Video of the week.

495/1368: "Sixteen Candles (1984) - Opening Credits"

Jul 09, 2025

Welcome to our first monthlong content series! This time around, we’re focusing on one theme: birthdays.

My own birthday is later this month, so I thought it’d be fun to spend the next 30 days diving into all things birthday-related topics: cakes, parties, iconic TV episodes, and more.

Birthdays can be tricky for a lot of us, so let’s use this as a chance to find the fun in them!

Quite possibly my favorite opening credits of all time. I just love how they capture the era so vividly—especially the style.

Yes, some people find this movie problematic (cue the gong sound anytime the name Long Duck Dong is said), and I totally get that. But it’s still one of my absolute favorites. I love a story that takes place more or less over the course of a single day, and this one does it so well.

Sam is such a relatable character, the story is both charming and laugh-out-loud funny, and that final scene? A cinematic masterpiece.

John Hughes was a master at capturing high school life, and this montage sets the tone perfectly. Each vignette is set up so thoughtfully. It showcases such a wide range of characters while also celebrating their individual style in a really intentional way. Here are some of my favorite stills (basically every scene):

Of course the geeks take the bus; there’s a great long take of each of them hopping off, and you instantly get a sense of who they are. No shade to the bus, I took it to high school!

And of course, the iconic moment with the couple walking with their hands in each other’s pockets (also referenced in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before). Even the jeans with the patches are such a great detail—it all adds so much to the styling.