I have a theory that just about every movie with kickass opening credits winds up being kickass overall.
On the flip side, if a movie starts with that same tired helicopter shot of a big city skyline set to a rousing pop song, you’re probably not in for anything special.
Certainly there are exceptions to both of those generalizations, but they’re few and far between.
Juno is a prime example of a film that sets its tone immediately through the opening credits. The blend of live-action and animation, the quirky soundtrack, the introduction of the “running boys” motif… it all perfectly captures the Juno-ness of the movie in just a couple minutes without a word of dialogue.
What are some of your favorite opening credit sequences?
Meet Me In Montauk 
I completely agree. I knew we were in for an amazing film while watching these opening credits, one which would deliver all the quirkiness and charm that this credit sequence promises.
Some of my favorite opening credit sequences:
— Catch Me if You Can is the fist one that springs to mind
— James Bond films, of course. The Spy Who Loved Me is the one I’m thinking of at the moment, but all of them are great (often better than the subsequent films)
— Jaws — the music, the names, the underwater POV shot – perfection.
— Spiderman
I also love the opening credits on several tv shows:
— Friday Night Lights, of course
— The Office
— Entourage
Each of these conveys the tone of the respective show perfectly.
Finally, I love the credits (at the end) of any Woody Allen film. I love the simple alphabetically ordered cast list on the black screen. Whether it’s an Annie Hall or a lesser Allen pic, the credit sequences are all created equal.
I’m sure I’ll be back with more suggestions as they occur to me 🙂