Rank the opening titles from best to worst

[The Phantom Menace]

Pretty self-explanatory.

1. Superman: The Movie
2. Superman Returns
3. Superman II
4. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
5. Superman III (ABC Titles)
6. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
7. Superman III (Theatrical Titles)

[MerM]

STM (didn't see that one coming...)
SR (I loved the traveling through space, going past planets, etc. nifty touch, and it got me REALLY excited)
S2 (I like the faster, punchier rendition of the main title, and the way a 154-minute film is condensed to 4 minutes of necessary information)
S3 (appropriate? not at all. unique? most definitely)
S4 (appropriate? yeah, all too much...)
S2: RDC (I'll take bad 80's credits over bad 00's credits)

[Jimbo]

STM - epic

S2 - I have a fondness for these. I love how "SUPERMAN II" comes roaring in slowly from above like the Star Destroyer in Star Wars

Superman Returns - nice homage, but there's a lot of aliasing

Superman II RDC - trying to be like STM, only failing; veeeeery cheap looking and slow

Superman IV - well....at least they're legible, it was made in 4x3 and then stretched to 16x9, horrible

Superman III - practically illegible, FAIL

[Jor-L5150]

1) STM
2) SII-theatrical
3) SR - reminds me of sp 2 and jango fett...
4) SII RDC ...meh
5) S4- cheeeeeaaaaaappp
6) SIII.... oh my gawd this is terrible.

[Bobby M]

STM - For ages I said SII was the best. But STM has, hands down, the best opening credit sequence ever in terms of an intro that only features text and music. The theme combined with those swooshsing letters that burn through the screen is nothing short of epic.

SII - I still think this is a very close second and the best recap-style opening I've ever seen. People always complain about the tinny sound of the theme music, but I think I actually prefer Thorne's arrangement over the original.

SIII - Yes, I know everyone hates it. But at least they tried something different and it's part of a quality production. As opposed to............

SIV - Cheap and nasty. Like most of the film itself. No wonder seeing this at the cinema put me off Superman for over a decade.

Ain’t seen any others, so that’s all folks.

[Chancellor Todd]

Are the Superman III ABC TV credits eligible for this list? Up until about 1998 I didn't even know another version existed.

[The Phantom Menace]

Jan 15, 2010 19:52:59 GMT -5 Chancellor Todd said:

Are the Superman III ABC TV credits eligible for this list? Up until about 1998 I didn't even know another version existed.

You can include them if you wish. I only didn't because I haven't seen them.

[SGB]

STM
Supergirl
SII
SII: TRDC
SIV
SIII

[Chancellor Todd]

That should be remedied. Only play this if you are unable to travel back to 1985 and watch it during the original broadcast.

[The Phantom Menace]

I'd place those titles just above the Superman IV titles.

[Jor-L5150]

Jan 15, 2010 22:52:53 GMT -5 Chancellor Todd said:

That should be remedied. Only play this if you are unable to travel back to 1985 and watch it during the original broadcast.

thank you todd, question-

in this version, what did they do withthe opening sequence ? was it cut altogether? please g/God(s) tell me it was. then it MIGHT have appeared salvagable.

[Jimbo]

It was all there in its entirety, just without the text overlaid. In fact, it's even longer. There was a bit where a kid is on a seesaw and gets launched into a tree. Superman comes and saves him out of the tree.

[Shane]

STM
SR
SII
SIV
SII RDC
SIII

[Kirok]

STM - Classic, unmatched as far as "text only" credit sequences go.
SII - Although I prefer the STM font, the integration of STM clips recapping the previous film make this a solid opening.
SR - Holds a special place for me being the only one I've seen at the theater. Still, simpler is better (see STM and SII) and this one reminded me a bit too much of Star Trek: Voyager and Third Rock From the Sun.
SII: TRDC - A acceptable imitation of STM's. I know a lot of you have your issues with it, but this is what did it for me: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0yk5mkJlzM
SIV - I didn't know the 4x3/16x9 thing before. I always thought something was off about them but it all makes sense now. That and the "comic style" font and coloring just don't work.
SIII - Self explanatory why it's last. Taking the space credits into consideration, it'd be before SIV but no higher. Why the scrolling text, Star Wars envy?

[Jimbo]

SUPER SPEW, I knew someone would link that eventually. ;D

[Chancellor Todd]

Jan 16, 2010 3:14:23 GMT -5 Kirok said:

SIV - I didn't know the 4x3/16x9 thing before.

The "S" logo in the original Superman II opening credits is also stretched horizontally. (Not to mention they messed up the red and yellow parts.)

[Chancellor Todd]

Jan 15, 2010 23:50:20 GMT -5 Jor-L5150 said:

thank you todd, question-

in this version, what did they do withthe opening sequence ? was it cut altogether? please g/God(s) tell me it was. then it MIGHT have appeared salvagable.

When I first saw this on the premiere night, I remember being upset that they switched the "A" part of the theme music with the "B" part -- I knew right away Superman III wouldn't be as good (it was the first time I saw the movie). I should have been thanking my lucky stars that we got the theme music at all.

[Jimbo]

All they did was play the music from the end of the movie for the new space credits of Superman III.

You can even hear Reeve's camera fly-by too.

[Deleted]

1.) Superman II
I'll go against the grain here. I like the font a little better than STM's, and including the clips from STM really helps to build up anticipation for the film. It reminds you how awesome the first movie is while you're waiting for the new one to start. It's like a STM music video.

2.) Superman The Movie
Amazing Williams music and great visuals. The same techniques used to create the space FX would eventually be refined and used to create the Xibalba nebula in The Fountain, so that's another plus.

3.) Superman Returns
A great tribute to the original STM credits, though it's a bit too busy. I'm surprised WB let Singer spend a bunch of money on the opening credits; it's such an old school move. heck, a lot of movies don't even have opening credits anymore.

4.) Superman III ABC cut
It was kind of half-assed, but I'll take it. Space + Williams theme = Win. Unless it's a Golan-Globus production. More on that later.

5.) Superman II: Donner Cut
Obviously done on the cheap, but nice effort.

6.) Superman III
Lousy concept, but they at least went for something.

7.) Superman IV
Other than Courage's arrangement of the theme, which is actually pretty good, it's utter dog shit. The text looks like it belongs in a crappy 80's TV commercial for a car dealership. It's suitable for a sales pitch urging me to buy an '86 LeBaron for no money down, shown during a commercial break for a Dukes of Hazzard rerun, but for a Superman movie- part of a franchise known for glitzy, extravagant credits sequences? heck no.

[MAVERICK]

STM
SR
SII DC / SII LC: Tie
SIV
SIII

[Gandy]

STM -- still looks fresh today.
S2 theatrical -- don't like the S symbol. Trivia: It was hurriedly included but was not the final version.
S3 -- for novelty.

SR titles look computer generated.

[ye5man]

I love the SR titles but the planets "whoosh" away too quickly and looked flat and layered. The explosion in time to the music is quality though; that was great seeing it on the big screen. Probably the best moment of the entire film.

STM is the most grandest by far, the epic names of cast and crew helps. I still don't like how the music is sped up to the higher pitch though.

Comparing the cast and crew to STM and SR is a little depressing. Even the small roles. Harry Andrews or Kal Penn

[superman]

1. SUPERMAN :THE MOVIE ~ I've always preffered the SII opening credits to this one, but in all honesty, the exitement, the build up, the anticipation - everything about this film gets my heart racing a zillion times faster than any other movie.

2. SUPERMAN II ~ (Lester) Not a hard choice, since we get the Metropolis skyline with that Superman fanfare screeming out, whenever you see skyscrapers, you will feel 'Superman' ~ I also love the loop the loop shot followed by the train. It gets me exited for the Paris opening sequence.

3. SUPERMAN IV :THE QUEST FOR PEACE ~ So far, everyone dislikes this movie, it might be cheap ~ but they did an excellent job with the budget they had, and what I love about this one is the planet. In the opening ~ it's just a painting, but by the time the directors name shows up, it disolves into a real planet as the camera draws nearer. Also notice the credits are red and yellow.

4. SUPERMAN III ~ (theatrical) Is it the film that I'm voting on here or the credits? Well... what I am voting on here is what they accomplished, for us not to notice the credits that much, as they hasppen to be in the way of the action, except when the films title shows up!

5. SUPERMAN RETURNS ~ The titles may be expensive, but they are waaaay rushed! So why would you spend so much money on something when in the end it's like "hurry up!" What's the point of eating all at once when you're bound to throw up? An example of why the SIV titles are more enjoyable than this one.

6. SUPERMAN II ~ (Donner) Basically STM titles, better quality than TV version of SIII.

7. SUPERMAN III ~ (TV Version) Sad but true... the worst titles of the Superman movie series, but the fact that they are not official, well then that's OK, all they did was put in space photography from Jor El's speech (over the past 12 years) in the Fortress over the 'Comedy Titles' they used for the movie, so then you can't actually say they were made for this TV version, but BORROWED elements allready available (sigh).



If I was to include SUPERGIRL in this, it would be after the Superman II (Lester) titles #3.

[reevevsrouth]

they are all so tacky, sIII wins for me.