Notable Title Sequences
Submitted by lukeprog on Sat, 09/25/2004 - 04:05
Tags:
- Conspirators of Pleasure (1996) - a montage of increasingly graphic artistic drawings of sexual acts. The 'Victorian' (wrong term, probably) look of the artwork contrasts which with the subject it so brazenly depicts in a hilarious way. Like most entries on this list, you have to see it to understand, but I can't post pics of this one here without getting in trouble, I think.
- The Pink Panther movies - Most (all?) of them had some hilarious animation up front.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - One of my absolute favorites. Fantastic animation and comedy.
- Catch Me If You Can (2002) - oh, so fun!
- Fight Club - the human mind is a -beautiful? - thing.
- Se7en (1995) - really creepy, let's you know what's coming, and accomplishes a lot to set up the story without any dialogue or 'normal' exposition.
- Spider-Man (2002) - though I'm now growing tired of hearing Elfman's tired themes play over superhero movies, I absolutely loved his music for the credits sequence, and the animation was pretty fascinating as well.
- Vertigo (1958) - duh.
- Touch of Evil (1958) - Welles didn't want the credits over his fantastic opening shot, but the film was released that way. They were moved to the end of the film as Welles intended in the director's cut, released in 1998.
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - click. Click. Click.
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Funniest. Credits. Ever. From the Funniest. Movie. Ever. As designated by the Slowest. Talker. Ever.
- Jungle Fever (1991)
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - for the very silly song, of course, and the film's attempt to play with opening credits ala Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Example, during the credits: "THIS SPACE AVAILABLE - call 984-366-2855"
- Mean Streets (1973)
Author Comments:
Help me out, guys! I need suggestions/reminders!
What I'm looking here are highly memorable sequences that happen up front during the opening credits and titles.
Some suggestions:
Catch Me if you can
Monsoon Wedding
Amelie
Fight Club
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon A Time in the West
Signs
ditto
YES! THANK YOU!
But, please remind me (or in the case of Monsson Wedding, tell me), what is so notable about the title sequences of:
Monsson Wedding, Amelie, Good Bad Ugly, Once Upon a Time, and Signs. I'm sure once you tell me they'll jump back into memory for the ones I've seen.
Monsoon Wedding had some very colorful animation linking the names together. G,B,U was stark red animation on white, or white on stark red and the opening score for it is great. OUaTitW is the guys sitting around at the train station, more based on photography than animated sequences or anything. Amelie was the little girl doing different things like eating raspberries off of her fingers and making paper dolls and was very well edited and photographed. Signs was very plain, but the titles looked good and the opening score was pretty haunting.
Hmmm.... perhaps I'll add Monsoon Wedding once I see it. Thanks for your suggestions, and don't let a few that aren't added to the list discourage you from contuing to alert me to great opening credits sequences!
I will also vote for Once Upon a Time in the West, which are the coolest opening credits I have yet to see.
They play much better than they sound.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Lol, would you remind me what these credits look like, too?
Three guys walk into a train station...
...and they wait...
...and they wait...
and it is sheer bliss.
That is the general outline, but god is in the details...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh yes, I actually remembering liking this opening quite a bit, but I don't think it fits quite what I'm looking for for THIS list. Thanks anyway, keep 'em coming!
Movies I've read/heard have great opening credits sequences but I can't quite remember how they go:
He Got Game
To Die For
Panic Room
Somebody help me remember, please! :-)
Panic Room:
The Cast Names and Production teams names and credits are fixed in big metal letters on buildings in New York. they are big bold structures spelling out the names. its really cool
suggestion:
The cycling on the cliff / through neighbourhood opening on "Donnie Darko"
I think I'll draw the line here for this list. While it's good, and certainly hooks you, it really isn't what I'm thinking of as 'notable.' It doesn't really stand out from among thousands of other competant credits sequences in thousands of good films.
oh yeah!
Well, what about Touch of Evil? From what I've read, Welles never intended the credits to be superimposed over that long tracking shot, but that's how it was released and it is still quite a memorable sequence. By my understanding, the credits have been moved to the end on the DVD release, but I haven't seen it to confirm.
Confirmed. I'll add it.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Click click click of the camera.
The Graduate (1967) - Dustin Hoffman enters movie history on a moving walkway to the "Sounds of Silence"
Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Amazing credits: "M0nti Pyth0n ik den H0lie Gralen... Wi n0t trei a h0liday in Sweden thi yer?.. A M00se once bit my sister" complete with sacking and llamas.
Grease (1978) - The really incongruous animated opening provides an excuse to include another Gibb (Barry? Maurice? Andy? That other one?) song in a Travolta movie.
Life of Brian (1979) - "A teenager called 'Brian' / And his face became spotty / Yes, his face became spotty / And his voice dropped down low / And things started to grow / On young Brian and show / He was certainly no-- / No girl named 'Brian' / Not a girl named 'Brian'...."
Monty Python: Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) - Supra Cosmically Inter-Universally Ultra Alphabetically Hyper-Starring Terry Jones with Michael Palin as the Man with the Biggest Credit
Jungle Fever (1991) - Spike Lee provides a literal road map of the cast.
Shrek (2001) - I always like movies that incorparate the credits physically into the movie.
School of Rock (2003) - How can you beat a shirtless Jack Black?
I'll add the ones I'm particularily fond of, thanks!
If I don't immediately kill myself for not remembering Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that is.
I can think of many ways to beat a shirtless Jack Black, BTW.
I haven't seen Jungle Fever - what's the credits sequence like?
As I recall Jungle Fever starts with a variety of road signs (with credits on them) looming into and then flipping out of view as Stevie Wonder's song "Jungle Fever" plays. If memory continues to hold it was a visually bright, bouncy, cheerful opening that led to... I'm gonna say Bensonhurst. It might have been Harlem. Or possibly Brooklyn. It was Nu Yahk, aight?
sounds cool, I'll add it.