Favorite Movie Title Sequences

In 1980 George Lucas was kicked out of the Director's Guild for refusing to begin Empire Strikes Back with opening credits. Afterwards a compromise was reached: no opening credits if there were a more prominent closing credit sequence, just before the main credits. Since then elaborate closing credits (and elaborate opening ones before the 80s) have become a standard for movies, showcasing the themes and great moments just watched in a creative visual format. This website documents the creation of many movie's credits sequences (and some for video games and television as well.) What are your favorite movie credits?

Here's my current favorite, and the process of making it. Great music, great abstract conception, great summation of themes. Only nitpick is that Hernández and St-Pierre deserved their own silhouettes.

Might as well get the obvious one out of the way right now:

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

One of my favorites:

"All you Fascists bound to lose."

And now that I've gotten the obvious out of the way, the credits from my favorite movie:

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

While I've never actually seen the film, the title sequence from Troop Beverly Hills has some pretty good animation courtesy of everyone's favorite polarizing animator/creator of one of the most influential cartoons of all time:

"They say I'm old fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast."

Obligatory Pixar. Pixar has some good outros, but this is maybe my favorite intro.

edited 18th Oct '14 4:33:44 PM by Psychobabble6

And if I claim to be a wise man, well, it surely means that I don't know.

They used to show it all the time on The Hub, that title is def. the best part. It's almost too good, you almost wish the rest of the movie was animated.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

Not a live-action film, but still worth noting. I love how it reminds one of just how many fun moments this movie has.

On Pixar, this is an optimal song/visual combination.

Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau Project

Can't believe no one posted arguably the most creative ones yet:

For a radical change of mood, here's my favourite :

edited 20th Oct '14 7:38:58 AM by Nithael

I was just about to do that one. Thanks for saving me the bother.

edit

Hmm. I think I will have a pop at this after all.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnj8j7_fight-club-titles-sequence_shortfilms

edited 20th Oct '14 12:07:40 PM by TamH70

Someone's gotta mention The Pink Panther series here. After all, they turned the opening credits into a franchise all on their own.

This one's probably my favorite. Not only is Richard Williams' animation here fantastic, but there's lots of clever gags. In addition, it's very stylish and grandiose, like a grand reopening for the series after an 11-year hiatus.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

Oh, here's an extremely underrated one:

I came onto the thread just to post about that. That's possibly the best Animated Title Sequence of all time. Pretty groundbreaking too, the way it's animated.

edited 23rd Oct '14 9:18:02 PM by KnownUnknown

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

It was a tough choice between "Return", "Strikes Again", and the original. The first film had some Early-Installment Weirdness with the Panther being the Butt-Monkey and the Phantom's glove being present but it's still funny and entertaining to watch. "Strikes Again" stood out with the movie parodies and cinematography, but "Return" just barely edged it out.

I didn't care for the opening to "A Shot in the Dark" (despite the movie being my favorite in the series), and despite my dislike of the Steve Martin-led reboot, the openings captured the spirit of the originals (although the humor was a bit...more extreme?)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really love the Pink Panther movies.

edited 23rd Oct '14 10:26:17 PM by DrFurball

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

I chalk that up to Eric Goldberg having a bit more extreme sense of cartoon humor. There's no denying that the Martin-Clouseau character goes through a much more slapsticky torment in the credits.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

Four Rooms is pretty neat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmEo-0zvGq0

edited 24th Oct '14 9:42:05 PM by HisInfernalMajesty

"A king has no friends. Only subjects and enemies."

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

This isn't live action, but it's a film nonetheless

Supports cartoons being cartoony!

Another fine Marvel example.

But maybe I'm just a fan of the song.

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.

Probably my favorite:

"All you Fascists bound to lose."

To repeat ones mentioned above: I think Casino Royale and Watchmen have two of the best title sequences ever created for a film. Casino Royale because it's downright gorgeous, and the imagery and music mesh amazingly well with each other and with the movie's core concepts. Watchmen because it does such an effective job of introducing a lot of backstory and the idea of an alternate reality in a very efficient, creative, and engaging way, and it picks the perfect music to go along with that.