Comments on: Forget the Film, Watch the Titles

Forget the Film, Watch the Titles

jonson — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:16:38 -0800

Forget the film, watch the titles is a collection of high quality streaming video versions of graphically well-designed title sequences from a number of movies, both famous & less well known, with the only prerequisite being amazing design. My favorite from the collection is this one, which is very similar to my favorite title sequence ever. For rabid Title Sequence enthusiasts with 20 minutes to spare, these You Tube clips contained edits of the top 25 best title sequences ever, (as chosen by the guy who put the clips together).

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:26:53 -0800

Very interesting. Catch me if You Can is my favorite as well. I thought about the title sequence throughout the movie, and whenever I talked to anyone about the movie, I would mention the cool opening. I think that the Simpsons did a takeoff on it as well.

By: hopeless romantique

hopeless romantique — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:34:56 -0800

This is really cool, thanks for the link. I'm also a huge fan of the title sequence to Monster's Inc.

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:46:20 -0800

Simpsons version

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:55:11 -0800

WOW. Good stuff. I had never seen the titles for "Catch Me If You Can" -- if I had, then it is entirely possible that I would have enjoyed the movie more than I did. And it's great to see "The Good, Bad, Ugly" as the homepage clip on the main link. BEST. SCORE. EVER. Thanks.

By: zerobyproxy

zerobyproxy — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:09:25 -0800

Charade. One of my favorites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjGDjwxRwpI Any help with how to link? My search proved to be fruitless.

By: spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:15:33 -0800

Panic Room had excellent opening titles.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:16:36 -0800

I have a rule which I find pretty consistent: animated credits equals shitass movie. I'd say it's accurate about 98% of the time. I never made it thru Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for instance. On preview, I also quite like the Panic Room credits.

By: localroger

localroger — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:21:38 -0800

dobbs, this was certainly not true of Catch Me if you Can, which was a great movie, despite its awesome title sequence.

By: m0nm0n

m0nm0n — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:21:48 -0800

WTF? Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is an excellent movie! I heart the opening credits as well. I thought they were stylishly done.

By: The Deej

The Deej — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:25:25 -0800

Awesome! I was glad to see Pi and Alien. 2 of my faves.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:27:37 -0800

Here's one of my favorites - The Man With the Golden Arm. Superb music too.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:33:58 -0800

these YouTube clips contained edits of the top 25 best title sequences ever, (as chosen by the guy who put the clips together) "The guy" is an idiot for putting North by Northwest at 24. That's one of the most beautiful opening sequences in movie history, and a source of inspiration for more than a few movies (including ones linked here). And how can you possibly leave out Orson Welles' Touch of Evil? The 5 minute single tracking shot is one of the best bits of camera work since Hitchcock's The Rope.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:36:47 -0800

One of the best title sequences ever was the film version of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Worth buying the entire DVD. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was awesome, too.

By: cazoo

cazoo — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:43:51 -0800

good stuff but the adobe after effects stuff on all the modern films feels really cold and impersonal. i like all the older stuff shot on an animation stand.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:46:40 -0800

Dobbs: "I have a rule which I find pretty consistent: animated credits equals shitass movie." I remember enjoying One Crazy Summer's credits, which were animated, and then I recall enjoying the movie. However, admittedly it's been at least 15 or 20 years since I've seen it. Not sure if time has been kind. The lead character was an aspiring cartoonist, so having the credits animated made perfect sense. That may be what makes it the exception to the rule.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:52:38 -0800

Oh. Punch Drunk Love had great titles.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:02:59 -0800

My vote: a title sequence that completely floored me: Mo' Better Blues. (It's a link to the film synopsis--if anyone can link to the title sequence I'd be indebted.)

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:12:35 -0800

Run Lola Run had a cool title sequence.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:01:56 -0800

The best title sequence I've ever seen is from a film called "Sebastian", which as an absurd but fun James-bond-like film made in 1968. It's about a guy who is a secret-code cracker for the British government. The credits are a long animation of all the actors names being decoded in interesting ways. As-far-as I can tell, it's not available on DVD or VHS. Does anyone know if it's available ANYTHERE?

By: sexymofo

sexymofo — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:11:33 -0800

I've always thought the title sequence of "Catch Me" was a homage to Saul Bass.

By: Tbola

Tbola — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:20:09 -0800

Thanks for this post. It made my weekend.

By: bobloblaw

bobloblaw — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:23:21 -0800

Ditto here on the A Series of Unfortunate Events film credits - and the coolest part, is the best of 'em are at the end of the film. Se7en seemed pretty brilliant at the time, though it largely borrows from the work of experimental filmmakers like Stan Brakhage...(combine equal parts The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes and Mothlight, blend.)

By: hwestiii

hwestiii — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:09:18 -0800

I'm not sure where it would it would fit, but there has to be a place for the opening titles of "Dr. Strangelove" somewhere. KC135s and B52s engaging in a suggestive refueling operation to strains of "Try A Little Tenderness" acompanied by Pablo Ferro's wonderfully idiosyncratic typography. Not as flashy as most cited in the FPP, but smart and funny. An all time classic from maybe the best movie ever.

By: churl

churl — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:44:52 -0800

I remember touring the Academy of Art (in San Francisco)'s video production building. I peeked into a class in session and the students were analyzing the excellent opening credits to seven. I'll check out Stan Brakhage on bobloblaw's endorsement.

By: autodidact

autodidact — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:54:01 -0800

I liked the titles for the 2006 Casino Royale. A lot of people say it looks like a straight after effects plugin.

By: churl

churl — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:50:08 -0800

To Kill a Mockingbird. Lord of War. Delicatessen. Alien. Raging Bull.

By: ashbury

ashbury — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:08:34 -0800

I really enjoyed the credits for Delicatessen. I always enjoyed the Pink Panther opening credits, and so of course Monsters Inc was fun to watch. I've always payed a lot of attention to the opening credits. Thanks for pointing this site out.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:18:51 -0800

/derail zerobyproxy, to make a link in your comment: 1. highlight and copy url 2. in your comment box here, highlight word to be the link. 3. press blue word at lower right corner of comment box that says "link" 4. when pop-up box opens paste url and press "OK" (or Enter). There it is.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:09:55 -0800

Excellent post and thread. 2001 A Space Odyssey. That sublime opening sequence felt life changing to watch the first time, tremendous excitement about being part of the beginning of this new age of technological innovation. Not a film opening but the memorable Sopranos opening sequence. Edward Gorey animation for Mystery Theater. Always thought the film title/credits deserved much more praise. Some movies it was the very best part. The Kiss Kiss Bang Bang one you linked is brilliant. James Bond films always had spectacular title sequences. Awesome. Opening for Yellow Submarine. Some flicks have a phenomenal song connected with the opening sequence, Rent for example with Seasons of Love, To Sir With Love, the original Alfie, Good, Bad and the Ugly, Georgy Girl.

By: jonson

jonson — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:33:21 -0800

Man, nicky I forgot all about that Edward Gorey opening titles to Mystery. I used to watch that every week when I was a little kid; I never stuck around to watch Mystery, which was too grown up for me, but I LOVED the opening credits! Thanks for the nostalgia. And yes, churl & ashbury, Delicatessen has AMAZING opening titles, and that's probably the one case where the thought & effort that went into the titles was exactly on par with the thought & effort (& talent) that went into making the movie. What a great film Delicatessen was!

By: kyleg

kyleg — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:44:07 -0800

Those responsible for my favorite titles have been sacked.

By: quin

quin — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:51:21 -0800

Funny. In just the last couple of days, the Wife and I have been through tons of movies in our collection trying to come up ith the best title sequence. The obvious choice goes to Seven, If for no other reason, they gave away so much in those credits. If you were really on the ball, you would have caught many of the secrets of the movie, before the film even started. That was kinda awesome. Next there is Fight Club. It's good, but it really doesn't win the high marks till it pulls out to the gun in the mouth moment. I liked it, but it still isn't my favorite. No, my best is a really weird choice, Fight Club and Seven are both really solid movies, no one doubts their value. But when I say that Eurotrip had the best credits I can think of, people get all kinds of bitchy. But really, watch them again and tell me that honest to god skill and talent didn't go into their creation. It stands and the best credits I've seen. And the song is damn catchy as well.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:51:35 -0800

The opening credits of se7en certainly set the tone of that movie. I thought they were nicely done.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:52:47 -0800

Jesus, quin, now we must battle. I'll eat the quarter pounder, you have the couscous.

By: salishsea

salishsea — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:06:11 -0800

Most recently, I was struck with the credits for Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban. Couldn't find a link to the sequence, but the IMDb has some nice descriptions of some of the great things to notice.

By: Lord_Pall

Lord_Pall — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:10:55 -0800

Not to be blasphemous, but I love the new Dawn of the Dead opening. It's less about credits than imagery, but I still dig it. To bring in videogames. the menuing and titling in Dirt is amazing.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:13:04 -0800

It's may just be that the Psycho music is so effective (and has been used ever since in association with scary stuff), but the Psycho credits, just names and shifting parallel lines and that music, made me nervous.

By: SubmarineChannel

SubmarineChannel — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 04:10:20 -0800

I'm the editor of Forget the Film, Watch the Titles and one of my personal favorites is the animated sequence for the French film Le Cactus, which is inspired by the Catch me if you Can opening sequence. Brilliant and original is this one Ex Drummer from an underground Belgian film. Can't believe nobody has mentioned these yet.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:16:57 -0800

I attended a 3D/effects software users conference about ten years ago where I got to meet and drink with some gen-yew-wine Hollywood film people. One of them owned a studio which did nothing but credit sequences. It blew my mind at time time to know that not only was the film industry specialized enough to support a company which did nothing but credit sequences for major movies, but that there was enough business to support a thriving credit-sequence business ecology.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:07:01 -0800

Great post. And SubmarineChannel, Le Cactus is stunningly gorgeous. Thanks for such a great site.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:31:14 -0800

Eurotrip is pretty good movie really. For the genre. And yea those credits were imaginative.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:26:42 -0800

oooh, the opening for Le Cactus is marvelous! Nice one SubmarineChannel. Your site is great. Bravo! & Encore! And welcome to MetaFilter! :)

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:51:17 -0800

posted by sexymofo I've always thought the title sequence of "Catch Me" was a homage to Saul Bass. It was both a nod and a wink to Saul Bass and designed to fit with the film's being set in the sixties. I liked the titles for Thank You For Smoking. Genius, that.

By: jouke

jouke — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:29:29 -0800

The zooming out from neurons in the brain of the protagonist to the macro situation as done in the title sequence of Fight Club. Mentioned above is Lord of War which is a bit similar in the use of zooming through objects. I find title sequences that use this kind of 'zooming through' mesmerising. The title sequence of the series Dexter is similar in it's use of macro photography and high speed cameras.

By: jonson

jonson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:08:26 -0800

fandango_matt - you should click all the links in the post. The words "amazing design" link to a higher quality (well, higher than YouTube) version of the Thank You For Smoking credits.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:40:40 -0800

Whoa, how'd I miss that? Awesome, thanks!

By: SubmarineChannel

SubmarineChannel — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:49:48 -0800

I just added 3 title sequences by Bruce Schluter of Pacific Title & Art Studio: Ricochet, xXx: State of the Union and the animated intro of the new mini-series The Starter Wife.