Movies with breathtaking opening seconds... at DVinfo.net

Roger Moore · June 26th, 2004, 01:13 AM

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

Rob Lohman · June 26th, 2004, 04:39 AM

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.

Robert Knecht Schmidt · June 26th, 2004, 05:50 AM

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.

Boyd Ostroff · June 26th, 2004, 09:08 AM

<<<-- 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.

Christopher C. Murphy · June 26th, 2004, 09:38 AM

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

Randy Reyes · June 26th, 2004, 01:46 PM

Opening title sequence to Memento. :] Great opening to a great movie that says so much about the narrative already.

Alex Taylor · June 26th, 2004, 01:55 PM

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...

Nicholi Brossia · June 26th, 2004, 02:13 PM

I'm going to have to go with Super Troopers. After viewing the "First 8 Minutes" on iFilm, I was completely hooked.

Jami Jokinen · June 27th, 2004, 09:19 AM

"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.

Leon Ortiz-Gil · June 27th, 2004, 08:22 PM

La Femme Nikita...

2001....the ape sequence

The Right Stuff

Star Wars

48 hours.

Thats all I could think of now.

Marco Leavitt · June 27th, 2004, 09:08 PM

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

John Hudson · June 29th, 2004, 02:11 PM

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!

Dylan Couper · June 29th, 2004, 06:38 PM

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.

June 26th, 2004, 04:39 AM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	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. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 26th, 2004, 05:50 AM	#3
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	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. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 26th, 2004, 09:38 AM	#5
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	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 __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

June 26th, 2004, 01:55 PM	#7
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	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... __________________ alextaylor.org

June 26th, 2004, 02:13 PM	#8
Nicholi Brossia Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 389	I'm going to have to go with Super Troopers. After viewing the "First 8 Minutes" on iFilm, I was completely hooked. __________________ Nicholi Brossia

June 26th, 2004, 01:13 AM	#1
Roger Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: toronto Posts: 99	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

June 26th, 2004, 09:08 AM	#4
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	<<<-- 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.

June 26th, 2004, 01:46 PM	#6
Randy Reyes Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 54	Opening title sequence to Memento. :] Great opening to a great movie that says so much about the narrative already.

June 27th, 2004, 09:19 AM	#9
Jami Jokinen Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Location: Finland Posts: 103	"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.

June 27th, 2004, 08:22 PM	#10
Leon Ortiz-Gil New Boot Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Northridge, CA Posts: 11	La Femme Nikita... 2001....the ape sequence The Right Stuff Star Wars 48 hours. Thats all I could think of now.

June 27th, 2004, 09:08 PM	#11
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	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

June 29th, 2004, 02:11 PM	#12
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	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!

June 29th, 2004, 06:38 PM	#13
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	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. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com