# Greatest Opening Scene Of A Film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837 "2005-07-23T20:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/41 "2005-07-24T21:09:33Z")
> [@The Hook](#): > > Patton > > You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not thinking about this movie. Yes, oh movie guru who knows better than us all. Please provide me with my hair shirt, size medium, so that i may not forget the error of my ways. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [July 24, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/42 "2005-07-24T21:13:19Z")
I vote for Octopussy, the whole tiny airplane with the missles after it sequence. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@The\_Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hook)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/43 "2005-07-24T21:25:18Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Yes, oh movie guru who knows better than us all. Please provide me with my hair shirt, size medium, so that i may not forget the error of my ways. > > :rolleyes: šŸ˜• What did I do wrong? I wasnā€™t trying to be condescending, it was just another dumb variation of the phrase ā€œI canā€™t believe no one has mentionedā€¦ā€. Sheesh. It seems you come across is a jackass if you donā€™t use smilies here. Ok, for the bastardized version of my post, I present to you _v_ 2.0: > [@The Hook](#): > > Patton :eek: OMG!!! > > You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not thinking about this movie. šŸ˜ƒ j/k šŸ˜‰ Not only is it gloriously shot in 70mm (70mm rulez!!!) to trick you into thinking that thereā€™s actually a man up there where the screen is supposed to be ;j , bringing down the house with his speech, but itā€™s a great lesson in movie economy: quick shots over Pattonā€™s brow, medals, boots, and voila! :smack: I mean: :eek: Youā€™ve established the character. :eek: šŸ†’ > > Pretty good movie, t :o :o . Sorry. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/44 "2005-07-24T21:30:55Z")
> [@The Hook](#): > > šŸ˜• > > What did I do wrong? I wasnā€™t trying to be condescending, it was just another dumb variation of the phrase ā€œI canā€™t believe no one has mentionedā€¦ā€. Well, to be honest, i also get a bit annoyed at the ā€œI canā€™t believe no-one has mentionedā€¦ā€ posts. But i probably over-reacted. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/45 "2005-07-24T21:52:22Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > Another vote for _Touch of Evil_. I believe itā€™s the longest single take in film history. (Not sure, though.) Charlton Heston must have been sweating bullets during the last few seconds. _Please donā€™t let me mess this up, Please donā€™t let me mess this up._ I had forgotten about _Touch of Evil_. It still doesnā€™t quite hit my top 5 but it certainly deserves mention. Itā€™s not the longest single shot by far; [Russian Ark](http://imdb.com/title/tt0318034/)ā€™s 96 minute unbroken shot takes the record, at least as far as commercial films go. But it is a phenomonally long and complex moving shot, another notch in the belt of The Master. (Welles, not Cecil.) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/46 "2005-07-24T22:03:59Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Nowhere has there ever been a more heartfelt love letter to the greatest city in the world. East St. Louis? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/47 "2005-07-24T22:08:16Z")
I opened this thread to cast a vote for **Patton**. Iā€™ll still do so, without getting involved in the above hissy-fits. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/48 "2005-07-24T22:11:29Z")
Can I propose _Barbarella_? ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/49 "2005-07-24T23:54:05Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > Aaaww, what the heck. Iā€™ll throw in _Raising Arizona_. Its roughly-8-minute opening is a whole movie in and of itself. Of course, itā€™s not a single scene, but all that _does_ happen before the opening credits. Damn, you beat me to it. I saw this movie in a theater in SF when it first came out, and knew after that opening sequence that I was in for a great evening of entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/50 "2005-07-25T00:07:57Z")
**American History X** and **Pulp Fiction**. **Pulp fiction** ā€™s beginning was an excellent way to set the tone for such a great movie. It was like the movie was in a parallel dimension where everyone knew how to talk cool. Not the mainstream cheesefest cool that other movies try to show, but the cool that comes from having a unique style and character that you define on your own terms. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny had there own style which came out in full blast at the opening sceneā€¦ _Any of you fucking pricks move, and Iā€™ll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!_ And then the theme music. How can you beat that? **American History X** also had a cool start. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/51 "2005-07-25T01:44:26Z")
The fatal mountain-climbing accident that opens **Cliffhanger** surely deserves inclusion in a list of good openers. You expect until the last second that Stalloneā€™s ā€œGabeā€ will find a way to save his friendā€™s girlfriend, and when he fails, it comes as a shock. The scene accomplishes a lot, introducing the main characters and their physical abilities, showing why their friendship ended and why Gabe gave up his rescue work, and making clear how dangerously unforgiving mountain-climbing can be. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/52 "2005-07-25T01:45:49Z")
> [@feppytweed](#): > > nitpick: Gravestone is in Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia. No, **ivylass** had it right. The _Saving Private Ryan_ opening and closing scenes take place at the [Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial](http://www.sproe.com/n/normandy-cemetery.html), which is on a cliff above the Omaha Beach site. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@The\_Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hook)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/53 "2005-07-25T02:09:10Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > _Any of you fucking pricks move, and Iā€™ll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!_ And then the theme music. How can you beat that? I agree. As an aside: It is such a cool and memorable opening that it never keeps me from getting pissed off when weā€™re back on the cafe in the closing scenes. When the opening is redone (albeit from a different angle) what Honey Bunny says is ā€œā€¦and Iā€™ll execute every one of you motherfuckersā€. Irksome. Yes, I know itā€™s lame, but pet peeves usually are. šŸ˜›šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![StaberindeMk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@StaberindeMk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaberindeMk2)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/54 "2005-07-25T11:58:55Z")
The opening scene in Peacemaker up to the detonation of the thermonuclear warhead was excellent. A pity such an opening meant the rest of the film had impossible standards to live up to. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/55 "2005-07-25T16:59:11Z")
The Bond opening sequences (not scenes really) are sadly cliched because of their own success. Everybody is familiar with the bass line played for his theme. In \*The Spy who Loved Me \* when he skies off the cliff the sound goes quiet except for the rushing of the wind. When his parachute designed like the Union Jack opens, the full orchestral theme with the great brass and horn sections give me a goosbump or two to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/56 "2005-07-25T19:32:57Z")
> [@The Hook](#): > > It is such a cool and memorable opening that it never keeps me from getting pissed off when weā€™re back on the cafe in the closing scenes. When the opening is redone (albeit from a different angle) what Honey Bunny says is ā€œā€¦and Iā€™ll execute every one of you motherfuckersā€. Irksome. Yes, I know itā€™s lame, but pet peeves usually are. šŸ˜›šŸ˜ƒ Whatā€™s really pissy is when they show the movie on TV and have to clean up all the language. ā€œPulp Fictionā€ is one movie that should _never_ be shown on TV, you lose too much when you lose the language. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/57 "2005-07-25T19:53:26Z")
**Team America: World Police** with an over-zealous Team America obliviously destroying most of Paris. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/58 "2005-07-25T20:03:39Z")
Iā€™ll cast a second vote for Barbarella. Oh, lots of good scenes to mention - The opening of Star Trek : The Motion Picture is actually quite nice. There was something else I came in here to mention, but I forgotā€¦ oh! Pee-Weeā€™s Big Adventure. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/59 "2005-07-25T20:45:17Z")
Gotta be the opening scene of _Full Metal Jacket_, when the Gunnery Sergeant makes clear in fairly colorful language what he thinks of the recruits and what hell their lives are going to be for the next few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/60 "2005-07-25T21:10:29Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > I think my vote has to go for Sergio Leoneā€™s _magnum opus_ [Once Upon A Time In The West](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/). For all of itā€™s flaws (it takes two or three viewings to really make sense of the complex story and fully grasp the machinations of the characters), the nearly 10 minute opening scene is truly memorable; the three assassins taking their places in the decaying train depot, each waiting impassively for the arrival of ā€œHarmonicaā€. ā€œIt looks like we brought one horse too few.ā€ ā€œNo, you brought two too many.ā€ This is exactly what I thought of upon reading the thread title. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837.md?page=4)