Greatest opening credits

While some opening credits have you reaching for the fast forward button on your remote control, there are others that demand your attention. Some are integral to the film's plot, while some are more creative and interesting than the actual film that follows. We salute some of our favourite opening movie credits.

The Naked Gun

Not even the intro credits are free from rib-tickling humour in the 'Naked Gun' films. Fixed on a close-up of a flashing police siren, the intro follows Frank Drebin's car as it veers through a series of locations, including a bullfight, car wash, roller coaster and a ladies changing room. Not the cleverest joke then, but funny all the same.

A Hard Day's Night

The playful and now iconic intro sees the Fab Four on the run from their legions of fans, ducking and weaving through phone boxes and photo booths, throwing on disguises on the way. Vital and energetic, chances are when you think Beatlemania, it's this intro you're reminded of.

Touch of Evil

Not just one of the greatest intros of all time, but also one of the greatest ever shots. Orson Welles' dazzling three-minute one-take crane shot dances through a town and weaves past cars as it follows Charlton Heston and his wife as they walk through the Mexican US border. The 1958 thriller is a damn fine one, but the plot will always be overshadowed by the sheer technical achievement of those three minutes. Welles at his bravado best.

Goldfinger

Despite most Bond films having creative intros, if you’ve got to pick just one then you have to plump for 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’. As stylish as they come, with images of the film projected onto the figures of gold-coloured ladies who are standing still like statues. Dame Shirley Bassey's booming voice, John Barry’s iconic score and those visuals not only ensured an opening credits legacy that all future instalments in the enduring series have to pay tribute to, but it also cemented a brand’s sense of seamless cool. On a side note, while Maurice Binder worked on many, many Bond opening credits, 'Goldfinger' was credited to graphic designer Robert Brownjohn.

Se7en

While some directors are happy just have credits roll on screen in front of bland footage, Fincher’s ones establish the film’s tone, demand attention and are generally innovative. ‘Fight Club’ flipped and rolled you through Ed Norton’s body, ‘Panic Room’ had credits authoritatively stamped on skyscrapers, but it was the opening credit to serial killer classic ‘Se7en’ that worked best. Designer Kyle Cooper constructed a masterpiece opening credit, all jagged lettering, unsettling atmosphere and a raw, driving sound courtesy of a remix of 'Nine Inch Nails' song 'Closer'. Two days to shoot and five weeks to edit, the credits focus on jittery close-ups of the killer's hands as he pens his manic thoughts and shaves off his fingers to avoid detection.

Vertigo

The legendary Saul Bass created some of cinema's greatest openings ('Psycho', 'The Man with the Golden Arm' and 'North by Northwest' among many, many others). However, most feel his work on Alfred Hitchcock's 1958' voyeur classic 'Vertigo' is his best. Like 'Se7en', it's a masterclass in setting up both an unsettling tone for the rest of the movie and also offering tantalising glimpses of what to expect – in this case eyes darting around the screen, passionate but controlling stares and blurry images spiralling out of control.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Shane Black’s fantastic film noir deconstruction comes complete with Saul Bass inspired opening credits. Yet the sequence is no rip-off of the famous graphic designer, as Danny Yount's intro, backed by an effortlessly cool score by John Ottman, is a wonderful and inventive blast of retro joy. Paying homage yet feeling fresh and new is something that translated onto the actual film as well, which starred Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer.

The Pink Panther

Not many opening credits cause such a huge interest that they spawn their own successful spin-off. But that is exactly what happened on Peter Sellers live action 'The Pink Panther' series. The animated opening featuring the pink animal, which was designed by Friz Freleng, was such a surprise success that United Artists demanded more shorts featuring the character. The cartoon panther has also featured in several of his own TV shows as well.

Halloween

Incredibly simple but eerily effective. All you have is a carved-out pumpkin placed against a black backdrop with bold orange lettering used to introduce the cast and filmmakers. Wouldn't have worked without John Carpenter's bone-chilling theme though.

Watchmen

Any suspicion of a ‘Dawn of the Dead’ remake were washed away after watching Zack Snyder’s opening credits – which were basically walking dead exposition bolstered by Johnny Cash's booming tone. He attempted pretty much the same trick but on a much more ambitious scale with the mammoth screen adaptation of 'Watchmen’. Scaling down the lengthy history of the superheroes down to six minutes was no easy task, but he did so with this stylish revised history intro, played out to Bob Dylan classic ‘The Times Are A'Changing’.

Shaft

Forget John Travolta’s strut in ‘Saturday Night Live’, the coolest man walking down a street goes to Richard Rowntree’s John Shaft. The opening credits to this classic blacksploitation flick come with the funkiest of funky soundtracks (by Isaac Hayes), accompanying Shaft’s walk down a grimy New York street as he walks with an effortless strut in his leather overcoat, shouting at drivers who have the cheek to drive in his path. The coolest opening credits ever.

Alien

Proving that less is indeed more. The opening credits to ‘Alien’ are a great exercise in wringing tension and suspense without actually showing anything. As the score pulsates ominously in front of a screen just showing simple lettering appear in space, we know something is going to haunt our nightmares - we just don’t know what.

Lord of War

Andrew Niccol's gun runner satire, which starred Nicolas Cage, begins with a nifty intro showcasing the history of a bullet – starting from its production in a factory to it being put in a AK-47 to kill someone. All the while an anti-war song is being played out. The best moment in an otherwise average movie.

Enter The Void

Quentin Tarantino recently called it the greatest intro of all time. The opening credits to last year's French film are deliberately disorientating and epileptic inducing. Neon words blink rapidly in your face, while visuals pulsate around during quick cuts. The reason? Apparently the film was so long that director Gaspar Noe wanted the credits out of the way as soon as possible.