Movies with breathtaking opening seconds...
Opening shots that stick with me.
Lost in Translation: ----------------------- The curvaceous hips of a woman lying on a bed (music by My Bloody Valentine), fade to black and airport sounds, VO: "Welcome to New Tokyo Airport", then fade in: Bill Murray sleeping in a moving cab, opening his eyes...amazing. Also, since this movie takes place in Japan I want to believe the image of the woman's hips is an inspired reworking of the famous "Views of Mount Fuji" by Hokusai. Manhattan: -------------- b&w montage of NYC panoramas. words by Woody Allen, music by George Gershwin and combining the big with the small... Bladerunner: ---------------- CU on the eyeball and reflected in it the panorama of LA in the future, music by Vangelis |
Star Trek: First Contact
The beginning borg sequence Armageddon Meteor shower sequence Taxi 1 Scooter sequence and... ofcourse The Matrix! Trinity goes nuts there are loads more... I'm trying to think of a few opening scenes that aren't so focussed on action, but my mind doesn't want to co-operate at the moment. I'll add another post when I think of those. I thought the opening of O Brother Where Art Though was pretty neat. Not spectacular, though. |
It's funny, I wouldn't have thought of any of those films. These do come to mind--
The rolling rock of Raiders of the Lost Ark-- The pursuit of E.T. by myterious men-- The mall chase that happens a few minutes in to The Blues Brothers-- The exploding amp of Back to the Future--"Rock and Roll!"-- The unplanned-for monstrous transformation of the meek library apparition in Ghostbusters-- The dream opening of Total Recall-- What these all share--besides being surprising and thus captivatingly entertaining--is that they're illogisms--and therefore symbolic--that aren't consciously processed, but instead analogically inform us on some deeper level about the characters we're meeting and their predicaments. |
<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Knecht Schmidt :
The mall chase that happens a few minutes in to The Blues Brothers -->>> That's one of my favorite action sequences too, but it happens pretty far into the movie.... One of my favorites: the huge imperial star cruiser that passes overhead at the beginning of the original Star Wars, and the ensuing capture of the rebel ship. |
Best opening scenes not mentioned yet:
Jaws Saving Private Ryan JFK (it's powerful to me because of what ends up happening throughout the movie - the beginning becomes tragic at the end) More to come when I think of them.. Bonus scene non-opening scene - which SHOULD have been the opening scene. If this scene was the opener I bet it would be considered the #1 opening scene: Can anyone tell me a better scene than Robert De Niro in the Deer Hunter playing Russian roulette? I mean, he's there...he is truly there. He's taking slaps in the face, he's not acting...the guy is pulling the trigger on himself. Everytime I watch that I think about how most "actors" act, but a few select live the scene wholeheartly to the point where you're like "wow". Murph |
Opening title sequence to Memento. :] Great opening to a great movie that says so much about the narrative already.
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I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Citizen Kane yet! "Rosebud..."
Opening credits to Se7en are a work of art. And, of course, the opening montage in Apocalypse Now. I love that first shot, with the helicopters flying every which way, followed by the silent explosion... |
I'm going to have to go with Super Troopers. After viewing the "First 8 Minutes" on iFilm, I was completely hooked.
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"Snow falling on cedars".
The dim light in a thick mist followed by the most beautiful imagery during the first minutes creates the mystery that is to be solved before the end. |
La Femme Nikita...
2001....the ape sequence The Right Stuff Star Wars 48 hours. Thats all I could think of now. |
Surprised no-one's mentioned this -- Touch of Evil.
Also: The Godfather -- "I believe in America." Goodfellas On the Town Harper You Only Live Twice Saturday Night Fever Shaft |
I agree with all of Mr. Murphys (always do) and Mr. Schmidt as well. How about:
The Road Warrior - Welcome to the wasteland. Escape From New York - Plane crashing into New York! (I don't mean that in a bad way :/) Star Wars - Can't deny the opening sequence as we see for the first time Star Destroyers and Stormtroopers pouring into the hallways of the Rebel ship and a firefight ensues! Then R2D2 and C3PO hurry through the melee! Halloween - Scary real. Poltergeist - They're heere....... Saturday Night Fever - Come on! The BeeGee's 'hook' and Travolta walking through Brooklyn? Great! |
DAWN OF THE DEAD 2004
IMHO the scariest first 5 minutes of a movie ever, EVER. Otherwise, it's hard to argue against Raiders Of The Lost Arc. |
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