Best movie beginning you liked

[pbhalerao]

Most blockbusters have a spectacular or real kick-ass beginning. After all well begun is half done. I am starting this thread to see who liked what and why. A poll would have been too limiting.

So go ahead and state your choice and if you wish also tell everybody why you liked it so much - the choice is endless really.

My choice - Goldfinger. The girl murdered and painted in all gold, the titles and Shirley Bassey's song was just spectacular. I can still hear the opening chords of the song 'Goldfinger'.

Also liked - The Good the Bad the Ugly, Lawrence of Arabia (the overture with no video was - ah! so different) and Star Wars.

[AlecWest]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The screen was blank with weird music in the background. The music built up to a loud fanfare at the exact moment the screen went from blank to bright. A real waker-upper, hehehe.

[EddyH]

I've always been a fan of the first two minutes of Castle in the Sky. Corny i know, but its an essential bit that hooks you in perfectly.
Just the almost wordless (could easily be a silent film and still work) buildup through the first shots of the clouds, to the attack on the airship, through Sheeta falling from the ship and the fade to titles, leaving you hanging as to her fate, is just genius.

I'll have to think on some others now

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Swordfish has a great beginning, the bomb scene is also a great Wake-upper. (C) Alec West TM

[Cole]

The intro. to "Tomorrow Never Dies".

The thrilling Terrorist Supermarket sequence is a mini movie on its own and can be watched as such.

To a certain extent many of the Bond pre-credit sequences can be seen as stand alone, but most leave some drift into the rest of the film. The pre-credits from TND doesn't do that to any great extent IMHO.

[beavereater]

Saving Private Ryan...brough back a lot of memories of social studies and history we did on WWII, stripped it of the school censorship, and added some reality about how it really went down.

[ZAPPER]

Saving Private Ryan...brough back a lot of memories of social studies and history we did on WWII, stripped it of the school censorship, and added some reality about how it really went down.

Good example! I was trying to think of a war movie that started with a bang, so to speak, before I got down to your reply. (I was actually thinking of a Nam flick, but don't rember which one. They are all kind of blended together in my head)

[AlecWest]

(I was actually thinking of a Nam flick, but don't rember which one. They are all kind of blended together in my head)

Could it be Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen looking up at a ceiling fan while it makes a chopper sound? Brief trivia. According to Coppola, the storyline for the film was based on "Heart of Darkness," a novella written by Joseph Conrad in 1902 (pre-WWI). But while the film has been called cheesy by some Vietnam vets, I've always been fascinated by it (and I'm a Vietnam vet). The reason why is because I think Coppola may have had an additional inspiration. Back in the early 1970s, a US Army Colonel (Colonel Khelri) decided his superiors weren't fighting the war the right way. So, he took the men under his command (who worshipped the guy) and took off into Cambodia ... and was never heard from again. I remember reading a brief story about Khelri in Stars & Stripes while I was over there ... and it was never followed up on.

[ZAPPER]

@AlecWest

It seems that there was a rash of Vietnam flicks released at about the same time. (at least in my time compressed memory) But the scene that I keep thinking of was a smoldering boot flipping through the sawgrass and stopping right in front of the camera. It may not have even been the opening scene or even a Vietnam flick and I am sure that it has been cut from the TV version because I can only rember seeing it one time and it was, at least to me, pretty intense.

While I never did serve, I have always had close connections to many who have. I have young family on active duty now and it seems as far back as I can rember. This is not a political issue but rather a personal expression of my gratitude towards those who have answered to a higher calling to themselves and their people.

[rallynavvie]

Oooh, this is a really neat idea for a thread

The opening orchestral blast of Star Wars is up there, especially since it's some of John Williams' best work, and he has some great works under his name.

I think of late my favorite opening was from "Master and Commander" where there is a fast, dark camera shot clipping over the water with the title, no opening credits. Then it shows the HMS Surprise and gives her numbers, then in the early twilight the bell is sounded for the next watch and people are going up and down the rigging. Then it leads into the opening encounter with the American ship (or French ship in the movie) which is probably the best scene in the movie.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Great thread idea ...

I'd have to say that my favorite movie opening is probably Rounders. The low music in the background. The low tone monologue. Dark-ish kind of color. Very well done.

it just also happens to be one of my favorite movies

LG

[pbhalerao]

It is really difficult to make a choice. Consider this one:

The Godfather: "I love America..."

[smearbrick1]

The opening scene in "Ghost Ship". Too bad the rest of the movie sucked.

[shelbyGT]

Have to agree with Saving Private Ryan as my favorite first 30 minutes of any movie.

[SquirrelDip]

The opening scene in "Ghost Ship". Too bad the rest of the movie sucked.

The beginning to "Barb Wire" was pretty good...

<but I was drunk at the time...>

[guns1inger]

The opening few minutes to Suspiria are pretty damn fine if you like horror.

The open sequences to Apocalyse Now are brilliantly done.

I also like the slow, languid wake up sequence at the start of Alien.

[rhegedus]

I thought the opening of Magnolia was good - you know, where the narrater describes various freak accidnts in which the participants were linked.

It's just a shame that the rest of the movie was so crap!

[Roz]

Sorry for naming more than one but there are so many!

Military - Saving private Ryan (the opening 15 minutes left me feeling so anguished for those who had actually been through that ordeal)

Sci fi - Repo Man (infectiously weird!)

Western - Once upon a time in the west (Brilliant tension created by Sergio Leone's famous technique of close up faces)

to name but three!

[Ironballs]

I thought Superman 2 had a good start, where good Clark pulls his shirt apart before flying off to save Paris from a nuke. (I remember the cinema cheering to that)

But the best opening scene is where Roger Moore as James Bond skis of a slope, there's a minute silence and he pulls a parachute rip cord to show us the union jack paracute, cue the James bond theme. Pure showmanship. Now what was that that Bond flick?

[Bodyslide]

CliffHanger. the helicopter at the beginning is really kewl...

[thevoelk]

Pulp Fiction

Enough said.

[zzyzzx]

The best movie begining is in We Were Soldiers. That's because the French get wiped out.

[offline]

oooh.. hard one pbhalerao. Great topic btw, although it has been done before a couple of times.

I'd have to say The Sixth Sense, although Scarface,
Sergio Leone's Duck you Sucker and the dog being
chased by the helicopter in The Thing. also have kick ass
openings as do the others listed here.. like Once Apon A Time in The
West.

[pbhalerao]

oooh.. hard one pbhalerao. Great topic btw, although it has been done before a couple of times.

Thanks offline and to others also who shared the opinion. But not many responses though. Maybe because this was done before.

I would have expected someone to pitch in for 'Vertical Limit' which in my opinion had a real breath taking opening - much like Cliffhanger.

[offline]

Vertical Limit was just one breath taking scene
after another.. The first sequence seemed understated
a little, although dramatic, compared to what was
to come.

BTW is has been a long while, I believe, since this
subject was suggested.. so it may as well be new

Perhaps we will get allied topics such as greatest
explosive effect or best sex scene

[VCDHunter]

The opening sequence in Blade is pretty sweet. Vampires, kung fu, Samurai swords, guns and Traci Lords. Job ******* done.

[HatchetMan]

The opening scene in "Ghost Ship". Too bad the rest of the movie sucked.

[lumis]

the way of the gun had a pretty good opening scene.. it didnt really fit anywhere, so they just put it at the beggining of the movie.

[Shadowmistress]

The best for me has to be Austin Powers: Goldmember, with the opening scene showing Tom Cruise as Austin, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil and Danny Devito as mini-me. Now that was a great beginning!

[Mister Flonk-Flonk]

Raiders of the Lost Ark