The main title is the music, often later recorded on
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
s, that is heard in a film while the
opening credits
In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...
are rolling. It does not refer to music playing from on-screen sources such as radios, as in the original opening credits sequence in ''
Touch of Evil
''Touch of Evil'' is a 1958 American film noir written and directed by Orson Welles, who also stars in the film. The screenplay was loosely based on the contemporary Whit Masterson novel ''Badge of Evil'' (1956). The cast included Charlton Hes ...
''.
A main title can consist of a tune sung by the leading character over the credits, such as ''
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original ...
'', sung by
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
in ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's'', or the main orchestral theme as written by the composer, such as the famous ''
The Pink Panther Theme
"The Pink Panther Theme" is an jazz composition by Henry Mancini written as the theme for the 1963 film ''The Pink Panther'' and subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 37th Academy Awards but lost to the She ...
''. It can also be a medley of themes from the film, as in the 1959 ''
Ben-Hur''. In the film ''
A Hard Day's Night'', the title tune was heard over the opening credits showing
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
running from their fans. An
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
may serve as a main title, as in ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
''. However, there is a very strong difference in a
roadshow theatrical release
A roadshow theatrical release or reserved seat engagement is the practice of opening a film in a limited number of theaters in major cities for a specific period of time before the wide release of the film. Roadshows would generally mimic a live ...
between an overture and a main title. The overture in such films is heard on pre-recorded tape or film, ''before'' the film even begins, while the house lights are still up and there is yet no picture on the screen. The main title begins when the film actually starts. In the case of ''The Sound of Music'' though (and also ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
)'', no overture was heard before the lights in the theatre went down; therefore, in these cases, the main title did serve as an overture. Both films had pre-credits opening sequences; during these, the first song from the film was sung, and immediately afterwards, the main title music followed.
In movie musicals, the main title nearly always consists of one or more of the songs from the film, played by the orchestra.
Film and television opening sequences
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