Movies with awesome opening credits sequences
by leturtle | created - 04 Nov 2010 | updated - 06 Feb 2011 | PublicI have a strange affection for opening credits sequences. I think I like to see what order different actors are credited in, and then come up with my own order of how I think they should be ordered depending on their character's main-ness...... Anyway! Here is my list of cool opening credits sequences.
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1. Watchmen (2009)
R | 162 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
In a version of 1985 where superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach on the trail of a conspiracy that will change the course of history.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman
Votes: 582,288 | Gross: $107.51M
Perfect song choice, and introduces pretty much the entire backstory without a word of dialogue! Genius stuff.
2. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 793,975 | Gross: $33.23M
Beautiful, nostalgic music and footage of a young Amelie indulging in her little pleasures. Wonderful.
3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 166,860 | Gross: $139.88M
Simple, just a pair of lips on a black background singing a brilliant song, and it's hilarious!
4. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,322,336 | Gross: $37.03M
We are taken on a journey through neurons and electric bolts in the brain, which is a great introduction to the... questionable mental health of our nameless protagonist.
5. Juno (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Votes: 549,047 | Gross: $143.50M
A simple, catchy song with funky animation really sets the "indie" feel of the movie.
6. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 383,648 | Gross: $7.22M
Very, very eerie, the music not much more than a subtle screeching of... some kind of nondescript instrument, and a car twisting down the highway... where is it going? Who knows with David Lynch.
7. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 717,981 | Gross: $32.00M
Crazy, frantic music with crazy, frantic lines twiddling there way all over the screen. Great to watch.
8. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Musical
The legendary tale of a barber who returns from wrongful imprisonment to 1840s London, bent on revenge for the rape and death of his wife, and resumes his trade while forming a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
Votes: 386,832 | Gross: $52.90M
Amazing instrumental version of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (although part of me would have loved to have seen the sung version from the stage play... oh well) played over the creepy blood trickling down the sewer. Some of the actors credited could've used some rearranging (or adding. Neither Toby nor Anthony were credited. Huh?!), but I'm probably the only person ever to be bothered by that. :P
9. 1408 (2007)
PG-13 | 104 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
Director: Mikael Håfström | Stars: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 293,997 | Gross: $71.99M
Also very creepy and atmospheric thanks to some epic camerawork, making the hotel room very claustrophobic. And not even the one of the title!
10. Burlesque (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A small-town girl ventures to Los Angeles and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer.
Director: Steve Antin | Stars: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Alan Cumming, Eric Dane
Votes: 93,133 | Gross: $39.44M
Was never a big fan of Christina before this movie. But then she started singing and BAM awesome opening credits! The dancers didn't hurt, either.
11. From Russia with Love (1963)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi
Votes: 145,304 | Gross: $24.80M
Again, dancing girl didn't hurt the credits. Anyone whose seen the movie will remember this.
12. Casino Royale (2006)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 694,365 | Gross: $167.45M
Another Bond movie, which have a track record for cool opening credits sequences. I didn't particularly care for this movie much, but the animation here was HIGHLY entertaining and very well-done.
13. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 206,936 | Gross: $7.27M
Definitely up there as one of my favourite movie openings ever. Completely epic and insane, much like the rest of the film itself.
14. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 570,054 | Gross: $1.23M
Whooping llamas? Yes! Brilliant.
15. Psycho Beach Party (2000)
Unrated | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Chicklet is a sixteen-year old tomboy who's desperate to be part of the in-crowd of Malibu beach surfers. She's the typical American girl - except for one little problem: her personality is split into more slices than a pepperoni pizza.
Director: Robert Lee King | Stars: Lauren Ambrose, Nicholas Brendon, Thomas Gibson, Kimberley Davies
Votes: 6,597 | Gross: $0.27M
I'm a teenage male, okay? Leave me alone.
16. Rent (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In New York City's gritty East Village, a group of bohemians strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 55,912 | Gross: $29.08M
"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?"
17. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,105,997 | Gross: $44.02M
Another eerie, car twisting down the highway, but this one is considerably more unnerving. Which is weird because nothing much is really happening. Very clever stuff.
18. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka
Votes: 46,724 | Gross: $0.13M
Being a total Satoshi Kon fanboy, I'll adore just about anything that happens in his work. But I particularly love this because it gets you to pay attention to the background art, which is brilliant in this movie.
19. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,803 | Gross: $0.52M
Another anime movie, but VERY different to Tokyo Godfathers. But the credits are very creepy and very well-done with epic music and animation.
20. The Pink Panther (2006)
PG | 93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Bumbling Inspector Clouseau must solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and find out who stole the infamous Pink Panther diamond.
Director: Shawn Levy | Stars: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer
Votes: 92,485 | Gross: $82.23M
In my opinion, a fairly underrated movie, with hilarious animated opening credits to boot.
21. Funny Games (2007)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet
Votes: 103,795 | Gross: $1.29M
This is more of an honourable mention, because a) I HATED this movie with a passion and b) I HATE the music that played. But a family happily sitting in the car on their way to a holiday with classical music softly playing them BAM DEATH METAL SCREAMING MOVIE TITLE APPEARS BLAHHHH! It was a very interesting way to begin a movie.
22. The Killer Inside Me (2010)
R | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A West Texas Deputy Sheriff is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty
Votes: 35,731 | Gross: $0.21M
Another terrible movie (I couldn't even finish it), but the credits were pretty awesome. Too bad the movie itself didn't reflect aforementioned awesomeness.
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