Written by: Kyle Cicilioni | @kylecicilioni
We all know that when a movie is over the closing credits roll and that's our cue to get up and leave (unless it's a Marvel movie of course). They typically consist of a black screen with white type rolling from the bottom to the top with music playing throughout. But what about the movie's opening credits? These can be entirely more creative and can truly set the tone for the entire movie. Some films take advantage of this tactic and utilize the opening credits to create something truly amazing.
There are lots of amazing opening credit sequences in movies and of course I can't list all of them. I selected five movies with opening credits that either did something innovative, really stuck with me or were just super cool. I placed them in alphabetical order.
Enter the Void (2009):
Gaspar Noe did something completely different with the opening credits of Enter the Void. Quick flashing titles and blinking colors that are almost seizure-inducing. When the music kicks in it only gets crazier, creating strange fonts for the titles of the cast and crew quickly switching between English and Japanese. It truly encompasses everything that this strange film is about to show you.
Enter the Void (2009):
Gaspar Noe did something completely different with the opening credits of Enter the Void. Quick flashing titles and blinking colors that are almost seizure-inducing. When the music kicks in it only gets crazier, creating strange fonts for the titles of the cast and crew quickly switching between English and Japanese. It truly encompasses everything that this strange film is about to show you.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011):
I think these opening credits are the only thing that can appropriately reflect the directing style of David Fincher. Dark, eery, disturbing, and wet with almost manikin-like heads and bodies melting, exploding and oozing with some black substance that everything also seems to be made of. Put that under Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's cover of the "Immigrant Song" with Karen O on vocals and you have a bizarre opening credits sequence that you won't soon forget.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Probably the coolest opening credits to any movie. Granted, you can argue that any Tarantino movie has really cool opening credits. George Baker Selection's "Little Green Bag" plays while "the dogs" walk in slow motion towards the camera. Titling each individual actor, some light up cigarettes, some put on their sunglasses, but all of them are super cool.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010):
It was my favorite film that year and one of my favorite films to date. Not only did Edgar Wright create something awesome by blending geek culture together in an adaptation of the graphic novel series, but he introduced the movie with a perfect opening credits sequence. Sex Bob-omb playing one of their songs as the camera slowly drifts away from the band until the actors names appear only to eventually come full circle and end the credits and song back on the band performing it. Bravo.
Watchmen (2009):
This is the reason why I decided to make this list. Watchmen is my favorite graphic novel (I would considerate it a work of art) but I seemed to be one of the few people who really enjoyed the movie too. Say what you will about the movie itself but the opening credits are some of the most creative and useful things to happen in any movie. Watchmen is a dense graphic novel and fitting in as much as they did into the movie is a feat in itself, but the opening credits were handled wonderfully. It shows the rise, popularity and fall of the original eight Minutemen as well as the creation of the new Watchmen, influential historical events, and the events that lead to this alternate reality where Nixon is elected to a third term all in the course of about five minutes. The best part is that it is set to Bob Dylan's "The Times they Are a-Changin'" while you watch 46 years of history unfold in slow motion. Pure cinematic bliss.
Written by: Kyle Cicilioni
