# Noteworthy movie openings and closings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279 "2005-07-20T13:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/1 "2005-07-20T13:19:57Z")
Just a bit of setup for this idea: I have heard that a musically savvy disc jockey should be able to select pieces of music in such a way that the ending of one piece dovetails with the beginning of the next one. That got me wondering if the astute moviegoer might have the skill to match the closing of one movie with the beginning of another. If you count as “opening” that first image that’s not part of the studio logo, and as “closing” the last image before they start rolling the credits, (unless, of course, they continue with decent images as the credits roll), can you think of closings that would dovetail neatly with openings? As an alternative to that entire concept, since I haven’t been able to provide an example of my own, can you describe those openings or closings that have impressed you the most. As an opening, I think the way _Contact_ starts is neat. The idea seems to be that as a fast-moving space vehicle travels away from Earth, the audio that has left here headed out into the ether could be recaptured with some fidelity all the way back to whenever broadcasting began. I can’t place the movie that ends with the camera (?) pulling back from the final scene all the way out to the edge of the galaxy and beyond. One of my favorite openings is in _Sharky’s Machine_ where the view changes from a skyline view of Atlanta near sunrise (by way of a helicopter) down to the railroad tracks where Burt Reynolds is walking with a briefcase. There may be an edit somewhere, but it’s a very smooth transition anyway. A lot like some of Hitchcock’s and Welles’s tracking shots. _The Player_ had a nice one, too. Anyway, the idea(s) I’ve tried to describe might make for some fun head-scratching, if you’re game. Have at. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/2 "2005-07-23T21:51:32Z")
I always enjoyed the Coen brothers’ work that way. In _Fargo_, the film starts with just snow. Grey sky. Then a pair of headlights become visible as Jerry drives towards the camera. It ends pretty much the same way. Someone in a car, driving. _The Big Lebowski_ starts with a rolling tumbleweed. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/3 "2005-07-23T23:08:41Z")
Another Coen brothers film with a great opening is **Raising Arizona**. The long opening voice over by Nicholas Cage rates as one of the funniest bits of cinema in any movie anywhere and any time. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/4 "2005-07-24T01:00:56Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t place the movie that ends with the camera (?) pulling back from the final scene all the way out to the edge of the galaxy and beyond. Could it be _Men in Black_? I’ll try to think of a good combination. In the meantime, one my favorite closing scenes is in _The Third Man_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/5 "2005-07-24T01:21:47Z")
The best example of a segue between films was in a double-feature I saw back in college: the end of **Casablanca** , followed by the first scene on **Play It Again, Sam**. It is the exact same scene, and works beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/6 "2005-07-24T01:27:59Z")
I think, just maybe, you are thinking of the short film The Powers of Ten. As for me, 12 Monkeys and most of Terry Gilliam’s “bookmarks” in general are brillant. Brazil is a notable example, where the same scene means something completely different at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/7 "2005-07-24T06:53:09Z")
I loved the ending scene of _The Third Man_. But I thought overall it was a great movie. I also really liked the ending scene of _American Beauty_ and I think it turned a so-so film into a winner. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/8 "2005-07-24T09:09:52Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I can’t place the movie that ends with the camera (?) pulling back from the final scene all the way out to the edge of the galaxy and beyond. Time Bandits. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/9 "2005-07-24T12:30:16Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > I think, just maybe, you are thinking of the short film The Powers of Ten. I have the book, which is an amazing presentation of how we fit into the “scheme of things” by being roughly halfway between the exceedingly smal and the exceedingly large. What’s amazing is how the very end in each direction looks like the other end – in a weird way. If I’ve seen the film, I don’t recall it, but I would say this definitely captures the spirit of the OP quest. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/10 "2005-07-24T12:33:09Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Could it be _Men in Black_? It quite possibly might. I have seen that recently, but am having a bit of trouble picturing it. I’ll be sure to look for it again next time it’s up on cable. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/11 "2005-07-24T12:36:59Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Time Bandits. Maybe so, but I don’t remember seeing this one. Thanks all the same. ---
**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, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/12 "2005-07-24T21:17:59Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Could it be _Men in Black_? It has always been a suspicion of mine that ILM re-used the Contact material for Men In Black (after all, it _is_ a rather expensive shot). They produced the movies around the same time. It’s possible. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/13 "2005-07-25T03:23:52Z")
**Reservoir Dogs** had a great opening. As a matter of fact that’s the best part of the whole movie. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noteworthy-movie-openings-and-closings/313279/14 "2005-07-25T05:04:20Z")
First thing that came to mind (since I just watched it) is the end of **Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind**. Also the beginning of **Memento**.