10 Greatest James Bond Movie Opening Title Sequences
You know the name, you know the number. Nobody does it like Bond.
As iconic as the cars, women, drinks, guns and gadgets, the James Bond opening title sequence has carved out a legendary and unshakeable niche in pop culture over the past 60 years.
From Dr. No onwards, the series rapidly developed a unique style that transitioned from simpler credit sequences into full-blown artistic endeavours, incorporating filmed elements, rotoscoping, projection, superimposition and all manner of computer graphics and special effects into the mix.
These slices of culture utilised an increasingly pacy, music video sensibility and some of the world's biggest recording artists and composers - John Barry, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Tom Jones, Adele - to build the Bond mythos and, laterally, went on to develop their own internal narratives.
While there have undeniably been many missteps along the way, with limp soundtracks and sketchy graphics, each intro has nonetheless told its own unique audio-visual story and earned its immortal place in film history.
Late title designer Maurice Binder (who was responsible for 16 of the series' sequences) once remarked that the opening credits to the Bond films were the precursor to the contemporary pop video, and he wasn't wrong - one way or another, a host of musicians, directors and music television channels have 007 to thank for their ideas, their format and their success.
But which ones are the greatest? Let's find out.
10. You Only Live Twice (1967)
The last of Sean Connery's initial run as James Bond, You Only Live Twice nonetheless shines in the opening titles in a way that few other of his entries in the franchise do.
Composed by Goldfinger co-writers John Barry and Leslie Bricusse, the song You Only Live Twice was initially offered to Frank Sinatra but ended up being performed by his daughter, Nancy. And aren't we lucky it did; rather than the slow croon and decidedly US stamp that Frank would have brought to the track, Nancy provided the kind of warm, grand female vocal offering that has come to define the best of the Bond soundtracks.
With a repeating melody throughout, Barry drew on Japanese influences to match the setting of the picture and the visuals of long-time 007 film title designer, Maurice Binder.
The titles in You Only Live Twice cleverly superimpose images of Japanese women over shots of lava, hinting at the film's climactic battle, while largely remaining restrained (as Bond intros go), making spare use of silhouettes and a simple but decidedly 'oriental' credit typeface.