… is Frank-N-Furter’s arrival by elevator in Rocky Horror. Already thrown off balance by the Timewarp, we’re suddenly confronted by a creature so glorious and bizarre that it’s all we can do not to join Janet in fainting dead away.
“How do you do? I see you’ve met my … faithful … handyman!”
What are some other great entrances? Can anyone top Frank?
Harry Lime…The Third Man. Zithertastic!
That’s the second. Here’s the first.
Winner! 
Darth Vader. Repeated viewings have dulled the impact, but remember the first time you saw him? The rebels are nervously defending the corridor, the door blows and then these white skull-faced robot-looking badarses pour through the still burning breach and waste them all. Damn, these guys don’t mess about. But through the smoke comes striding - this seven foot black-clad masked and booted samurai gargoyle thing: he starts booming out orders and breaking necks, and you think, OK, now he’s bad.
I love when she does that shit with her hair!
David Bowie’s entrance as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige.
Btw, I didn’t know Bowie was in the movie and didn’t know who was playing Tesla until I saw the credits so when he first appeared, my first thought was, “Either Tom Skerritt gained weight or Ricky Gervais lost some”.
Did you watch the whole scene? That’s gotta be one of my alltime favorite scenes in the history of movies. One of the best scripts ever written. In addition the the sparklingest dialogue evar, notice how after initiating his initial introduction, the husband is not seen again, even as his voice kind of emcees the little exchange. There’s no one in the world but Johnny and Gilda, and their mutual passion and hatred. I think I may need to watch that movie again tonight.
Agreed.
Tom Skerritt came into my vidstore tonight. He is oooooooooold. He looks about 95. What’s up with that?
If you’re looking for the most *iconic * entrance, you can’t do much better than this.
What, no love for Capt. Jack Sparrow in the first PotC movie? Or does it not count if the poster can’t find a link?
Tempting as Rita Hayworth is, I’m going to nominate Grace Kelly’s entrance in Rear Window. Le sigh.
Boy, howdie. I’ve wondered how many takes that shot was. Surely it wasn’t one or two.
Everyone pales compared to the creature from Alien.
Glinda, the good witch? Who else gets to cruise in on a bubble?
I don’t know if the OP counst honkin’ big ships as “characters,” but this sure as hell made an impression.
What, no love for Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra?
(At work, YouTube blocked.)
It would be nice, when suggesting an entrance, if the actual entrance were named in the post instead of just a blind youtube link. Rather difficult to participate when most of the posts are nothing but “look at this one!”
Not really an entrance…
But those first shots of Strider, smoking in the shadowed corner of The Prancing Pony, were quite striking.