# Great Films that contain their best scene in the first ten minutes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 14, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551 "2021-01-14T21:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/61 "2021-01-22T13:06:47Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I went to **Mad Max: Fury Road** just to hate on it. No one was going to replace Mel Gibson as Max. But not only was the first 10 minutes some of the best action movie cinematography ever, it restarted the franchise. > > Now Tom Hardy is Max. Huh. I absolutely adore Mad Max 4 and think it was a top 5 movie of the decade, but I don’t think the first 10 minutes have its best stuff. I’m thinking about the extended sequence where the pole-riding-swinging guys come out and all the action around the sequence. I did not see it in the theater, but I can almost imagine the crowds cheering at some of that stuff. The opening is him getting captured and trying to escape and ending up on the front of a car. It’s good, but not the best scene. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/62 "2021-01-22T19:23:41Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Cjw0UTwQbAc/maxresdefault.jpg "Arlington Road - Opening Scene (Bloody Boy / Neon Reprise) 1080p HD (1999)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjw0UTwQbAc) Arlington Road. A pretty good thriller with a great cast. The beginning is fantastic. I remember seeing this in the cinema and the opening screen in the link above just blowing me away. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/63 "2021-01-22T20:32:06Z")
The Circle of Life sequence of The Lion King (original version). The quick cut to the title card was like a mic drop (brush drop?) to any non-Disney animators. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/64 "2021-01-22T20:46:07Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > he scene of the B-25’s taking off is so realistic and visceral that it gives me goosebumps (and it should when you hear of the effort that went into making it). Today they’d use state of the art CGI, rendering twice as many planes with mind-boggling precision, and it’d look like absolute shit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/65 "2021-01-22T21:04:47Z")
I don’t think it’s the best scene, but I really do love the opening expository section of Carl Foreman’s **The Guns of Navarone** (1961) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q2oBODkxLT0/maxresdefault.jpg "The Guns of Navarone (1961) title sequence") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2oBODkxLT0) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/66 "2021-01-22T21:09:43Z")
And, similarly, the first four minutes of **Watership Down** (1978), done in a very different style from the rest of the film [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oZsY2i0Cz_k/maxresdefault.jpg "Watership Down Prologue") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZsY2i0Cz_k) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/67 "2021-01-23T01:44:21Z")
I don’t know if it was necessarily the _best_ scene, but _Harold and Maude_ begins in a way that shocks then confuses you, which is pretty much saying, “OK, let’s show you something about this movie that you are about to see.” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/68 "2021-01-23T02:02:52Z")
**Captain America: The Winter Soldier** : after a couple minutes of exposition, we are treated to this bit of ass-kicking Captain America ass-kicking: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/svi4S_rHChw/maxresdefault.jpg "Captain America The Winter Soldier First scene[HD 1080p]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svi4S_rHChw) ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/69 "2021-01-23T04:07:35Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The scene of the B-25’s taking off is so realistic and visceral that it gives me goosebumps You might enjoy the takeoff scene from The Dam Busters (1955). It’s not in the first 10 min, so slightly off topic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LNZMVM4Bjqs/hqdefault.jpg "The Dambusters - Takeoff") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZMVM4Bjqs) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/70 "2021-01-23T05:10:04Z")
Great Expectations, B&W, 1946. I won’t bother to link to it here, because you aren’t watching in a theater, but if after watching it in a theater, you remember one thing about that film, it’s the opening sequence. Two Academy awards (Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography), nominated for three others (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay), and it’s in the BFI top 100 list, so the rest of the film wasn’t bad either. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/71 "2021-01-23T05:17:50Z")
Interesting. If I did a “The Final Shot of the Film is the Best One”…I’d mention The Player. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/72 "2021-01-23T07:34:50Z")
[Way of the Gun](https://youtu.be/9w6UUkkOmgo) has maybe my favorite opening scene ever. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/73 "2021-01-24T19:40:02Z")
Similarly, I would not call it the ‘best scene’ as if the rest of the film were down from there, but _Le Samourai_ has a great opening in which a lot is said but not a word is spoken. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/74 "2021-01-24T19:44:07Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > **Captain America: The Winter Soldier** : after a couple minutes of exposition, we are treated to this bit of ass-kicking Captain America Sure, but if you mention “the ass-kicking scene in _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_,” folks will reply, “hell, yeah, the elevator fight was great.” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/75 "2021-01-24T21:31:07Z")
The first Battle of the Five Points that opens **Gangs of New York** is my favorite scene in a movie full of memorable scenes. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/76 "2021-01-24T21:45:50Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Great Expectations, B&W, 1946. Sets a spooky tone for sure, at least for me. The “talking” bull…"_Hello, young thief"_ with the angry grunt after Pip “apologizes” to it still kinda creeps me out even now, although that particular scene is more than 10 minutes in. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/77 "2021-01-25T01:52:40Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Huh. I absolutely adore Mad Max 4 and think it was a top 5 movie of the decade, but I don’t think the first 10 minutes have its best stuff. I’m thinking about the extended sequence where the pole-riding-swinging guys come out and all the action around the sequence. I did not see it in the theater, but I can almost imagine the crowds cheering at some of that stuff. > > The opening is him getting captured and trying to escape and ending up on the front of a car. It’s good, but not the best scene. Concur. > [@Jack\_Burden](#): > > The first Battle of the Five Points that opens **Gangs of New York** is my favorite scene in a movie full of memorable scenes. This is really good one. I could be convinced that this wasn’t the best scene, but it’s a great opening regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/78 "2021-01-25T06:17:37Z")
Stretch that to 11 minutes and I would nominate _Werkmeister Harmonies_. From Roger Ebert’s [Great Movies essay](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/werckmeister-harmonies-2000): **"And what is time anyway but our agreement to divide one rotation of the earth around the sun into units? Could there be hours, minutes, seconds, on a planet without our year? Why would one earth second need to exist except as part of one earth year? Perhaps such questions lead us into the extraordinary, funny, ingenious 11-minute shot at the start of the picture.** **"It is the dead of winter, almost closing time in a shabby pub. An eclipse of the sun is due, and Janos (Lars Rudolph), the local paper carrier, takes it upon himself to explain what will happen in the heavens. He pushes the furniture to the walls, and enlists a drunk to stand in the center of the floor and flutter his hands, like the sun’s rays. Then he gets another pal to be the earth, and walk in circles around the sun. And then a third is the moon, walking in his own circles around the earth. All of these circles stagger around, the drunks rotating, and then the moon comes between the sun and the earth, and there is an eclipse: ‘The sky darkens, then goes all dark,’ Janos says. ‘The dogs howl, rabbits hunch down, the deer run in panic, run, stampede in fright. And in this awful, incomprehensible dusk, even the birds … the birds too are confused and go to roost. And then … complete silence. Everything that lives is still. Are the hills going to march off? Will heaven fall upon us?’** **“Janos continues, and the others listen in befuddlement, because in their village at this hour there is nowhere else to go, nothing else to do.”** ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/79 "2021-01-25T07:00:03Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Interesting. If I did a “The Final Shot of the Film is the Best One”…I’d mention The Player. It did make a great ending, what with the Brian Doyle Murray-sounding blackmailer, and capping with the cheezy “Traffic was a bitch” line, but just for sheer cinematic audacity, not much compares to its [beginning.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/44) The classic opening tracking shot and ensuing _TENSE_ scene in [The Testament of Dr. Mabuse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOnkRBucAKI) is another fave. Can’t see how David Lynch _couldn’t_ be influenced for “Eraserhead” by it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551/80 "2021-01-25T08:35:37Z")
I could go either way as to “best” - the library scene comes later, as does the main Peter Falk scene - but the opening 10 minutes of _Wings of Desire_ was great cinema all by itself - if it were a short film, it would be an award-winning one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-that-contain-their-best-scene-in-the-first-ten-minutes/930551.md?page=5)