I'm a film lover, but there's this weird thing that happens to me when the lights go down in a theater.  First there are the trailers -- which I love.  Most of them are bad, but the good ones stay with me.  Mostly, I love trailers because they represent possibility.  They are neat little packages of seduction.  After those 10 minutes of possibility, I get the thing I actually paid for... the thing that could let me down... the movie I've actually come to see.  Which gets me to the weird thing that happens:  I'm always slightly disappointed when the movie starts.  These are not the words of a film lover, I know.   But because I've built up expectations and hopes, I'm uneasy. 

One of the things that eases the disappointment of a film's beginning is a good title sequence.  A title sequence is an art form in itself, like the book jacket cover or album art.  Title sequences have become a showcase for design, illustration and music.  Years ago, a friend turned me on to the beauty of the title sequence for To Kill a Mockingbird.  And I still remember seeing the David Fincher's thriller Se7en , with its stunningly dark but gorgeous beginning set to a Coil remix of Nine Inch Nails' Closer. 

I just learned about a great site that has been compiliing title sequences called Art of the Title.  It's captivating!  You can watch the title sequence for Showtime's Dexter (which I've been watching On Demand and getting totally creeped out).  It's clearly influenced by the Se7en design - just as macabre,  but with more pop and zip.  It makes the morning rituals of coffee, shaving and breakfast into a twisted ritual.  The camerawork is something to behold.

My other favorites are the title sequences for American Splendor, Donnie Brasco and the amazing Delicatessen.