Top 20 Greatest Film Opening Credit Sequences.
As a fan of music and of creative, elaborate opening title sequences I’m more than happy to present you with my choices of what are the greatest and most special opening credits in classic films.
20.The Man Called Flintstone. 1966. Composed by Ted Nichols and Marty Paich and designed by Saul Bass.
The James Bondesque opening for the first feature film revolving around the stone aged family is as fun and catchy as all get out. Hanna Barbara wasn’t playing with this one. They went class and style all the way.
19. The In Laws. 1979 Score by John Morris.
The In Laws is a classic comedy starring Peter Falk aka Columbo for millions of fans and Alan Arkin. The opening gives us that sense of absurd fun that the movie is full of with a guy walking for what seems like an eternity to get to the roof with the catchy music composed by John Morris. I can’t help but rewind this part multiple times every time I watch the movie.
18. Psycho. 1960. Score by Bernard Herrmann and designed Saul Bass.
Psycho is considered one of the scariest and most intense horror films ever made and its opening credits honors that to the hilt with a deeply intense and powerful score by Herrmann blasting our ears and Saul Bass’ amazingly clear and clean graphics. Both Mr. Herrmann and Mr. Bass were far ahead of their time.
17. The Pink Panther. 1963. By Henry Mancini. Designed by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Inc.
We all know the song the moment it hit our ears no matter if we’ve never even seen a Pink Panther film. The classic music is composed by the great Henry Mancini that gives the perfect sneaky vibe of that wily Pink Panther
16. Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker. 2000. Score by Kristopher Carter. Title Sequence created by Ryan Woodward.
Can you believe this version was deleted because the producers thought it’d reveal the big twist to the audience? Too bad, right? This has got to be one of the finest openings for any animated features. Besides the amazing graphics the music is so fitting for the dark and punk tone of Batman Beyond. Visually engaging and cleverly laying hints of the big reveal… Utter genius!
15. Do The Right Thing. 1989. By Public Enemy.
Talk about iconic! The title sequence definitely fought the power with the classic Public Enemy “Fight The Power” that became the black justice national anthem. Rosie Perez dancing as the credits roll is just as memorable and iconic.
14. Boomerang.1992. Score by Marcus Miller.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the actual sequence anywhere online but if you’ve seen the movie you know it already. Eddie Murphy’s 1992 romantic comedy Boomerang is one of those modern classics in cinema history and the score alone plays a huge part of that. The sequence is a beautifully animated reveal of the film’s title, and the soulful score by Marcus Miller is a thing of beauty. So daggone smooth, sexy and elegant. The fact that Marcus never did a full version and put it out is a crime. This is black excellence, baby!
13. Bad Boys 1995. Score by Mark Mancina.
Giving the audience the Miami flavor, the opening credits was a perfect intro to the world of Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowery. Mancina’s score was top notch and the exterior shots were beautifully atmospheric.
12. Rush Hour 2. 2001. Score by Lalo Schifrin.
Beautiful shots of Hong Kong in all its glory accompanied by a killer score arranged by the late great Lalo Schifrin whose enormous body of work includes famous scores on such iconic movies as The Exorcist, Cool Hand Luke and Dirty Harry, and perhaps most famously the theme song of the 1960’s classic tv series Mission: Impossible. The music in particular perfectly highlights the scene to follow where the bombing of the Chinese Embassy takes place.
11. Lethal Weapon 3. 1992. By Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen and Sting.
This happens to be my favorite title sequence of all the Lethal Weapon movies. The song choice of “It’s Probably Me” was just a great fit with the film. The use of fire in the graphics were also a great choice.
10. Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country. 1991. Score by Cliff Eidelman.
Star Trek films have had many amazing opening credit sequences but this film may just be my all time fav. It’s dark and militaristic but also so elegant and mesmerizing. A top flight title sequence in my opinion.
9. Batman Mask of The Phantasm. 1993. Score by Shirley Walker.
Shirley Walker’s Batman theme(which was derived from Danny Elfman’s score in the 1989 Batman film) has become as associated with the caped crusader as the bat signal and Batmobile. She took it up a notch with the score of Mask of the Phantasm. The haunting music, chorus and atmospheric look at Gotham perfectly illustrates the world of the film and the character of Bruce Wayne\Batman himself.
8. Spy. 2015. By Ivy Levan and designed by Plucky studios.
Melissa McCarthy’s outrageous spy spoof legitimizes itself with a killer opening song and amazing graphics. Very much of the Bond quality and the powerful vocals of Ivy Levan elevates it. It’s just amazing and addictive to watch.
7. Men In Black. 1997. Score by Danny Elfman.
We all remember Will Smith’s iconic “Here comes the Men in Black” rap most but we can’t forget to honor the amazing opening credit score by Danny Elfman that has been used in every single MIB film. The music is so perfectly mysterious and shady which fits the organization. Also doesn’t love following that Dragonfly everywhere?
6. From Russia With Love. 1963. Score by Matt Monro.
A tough choice between this one, Goldfinger and Goldeneye but I had to give it to this one as the best James Bond title sequence. Everything about is spells cool, sexy and smooth like 007 himself. Very innovative and unique tactics went into this one making it a standout for 1960’s movie credits.
5. Spider-Man. 2002. Score by Danny Elfman. Designed by Kyle Cooper.
Who doesn’t remember this iconic opening from the 2002 masterpiece Spider-Man? I remember when me, my family and friends all went to see this film after my little brother’s birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and even at nine years old I was mesmerized by the beauty of the music and the title sequence itself which were perfectly stylized to fit the spider theme with webs and all.
4. The Untouchables. 1987. Score by Ennio Morricone.
Doesn’t get any tougher than this title sequence of the classic 80’s gem The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner, Robert DeNiro, Andy Garcia and Sean Connery. Just so well constructed visually and musically. It feels like the movie with its dramatic and brash yet elegant motif. All the different instruments used together is just a thing of beauty.
3. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. 2011. By Michael Giacchino.
Out of all the Mission: Impossible movies I have to choose this opening from Ghost Protocol as my favorite. Everything about it is just amazing, and it does justice to Lalo Schrifrin’s music for the original series justice. The use of CGI is well done here with the fuse being lit as the credit roll while still incorporating classic Mission elements such as showing us scenes out of order from the film we’re about to see.
2. Superman: The Movie. 1978. Score by John Williams.
Starting out with a narration by a child, this opening title sequence from the stunning visuals and the iconic theme by John Williams is a masterpiece, plain and simple. It’s impossible not to feel the urge to shout “SUPERMANNNN!” as soon as the big S appears and the song finally starts after such build up. I’m not ashamed to admit that the sequence has driven me to tears of pure joy once or twice… okay, every single time.
- Catch Me If You Can. 2002. Score by John Williams and designed by Florence Deygas and Oliver Kuntzel.
Argue all you’d like but this will forever be the greatest movie opening credit sequence of all time! It has that Saul Bass animation style, which was done as a tribute to him. The film is all fun, games and intellect which this opening embodies. Catch Me If You Can is on my top 10 list of all time favorite movies so naturally the amazing title sequence would be top dog here.
Thanks for reading, folks! ’Til next time!