# Greatest Opening Scene in a Movie \[One More Time\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771 "2012-05-13T13:46:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/41 "2012-05-14T12:36:48Z")
_Pitch Black_ _UP_ _Cars 2_ (I know, nobody likes this movie. It’s a really cool opening scene, though) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/42 "2012-05-14T13:54:33Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > 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!.. Seconded, thirded, or whatever. Unforgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/43 "2012-05-14T15:58:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Pitch Black_ Good pick. That whole sequence–with the shots from space of the comet’s tail, and the ship being damaged, and the resulting crash–is just awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/44 "2012-05-14T16:25:35Z")
Apparently a contraversial pick IIRC from another thread: Finding Nemo. Absolutely heartwrenching (you see the baby fish moving in the eggs) and makes Marlin’s motivation obvious for the rest of the film. Star Wars. I don’t like the current trend of making normal films into 3-d but you can bet that I’ll see the opening in IMAX 3-D. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/45 "2012-05-14T18:45:34Z")
> [@Farmer\_Jane](#): > > _Lion King_. Duh. 🙂 Came in here to say that. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/46 "2012-05-14T20:10:42Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Meh, it’s a rip of Eames’_[Powers of Ten](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0)_, and the scale (both the visual scale and the radio signals) is completely wrong. I’ll give them a pass on having been perhaps inspired by Powers of Ten but the lack of attention to detail in that scene was pretty unforgivable. We’re hearing the Moon landing before we even get to Jupiter? Carl probably achieved 7200 rpm when that premiered. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/47 "2012-05-14T20:12:02Z")
_Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_ - the scene in Club Obi Wan. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/48 "2012-05-14T20:17:56Z")
Ok, how am I the the first (in this thread) to mention [Goodfellas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ2RofOEAEU) and [The Dark Knight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0)? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/49 "2012-05-14T20:31:06Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > I’ll give them a pass on having been perhaps inspired by Powers of Ten but the lack of attention to detail in that scene was pretty unforgivable. We’re hearing the Moon landing before we even get to Jupiter? Carl probably achieved 7200 rpm when that premiered. And if you were travelling fast enough to overtake radio signals, you’d be hearing them backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/50 "2012-05-14T20:44:45Z")
I’ll give another vote to the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s quite probably the single most iconic sequence in the entire series and it’s right at the beginning of the first movie. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/51 "2012-05-14T20:55:29Z")
I probably posted this in the older threads, but I love the opening desert scenes in **The Exorcist**. ---
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/52 "2012-05-14T21:09:32Z")
The opening sequences for Blues Brothers. Dark, dismal. Industrial. Everything seems gray. Made me wonder if I was in the right theater. This was supposed to be a comedy, not some dreary prison drama. Then, Elwood rolls up …the prison gates open … while everything else is still shrouded in gray, the silhouette of a lone dark figure emerges from the prison, bathed in light. From that moment, I knew I was in for a treat. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/53 "2012-05-15T01:40:59Z")
Finding the lost Navy planes of Flight 19, perfectly intact, at the very beginning of _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_. Crank 'em up! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/54 "2012-05-15T02:32:29Z")
And Mr. Incredible’s memorable wedding day from _The Incredibles_. “Officers… Ma’am… Squeaker…” ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/55 "2012-05-15T02:32:40Z")
**Lost in Translation** opens on a close up of Scarlett Johanssen’s ass in see-through panties. I win. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/56 "2012-05-15T03:25:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > **Patton** > **Who Framed Roger Rabbit** Just **Patton**. Nothing else is close. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/57 "2012-05-15T03:26:14Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Notice the background at 3:23. Second or third the awesomeness of this. I’ve never noticed Travolta before, and I’ve seen that movie quite a bit. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Actually, I found that scene (and the one at the end) quite moviing; the old man is visiting, perhaps for the first time, the grave of someone who died so that he could live. And he’s feeling survivor’s guilt or at least wondering if the life he led since then was worth the sacrifice. I have to admit, I did not notice the guy.. I was checking out his incredibly built daughters (or granddaughters) following him. Much more interesting. But when they switch to Hanks in the transport, that’s as close as I’d care to be in the d-day landing at Normandy. Good God that was great film making. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And Mr. Incredible’s memorable wedding day from _The Incredibles_. “Officers… Ma’am… Squeaker…” I almost mentioned this, but technically it too, is not the beginning. Isn’t the beginning when the interviews are being conducted? Mr. Frozone - “women are always trying to tell you their secret identity.. they think it’s going to strengthen the relationship or something.” (or something like that). OK, for my choices: (I am a product of the 70’s and 80’s) **Raiders of the Lost Ark** - That was fantastic. **Star Wars** - watching that battle cruiser float overhead was an incredible experience. \*\*Napoleon Dynamite \*\*- just for the sheer stupidity of it (Napoleon throwing the he-man doll tied to fishing line out of the bus window and watching it drag and bounce behind the bus.) \*\*Payback \*\* - Mel Gibson lying down on a table in some guy’s apartment getting bullets taken out of his back. I was hooked to see the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/58 "2012-05-15T03:26:22Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > That’s not the opening. > The Dawn of Man opens and we see the primative humans and they are not doing well. They have no water, they get attacked by the leopard, then the monolith appears and they all freak out to weird ass music and finally one of them touches it. Later the monolith gives one of them the idea for the club to Also sprach Zarathurstra. That’s not the opening shot either. The opening shot is of the unlit side of the moon sliding downwards in frame. As the music of Strauss’s _Thus Sprach Zarathustra_ is heard, the Sun and crescent Earth appear in alignment with the Moon as the first fanfare of horns sounds. I know this film well. I went to see it repeatedly in 1968 in Cinerama. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/59 "2012-05-15T07:03:19Z")
[The opening _credits_ for 2001: A Space Odyssey.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XyS7uCtnq0) Still, I feel it’s part of the movie itself, especially how it bookends with the Starchild. My very favorite of all time. Runners up are (in no particular order): Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers Run Lola Run Star Wars Jaws Raiders of the Lost Ark Fight Club ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771/60 "2012-05-15T07:10:55Z")
I have to go with **Contact** as well, and if opening credits count, **Se7en.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-in-a-movie-one-more-time/621771.md?page=4)