Top Ten Opening Credits Sequences
Legendary artists like Saul Bass helped create the visual language of a film with there brilliant opening credits sequences. Not only did they give credit to those who made the film, but they also exhibited a technical wonder that managed to get audiences in the right mood to enjoy the next two hours.
One of my favorite elements of a film is the very beginning. Not the first few minutes of the actual story, but the artistic piece that precedes it: the opening credits. While they’re becoming less and less common, there was a time where opening credits were one of the most intriguing parts of a film. While their purpose was to give credit to many of the people who made the film (the director, the actors, the writers, the editor and so forth), many films took this device and used it as a means of cinematic artistry that allowed them to make spectacular images, even if they had nothing to do with the story.
There is an art to the opening title sequence and many films have made such a splash with them that they’re permanently ingrained in our minds. How can you think of the 1978 original “Superman” film and not picture those credits flying through space while John Williams’ music plays triumphantly? How can you get in the mood for a James Bond film without an abstract sequence of brilliantly choreographed models? How could anyone possibly enjoy “Jaws” without that POV shot of the shark and that thundering theme?
There’s quite a few opening credits that have left a lasting impression and I’m going to reveal my ten personal favorites. These credits sequences are not only stunning to look at, but they also do a great job serving their purpose: by preparing you for the kind of film you’re about to watch. So, here are my picks for the best opening credits of all time.
10. Reservoir Dogs: While opening credits might be seen as old-fashioned, Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaker who relishes in the old ways. All of his films have intriguing and badass opening sequences whether it be seeing all of our main characters living the high life in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” or the simple yet effective “Pulp Fiction” credits set to Dick Dale’s “Misirlou.” But his best came at the beginning of his first film.
After having a meal in a diner where they talk about things like how Steve Busciemi’s Mr. Pink doesn’t tip or what exactly Madonna’s hit song “Like a Virgin” is about, all of the film’s main characters walk in slow-motion to the car so they can perform a heist that goes sideways. When each character is shown, their actor’s name is placed underneath and they just slowly move to the sound of The George Baker Selection’s “Little Green Bag.”
So what’s so great about this? Well, first of all, a bunch of badass guys walking together is just cool. I mean, have we forgotten how awesome it looked in “Tombstone” or “The Wild Bunch” or “The Magnificent Seven?” Not only does seeing the likes of Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino himself moving in slow-motion look fantastic, but the music really adds to the atmosphere of the whole picture. This isn’t going to be some kind of modern action spectacle with Schwarzenegger or Jean-Claude Van Damme. These guys are wearing suits and are strutting to the tunes of “K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the Seventies Weekend.” This is a 90s movie trying to be a 70s movie and it pulls it off magnificently.
9. Easy Rider: While the director-driven New Hollywood had already arrived by the time “Easy Rider” was released in 1969, this film represented the massive cultural shift that had occurred by the end of the 1960s. The counterculture of grass-smoking, freedom-seeking hippies was in full swing and “Easy Rider” was an explosion of that in cinemas across the country.
The film opens in the most triumphant manner where, after scoring money from a drug deal, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper go cruising on their motorcycles in search of truth and fun while “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf is blasting. It’s not only an engaging way to start the film but it makes it clear that the Old Hollywood is dead and that the New Hollywood reigns supreme.
8. Live and Let Die: The James Bond franchise, for all its different incarnations, has always featured amazing opening credits sequences going all the way back to 1962’s “Dr. No.” With gorgeous models, abstract visuals and original songs that have a good shot of winning an Oscar, there’s too many great sequences to count including “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Goldeneye,” “Casino Royale,” “Skyfall” and “No Time To Die.” So really, to pick just one is a matter of preference and, for me, my favorite title sequence in any James Bond film has to be from 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” the first film to star Roger Moore as the spy.
While Moore’s films as James Bond are hit-or-miss, “Live and Let Die” is so thrilling for me because of how dark and atmospheric it is yet it also has some good camp as well with fortune tellers, witch doctors and a villain who gets blown up by gas pellets. The opening credits certainly reflect that juxtaposition of opposites with plenty of skulls and smoky backdrops while also having interpretive dancers and the whole thing being set to the titular song by Paul McCartney and Wings. The song itself also goes back and forth from having a heavy introduction to a vibrant horns section. It’s the perfect song and the perfect credits sequence for this wild ride with 007.
7. The Gentlemen: The most recent film on this list, “The Gentlemen” was actually the last film I saw in theaters (for the fifth time) before the initial COVID-19 lockdowns in March 2020. Out of all the early 2020 films I could have seen before everything shut down, this was a great one to go out on and the opening credits certainly help with the intrigue of this witty crime comedy. After having the film’s lead Matthew McConaughey being shot and killed (which is later shown to have been a trick) in the first two minutes, the opening credits kick in and it’s amazing at hyping you up for this crazy film.
Set to the song “Cumberland Gap” by David Rawlings and full of smokey illustrations (fitting since McConaughey’s character is a marijuana kingpin), the credits make every character in the film come off as this incredible badass. It’s a sequence that you don’t want to end because of how much it sucks you into this scummy world where thugs wear well-tailored tracksuits, guns can be paperweights and a dirty-talking Hugh Grant will make you forget how charming he was in every romantic comedy. If you haven’t seen “The Gentlemen,” definitely check it out. It’s one of the best crime films of the past ten years.
6. Watchmen: Based on my favorite comic book of all time and one of the most significant literary works of the 20th Century, “Watchmen” is a superbly dark film that examines what would happen if superheroes actually existed in our world. The film is set in an alternate 1985 where The United States won The Vietnam War, Richard Nixon has been president for five terms, a nuclear war between the US and the USSR is imminent and where superheroes exist and have been outlawed.
To show how much of this world’s history differs from our own, director Zack Snyder crafts a beautifully haunting five-minute opening credits sequence depicting the major historical events of this world from the 1930s to 1985. We see various superheroes rise up and participate in significant moments with some of them dying horrifically, the bright campy environment of the 30s (similar to the early issues of Batman or Superman) becoming this dark modern world and it’s all set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” It’s a poetic start to one of my favorite comic book films of all time.
5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Out of all the entries on this list, the credits to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” seem incredibly simple. It’s just plain white titles against a black background with epic music playing. But that’s where the genius of the Pythons comes into play. Instead of having the goofy cartoons that you’d see in their television show, they have “Swedish” subtitles that begin to spell out funny messages like suggesting that we go on holiday to Sweden, see the majestic moose and then talking about how “a moose bit my sister.”
Then, the credits stop halfway through because the producers have caught onto the mockery being made of the credits and have fired the people responsible. The credits then go on only there’s ridiculous made-up titles cleverly hidden like Moose Trainer, Moose Choreographer and Person Who Trained Moose to Mix Concrete and Sign Complicated Insurance Forms and the credits stop again with the people responsible being fired. To finish things off, the credits have a completely different style with bright neon backgrounds, mariachi music and 76,203 different llamas being credited as the film’s directors along with actual directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
Not only is this sequence childishly hilarious, but it pretty much sums up what kind of film you’re in for: a film that’s trying to be epic but is constantly shot down by its gleefully moronic sense of humor. While the opening credits of Monty Python’s next film, “The Life of Brian,” may be more technically impressive with the Python’s style of cartoons on full display, there’s no denying that “Holy Grail” starts you off laughing without even showing one scene from the film.
4. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: While the visuals of Sergio Leone’s final film in the Dollars Trilogy may be cool, we all know why this sequence is on the list: that amazing theme by Ennio Morricone. Even people who’ve never seen a Spaghetti Western know the theme to “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” With that said, the actual titles are certainly fun to look at with animation mixed with still photos and all sorts of technical wizardry being used to throw in cannon sounds and dust flying.
It’s a massive hypefest that lets you know that this isn’t going to be a typical Hollywood Cowboys-and-Indians, old-fashioned American Western. This is a down-and-dirty Spaghetti Western. It may not have much of a budget compared to films starring John Wayne but it’s going to be epic and it’s going to be rough. It gets your blood boiling until you’re ready for three guys to duke it out in search of gold.
3. Vertigo: If I didn’t mention a title sequence done by Saul Bass, I am not worthy of life. If you don’t know who Saul Bass is, he’s one of the greatest cinematic artists of all time having designed the opening credits of some of the greatest films of all time including “Anatomy of a Murder,” “West Side Story,” “Broadcast News,” “The War of the Roses,” “Goodfellas,” The Age of Innocence” and “Casino.” However, it’s his partnership with Alfred Hitchcock in the late 50s and early 60s that produced his finest work. Bass made the title sequences for three of Hitchcock’s biggest films: “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest” and “Psycho.” Out of all of them, “Vertigo” is easily his best.
If you’ve ever seen “Vertigo,” you’ll know that it’s not your typical Hitchcock film. There’s no spies, thrilling action sequences on landmarks or even a clean-cut protagonist sucked into a world of deceit and murder. Instead, it’s a massive dive into a disturbed mind that grapples with guilt, obsession and the tricks we play on ourselves. It also represented a massive departure for actor Jimmy Stewart whose performance is much more murky in morality.
Bass’s credits perfectly capture this with trippy visuals that, like the film itself, make you uncomfortable even though you’re not sure why. This is going to be something more sinister and something you might not even comprehend. Along with the brilliant music of Bernard Herrmann, you’re taken on a visual odyssey of deep psychological trauma that you’re nervously excited to explore.
2. Taxi Driver: Speaking of Bernard Herrmann, the best title sequence to use his music was sadly his last. After finishing the recording of his latest film score on December 23, 1975, Herrmann tragically died the next day of a heart attack leaving behind a great legacy of music. That score just happened to be for Martin Scorsese’s Palme D’Or-winning masterpiece “Taxi Driver.”
“Taxi Driver” is a film that relishes being in the scummy world of New York in the 1970s with Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle, the film’s disturbed protagonist, living a life of solitude driving a taxi cab. In this cruel and unforgiving world, Brings beauty into a harsh, unforgiving world with Bernard Herrmann’s score perfectly juxtaposed against the dirty, rainy New York streets at night. The only form of beauty is that amazing score with a lone saxophone bringing us a melancholy yet intriguing sound.
The titles themselves and the footage accompanying them was designed and shot by Dan Perri who’s yet another legend in this art form. Along with “Taxi Driver,” Dan Perri has been responsible for some of the greatest opening credits in movie history including “All The President’s Men,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Waltz,” “Gangs of New York” and “Star Wars.” Yep, Dan Perri is the reason why we have the opening crawl that gets us completely caught up on the story and sucks us into the galaxy we love that’s far, far away. But out of all his work, it’s “Taxi Driver” that gets me every single time.
1. Do The Right Thing: Designed by Randall Balsmeyer, whose work has included several films by Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers including “Da 5 Bloods,” “The Big Lebowski” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” the colorful credits of Spike Lee’s third joint are a visual triumph. After a somber performance by saxophonist Branford Marsailis of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the title appears before cutting to Rosie Perez, who made her debut in this film, dancing to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” as the credits appear.
With incredible camerawork by Ernest Dickerson and the dancing prowess of Perez, this opening credits sequence essentially has the same function as “Easy Rider’s.” It’s a massive wake-up-call that says screw all the rules. This is an explosive opening that illuminates you on the revolutionary film you’re about to watch. Instead of a rock-and-roll song though, the new controversial music of the day is hip-hop and Public Enemy’s track, written for the film, is a pure, poetic anthem of the spirit. If you weren’t convinced that Spike Lee was a master, all you need is to watch the first five minutes of “Do the Right Thing” to be enlightened.
