10 Favorite Opening Film Credits

[Lady Day]

Now Im not talking the first shot of a movie, or the first sequence of the film, I mean purely the opening credits, that part before the director's name is the last bunch of words on the screen, and the movie begins. Credits you would watch without watching the movie.

Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.

Serenity
Edward Scisorhands
Napoleon Dynamite
Beetlejuice
The Graduate
Vacancy (LOVE those credits)
23 (the only good thing about that entire film, I love type credits)
Batman Mask of the Phantasm
Se7en
The Rescuers Down Under

LD

 

[Esme]

I agree, definitely se&en, the first movie that came to mind.
Also, (this probably dates me, but) The Pink Panther.

 

[FATS88]

Hi Lady Day!

What came to mind first:

Odds Against Tommorow
Vertigo
Mo Betta Blues (beautiful scoring)
The Pope Of Greenwich Village
Russia House
The Red Shoes
French Connection II
The Poseidon Adventure (1972 original)
12 Angry Men, both the original and remake.

There was a film that the great Saul Bass did the opening credits for
were there is a black feline
slinking it's way down a city sidewalk,
but having only seen a clip, I don't know the film's title...
but would add that.

Great thread!
Cheers
Fats

 

[Doctor Strange]

Speaking of Saul Bass, check this out:

http://www.notcoming.com/saulbass/index2.php

 

[Lady Day]

That is my new favorite site.

LD

 

[flat-top]

Catch Me If You Can
Se7en
For mood setting simplicity, the original Alien is disturbing perfection.
As far as END credits go, I always loved Angel Heart.

 

[Randal]

Se7en and Fight Club are the first on my mind....

 

[FATS88]

Speaking of Saul Bass, check this out:

http://www.notcoming.com/saulbass/index2.php

Great discovery DS!

Thanks
FATS

 

[vintage68]

Not a movie, but the HBO series Carnivale had an incredible opening credit sequence.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Maurice Binder's work from his hysterical "babies" titles for 1961's "The Grass is Greener" with Cary Grant through his work on the James Bond films (to Licence To Kill).

I also thought the "swapping letters" titles for the remake "Thomas Crown Affair" were clever.

 

[WH1]

For my money it is very hard to beat the opening credits in North by Northwest. The music and the visuals are brilliant and set the bar very high for the rest of the movie, which it lives up to.

 

[Lady Day]

Come on, no one has any lists to share?


LD

 

[Lily Powers]

I enjoy the opening credits - they set a tone for the whole movie. "The Women" (1939) had wonderful opening credits, flashing the actress/character's face and then the face of a corresponding animal that reflected the character's persona. A fun and creative take on the common opening credits of movies in the early 1930's, which had a pic of the actor (from a scene in the movie), their name and the character's name.

 

[Senator Jack]

No one said Dr. No yet?

 

[Diamondback]

Ahh, good point--another Binder masterpiece. Would you believe part of it was originally storyboarded with "dot" price-tag stickers?

 

[Senator Jack]

In a similar vein, the Naked Lunch sequence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImSqvzE9pJk

 

[thunderw21]

The Sting.

 

[VintageVixie]

The opening credits for 1939's The Women are so much fun. I love them.


Oh yay! Someone put it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSmzRkBn_dA

The fun part starts at about 1:18.

 

[Haversack]

Another classic opening credits is the beginning of Preston Sturges's 1942, The Palm Beach Story. It doesn't make much sense until the very end of the film.

Haversack.

 

[KY Gentleman]

Everybody votes for the opening of "Seven", and it was the first thing that came to my mind as well. But the opening sequence of "Electric Horseman" set a great tone for that film. The opening 3-4 minutes of "Thief" was outstanding. "To Live and Die in LA" had a dynamite film sequence set to an equally great theme song.
"Apocalypse Now" had a stirring opening with The Doors "The End" playing while napalm bombs exploded in the jungle.