9 Awesome Movie Opening Title Sequences
I miss title sequences. I realized this while watching The First Wives Club two weeks ago. (Have you seen that into? It’s so colorful and inspiring!) Movies nowadays skip the opening credits, and jump right into the action. It’s like meeting someone for the first time and not shaking hands or sharing names. There’s usually a whole scene before the title of the movie is introduced, and while that’s not exactly a bad thing, ditching the opening sequence is a missed creative opportunity for filmmakers.
My father swears that the first movie I saw at the theater was The Lion King, but I was four and have no recollection of the event. The first film I remember watching in that sacred place is My Best Friend’s Wedding (I was seven). I was in complete awe from the very beginning. That opening title sequence with the bride and her bridesmaids singing and dancing totally encapsulates the whole movie. It’s a sweet start and one of my favorites. So, in light of the lost art of title sequences, here are 9 awesome opening credits.
Splice
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnYxgt3g-Us
In the opening of Splice, we travel through the inside of a human being (or what looks to be anyway). This movie is about scientists who take different types of DNA to create a new type of being. There are a lot of special things about this opening – the carved out names are nice touches. But the bubbling effect and scaly surfaces tie in nicely with the movie. It’s definitly a strong start.
Vertigo
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qtDCZP4WrQ
How could I leave out Alfred Hitchcock’s intro to Vertigo. This is a classic, and one of the best ever. The opening establishes the film’s mood perfectly. It’s mysterious, daring and filled with horror. The music and the images blend nicely, and it all goes with what follows.
Superbad
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlX_O4s67Dk
Here’s a fun opening for a fun (& funny) movie. I love the dancing silhouettes of Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. It’s a nice introduction to their quirky moves, which we get to see later on in the movie.
The First Wives Club
The opening to The First Wives Club is completely underrated. The “comic-book”–style sequence introduces each actor with a lot of flavor and glamour. It’s such a colorful opening, and very dramatic, just like the movie.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcp9Ysi75f0
David Fincher knows how to introduce a movie. His Seven intro is fantastic, but this one is totally badass. You can tell that a lot of thought and time went into this sequence. It takes things to a whole new level, and offers that hook that makes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo so memorable. And Karen O.’s rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is chilling and sexy.
Love the Beetlejuice opening credits as it pans over the model town, ending with the giant spider crawling up over the house. Danny Elfman’s track also certainly helps. Those are opening credits I would never fast-forward through.
one of my all time favs is watchmen. great montage of cheesy looking heros and alternate history with the wonderful bob dylan playing over it. amazing.
I saw this article and I immediately thought of a movie that had some of the best titles I have seen in a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y17X8cdyrrA
The movie was not great (it was not bad, better than most), but the titles set a tone and a sense of foreboding some screenwriters cannot even handle. This sounds weird, but I went for the titles. They look even better on the big screen.
Definitely Watchmen but more importantly LORD OF WAR. The scenes depicting the life of a bullet are awesome.
“Watchmen”, mos def. I always loved the sequence from “Catch Me If You Can”.
You should really do an entire separate article of Kyle Cooper. The guy that did Se7en, Tropic Thunder, Spiderman, Spiderman 2, Metal Gear Solid, Iron Man, Across the Universe, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and well…the man is a title sequence master: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0178204/
@ nico thanks! I will seriously consider it!
How could you forget “Flight of the Navigator”?! DOGS CATCHING FRISBEES!!!
The intro sequence in Skyfall was crazy badass as well!