Favorite opening scene in any movie

What is your favorite opening scene in any movie, Action, Comedy, Drama or what ever?

@Watching
“What is your favorite opening scene in any movie, Action, Comedy, Drama or what ever?”

I don’t have a single favorite, there are so many great ones, but here’s one of my fave opening credits sequences. Sets the perfect tone for the entire movie.

Mark

Loads of critics will rightly say 'Touch of Ecvil' as it has an insane tracking shot. The Searchers too.

Stalker is pretty good
Three Colours Red
Das Boot

Once Upon a Time in the West

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Jaws

8½

It seems like my favorite movies are getting warmed up, but I guess I'd go with this one from "The Battle of Algiers" or maybe "The Godfather"

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Off the top of my head, Star Wars. The music, the size of the star destroyer compared to the Rebel blockade runner, it sets up the entire scale and vision of the series.

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Not even close for me:

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"Hand me the idol, I'll throw you the whip!"

I always liked the opening to Temple of Doom (1984) for a lot of reasons.

First it captures the "pulp fiction" of the time it's supposed to take place (what with the "yellow scare" theme and all).
It also has the feel of a grandiose 1930's musical typical of the period.
It's got that rousing musical number of Anything Goes (but done partly in Chinese is it?)
The movie is a prequel, but it starts as if you've just walked in to the climax of a prequel to a prequel (one that was never made, but that you're getting to see the end of) - you get a whole little Indiana Jones movie (or at least the climax of one) in the first 15 minutes before the one you came to see even starts!

I'd even dare to say that the opening sequence is better than the rest of the movie!

The Fifth Element. I always felt the intro was a caliber above the rest of the film.

Never forget the day my father was on his way out to work and this made him to sit and watch an hour of the movie straight lmao...

Eat Drink Man Woman. The father, a master chef, preparing the Sunday meal.

The Godfather. "I believe in America."

Saving Private Ryan. The old man, walking down the road, searching, concerned family trailing behind. Finding the grave marker. The closeup of the face. The transition to the beach.

Inglourious Basterds. Officer Hans Landa interrogating the French farmer. It goes on too long. You know it's going on too long. And yet you're fascinated.

Blade Runner. Not exactly the first scene, but the memorable scene of another interrogation, this one of the suspected replicant Leon.

Star Wars (which was what it was called when I first saw it; Star Wars IV: A New Hope for those born in this century). The first images, the little ship being chased by the gigantic dreadnought. C3PO and R2 trying to hide. Imperial stormtroopers pouring in. Vader, emerging from the smoke. Had never seen anything, anything like this before. Pure delight.

Could go on all night. Gotta get to bed ...

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BLADE

A Serious Man

Saving Private Ryan

The Player

Hard to beat Star Wars or The Godfather

I'll add
Enter the Dragon

Apollo 13

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery

Goodfellas

There are so many that could be my favorite I wouldn't know where to start. The beginning is something I'd say most movies seem to at least get fairly right, probably because it is so important. Even bad movies tend to have somewhat decent beginnings.

And then there's this...



"And when we shoot the curl we really SHOOT the CURL!"

Adios, senor!

That is an amazing scene and it was around the time of Death Proof and Inglorious Basterds that I really started to admire Tarantino and saw his work become stronger than his early material.

One of my all-time favorite films is The Ascent, which that opening scene in Inglorious Basterds always reminded me of and I would not be at all surprised if Tarantino reference it and was inspired by it:

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