Greatest Opening Scene in a Movie [One More Time]

Cafe Society
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In just over a week (07-23-2005, 03:19 PM to 07-31-2005 06:13 PM) this old thread Greatest Opening Scene Of A Film got 105 Replies and 4,249 Views. There are more than likely other resurrections of the idea since then.

Even so, much time has passed and many movies have been made with outstanding opening scenes. I have not yet read that entire thread and I know I must have posted in it, but my first thought on seeing that title today was the opening of Saving Private Ryan (1998) which may be among those listed before.

What’s your choice?

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After a bit more searching I found Most Bad Ass Opening Scenes to a Movie that got 127 posts between 06-25-2009, 11:21 AM and 07-03-2009, 01:32 AM.

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Then there is this one: Great Opening in Film, from 2007. So we are over-due, actually.

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I presume you’re actually thinking of the *second *scene in SPR. The opening scene, the old man visiting the military graveyard, is nothing special. Lots of people forget it even exists. I would disqualify this as being a great opening scene.

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At risk of not being very creative I think the overfly of the star destroyer in Star Wars really can’t be beat. You’re extra lucky if you saw it reshot for IMAX in the special effects doc. What a rush!

I’ll also go with The Matrix. Seeing bullet time for the first time, especially when its a hot chick kicking ass, really got me.

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As mentioned in the other threads-Joe Vs. The Volcano.

Also, the rifle drill sequence that opens A Few Good Men.

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That’s very true, and was pointed out in one of those older threads. The D-Day action was what I meant, and I have yet to see any battle sequence to come even close. And if I strain my brain I may be able to come up with an even more impressive scene than it. Some of the James Bond openers are pretty hard to ignore.

For the record, I invite other links to similar threads in the past. If nothing else this thread can serve as a mini-directory for the topic.

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As I mentioned in another thread, my all-time favorite is the opening scene of Pulp Fiction. From “Forget it…too risky” to the opening riffs of “Miserlou”, you knew you were in for quite a ride.

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Notice the background at 3:23.

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That was something I caught the second time I saw the movie. Trying to put it all in linear order…

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The White House scene from X-2 was great. Really exciting and put you in the mood to watch mutants fight.

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I’m sticking with my answer from the first thread: the opening scene from Once Upon a Time in the West.

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Patton
Who Framed Roger Rabbit

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Awesome!

I must have seen that movie 10 times, but I never saw that.

Another vote for Star Wars - together with the music, especially, even if it’s ripped off note for note from Holst’s “Mars”.

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The no cut opening shot of Touch of Evil.

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The Way of the Gun. NSFW, but fucking hilarious.

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A thick fog fills the screen. We hear the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Two figures emerge from the mist. One of them is banging together two halfs of a coconut.

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My favorite:

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2001: A Space Odyssey, with Also sprach Zarathustra playing in the background as the apes discover that monolith

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Times have really changed. In those older threads, hardly anyone was posting any youtube links, in the present thread most people do. Makes a thread like this so much more enjoyable!

My two cents: Clerks