Giving credits where credits are due (see what I did there?) has changed dramatically in cinema over the years. While 20th century offerings generally ran their main titles at a picture’s start, most modern-day blockbusters these days save credits for the end. Moreover, astounding advances in CGI have upped the creative ante beyond simply boasting sleek font and 2-D animation. As such, in compiling a list of my take on moviedom’s best credits sequences, I think it’s important to distinguish between contemporary and yesteryear – hence the somewhat arbitrary segmenting that follows. What makes a great credit sequence, you ask? (Just go with me here.) For me, it’s how the titles magnify or relate to the story, themes or visual design that follows. Oh, and I suppose it should be interesting. Duh. Agree with these choices? Disagree? No opinion? It’s a free country (as of this writing, anyway), so let ‘er rip.
10. The Conversation (1974)
Walter Murch’s complex sound mix underscores the film’s themes of surveillance and privacy.
9. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Title design by the great Saul Bass accompanied by a Duke Ellington score. ‘Nuff said.
8. Barbarella (1968)
The clip cuts off a little early (if the link is even still good, by the time you read this), lest underage eyes see Hanoi Jane in the buff. Viva la Sixties!
7. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Sex and double entendres permeate Stanley Kubrick’s landmark black comedy about nuclear holocaust. So naturally we open with “Try a Little Tenderness” as an aircraft gets re-fueled mid-air. Re-fueled good and hard.
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Ennio Morricone. Gunshots. Rinse. Repeat.
5. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
On a recent podcast, Quentin Tarantino admitted he hadn’t bothered to watch The Thomas Crown Affair for many years because he didn’t see how the movie could possibly live up to its sleekly designed opening titles.
4. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The Pink Panther credits have certainly aged better than the Inspector Clouseau character.
3. Dr. No (1962)
Um, you might be familiar with this one.
2. The Wild Bunch (1969)
“If they move,” William Holden’s Pike Bishop bellows to his men, “kill ’em!” Followed by “Directed by Sam Peckinpah.” If that’s not a mission statement, I don’t know what is.
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Silly bliss.
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach 