Unforgettable Movie Openings

Right. I thought I’d make a short list of some of the most memorable opening scenes in films. I've decided at the moment to exclude credit sequences, which I’ll deal with separately at another time.

While the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark is highly thought of - and the opening section of Indy retrieving the statuette is indeed cool. However the opening shot is just your average run-of-the mill walk through a jungle, so I’m afraid it doesn’t make the list. The same goes for Saving Private Ryan – the Normandy Landing section is interesting, but the establishing shot of the pensioner walking to the war grave is totally blah. I guess this list is kinda personal, and it's possible I've missed something major off it - so if you think of something, let me know.

The first two here didn't quite make the final list, but I figured they should get an honourable mention:

Trainspotting

Renton's crazed run down the streets of Glasgow before crashing over the bonnet of a car is a high throttle beginning to a movie that just keeps on going.




Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Big openings are par for the course in sci-fi, but this one is one of the best of its kind. The blackness of space bursts across the screen as a wave a sound sweeps across the theatre, heralding the end of Praxis. Unforgettable.





As for the rest on the list... here they are - er, all 11 of them. You know, I should probably crop that to a nice round 10, but I'm not going to.

Touch of Evil

The initial frames of this scene - hands clutching a bomb - are kinda stagey, but the four minute long tracking shot that follows is a classic.






Memento

So, yeah.. the whole film's backwards, yeah, and just to make double sure we get the point, the film opens with a Polaroid photograph bleaching in the developer's hand. It's a shot that immediately sets up questions in the viewer, and sets the tone precisely.




The English Patient

Like a few of the films on this list, I have mixed feelings about the film itself. But the opening shots can't really be bettered.

City of God.

Ooh.. cool editing. I'm quite pleased I wasn't that chicken though.

Henry V

The match flare in the studio immediately sets a darker tone to the film that that of Olivier's movie - and I love Jacobi's delivery of Chorus's speech.

All About Lily Chou Chou

I don't know how many have seen this little film from Shunji Iwai - and although it's a fine enough piece, it's not exactly inspiring fare. In fact my personal opinion is that the best thing in the movie is its opening - mixing internet chat, sound recording data, and photographed image to create a soul retreating into a world of isolation.

15

Now, thinking of Asian films, the opening of this one is worth looking at. Unfortunately the YouTube clip has embedding disabled, so I've only embedded the trailer below. If you want to see the opening click here. The film itself, which let some teenagers go wild on camera, is a tad on the extreme side, so unless you enjoy masochistic violence, or you want to see the darker side of Singapore, I wouldn't recommend the whole movie.

The Thin Red Line.

Hmmm. I couldn't find the opening shot on YouTube, so the clip here isn't exactly appropriate. Take my word for it, though, the opening shots are sumptuous.

2001

While the various matt effects and model effects in 2001 are good, the planet effects do look dated, and I'm not sure the sound recording always delivers as well as it should. Nevertheless, the alignment at the beginning of the movie (and even the cut to the African stills) is the perfect opening to this movie.

Blade Runner.

It's not exactly the city-scape that makes the opening of Blade Runner - it's that eye. That wonderful Big Brother eye reflecting the night sky. It's a touch of humanity that adds that touch of awe. Beautiful.

Chariots of Fire.

I think that part of what makes this film as inspiring is the music. That the joyful run through the surf in St. Andrews that book-ends the movie that immediately lifts the soul. It's a shame the next scene of the letter reading so quickly dulls the tempo, but hey, can't have everything, huh.

Star Wars
Well, it had to be on there, didn't it. Say what you will about the various fiddling that's been put on the film, and its Xbox prequels, but the opening of the original movie was awe-inspiring. Not only has "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away" gone down in movie history, along with the (Flash Gordon ripped) scrolling text, but that Star Destroyer just kept on coming, and coming.