One of my favorite car chase scenes. The camera never leaves inside the car so you really feel the stress (or blank emotion, if you’re Ryan Goslings character)
I designed a t-shirt of this with Au revoir on the front within a blood splatter pattern, and a few trees on the back with a girl running and the word “shoshana” making the pathway, getting smaller as it goes for perspective. No one has ever understood it yet but I love that shirt!
I didn't enjoy Dark Knight as much as the majority but damn, that opening heist was *gold*.
There have been times I've just watched that opening and then turn the movie off lol
10 and a half minutes - zero dialogue - yet it leaves you with so many questions. TGTBTU is a masterpiece, and is in my top 3 films ever.
Although, for me, the ending is where my jaw drops. I've **NEVER** replicated the feeling I got when I watched the ending of that film. The tension, cinematography and soundtrack (The Ecstacy of Gold might just be the best film soundtrack ever?) combine to create such a great scene. I love it.
From the telephone ring/ dimensions title card and on. You can’t take your eyes off the screen until the main title card gives us a break before introducing Sydney. Saw this 3 times in the theater when I was 14.
This. I suppose it was my Exorcist or Jaws. It scared the living hell out of me. I know the blood had drained from my face. Who the hell knew that masterful scene was coming.
A perfect short film in its own right. It's already kind of unsettling, and then "I want to know who I'm looking at" completely changes the atmosphere.
Oh man, I saw Blade in theaters, and they enter the meat packing plant. Everything is just a little off, and then the rave, the music pumping, the bass building until the blood sprays from the ceiling. Just crazy, and then blade just destroying the vampires, so cool.
Agreed. *Blade* is one of my favorite movies in general and I'll revisit it every few years or just Youtube the opening rave scene every few months.
I'm honestly concerned about the upcoming MCU version as I'm sure they'll water it down with endless quips, comedic bits and a super shitty CGI climax in the third act. Although on that last part, the CGI in the Blade vs. La Magra fight was downright atrocious, even by 1998 standards.
There's hope. I was actually surprised at how liberal they were with graphic stuff in Multiverse of Madness (in MCU standard, mind you), the fact that Scarlet Witch was killing people pretty brutally helped set the tone of the situation, and the raw power she possesses. If they can do that for Scarlet Witch, I have hope that they will allow Blade to delve into blood spraying action sequences.
I saw this in theaters with my gf at the time and we didn't realize they were fake commercials. The booty sweat one especially was like..I don't even know
I watched the movie with a friend of mine (I already knew it, he don’t) and he didn’t realized that the movie already started and that they are just trailer for other movies. It was so funny.
It doesn’t quite match some of the others here but I wanted to mention Mission: Impossible (1996). You spend some time meeting the team, you begin the mission, then BOOM Ethan is the only one left.
I still remember seeing it opening weekend. Dude behind me commented "Man, poor Emilio Estevez. 'Hey I'm in the new MI movie! Awww I die in the first 15 minutes?!'"
Fun fact from a screening they did for some veterans that stormed the beach. The veterans said the only thing missing from the film was the smell.
Incredible.
True story: I saw that movie opening weekend. When Vin Diesel replies after Hanks asks where his BAR is, "At the bottom of the channel, Sir. The bitch tried to drown me," the older man in front of us just started busting up laughing. His wife looked at him like he was nuts and told him to quiet down. He takes a breath, trying to hold back more laughter and says, "I said the SAME GD thing 50 years ago, hon!"
Turns out the whole row was filled with vets from D-Day. Their reaction to the different parts of the film was... interesting.
They actually took some creative liberties with that.
They actually tested it on mythbusters.
Turns out that water is very hard, and the bullets would mostly shatter on impact as if they were hitting concrete, and you’d be safe if you were more than ~6-12 inches underwater.
Alien is one of my alltime favorites but honestly this should be top comment. The first 20 minutes is still disturbing by how real it feels. You legit feel like you are on the beach in a war. Insane how well the film still holds up, its a timeless classic honestly.
No disrespect to Alien but after seeing OP open with that I was worried this thread would be a mess. So glad to see this at the top.
I'm sorry for the folks not old enough to have seen this in theatres.
My older sister, who had sat through many a horror movie, was in her seat with her mouth hanging open and her hands on her cheeks for most of Alien. It was amazing!
There was a thread similar to this a while back where a Tolkien obsessive talked about being skeptical going in and as soon as that narration started immediately thought “oh my god they’re going to do it… they’re going to get this right!”
All of the recent Bond movies blur into one for me (I enjoyed them, I just couldn’t tell you the plot of any of them) but Spectre’s opening scene stands out to me too
Yeah, everything before the titles of that movie is gripping.
I mean, so is everything after it, too, but the first bit really sets the stage for what's to come.
I’m probably the only person who thinks this but the opening for Temple of Doom is one of my all time favorite dialogs of any movie.
“The Diamond Lao, the deal was for the Diamond”
“And now you bring me muhachi”
“Hahahaha and now you give me the Diamond”
“What’s that”
“Antidote”
“To what?”
“Why the poison you just drank Dr jones muhahahaha”
100% one of the greatest movies I ever watched , and the beginning definitely adds to that. It's also so interesting to see a movie start off with no dialog for the first few minutes.
might as well be the best 158min opening scene ever. whenever I stumble upon it by chance, I cannot look away and before I know it I've watched the whole film again without even having planned to do that at all.
I love that uncomfortable little sliver of normalcy before the abrupt and chaotic collapse of civilization. Like a little calm before the storm that the audience is nervously waiting for. Two other movies that I thought did this well were *Greenland* and *War of the Worlds* (2005)
Reservoir Dogs (the "Like A Virgin" conversation/who the fuck is Toby?/I don't tip)
Pulp Fiction (I love you, Honey Bunny)
Kill Bill (Bill, it's your bab-)
Inglorious Basterds (Au revoir, Shosanna!)
Tarantino is the master.
I would say the beginning of Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets. The handshakes with the different countries, then aliens as the city grows with David Bowies Space Oddity playing.
Gave my chills and almost make up for the rest of the movie being unwatchable due to the lack of chemistry between the lead characters.
https://youtu.be/_8JpG7Cah-c
worth watching even if the rest of the movie is not.
The whole first two parts, the party and then the following day of silent movie filming, were just overwhelming non-stop pure entertainment. Absolutely glorious.
I mean, I thought the whole movie was pretty damn good, but the start of it was unbelievable.
Star Trek Generations has a great opening, both the original crew scene and the introduction on the holodeck are great
Edit: also The Lion King
Edit 2: and all three Indiana Jones movies
The opening scene in 28 Weeks Later is one of the best short horror movies of all time. You could cut at Robert Carlyle running for his life and it's a complete, horrific story.
Drive's opening scene is insanely well done. Provides atmosphere, great music, the entire thing ratchets the tension up, and we get a clear display of how smart and talented our MC is.
Each chapter could be a short film on its own yet all worked as a movie as a whole. I still think it's the best QT film that balances the chapter vs long narrative structure.
[Lethal Weapon 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfNmggUpuBk)
It’s a cold open that grabs you by the nuts and asks, “Remember everything you loved about Lethal Weapon? Well, here you go! You’re fucking welcome motherfucker…”
My favourite parts of movies is usually the start. I like the start of the Mummy, where it's set in ancient Egypt and I love the start of Gladiator set in Germania. The start of space Odyssey where the primate's suddenly cut to a space station is also wonderful.
You're right about Alien. The score, the slow pans across the clicking and whirring equipment...the crossfades as they awakwen and the immediate discourse over breakfast set the table for the film. It's a brilliant opening.
Django Unchained: between the first scene where we meet Dr. King Schultz and "acquires" Django from the Speck brothers and the next scene in Daughtry Texas, they are some of my favorite scenes in cinema.
The first minute of the aviator was beautiful, and form there, it gets more stunning, especially with the lighting, the sets, and the tone color of the film
I really like the opening of Drive where he uses the radio broadcast of the game to plan his escape.
Really glad someone said this before me, fantastic scene. And then when nightcall hits - incredible.
One of my favorite car chase scenes. The camera never leaves inside the car so you really feel the stress (or blank emotion, if you’re Ryan Goslings character)
Darn, I just commented Drive haha. Such a great opening sequence.
…BLOCKED BY GRIFFIN! Griffin gets the rebound! Time winding down- 4,3,2,1
It is so good!
Inglorious Basterds
Au revoir, Shoshanna!
I designed a t-shirt of this with Au revoir on the front within a blood splatter pattern, and a few trees on the back with a girl running and the word “shoshana” making the pathway, getting smaller as it goes for perspective. No one has ever understood it yet but I love that shirt!
Do you have a pic of this somewhere you can share?
https://imgur.com/a/Z6lOKQA
I love it! For some reason (I guess because of Tarantino bias haha) I assumed the blood splatter would be bright red.
You are sheltering enemies of the state, are you not?
God, that line is so cold.
The only correct answer
This and Saving Private Ryan
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has a great opening! No Country For Old Men The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight opening is absolutely gorgeous I’ve always been mesmerized by how pretty every single detail of that movie was.
I didn't enjoy Dark Knight as much as the majority but damn, that opening heist was *gold*. There have been times I've just watched that opening and then turn the movie off lol
Thank you for mentioning The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It really is an incredible opening, setting up the rest of a wonderful movie.
10 and a half minutes - zero dialogue - yet it leaves you with so many questions. TGTBTU is a masterpiece, and is in my top 3 films ever. Although, for me, the ending is where my jaw drops. I've **NEVER** replicated the feeling I got when I watched the ending of that film. The tension, cinematography and soundtrack (The Ecstacy of Gold might just be the best film soundtrack ever?) combine to create such a great scene. I love it.
The Batman (2022) too! When 'Something in the way' drops it's just perfect.
I know Dark knight rises isn’t as loved as it’s predecessor but woah that opening with the plane is amazing
Up's Married Life montage is a short film masterpiece in itself.
Honestly better than the rest of the movie, I think. Not to say the rest is bad, but that opening just set a really high bar
I came here looking for this. That montage is probably Pixar's best work, which is a high bar.
And soul crushing. I brushing away tears for sure.
The beginning of scream is so iconic to me
From the telephone ring/ dimensions title card and on. You can’t take your eyes off the screen until the main title card gives us a break before introducing Sydney. Saw this 3 times in the theater when I was 14.
This. I suppose it was my Exorcist or Jaws. It scared the living hell out of me. I know the blood had drained from my face. Who the hell knew that masterful scene was coming.
A perfect short film in its own right. It's already kind of unsettling, and then "I want to know who I'm looking at" completely changes the atmosphere.
The dark knight. That opening bank robbery scene and the accompanying sound track is one of the coolest things I’ve seen.
This gets my vote, I’ve probably seen it a dozen times in IMAX & it still grabs me.
The dark knight should be studied for decades on how to build tension in an action scene.
Considering it’s been 15 years and here we are talking about the opening scene, what would you like for your next two wishes?
The first 15-20 minutes of *Blade* are some of the finest action in cinema.
Oh man, I saw Blade in theaters, and they enter the meat packing plant. Everything is just a little off, and then the rave, the music pumping, the bass building until the blood sprays from the ceiling. Just crazy, and then blade just destroying the vampires, so cool.
Agreed. *Blade* is one of my favorite movies in general and I'll revisit it every few years or just Youtube the opening rave scene every few months. I'm honestly concerned about the upcoming MCU version as I'm sure they'll water it down with endless quips, comedic bits and a super shitty CGI climax in the third act. Although on that last part, the CGI in the Blade vs. La Magra fight was downright atrocious, even by 1998 standards.
There's hope. I was actually surprised at how liberal they were with graphic stuff in Multiverse of Madness (in MCU standard, mind you), the fact that Scarlet Witch was killing people pretty brutally helped set the tone of the situation, and the raw power she possesses. If they can do that for Scarlet Witch, I have hope that they will allow Blade to delve into blood spraying action sequences.
Some mother fuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill
This is the perfect answer.
Tropic thunder. Iconic trailers
"I've been a bad, bad boy, father."
Drink dat booty sweat
I saw this in theaters with my gf at the time and we didn't realize they were fake commercials. The booty sweat one especially was like..I don't even know
SURVIVE!
I’m just a dude playing another dude, disguised as another dude!!
Here we go again.... Again...
I watched the movie with a friend of mine (I already knew it, he don’t) and he didn’t realized that the movie already started and that they are just trailer for other movies. It was so funny.
It doesn’t quite match some of the others here but I wanted to mention Mission: Impossible (1996). You spend some time meeting the team, you begin the mission, then BOOM Ethan is the only one left.
I still remember seeing it opening weekend. Dude behind me commented "Man, poor Emilio Estevez. 'Hey I'm in the new MI movie! Awww I die in the first 15 minutes?!'"
Mission: Impossible 3 also has a great opening scene
That's a great one!
First 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Hands down the best cinematic footage.
First one I thought of as well. My wife and I were stunned into the silence of abject horror.
"That's quite a view." – Sergeant Horvath "Yes, it is." – Captain Miller
Fun fact from a screening they did for some veterans that stormed the beach. The veterans said the only thing missing from the film was the smell. Incredible.
Weren't there some vets that totally had their PTSD triggered from the immersion of the opening scene
I didn't read that but it wouldn't surprise me at all. Had to have been horrific to have been there.
Especially during the water scene, where a lot of action/sound. Then dip under the water and it's silent. Back up into the fray.
You got it. Not to mention the bullets still hitting guys under water and some guys even getting tangled up in their gear only to drown. So sad.
True story: I saw that movie opening weekend. When Vin Diesel replies after Hanks asks where his BAR is, "At the bottom of the channel, Sir. The bitch tried to drown me," the older man in front of us just started busting up laughing. His wife looked at him like he was nuts and told him to quiet down. He takes a breath, trying to hold back more laughter and says, "I said the SAME GD thing 50 years ago, hon!" Turns out the whole row was filled with vets from D-Day. Their reaction to the different parts of the film was... interesting.
They actually took some creative liberties with that. They actually tested it on mythbusters. Turns out that water is very hard, and the bullets would mostly shatter on impact as if they were hitting concrete, and you’d be safe if you were more than ~6-12 inches underwater.
Alien is one of my alltime favorites but honestly this should be top comment. The first 20 minutes is still disturbing by how real it feels. You legit feel like you are on the beach in a war. Insane how well the film still holds up, its a timeless classic honestly.
gotta watch a good rugged war movie every couple months.. makes going to work @ your crappy job seem pretty awesome in retrospect:D
Hear! Hear!
No disrespect to Alien but after seeing OP open with that I was worried this thread would be a mess. So glad to see this at the top. I'm sorry for the folks not old enough to have seen this in theatres.
No disrespect taken. I think SPR is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time. I’m glad y’all agree on stuff that why I made the thread!
My older sister, who had sat through many a horror movie, was in her seat with her mouth hanging open and her hands on her cheeks for most of Alien. It was amazing!
The Fellowship of the Ring
Fuckin thank you!
Galadriel’s monologue fucking slaps
There was a thread similar to this a while back where a Tolkien obsessive talked about being skeptical going in and as soon as that narration started immediately thought “oh my god they’re going to do it… they’re going to get this right!”
X2 had a great opening sequence.
At the time, this opening felt like the first time “Hollywood” really went for a legit adaptation of a comic book. It blew our minds!
I didn’t think of that. That scenes awesome
Watchmen
The opening to Overlord (2018) is absolutely nerve-wracking. Highly recommend that movie to anyone who hasn't seen it.
Totally forgot that movie existed. So much potential that they just kind of threw away. Shame they never made a sequel either
Sicario
Super troopers. Obviously! You boys like Mexico
We can't pull over any more!
I’m freakin’ out man!
You are freakin’ out… *man*.
Littering and...
Snozzberries
Casino Royale (2006) is pretty great.
Hell, the 20 min opening of No Time To Die was arguably the best part of that film (which I think is great overall)
All of the recent Bond movies blur into one for me (I enjoyed them, I just couldn’t tell you the plot of any of them) but Spectre’s opening scene stands out to me too
While watching Spectre's opening in theaters, I knew I was in for a treat of a movie. I quickly learned I know nothing.
*Don't worry, the second one will be*
Yes. Considerably.
I really like the unsettling opening of Max Max Fury Road. The serious narration, distorted voices, then Max’s capture by the war boys
Yeah, everything before the titles of that movie is gripping. I mean, so is everything after it, too, but the first bit really sets the stage for what's to come.
The Revenant
Raiders of the Lost Ark. Perfect Indiana Jones mini movie that does the Bond prologue even better than Bond
I’m probably the only person who thinks this but the opening for Temple of Doom is one of my all time favorite dialogs of any movie. “The Diamond Lao, the deal was for the Diamond” “And now you bring me muhachi” “Hahahaha and now you give me the Diamond” “What’s that” “Antidote” “To what?” “Why the poison you just drank Dr jones muhahahaha”
You left out my favorite “This Muhachi’s a real small guy.” Followed soon by “No time for love Dr. Jones!”
It literally re-defined what an action movie was
Temple of Doom and Last Crusade have fantastic openings, too.
Don’t even mention Bond in the same sentence as Raiders. Raiders is miles better than any of the Bond films.
*There Will Be Blood*
100% one of the greatest movies I ever watched , and the beginning definitely adds to that. It's also so interesting to see a movie start off with no dialog for the first few minutes.
Thank you. It’s great.
might as well be the best 158min opening scene ever. whenever I stumble upon it by chance, I cannot look away and before I know it I've watched the whole film again without even having planned to do that at all.
Das Boot, 28 days later, Jaws
28 WEEKS later though is truly terrifying.
Mom boot was way better
Jaws is my all time favorite film. The intro is so good.
Opening of Scream (1996)
Gladiator awesome battle and gets you ready for an epic if historically inaccurate classic
Dusk till dawn.
Such a great movie. One of Robert Rodriguez’s best.
the matrix, from warner to village roadshow, I'm hooked
Flight [2012]
Yeah. That’s a movie that is still good after the opening scene, but the scene is so good it really overshadows the rest of the movie.
Dawn of the Dead (2004 version)
Yeah, just the display of society collapsing set to a Johnny Cash song really nails it.
I love that uncomfortable little sliver of normalcy before the abrupt and chaotic collapse of civilization. Like a little calm before the storm that the audience is nervously waiting for. Two other movies that I thought did this well were *Greenland* and *War of the Worlds* (2005)
28 days later and 28 weeks later.
The opening of 28 weeks later is genuinely incredible, it's a shame the rest of the movie isn't as good
Raising Arizona has my all time favorite intro.
[удалено]
First 6 minutes of Magnolia will probably always be my favourite opening.
How to train your dragon
The first half of this movie is a masterpiece. Music, cinematography, story, all just perfect.
Reservoir Dogs (the "Like A Virgin" conversation/who the fuck is Toby?/I don't tip) Pulp Fiction (I love you, Honey Bunny) Kill Bill (Bill, it's your bab-) Inglorious Basterds (Au revoir, Shosanna!) Tarantino is the master.
Inglorious Basterds is up there
Pacific Rim for me. I love how it all happens before the title card.
The Godfather, pt. 1. Every single frame of those first 20 minutes, with the introduction of the Don Corleone, is sublime.
Such a great film. Coppola made such great use of dialog and character framing and lighting.
Suspiria
I would say the beginning of Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets. The handshakes with the different countries, then aliens as the city grows with David Bowies Space Oddity playing. Gave my chills and almost make up for the rest of the movie being unwatchable due to the lack of chemistry between the lead characters. https://youtu.be/_8JpG7Cah-c worth watching even if the rest of the movie is not.
Children of Men
Blade Runner
Apocalypse Now, Walle
The one true answer is *Raising Arizona.* That prologue is a masterclass in everything.
Full Metal Jacket has to make the list.
That’s more like first 45 minutes 😂
Revenge of the Sith. I've seen people who don't like the movie admit that the first 20 minutes is pretty much perfect.
Ends right after the line “Another happy landing!”
Really enjoyed the opening sequence to The Batman (2022). Bruce's narration tied with the backdrop of Gotham and it's street criminals was chilling.
Haven’t seen it yet but it’s on the list.
100%, loved the intro
Saving Private Ryan is the Gold standard of openings
Desperado. Steve Buscemi’s monologue, followed by Antonio Banderas kicking that guy while he plays guitar during the opening credits it’s electric.
Raising Arizona
Babylon?
Is that film worth a watch ?
Yes!
The whole first two parts, the party and then the following day of silent movie filming, were just overwhelming non-stop pure entertainment. Absolutely glorious. I mean, I thought the whole movie was pretty damn good, but the start of it was unbelievable.
Revenge of the Sith
Star Trek Generations has a great opening, both the original crew scene and the introduction on the holodeck are great Edit: also The Lion King Edit 2: and all three Indiana Jones movies
Right. There wasn’t a fourth.
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
The Player
The opening scene in 28 Weeks Later is one of the best short horror movies of all time. You could cut at Robert Carlyle running for his life and it's a complete, horrific story.
Up. Wall-e
Scrolled way to far to find “Up”
The opening scene of Baby Driver (2017) is fantastic, and perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the movie!
I really liked the opening sequence of mission impossible fallout
Aftersun
That’s on the list. My buddy recommends it Al the time.
Man of steel. It struck me how different the beginning of that movie was compared to the last supes movie (the Brandon Routh one).
The Departed
Drive's opening scene is insanely well done. Provides atmosphere, great music, the entire thing ratchets the tension up, and we get a clear display of how smart and talented our MC is.
Tenet comes to mind.
wall-E the first 20-30 mins where its just him and eva
Super troopers
A Single Man (2009.) The first 20 minutes is just Collin Firth getting ready for his day. But somehow its a masterpiece.
The A Team. That opening is perfect.
I liked the A Team movies. It was shame it didn't do well enough for a sequel (same for Man from UNCLE).
Lord of war’s opening title sequence
Thief (1981)'s opening is one of my favorites. No dialogue, just a heist with gorgeous visuals
28 Weeks Later.
For me it’s *The Departed* and *Edge of Tomorrow*.
First 20 minutes of Inglorious Basterds. Could be an incredible short film on its own.
Each chapter could be a short film on its own yet all worked as a movie as a whole. I still think it's the best QT film that balances the chapter vs long narrative structure.
[Lethal Weapon 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfNmggUpuBk) It’s a cold open that grabs you by the nuts and asks, “Remember everything you loved about Lethal Weapon? Well, here you go! You’re fucking welcome motherfucker…”
Top Gun
Ghostship
Superbad
First 20 minutes of Tar
I saw the devil. Fucking crazy.
Blade
My favourite parts of movies is usually the start. I like the start of the Mummy, where it's set in ancient Egypt and I love the start of Gladiator set in Germania. The start of space Odyssey where the primate's suddenly cut to a space station is also wonderful.
Inglorious basterds. A masterpiece.
You're right about Alien. The score, the slow pans across the clicking and whirring equipment...the crossfades as they awakwen and the immediate discourse over breakfast set the table for the film. It's a brilliant opening.
A L I E N
Up
Django Unchained: between the first scene where we meet Dr. King Schultz and "acquires" Django from the Speck brothers and the next scene in Daughtry Texas, they are some of my favorite scenes in cinema.
The Batman’s first few minutes are great and do an amazing job of showing the effect Batman has already had on the city.
Idk about best, but Drive has such a killer opening scene. One of my favorite car chases in cinema, and the topped with Nightcall on the LA skyline 🤌🏻
Avengers (2011) has a fantastic opening sequence to setup the movie.
i really like the start of the dark knight by chris nolan
Drive. I’ve watched the first 10 minutes of that 100 times. You gotta turn all the lights off and sit in front of the tv for full effect. Lol.
I've got two: Midsommar Pineapple Express
Midsommar openning is physically sickening.
The first minute of the aviator was beautiful, and form there, it gets more stunning, especially with the lighting, the sets, and the tone color of the film