Films with no opening titles

[Bad Ambassador]

I think there was a thread about this, but I couldn't find it.

Could the earliest example be Phase IV from 1973? Just the Paramount logo at the start, then straight into a very strange narration about a cosmic alignment giving ants superintelligence.

[Tiny Poster]

Don't make me point out the irony of Phase IV having no opening titles.

[Incandenza]

Saw Les Mis on Friday and it oddly had no titles, even though there was a moment which seemed custom built for a title splashed across it.

Always unsettles me slightly. Find myself thinking "we've not had the titles yet...maybe they'll come on now...or now..." for the first 20 mins. Although what's weirder is when they turn up too late; in Eternal Sunshine I swear there's about 45 mins before they show up.

[Petey Pate]

Putney Swope, from 1969.

[SteveDave]

Inception doesn't have any opening titles does it? Just him waking up on the beach. Or a beach. Not The Beach.

[Dark Sky]

Although what's weirder is when they turn up too late; in Eternal Sunshine I swear there's about 45 mins before they show up.

I think it's 'only' about twenty minutes, but yeah, it is weird.  Agree about Les Mis.  I thought they'd put the title up after the new prologue bit and before the musical starts proper, but they didn't and left it for the end.  And not even the end; half way through the end credits. 

I remember finding it odd that Minority Report only had its title right at the very end of the film.  But it's fairly common now, isn't it?

[Serge]

Inception doesn't have any opening titles does it? Just him waking up on the beach. Or a beach. Not The Beach.

None of Nolan's Batman movies have opening titles, either. I can't remember if 'Memento' or 'The Prestige' have, but I assume it's a 'thing' for him.

[samadriel]

Pretty sure The Prestige did, over that shot of all the hats.

[Dead kate moss]

Robocop 2.

& Raising Arizona's credits aren't until about 15 minutes into the film.

[Kane Jones]

Raising Arizona's credits aren't until about 15 minutes into the film.

"Don't forget his fingerprints, Ed."

I must've seen that film about 10 times, yet I'm always surprised by how far into the film the credits start.  God, it's fantastic - one of my favourite Coen Brothers films.

I probably use the term 'rambunctious behaviour' several times a year thanks to this film. 

[El Unicornio, mang]

The Departed titles don't appear until 20 mins in

[Santa's Boyfriend]

Apocalypse Now is probably the first film I recognised as having no opening title credits, but the first one  I saw was definitely Star Wars.  I'm fairly sure Star Wars got into trouble for not having any opening credits, in fact - I think it's against guild rules.

[Marty McFly]

Star Wars did have the opening crawl, with the title, though.

[Panbaams]

[Kane Jones]

Star Wars did have the opening crawl, with the title, though.

I was going to say, the Die Hard films don't have opening credits, but they do have the title; Normally shooting onto the screen with a collosal bang.  The opening shot of Die Hard 2 is a close-up of a tow truck in the snow.  Always struck me as being a bit odd.

[Tiny Poster]

Don't make me point out the irony of Phase IV having no opening titles.

Sigh.

The irony is, it was the only film directed by Saul Bass, who is of course chiefly famous for designing opening titles.

In fact, he's the only opening titles designer most people can name.

[Kane Jones]

Interesting fact there, Tiny Poster.  But regarding opening title designers, Maurice Binder is pretty renowned, isn't he?

[thenoise]

Fahrenheit 451 has spoken opening titles only, in keeping with the theme.

Of course, if you are watching it subtitled, ....

[Blumf]

Fahrenheit 451 has spoken opening titles only, in keeping with the theme

I love that opening and the rest of film, that too.

[Ocho]

The 1998 re-edit of Touch Of Evil just opens with the Universal-International logo and then straight into that long opening shot without the superimposed titles of the 1958 version.  I don't know if that was one of the stipulations in the Orson Welles memo that they used to reconstruct the film in line with his ideas.

[The Roofdog]

None of Nolan's Batman movies have opening titles, either. I can't remember if 'Memento' or 'The Prestige' have, but I assume it's a 'thing' for him.

Memento does, ironically, they're over images of the polaroids developing that drive the rest of the film.