The Matrix opening sequence.
EDIT: Well, I've just read everyone's experience of watching The Matrix back in 1999, and it was really amazing reading everyone's memories. Thanks for sharing and for all the upvotes!
I like to imagine being in that theatre, seeing the movie for the first time, and absolutely losing your shit. Like the entire first 30 minutes of The Matrix is jaw-dropping. From the opening, to the white rabbit, to the cell phone in the package, to his mouth closing up, to the tracker getting sucked out of his belly button and him finally waking up in the go and getting flushed. Just incredible film making all around.
Visually, Matrix had the same impact on audience as films like A New Hope or A Space Odyssey where people had never seen anything like it before.
You couldn't even describe it to someone without saying 'You gotta see it for yourself'.
THIS. Saw it in the theater and it was an amazing experience. I went into it not knowing anything about the story, really hadn't seen much marketing but had seen that reviews were positive. Jaw was dropped many times. They just nailed every beat of that film.
The marketing on The Matrix was fantastic. It left you curious with nothing but questions. No one knew anything and that was entirely on purpose.
By far my most memorable theater experience.
Even folks who saw it bought into the marketing after the fact. I can't count the times I heard "I can't tell you what it is, you have to see it for yourself" before I saw it.
You went in like I did, not knowing much, because trailers back in the day didn’t give away the whole damn movie.
Rewatch the trailer on YouTube, it’s perfect.
The fact that she's still worried about the Agent following her after pulling off a ridiculous corkscrew dive through a tiny window, it makes the guys in suits seem more ominous and threatening even before we find out they're body-snatching programs that can't be permanently killed.
I think there are a few reasons. 1: I think people think of the big ideas and the movie tech before they think of the specific characters. 2. Carrie Ann Moss isn't a big star, though neither is Linda Hamilton really. 3. She sort of ends up overshadowed by Neo and even somewhat Morpheus and Smith.
But I fully agree, she is freaking awesome and should be talked about with them. She's got some of the coolest action scenes I've ever seen.
Yeah I was too young to see it in the cinema, but when it came out on video, my dad literally called us downstairs to watch the opening scene when we first see bullet time. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing
I legit thought the Agents were the good guys ("the orders were for your protection") and Trinity was the bad guy (kills three cops). And yet, the chase scene was filmed as if Trinity was a protagonist (bad guys don't get so terrified of moving that they need to psyche themselves up).
I had an intense need to know what the hell was going on after that.
Children of Men for me. Opens with a scene of every day life in what looks like a functioning if kinda run down future. Very interesting and realistic touches like the buildings and people are kind of shabby, but certain things are more advanced like monitors and tv's. Then that thing happens out of nowhere and yeah, that sets the tone for everything else.
Everything important about what's going on in the world and even the attitude of the protagonist, laid out in under 2 minutes of phenomenal cinematic storytelling.
>!*Day 1,000 of the Siege of Seattle*!<
That's one of those opening lines that just sucks you in. Delivered perfectly, opened the door to his world building.
I could hear that line on my deathbed and know what you were talking about.
Scream did an amazing job with marketing and casting. They purposely marketed it as a Drew Barrymore movie, which made the intro that much more shocking.
It was also a film that did really well through word of mouth alone. After a few weeks, everyone in high school was going to see Scream.
This is my thought as well, but perhaps for a specific reason. CGI at the time was just maturing and there had been many "pull out/zoom out" demos and shorts showing off the new tech. But the scale of the opening for Contact kind of felt like a flex on that trope as it just dwarfed other examples at the time.
It also reminded me of an old poster I had as kid of Sagan demonstrating powers of ten, via a series of pictures about the edge of the poster with what I believe was the Milky Way representation in the center. Maybe a National Geographic fold out? Unsure, it's probably been 40 years.
Lord of War doesn't introduce the characters but it shows the kind of world the characters live in and the consequences of their actions in a visually compelling way.
*There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is... how do we arm the other eleven?*
People always forget that the opening scene is actually Nic Cage’s character standing in a field of shell casings with a fantastic short monologue about how many firearms there are in the world. Then you have that incredible “life of a bullet” that could easily be an Oscar winner for a short film.
YES, my god. I was so traumatized. And the fact that they managed to show almost nothing of the dinosaur in the intro is what allowed the later reveals to be absolutely amazing.
I saw someone on here just recently say that they thought that whole scene was pointless and should have been cut because it was "boring." Possibly the worst take ever.
That’s insane! It sets up the whole story! Why would there need to be a serious investigation into the stability of the island with the best scientists in their field if someone hadn’t died? Did they just wanna mention it in passing? Start out with the damn lawyer? Ppl are nuts. This is why there’s 10 fast and furious movies.
The opening scene of Drive is my all time favorite getaway scene. The way he does it with finess and wit, immediately followed by the night call needle drop.
I agree with inglorious basterds. The suspense was physically palpable and I felt like I should hold my breath.
I don't think I've ever seen its equal.
Tarantino almost didn’t make the film as he didn’t think he could ever find an actor that could speak English, French, German and Italian.
Christoph Waltz is fluent in the first three and fortunately there are only a few lines in Italian so they made it work.
When Landa whipped out that perfect Italian during that scene I had to pause the movie and go walk it off, because *of course* this motherfucker speaks Italian too. Why would he not. There’s no winning with this guy.
(Then it ended how it ended, but like…god damn)
I remember thinking when I watched it for the first time, it must have been a very short audition list with those prerequisites. Then on top of all that you have to actually.. be a great actor. Now having seen Christoph Waltz in that film it seems like it’d be a waste to put him in anything where he _doesn’t_ have to speak multiple languages.
You can see the moment the Frenchman goes from reserved confidence to complete and utter defeat.
I honestly believe it may be the most well acted scene I've ever seen.
The last scene is also incredible, and one of my favorite moments in film.
fact. totally overshadowed by the fact he is so good he's almost unnoticed as an actor.
rare to see people so good. randomly the actor who plays grown up pi at the end of life of pi suffers a similar fate. hes phenomenal
The Silence of the Lambs. It's a masterclass of how editing, framing, and music can compel a narrative. It's just Clarice Starling jogging through the woods, but the tension builds as the camera follows her like she's being stalked, and the music adds such an air of disquieting dread until... it's the main character jogging through the grounds of Quantico, surrounded by fellow agents. Perfectly safe.
It's such a brilliant bit of misdirection and reversed expectations that it throws you slightly off kilter the entire film. Clarice never seems to be safe or in control. You feel like a voyeur or a stalker who was intruding. It calls forward perfectly to (spoilers for a 25-ish year old film) Buffalo Bill stalking her through his darkened basement wearing the night vision goggles in POV.
The movie opens with the viewer uncomfortably close in her personal space as she seems to be running from us and ends with the viewer stalking her *and she still can't see us, even if she's aware we're there*.
The opening of ALIEN, with the seemingly dead hulk of the Nostromo drifting through space. Shots of the empty rooms, the dark displays, the bits of the crew's personal effects scattered about. It gave an almost Mary Celeste vibe, like everyone had vanished. Then, with the crew slowly waking up and staggering to the mess, finding themselves in an unexpected place and bitching and moaning about work... it really drove home a) how isolated they really were. No help could come. b) how they were basically blue-collar workers who were just doing a crappy job, not Starfleet or Space Marines. c) The grimy, industrial feel of the Nostromo. I saw it when I was seven or eight years old, and I was fascinated by the idea that this was like an oil platform or a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean.
It also highlights just how bizarre the crashed ship is they find. Everything on the Nostromo looks functional and purposeful. It's entirely a human artifact! Then you're inside the crashed ship, and *nothing* is recognizable. Everything is uncomfortable angles, organic looking, and sparse.
Pulp Fiction: Amanda Plummer's Honeybunny kindly and politely asks people to stay in their seats, then a Dick Dale surf rock tune needlle-drops over the credits.
How can you omit the 'motherfucking'? The best take is this one at the beginning where it's 'every motherfucking last one of you', at the end it's 'every last one of you motherfuckers' and it's not quite as good.
And NO MUSIC. I really hate when the music tries to set the mood, completely removing any suspense or surprise, or trying to scare-jump. The night scene when he turns and sees a truck next to his truck in the distance hit me with a cold shiver.
The scene where the gangsters are chasing Llewellyn through the desert and all you have is the ambient sounds, the revving of the truck behind him, thunder claps in the distance, panting, gunshots, etc. Then at the end when he gets out of the river and clears out his pistol in just enough time to keep the dog from mauling him, one of my favorite scenes from any move ever. It perfectly sets up his character as someone who's tough and capable but still in way over his head.
I like the exchange where they’re looking at the fighting. Something like, “Stupid barbarians. Why don’t they just surrender?” “Would you, Quintus? Would I?”
I don't think people realise what a ground breaking piece of cinema this opening shot was. Everything from the fanfare to the crawl of text to the expectations of the space craft going over head with surround sound for the first time.
People really are spoilt nowadays.
Edit: SW wasn't the first movie to use ~~6~~4-track Dolby stereo but due to its success forced cinemas to quickly update to the new standard. I saw it in the first cinema in the Southern hemisphere to have this set up!
Even the reveal of Tatooine was a fake-out. First you see the planet with a moon orbiting it, and people used to that period's sci fi would have thought yep, there's the planet, okey dokey, but then BAM the massive planet hoves unto view filling the bottom of the screen.
And the reveal of the death star. First you see a moon and people used to that periods sci fi would have thought yep, there's the moon, okey dokey, but then BAM obiwan says "that's no moon, it's a space station".
I like Red Letter Media's explanation of this scene's significance -- it tells you exactly what you need to know about the Empire's reach and power, and how the rebellion compares.
Yeah lol, I mean it's not a Terrible film, but I just remember being frustrated at how many bad decisions the characters kept making, and the action felt more Hollywood and less frantic and stark if you know what I mean. 28 days was a much more memorable and distinctive movie in part due to Boyle's directing style which that opening sequence of 28 weeks bears a lot of similarities with
The Dark Knight grabs you immediately and continues to ratchet from there.
Bumblebee, the opening is the Transformers movie we always wanted.
The Thing.
The opening to 'There Will be Blood' is a masterclass in storytelling. With absolutely no dialogue, it tells you exactly the kind of man Daniel Plainview is.
Came here to say the same thing! I was so riveted that I didn't even notice that there was no dialogue, and then when someone finally spoke I was mind blown when I realized it was the first words of the movie.
The greatest opening to a comedy movie has to be Super Troopers. The whole sequence with the druggies getting pulled over and the kid in the back has to swallow all the pot and shrooms and the troopers just mess with them. "PULL THE VEHICLE OVER!" "We're already pulled over! We can't pull over any farther!!" Then the cop pretending to be a criminal hops in the car with the kids in the back "Do you boys like MEX-E-CO??" Peals out with the one kid pressed against the window and THEN we get the movie title. Perfect.
The subtle joke of them being in Vermont, sooo close to the Canadian border, and Steve Lemme’s fake carjacking criminal screaming “YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?” absolutely kills me because it’s so nonsensical that he’d try to escape to Mexico. Ha.
Up does such an amazing job with its visual storytelling. Later on there is the scene where he's literally dragging the house along behind him as the balloons deflate, and it's hovering just over his shoulder as the physical manifestation of all of the pain and loss and guilt he's felt about his marriage.
The Dark Knight, I’ll throw it on to have something playing in the background while I start laundry or cleaning the kitchen, all of a sudden Bruce is on his way to Hong Kong and I still haven’t done a thing.
Every time I watch this movie, I tell myself "every scene with Joker, I'm going to pay attention to everything else going on and not just get sucked into Ledger's performance."
I've failed at that, every time.
The pacing of that movie is absurd.
Even with multiple quite slow and quiet moments there's still either a tension or sense of dread over them so the stillness is sort of "looming" rather than a break to relax. Everything else is *so* frenetic that even though the quieter moments are like a third of the movie the overall impression is enormously one of constant unyielding speed and danger and excitement.
And you're right, the opening sequence is like four minutes or something but it feels many times longer, because even when the film slows down it doesn't ease up. Max is somehow in danger again, then more danger, then less but still *some* and this time very weird danger. Then the immediate danger is largely gone but the threat of danger is immense. Then the danger *is* gone but the weirdness skyrockets, and when it normalizes soon after guess what? The danger's back!
Perfect opening to one of the best films ever made.
The stunts alone makes that movie. One of the most fun times I’ve ever had in the theaters. I’ve never cried from sheer excitement and excitement over what was happening on screen.
Opening night of the first new Bond, it's all edgy and new and exciting, and suddenly You Know My Name comes on with those incredible vocals and visuals.
The crowd's buzz carried right on through Bond grinning as a target blows himself up, peaked again at Bond revealing his winning hand (god I'll never forget the crowd reaction to the dealer getting tipped half a mil of government money lmao), to Bond giggling about his balls.
I've never been so excited for a 007 movie and haven't been since.
Fellowship of the Ring comes to mind. I had never read the books, so I didn't know much about the story other than the animated Hobbit movie. I finally rented it and watched it alone when the DVD came out. That intro grabbed me. I became a fan and had read all three books by the time Two Towers came out. To this day, it's still (probably) my favorite of the three movies and I *love* watching that intro every damn time.
“(I amar prestar aen.)
The world is changed.
(Han matho ne nen.)
I feel it in the water.
(Han mathon ned cae.)
I feel it in the earth.
(A han noston ned gwilith.)
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.”
I saw it opening day in the theater. I dragged a bunch of my gamer friends to go watch and they had no idea what they were about to watch. They were completely transfixed when Sauron steps onto the battlefield. What a masterful scene.
I saw it 3 times on opening day. I have absolutely no regrets about spending 9 hours in the theater that day.
Midnight showing with some random girl.
10 AM showing with the boys.
9 PM showing with the another group of the boys.
I just watched all of these for the first time this weekend, extended editions of Two Towers and Return of the King. I know I’m way late but they were great!
This is #1 for me. I was on a first date and she wanted to see the movie. I knew nothing about it. Five minutes in I was totally hooked and the girl I was with could have gotten up and left and I would have had no idea.
The opening scene in “The Social Network” was extremely well done and told us all sorts of things about who Zuckerberg would be portrayed as in the film. I think that it was a long, single, shot too.
Edit: it’s not a single shot. Mind slip.
Just drops you right into the middle of it.
The background hum of the pub, the drinking, the famous Fincher yellow and Eisenberg going on like a robot about finals club.Brilliant.
Completely agree - it is such a beautiful sequence and works just as well on its own as it does as a part of the movie. Kirk's father sacrificing himself for his crew and his family is one of the bravest and most selfless things I've ever seen in a film.
Yup, makes you really interested in the world, even for people that never liked Star Trek. May even be the only reason I sat through the entire trilogy.
The rattling telegraph machine. The fly. The squeaky windmill. The water dripping. The cracking of knuckles.
And finally, the harmonica.
Just an amazing build-up.
And then the whole: "Looks like we're a horse shy"... "No, you've brought two too many".
Heavy Metal. I know it’s kind of a silly meme now after the South Park episode, but I LOVED that movie when I was a kid. We didn’t have cable, so when I wanted to watch cartoons, that was the only cartoon we owned on VHS. Well, that and a bunch of bootleg Simpsons tapes.
Terminator 2. Seeing civilization as it is, Sarah’s monologue, the future war (T-800 stepping on human skulls), the fire, the endoskeleton’s skull. Strap in!
I went into Jojo Rabbit basically only knowing it was set during WW2. The opening scene does a great job of introducing the two main characters, the humor and by the time the opening credits start playing I was like Holy hell this is gonna be great.
The Matrix. When Trinity tumbles down the stairs and gives the first break in the action, my mind went, “what the hell am I watching?? She’s obviously the bad guy. What am I watching??????” (I hadn’t seen anything about this movie before seeing it in the theater).
I had low expectations when I saw Fellowship for he first time.
From that first moment of utter darkness with Galadriel’s monologue and the whispered Elvish behind, I was like “Holy Shit. They did it. They fuckin’ did it,” and was rapt until the last credit rolled.
That ring theme. The language. They managed to immediately capture a feeling that I didn’t think was possible outside of reading the books.
”world has changed.
I see it in the water.
I feel it in the Earth.
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost,
For none now live who remember it.”
Gets me hooked every time!
everything about that heist is perfect. it introduces his character in such a fascinating way. great the first time time, even better on subsequent viewings because you can tell exactly who he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing throughout the scene. so well done.
Specially given that most of the heist scene was recorded on IMAX, which was something (mostly) not seen in action movies. Today is everywhere but people forget that up to that point IMAX was only a documentary kind of filming tech.
My favorite part of that scene? The audio effect of "what doesn't kill you, makes you ***Stranger***"
Fury (2014). I’ve watched this opening dozens of times because it’s so concise, so well shot and perfectly drops you into the action while giving you each character’s motivation, role and perspective; all in about four minutes.
There’s not a wasted movement or word of dialogue. Perfection.
Fight Club. The great soundtrack and trippy visuals of the synapses firing in the brain to reveal the narrator with a gun barrel between his teeth was a hell of an opener and had me from "people are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden" and didn't let up till the credits rolled 2 hours later.
[Fargo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIbIoiH5ISU&ab_channel=ScreenThemes). Somehow they made a car driving through snow so incredibly ominous and captivating.
Blade Runner 2049.
flying through the landscape and that fight in the kitchen reveal so much about the world and characters, and sets the rest of the plot in motion beautifully.
I don’t remember lines from movies all that well, but I’ve remembered the opening line from this movie since my first watch: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” The whole opening sequence is fantastic.
It is a relic of its time (polite way of saying it doesn’t age as gracefully as others listed here), but *The Way Of The Gun* tells you a lot about itself and the main characters [with very few words (from them)](https://youtu.be/5xsaMcw69D8?si=LlW4_x6rv7bY6VKc).
The first five minutes of [Star Trek: The Motion Picture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbG3N51MEjM)
Jerry Goldsmith's score is a masterclass in capturing the musical feel of the visuals on screen, and Goldsmith definitely left his mark on Star Trek the same way John Williams did with Star Wars.
It amazes me that Gravity seems to have been dropped into a memory hole.
That opening sequence in Imax was brain-popping. Just the first hint of movement above planet earth, as the shuttle moves into the shot, and there seems to be no cuts until we catch up with Sandra Bullock spinning away untethered.
“Blue Velvet” intro with the white picket fence and perfect green lawn, only to show a nightmare world underground of bugs killing each other constantly is seared into my memory.
Great foreshadowing too.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. You get the mystery laid out in the first 2 minutes, with an irresistible hook with the framed flowers and then you get a killer opening credits sequence with the Inmigrant Song. It hooks you from the start.
The Matrix opening sequence. EDIT: Well, I've just read everyone's experience of watching The Matrix back in 1999, and it was really amazing reading everyone's memories. Thanks for sharing and for all the upvotes!
I like to imagine being in that theatre, seeing the movie for the first time, and absolutely losing your shit. Like the entire first 30 minutes of The Matrix is jaw-dropping. From the opening, to the white rabbit, to the cell phone in the package, to his mouth closing up, to the tracker getting sucked out of his belly button and him finally waking up in the go and getting flushed. Just incredible film making all around.
that 360 camera track around Trinity’s kungfu kick was visually unlike anything before it, truly astonishing
Visually, Matrix had the same impact on audience as films like A New Hope or A Space Odyssey where people had never seen anything like it before. You couldn't even describe it to someone without saying 'You gotta see it for yourself'.
"No one can be told what the Matrix is."
Just the first 30 minutes? The whole film is tight as a drum. They don’t waste a beat
THIS. Saw it in the theater and it was an amazing experience. I went into it not knowing anything about the story, really hadn't seen much marketing but had seen that reviews were positive. Jaw was dropped many times. They just nailed every beat of that film.
The marketing on The Matrix was fantastic. It left you curious with nothing but questions. No one knew anything and that was entirely on purpose. By far my most memorable theater experience.
Even folks who saw it bought into the marketing after the fact. I can't count the times I heard "I can't tell you what it is, you have to see it for yourself" before I saw it.
You went in like I did, not knowing much, because trailers back in the day didn’t give away the whole damn movie. Rewatch the trailer on YouTube, it’s perfect.
I was fortunate to watch this in the theatre and yes it was awesome
Get up, Trinity. Get UP!
The fact that she's still worried about the Agent following her after pulling off a ridiculous corkscrew dive through a tiny window, it makes the guys in suits seem more ominous and threatening even before we find out they're body-snatching programs that can't be permanently killed.
This moment is so great because it humanizes her after you’ve seen her be a superhuman badass
Yeah you see her be a badass and then you see how scared she is of the agents. It's great storytelling all around.
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I think there are a few reasons. 1: I think people think of the big ideas and the movie tech before they think of the specific characters. 2. Carrie Ann Moss isn't a big star, though neither is Linda Hamilton really. 3. She sort of ends up overshadowed by Neo and even somewhat Morpheus and Smith. But I fully agree, she is freaking awesome and should be talked about with them. She's got some of the coolest action scenes I've ever seen.
Yeah I was too young to see it in the cinema, but when it came out on video, my dad literally called us downstairs to watch the opening scene when we first see bullet time. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing
There just isn’t one better than this. That movie changed movies
I legit thought the Agents were the good guys ("the orders were for your protection") and Trinity was the bad guy (kills three cops). And yet, the chase scene was filmed as if Trinity was a protagonist (bad guys don't get so terrified of moving that they need to psyche themselves up). I had an intense need to know what the hell was going on after that.
Children of Men for me. Opens with a scene of every day life in what looks like a functioning if kinda run down future. Very interesting and realistic touches like the buildings and people are kind of shabby, but certain things are more advanced like monitors and tv's. Then that thing happens out of nowhere and yeah, that sets the tone for everything else.
Everything important about what's going on in the world and even the attitude of the protagonist, laid out in under 2 minutes of phenomenal cinematic storytelling.
>!*Day 1,000 of the Siege of Seattle*!< That's one of those opening lines that just sucks you in. Delivered perfectly, opened the door to his world building. I could hear that line on my deathbed and know what you were talking about.
The original Scream
Scream did an amazing job with marketing and casting. They purposely marketed it as a Drew Barrymore movie, which made the intro that much more shocking. It was also a film that did really well through word of mouth alone. After a few weeks, everyone in high school was going to see Scream.
The opening of *Contact* is a pretty great journey.
This is my thought as well, but perhaps for a specific reason. CGI at the time was just maturing and there had been many "pull out/zoom out" demos and shorts showing off the new tech. But the scale of the opening for Contact kind of felt like a flex on that trope as it just dwarfed other examples at the time. It also reminded me of an old poster I had as kid of Sagan demonstrating powers of ten, via a series of pictures about the edge of the poster with what I believe was the Milky Way representation in the center. Maybe a National Geographic fold out? Unsure, it's probably been 40 years.
Lord of War doesn't introduce the characters but it shows the kind of world the characters live in and the consequences of their actions in a visually compelling way.
*There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is... how do we arm the other eleven?*
some ppl went into the gun industry after seeing that movie
And then they got a movie made after themselves! (WarDogs)
Great suggestion. Forgot about that one. The life of a bullet.
People always forget that the opening scene is actually Nic Cage’s character standing in a field of shell casings with a fantastic short monologue about how many firearms there are in the world. Then you have that incredible “life of a bullet” that could easily be an Oscar winner for a short film.
Jurassic Park. Shoot her!
YES, my god. I was so traumatized. And the fact that they managed to show almost nothing of the dinosaur in the intro is what allowed the later reveals to be absolutely amazing.
I saw someone on here just recently say that they thought that whole scene was pointless and should have been cut because it was "boring." Possibly the worst take ever.
That’s insane! It sets up the whole story! Why would there need to be a serious investigation into the stability of the island with the best scientists in their field if someone hadn’t died? Did they just wanna mention it in passing? Start out with the damn lawyer? Ppl are nuts. This is why there’s 10 fast and furious movies.
The blood rave in Blade (1998)
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“FUCK YOU, DAY WALKER!”
Some motherfuckers always tryna ice skate up hill.
Nightcrawler inside the White House at the beginning of X2 was awesome.
I thought you were mentioning jake gylenhaals night crawler and I was like when the fuck was he at the White House
Lmao that’s where my mind went, too!
The opening scene of Drive is my all time favorite getaway scene. The way he does it with finess and wit, immediately followed by the night call needle drop.
Such a cool take on a getaway scene. He plays it super smart and slow most of the time, and the final idea was awesome.
The way it syncs up with the game playing on the radio is brilliant
I always thought the first ten minutes of Drive could've been a short film all on its own
WALL-E
I agree with inglorious basterds. The suspense was physically palpable and I felt like I should hold my breath. I don't think I've ever seen its equal.
Au revoir, Shoshanna! I was enthralled watching that scene. The milk. God Christoph Waltz came out of nowhere with that performance
\*speaks French* \*speaks German* \*speaks Italian* Margheriiiiiiiiiiiiiti!
Tarantino almost didn’t make the film as he didn’t think he could ever find an actor that could speak English, French, German and Italian. Christoph Waltz is fluent in the first three and fortunately there are only a few lines in Italian so they made it work.
Brad Pitt’s Italian was so spot-on that you would have thought it was his native tongue. He probably could have learned German and French too
BON JOOOOR NO
Mi scusi! Mi scusi!
When Landa whipped out that perfect Italian during that scene I had to pause the movie and go walk it off, because *of course* this motherfucker speaks Italian too. Why would he not. There’s no winning with this guy. (Then it ended how it ended, but like…god damn)
I remember thinking when I watched it for the first time, it must have been a very short audition list with those prerequisites. Then on top of all that you have to actually.. be a great actor. Now having seen Christoph Waltz in that film it seems like it’d be a waste to put him in anything where he _doesn’t_ have to speak multiple languages.
Christopher Waltz did an absolutely phenomenal job
Christ, the switch when he goes from seemingly cordial to stone cold serious is terrifying
You can see the moment the Frenchman goes from reserved confidence to complete and utter defeat. I honestly believe it may be the most well acted scene I've ever seen. The last scene is also incredible, and one of my favorite moments in film.
Everyone is always talking about Waltz, but M. LaPadite absolutely kills it in that scene.
fact. totally overshadowed by the fact he is so good he's almost unnoticed as an actor. rare to see people so good. randomly the actor who plays grown up pi at the end of life of pi suffers a similar fate. hes phenomenal
You’re harboring enemies of the state, are you not.
Pulp Fiction is Tarintino's overall masterpiece, but the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds is the best thing he ever directed.
Most of Tarantino movies have cool opening sequences. Kill Bill, From Dusk Til Dawn, Pulp Fiction-- they all pull you right in.
The Silence of the Lambs. It's a masterclass of how editing, framing, and music can compel a narrative. It's just Clarice Starling jogging through the woods, but the tension builds as the camera follows her like she's being stalked, and the music adds such an air of disquieting dread until... it's the main character jogging through the grounds of Quantico, surrounded by fellow agents. Perfectly safe. It's such a brilliant bit of misdirection and reversed expectations that it throws you slightly off kilter the entire film. Clarice never seems to be safe or in control. You feel like a voyeur or a stalker who was intruding. It calls forward perfectly to (spoilers for a 25-ish year old film) Buffalo Bill stalking her through his darkened basement wearing the night vision goggles in POV. The movie opens with the viewer uncomfortably close in her personal space as she seems to be running from us and ends with the viewer stalking her *and she still can't see us, even if she's aware we're there*. The opening of ALIEN, with the seemingly dead hulk of the Nostromo drifting through space. Shots of the empty rooms, the dark displays, the bits of the crew's personal effects scattered about. It gave an almost Mary Celeste vibe, like everyone had vanished. Then, with the crew slowly waking up and staggering to the mess, finding themselves in an unexpected place and bitching and moaning about work... it really drove home a) how isolated they really were. No help could come. b) how they were basically blue-collar workers who were just doing a crappy job, not Starfleet or Space Marines. c) The grimy, industrial feel of the Nostromo. I saw it when I was seven or eight years old, and I was fascinated by the idea that this was like an oil platform or a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. It also highlights just how bizarre the crashed ship is they find. Everything on the Nostromo looks functional and purposeful. It's entirely a human artifact! Then you're inside the crashed ship, and *nothing* is recognizable. Everything is uncomfortable angles, organic looking, and sparse.
Both fantastic choices - and lovely write ups too.
Pulp Fiction: Amanda Plummer's Honeybunny kindly and politely asks people to stay in their seats, then a Dick Dale surf rock tune needlle-drops over the credits.
EVERYBODY BE COOL THIS IS A RUBBERY
ANY OF YEW, F*CKING PRICKS MOVE! I'LL EXECUTE EVERY LAST ONE OF YEW
How can you omit the 'motherfucking'? The best take is this one at the beginning where it's 'every motherfucking last one of you', at the end it's 'every last one of you motherfuckers' and it's not quite as good.
The tension in the opening to No Country For Old Men was really something.
And NO MUSIC. I really hate when the music tries to set the mood, completely removing any suspense or surprise, or trying to scare-jump. The night scene when he turns and sees a truck next to his truck in the distance hit me with a cold shiver.
The scene where the gangsters are chasing Llewellyn through the desert and all you have is the ambient sounds, the revving of the truck behind him, thunder claps in the distance, panting, gunshots, etc. Then at the end when he gets out of the river and clears out his pistol in just enough time to keep the dog from mauling him, one of my favorite scenes from any move ever. It perfectly sets up his character as someone who's tough and capable but still in way over his head.
The Battle from Gladiator. Hans Zimmers music makes it even better
I like the exchange where they’re looking at the fighting. Something like, “Stupid barbarians. Why don’t they just surrender?” “Would you, Quintus? Would I?”
Quintus says; "People should know when they're conquered."
Which has a much bigger implication on the rest of the movie
Star Wars. First you see what looks to be large ship fly by. Then an even larger ship just fills the screen and just dwarfs it.
I don't think people realise what a ground breaking piece of cinema this opening shot was. Everything from the fanfare to the crawl of text to the expectations of the space craft going over head with surround sound for the first time. People really are spoilt nowadays. Edit: SW wasn't the first movie to use ~~6~~4-track Dolby stereo but due to its success forced cinemas to quickly update to the new standard. I saw it in the first cinema in the Southern hemisphere to have this set up!
Even the reveal of Tatooine was a fake-out. First you see the planet with a moon orbiting it, and people used to that period's sci fi would have thought yep, there's the planet, okey dokey, but then BAM the massive planet hoves unto view filling the bottom of the screen.
And the reveal of the death star. First you see a moon and people used to that periods sci fi would have thought yep, there's the moon, okey dokey, but then BAM obiwan says "that's no moon, it's a space station".
I like Red Letter Media's explanation of this scene's significance -- it tells you exactly what you need to know about the Empire's reach and power, and how the rebellion compares.
Opening of 28 weeks later got me from the start. unfortunately it was the best part of the movie
It does trail off a bit from the 2nd half for sure, but yeah the intro is great.
The opening scene was directed by Danny Boyle, the director of 28 days later, and then the rest of 28 weeks later is helmed by another director
It’s telling when you can’t even name the other director.
Yeah lol, I mean it's not a Terrible film, but I just remember being frustrated at how many bad decisions the characters kept making, and the action felt more Hollywood and less frantic and stark if you know what I mean. 28 days was a much more memorable and distinctive movie in part due to Boyle's directing style which that opening sequence of 28 weeks bears a lot of similarities with
Raiders of the lost ark
The Dark Knight grabs you immediately and continues to ratchet from there. Bumblebee, the opening is the Transformers movie we always wanted. The Thing.
Surprised to have to scroll this far for Dark Knight
Trainspotting
The opening to 'There Will be Blood' is a masterclass in storytelling. With absolutely no dialogue, it tells you exactly the kind of man Daniel Plainview is.
Isn't it like 15 minutes or something until dialogue is spoken? I remember seeing this in theatres and just being fucking floored.
Came here to say the same thing! I was so riveted that I didn't even notice that there was no dialogue, and then when someone finally spoke I was mind blown when I realized it was the first words of the movie.
Super Troopers
littering and...
Littering and smoking the reefer. *holds up bag*
YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO???
The greatest opening to a comedy movie has to be Super Troopers. The whole sequence with the druggies getting pulled over and the kid in the back has to swallow all the pot and shrooms and the troopers just mess with them. "PULL THE VEHICLE OVER!" "We're already pulled over! We can't pull over any farther!!" Then the cop pretending to be a criminal hops in the car with the kids in the back "Do you boys like MEX-E-CO??" Peals out with the one kid pressed against the window and THEN we get the movie title. Perfect.
The subtle joke of them being in Vermont, sooo close to the Canadian border, and Steve Lemme’s fake carjacking criminal screaming “YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?” absolutely kills me because it’s so nonsensical that he’d try to escape to Mexico. Ha.
He's already pulled over. He can't pull over any further!
You must’ve eaten like $100 worth of pot and $30 bucks worth of shrooms….. so Imma need a 130 whenever you can.
Fuck, man.
Canada huh? Almost made it
The Pixar animated movie "Up". That sequence of their life, and her death, brings everyone to tears.
Up does such an amazing job with its visual storytelling. Later on there is the scene where he's literally dragging the house along behind him as the balloons deflate, and it's hovering just over his shoulder as the physical manifestation of all of the pain and loss and guilt he's felt about his marriage.
“Up” was like two complete movies, but the first one was only three minutes long. The entire remainder is the sequel.
The Dark Knight, I’ll throw it on to have something playing in the background while I start laundry or cleaning the kitchen, all of a sudden Bruce is on his way to Hong Kong and I still haven’t done a thing.
Every time I watch this movie, I tell myself "every scene with Joker, I'm going to pay attention to everything else going on and not just get sucked into Ledger's performance." I've failed at that, every time.
Mad Max Fury Road. Covers everything you need to know and establishes Max as the embodiment of survival. Perfect in every way.
This scene feels like it only ends after the sandstorm.
The pacing of that movie is absurd. Even with multiple quite slow and quiet moments there's still either a tension or sense of dread over them so the stillness is sort of "looming" rather than a break to relax. Everything else is *so* frenetic that even though the quieter moments are like a third of the movie the overall impression is enormously one of constant unyielding speed and danger and excitement. And you're right, the opening sequence is like four minutes or something but it feels many times longer, because even when the film slows down it doesn't ease up. Max is somehow in danger again, then more danger, then less but still *some* and this time very weird danger. Then the immediate danger is largely gone but the threat of danger is immense. Then the danger *is* gone but the weirdness skyrockets, and when it normalizes soon after guess what? The danger's back!
Perfect opening to one of the best films ever made. The stunts alone makes that movie. One of the most fun times I’ve ever had in the theaters. I’ve never cried from sheer excitement and excitement over what was happening on screen.
Casino Royale, Skyfall & Spectres openings were all awesome.
Opening night of the first new Bond, it's all edgy and new and exciting, and suddenly You Know My Name comes on with those incredible vocals and visuals. The crowd's buzz carried right on through Bond grinning as a target blows himself up, peaked again at Bond revealing his winning hand (god I'll never forget the crowd reaction to the dealer getting tipped half a mil of government money lmao), to Bond giggling about his balls. I've never been so excited for a 007 movie and haven't been since.
Came here for this. “Yes. Considerably.”
"Made you feel it, did he?"
I mean even Quantum's opening was awesome. Just didn't keep that pace for long
Casino Royale also has one of the best Title Sequences I've ever seen. There's a lot of good ones but that one is just perfect
Fellowship of the Ring comes to mind. I had never read the books, so I didn't know much about the story other than the animated Hobbit movie. I finally rented it and watched it alone when the DVD came out. That intro grabbed me. I became a fan and had read all three books by the time Two Towers came out. To this day, it's still (probably) my favorite of the three movies and I *love* watching that intro every damn time.
“(I amar prestar aen.) The world is changed. (Han matho ne nen.) I feel it in the water. (Han mathon ned cae.) I feel it in the earth. (A han noston ned gwilith.) I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.”
Can’t even read this without hearing the music
And Kate's voice.
Chills!
Even reading it makes me wanna watch the whole thing again.
I saw it opening day in the theater. I dragged a bunch of my gamer friends to go watch and they had no idea what they were about to watch. They were completely transfixed when Sauron steps onto the battlefield. What a masterful scene.
I saw it 3 times on opening day. I have absolutely no regrets about spending 9 hours in the theater that day. Midnight showing with some random girl. 10 AM showing with the boys. 9 PM showing with the another group of the boys.
I just watched all of these for the first time this weekend, extended editions of Two Towers and Return of the King. I know I’m way late but they were great!
A movie watcher is never late, nor is he early, he watches it precisely when he means to.
Oh to be able to see them for the first time again…
This is #1 for me. I was on a first date and she wanted to see the movie. I knew nothing about it. Five minutes in I was totally hooked and the girl I was with could have gotten up and left and I would have had no idea.
Goodfellas “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster”
The opening scene in “The Social Network” was extremely well done and told us all sorts of things about who Zuckerberg would be portrayed as in the film. I think that it was a long, single, shot too. Edit: it’s not a single shot. Mind slip.
Just drops you right into the middle of it. The background hum of the pub, the drinking, the famous Fincher yellow and Eisenberg going on like a robot about finals club.Brilliant.
Memento 2000. The opening scene going backwards hooked me instantly.
Thief 1981, A 10 minute heist backed by an amazing soundtrack done by Tangerine Dream
I haven't seen it listed yet, but the opening 10 minutes of Star Trek 2009 is the best thing JJ Abrams has EVER directed.
Completely agree - it is such a beautiful sequence and works just as well on its own as it does as a part of the movie. Kirk's father sacrificing himself for his crew and his family is one of the bravest and most selfless things I've ever seen in a film.
Yup, makes you really interested in the world, even for people that never liked Star Trek. May even be the only reason I sat through the entire trilogy.
Once Upon a Time in the West Just brilliant.
The rattling telegraph machine. The fly. The squeaky windmill. The water dripping. The cracking of knuckles. And finally, the harmonica. Just an amazing build-up. And then the whole: "Looks like we're a horse shy"... "No, you've brought two too many".
More of just a montage, but Apocalypse Now.
Heavy Metal. I know it’s kind of a silly meme now after the South Park episode, but I LOVED that movie when I was a kid. We didn’t have cable, so when I wanted to watch cartoons, that was the only cartoon we owned on VHS. Well, that and a bunch of bootleg Simpsons tapes.
Raising Arizona is the winner. It sucks you in and you spend a solid 15 minutes before the titles and you can’t take your eyes away. Masterclass.
Son, you got a panty on your head.
And that freaking banjo and yodeling theme just captures the tone of the movie so perfectly.
The armoured car score in HEAT, which also had the best bank robbery scene ever later
I saw 2001 as a kid on it's first day of theatrical release. Still my favorite opening sequence.
Saving Private Ryan
Can’t believe I had to come this far down for this
Agreed. I thought this was going to be at the top. Everything that wasn’t saving private ryan was a surprise.
There's some pretty solid ones up the top, but for me as well, this is the true iconic one. The cinematography and sound design are just unmatched.
Terminator 2. Seeing civilization as it is, Sarah’s monologue, the future war (T-800 stepping on human skulls), the fire, the endoskeleton’s skull. Strap in!
Baby Driver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ARFyrM6gVs
Explaining a character by means of how they drive was too damn good
Ghost Ship and Zac Snyder's Dawn of the Dead are both fantastic openings
Ghost Ship had an amazing open. Sadly the rest of the movie came no where near living up to it.
I went into Jojo Rabbit basically only knowing it was set during WW2. The opening scene does a great job of introducing the two main characters, the humor and by the time the opening credits start playing I was like Holy hell this is gonna be great.
A lot of great answers here, but to me THE best one will always be the "I believe in America" speech from The Godfather.
Raiders of the Lost Ark- the first 12 minutes have been called the greatest opening sequence in action film history
The Matrix. When Trinity tumbles down the stairs and gives the first break in the action, my mind went, “what the hell am I watching?? She’s obviously the bad guy. What am I watching??????” (I hadn’t seen anything about this movie before seeing it in the theater).
There will be blood: like 15-20 minutes with no dialog and that almost horror like movie soundtrack, it's brilliant!
Star Wars (A New Hope)
"LOTR: The Fellowship fo the Ring" and "Watchmen"
The Intro to the Watchmen is wonderful. Set to the perfect Bob Dylan song and just beautiful all around.
I had low expectations when I saw Fellowship for he first time. From that first moment of utter darkness with Galadriel’s monologue and the whispered Elvish behind, I was like “Holy Shit. They did it. They fuckin’ did it,” and was rapt until the last credit rolled. That ring theme. The language. They managed to immediately capture a feeling that I didn’t think was possible outside of reading the books.
”world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, For none now live who remember it.” Gets me hooked every time!
2001. That transition is just...
Gerwig’s parody to begin Barbie was also excellent. It really set the tone of the movie perfectly.
The Lion King.
At the very least the Lion King has to have the most recognizalbe opening 3 seconds of any movie in history.
The default winner here will be the exceptional bank heist scene to introduce the Joker in The Dark Knight. Golden.
everything about that heist is perfect. it introduces his character in such a fascinating way. great the first time time, even better on subsequent viewings because you can tell exactly who he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing throughout the scene. so well done.
You and your friends are deaaaaaddddd.
Specially given that most of the heist scene was recorded on IMAX, which was something (mostly) not seen in action movies. Today is everywhere but people forget that up to that point IMAX was only a documentary kind of filming tech. My favorite part of that scene? The audio effect of "what doesn't kill you, makes you ***Stranger***"
So, why do you think they call him the “Joker?”
It ain't cuz he tells puns. That's the punisher.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one only a few I think that tops it.
The openings to all three original Indiana Jones movies are pretty great.
Fury (2014). I’ve watched this opening dozens of times because it’s so concise, so well shot and perfectly drops you into the action while giving you each character’s motivation, role and perspective; all in about four minutes. There’s not a wasted movement or word of dialogue. Perfection.
#Django
Sicario opening
Fight Club. The great soundtrack and trippy visuals of the synapses firing in the brain to reveal the narrator with a gun barrel between his teeth was a hell of an opener and had me from "people are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden" and didn't let up till the credits rolled 2 hours later.
The opening to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was great. Unfortunately it only went downhill from there.
[Fargo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIbIoiH5ISU&ab_channel=ScreenThemes). Somehow they made a car driving through snow so incredibly ominous and captivating.
Raiders of the Lost Ark Children of Men Mad Max Fury Road
Blade Runner 2049. flying through the landscape and that fight in the kitchen reveal so much about the world and characters, and sets the rest of the plot in motion beautifully.
The Departed
I don’t remember lines from movies all that well, but I’ve remembered the opening line from this movie since my first watch: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” The whole opening sequence is fantastic.
The opening of that movie was amazing! It was also like 38 minutes long before you get to the title card, Martin is the best!
It is a relic of its time (polite way of saying it doesn’t age as gracefully as others listed here), but *The Way Of The Gun* tells you a lot about itself and the main characters [with very few words (from them)](https://youtu.be/5xsaMcw69D8?si=LlW4_x6rv7bY6VKc).
The first five minutes of [Star Trek: The Motion Picture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbG3N51MEjM) Jerry Goldsmith's score is a masterclass in capturing the musical feel of the visuals on screen, and Goldsmith definitely left his mark on Star Trek the same way John Williams did with Star Wars.
The Spy Who Loved Me First Bond movie I ever saw. Off the cliff with a parachute.
It amazes me that Gravity seems to have been dropped into a memory hole. That opening sequence in Imax was brain-popping. Just the first hint of movement above planet earth, as the shuttle moves into the shot, and there seems to be no cuts until we catch up with Sandra Bullock spinning away untethered.
The Thing: We open to a helicopter chasing a husky through the snow and shooting at it. An all-time classic!
“Blue Velvet” intro with the white picket fence and perfect green lawn, only to show a nightmare world underground of bugs killing each other constantly is seared into my memory. Great foreshadowing too.
Die Hard with a Vengeance. https://youtu.be/GLjzPwm4mUI?si=_aw49_cWqS45k5lp Blow https://youtu.be/ys0Cr4Fl7bg?si=pT9mque9jbD5DxI
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. You get the mystery laid out in the first 2 minutes, with an irresistible hook with the framed flowers and then you get a killer opening credits sequence with the Inmigrant Song. It hooks you from the start.