place
Title Designer
(1975)
The Legend of Bigfoot
Title Designer
(1975)
Russian Roulette
Title Designer
(1975)
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Title Designer
(1975)
The Four Deuces
Title Designer
(1975)
Las Vegas Lady
Title Designer
(1975)
Love Among the Ruins
Title Designer
(1974)
California Split
Title Designer
(1974)
Flesh Gordon
Title Designer
(1974)
The Swinging Cheerleaders
Title Designer
(1974)
Freebie and the Bean
Title Designer
(1973)
The Exorcist
Title Designer
(1973)
Electra Glide in Blue
Title Designer
(1973)
Heavy Traffic
Title Designer
(1973)
Time to Run
Title Designer
(1973)
I Escaped from Devil's Island
Title Designer
(1972)
Fritz the Cat
Title Designer
(1972)
The Concert for Bangladesh
Title Designer
(1972)
Hit Man
Title Designer
(1972)
FTA
Title Designer
(1972)
Cool Breeze
Title Designer
(1971)
The Grissom Gang
Title Designer
(1971)
Plaza Suite
Title Designer
(1970)
Rio Lobo
Title Designer
(1970)
The Out-of-Towners
Title Designer