# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/61 "2005-07-25T21:21:58Z")
I always liked the opening to “Beetlejuice”, where there’s a fly-over of the town which ends up turning into a fly-over of Adam’s model of the town. Plus, the opening title music by Danny Elfman is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/62 "2005-07-25T22:58:31Z")
How about **The Untouchables** (the little girl and the exploding briefcase)? And the currently-running **Batman Begins** has a nice opening fight scene. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/63 "2005-07-25T23:48:04Z")
> [@The Hook](#): > > It is such a cool and memorable opening that it never keeps me from getting pissed off when we’re back on the cafe in the closing scenes. When the opening is redone (albeit from a different angle) what Honey Bunny says is “…and I’ll execute every one of you motherfuckers”. Irksome. Yes, I know it’s lame, but pet peeves usually are. 😛😃 I thought I read or heard somewhere that Tarantino did that on purpose to kind of illustrate how different people remember events in slightly different ways… carry on… ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/64 "2005-07-26T03:12:15Z")
The opening scene in **Goodfellas** with the guy in the trunk of the car: “All my life I wanted to be a gangster…” I still remember seeing that for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/65 "2005-07-26T04:25:17Z")
I like the opening shot of **Fargo** , in which the screen is completely white at first, and a car gradually becomes visible. I once heard someone say about **Fargo** , “It’s not really a color movie. It’s not even a black-and-white movie. It’s a white movie.” ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/66 "2005-07-26T06:25:14Z")
My pick is for _The Two Towers_. Didn’t matter that it was a rehash of a scene from the previous movie. It grabs you by fanboy nads and says “watch \this\.” ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/67 "2005-07-26T06:43:58Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > **Team America: World Police** with an over-zealous Team America obliviously destroying most of Paris. No, even better was the puppets being controlled by the puppets at the VERY beginning. Supposedly that was a joke at the expense of the studio execs who got to watch the movie first. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/68 "2005-07-26T06:47:44Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > 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. I would agree with you except that scene you are speaking of is not the opening scene. The opening scene was a bunch of guys getting their heads shaved, pretty lame compared to the next scene that you are speaking of. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/69 "2005-07-26T12:11:44Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > …Sam Peckinpah’s [The Wild Bunch](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0065214/); a setup bank job (interspaced dramatically with the credits) in the middle of a town full of children and temperance campaigners. “If they move, _kill 'em!_” Just checking in to say this is what first popped into MY mind when I read the thread title! ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/70 "2005-07-26T13:13:47Z")
_Spaceballs_. Excellent opening. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/71 "2005-07-26T13:33:12Z")
_Way of the Gun_ Benicio Del Toro & Ryan Phillipe’s characters are presented in no uncertain terms in the opening scene leaving the rest of the movie to detail their dynamics. Too many movies spend the first 80 minutes building a character and only use the last 10-20 minutes for development. Bah, I say. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/72 "2005-07-26T16:59:19Z")
The rest of the movie sucked, but the beginning of _A Kiss Before Dying_ with Matt Dillon and Sean Young is fantastic–a happy couple goes to the Philadelphia City Hall for a marriage license but the office is closed for lunch so they go up to the roof to look at the city. She hops up and sits on the wall and suddenly he grabs her legs and flips her off the roof. Nothing else in the movie is worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/73 "2005-07-26T17:22:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Opening sequence of **The Player** , where we hear dozens of conversations going on. It’s nearly the equal of the opening of **Touch of Evil** , where we see the bomb being planted and the car driving until it explodes. I second **The Player** , but for the 8-minute uninterrupted shot to start the movie… ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/74 "2005-07-26T18:33:42Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > The rest of the movie sucked, but the beginning of _A Kiss Before Dying_ with Matt Dillon and Sean Young is fantastic–a happy couple goes to the Philadelphia City Hall for a marriage license but the office is closed for lunch so they go up to the roof to look at the city. She hops up and sits on the wall and suddenly he grabs her legs and flips her off the roof. Nothing else in the movie is worth watching. Zowie, now I have to rent this just to see Sean Young get thrown off a building. Hope I don’t wreck the DVD player rewinding and replaying this scene over and over and over again! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/75 "2005-07-26T22:40:18Z")
Even though I hate the movie as a whole, I’ve got to say that the opening to **Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade** kicks much ass. I just watched it again, and it’s every bit as cool as I remembered it, even with the dark spectre of Short Round looming over everything. It’s got the opening gong with the Paramount logo, the big spectacular musical number, intrigue, several double-crosses, a director saying “look how hot my future girlfriend is,” a car chase, and a guy getting impaled by a flaming skewer. Usually it takes zombies, monkeys, or ninjas to say “this movie has _everything_!” but adding any to this sequence would’ve just been overkill. Plus watching it now gives that neat sense of double-nostalgia: the Busby Berkeley musical number and all the art deco evokes the 30’s, while all the blue neon and the overall Spielbergosity of the whole thing evokes the late 80’s/early 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/76 "2005-07-27T01:01:55Z")
Nitpick: Temple of Doom ---
**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 27, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/77 "2005-07-27T03:25:52Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > Nitpick: Temple of Doom Ditto. Interesting tidbit: Many parts of the opening scene for _The Temple of Doom_ (the gong, the dance number, the poison) were written for conceived for _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ but couldn’t be fit into the storyline. (Considering how much of the film was written around key scenes–the cave opening, the Nepalese bar, the market scene, the caravan chase, et cetera) it is surprising how coherent the final story actually is; no doubt a attributable to screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan who worked a similar magic on George Lucas’ best Star Wars film, _The Empire Strikes Back_. Of course, he’s also credited with writing and producting _The Bodyguard_ and _Wyatt Earp_ as well as directing the latter, so clearly he has his transgressions to answer for.) It’s a pity the rest of _Temple_ wasn’t as good as the opening scene; the stunts were fine but the story was balsh and the nepotism in the casting of _a certain role_ was…regrettable. Also, with the film actually being a prequel to _Raiders_, the “reach for the gun to shoot the swordsman” doubletake doesn’t actually make sense. The film actually works a lot better as a Bond movie (egomaniacal nemesis, secret underground lair, legion of self-sacrificing troops) only Bond would have bedded the bird earlier and would have gambled more. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/78 "2005-07-27T04:19:47Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Also, with the film actually being a prequel to _Raiders_, the “reach for the gun to shoot the swordsman” doubletake doesn’t actually make sense. I’ll never understand this gripe, despite having heard it countless times. I just don’t get how the audience is part of the timeline. Why can’t it be a standard tactic the character uses? It’s not a joke to him…it’s a joke to the audience. Anyway, my contribution isn’t really an opening scene, but a titles sequence. **Waterworld** had the effect of the earth logo flooding. That was a very nice, cool touch. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/79 "2005-07-27T06:05:23Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > Nitpick: Temple of Doom Gack. In my defense, I was writing that while trying to hurriedly pack for a plane flight. It’s particularly dumb because of the bit that I was going to say but forgot: watching it again today reminded me of just how amazed I was the first time I saw it and Kate Capshaw walked out _in front of_ the opening titles. “They can _do_ that?!?” It blew my 13-year-old mind. So yeah – that’s why I got the title wrong; there was a woman standing in the way. And another great opening, but far more low-key: **Rushmore**. The curtain and title cards (and horrible painting) give the whole thing the feeling of a school play, and the “world’s hardest math problem” perfectly sums up Max’s character. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837/80 "2005-07-28T16:06:02Z")
Yes, the Universal Studios’ logo of the Earth flooding at the beginning of “Waterworld” _was_ cool - the best part of the movie, as a matter of fact. Ditto Gandalf plunging down into the depths of Moria as he hacks at the Balrog with his sword (caught in mid-air!), from “The Two Towers.” I like Mr. Incredible on his way to his wedding but taking some time out to help citizens and fight crime, from “The Incredibles.” (“Officers… ma’am… Squeaker.”) And going back a bit further, remember Fred McMurray describing his own demise at the beginning of “Double Indemnity”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-opening-scene-of-a-film/313837.md?page=5)