Best film intro

Colash

Iv watched a good few flicks in my time and I must admit film intros is what makes or breaks it for me . I haven't decided on my favourite yet but the other night I watched two old greats , and their intros along with the help of surround sound speakers , really blew me away . I've watched them hundreds of times previously in the past and never really noticed the intros until now and how good they are ... Top Gun and Days of Thunder ... I took a bit of a cruise sidewinder haha

ScummyMan

More of an opening scene than an intro I suppose, but the start of Full Metal Jacket is brilliant.

PlanIT Computing

In more recent times, Drive. Not sure on all time favourite

melekalikimaka

The Fall

Bacchus

A few off the top of my head...

The Matrix - I remember seeing this for the first time, with no expectation of what the movie was about. That first bullet time shot with Trinity changed action movies forever.

Sinister - Watched this recently and while it's not a fantastic horror movie, it has an unbelievably tense, foreboding atmosphere, perfectly set up by that freaky opening scene.

WALL-E - Not just the opening scene, but the opening 20 minutes or so where it's just WALL-E all alone on Earth. Some of the best work to come out of Pixar IMO.

Bacchus

PlanIT Computing wrote: »

In more recent times, Drive. Not sure on all time favourite

The intro to Drive was cool alright, mostly about the music for me. Unfortunately the rest of the movie didn't live up to that opening scene for me.

Bigtoe107

In recent times Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, but my favorite ever is once upon a time in the west

syklops

I see nobody mentioned Raiders of the Lost Ark yet. I am disappoint.

jonnyfingers

I always liked the opening to X-Men 2.

And for some reason I still have vivid memories of the opening scene from Star Trek: Generations. That credits scene were a bottle of champagne is seemingly floating aimlessly through space while the music builds has stuck with me ever since.

Antar Bolaeisk

The opening of Star Wars, the fanfare, the scrolling text, the mahoosive ship that just kept coming flying overhead.

berettaman

Great thread!

Once upon a time in the west . Deffo . The pacing. The back story behind it. class.

Raiders of the lost ark too as mentioned. What about Temple of Doom.

When does an opening sequence become a set piece?

vex

The intro to Fight Club :cool:

Colash

Over the top with sly Stallone ... Kenny loggins song at the start really suits the intro

fluke

I can't find a decent youtube link to it but Streets of Fire (1984) has a great opening. It's over the top and exciting. The rest of the film is pants though.

callaway92

vex wrote: »

The intro to Fight Club :cool:

Top class

My choice is the intro to Catch Me If You Can (the music I use when looking for my cat)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLDyrun_Cc

check_six

First ten minutes of Pixar's Up. A brilliant short film in itself. I don't know how much attention the kids pay to it, but watching it as a grown-up, wow! (Carl and Ellie's relationship since they were children through to old age).

The opening scenes of most Bond movies are pretty spectacular. My favourite is Goldfinger. Everything you need to know about Bond inside of ten minutes. Bond infiltrates some kind of industrial plant (initially disguised as a duck!), plants some explosives, switches into his evening suit, strolls into a bar cool as you like as all hell breaks loose outside, gets the beautiful girl, who doublecrosses him, electrocutes a thug in a bath, and delivers a classic oneliner ("Shocking, positively shocking").

Saving Private Ryan's D-Day landings was kinda jaw dropping watching on the big screen with all kind of explosion noises going off all around.

nix

Springbreakers

krudler

Some personal faves:

The Thing, Ennio Morricone's haunting score playing over the chopper chasing the dog through the snow, you've no idea why at that point but you know somethings up.

The Warriors: With the various gangs assembling and getting to the park on the subways and bridges,sets up the whole story in the first couple of minutes and is cool as hell.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: probably the best opening to a summer blockbuster ever.

I'm sure I'll think of loads though :pac:

saintsaltynuts

The opening to the Phantom Menace was great..shame about the rest of the film.

mike65

+ 1 to The Warriors, Barry De Vorzans music is the ultimate in 70s urban cool.

Not sure what an into is though. The opening scene or opening credits? either/or?

A Touch of Evil (1958) is rightly celebrated for its walking camera opening in night time Mexico.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg8MqjoFvy4

castletownman

The opening of Watchmen is phenomenal. When Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changing hits, it gives me goosebumps. Favourite movie intro ever

krudler

Goodfellas is a good shout, a brutal murder and some cool titles set the scene well.

harris33

heat,de niro,pacino great flim

Pierce_1991

Opening scene in Desperado. Buscemi is great.

cson

There Will Be Blood.

Don't think a word is spoken for a good 30 mins.

Saving Private Ryan too, you can feel the tension ("30 SECONDS")

krudler

Saving Private Ryan is a good shout, the rest of the movie has its problems but the opening is as visceral and terrifying a war scene as ever put on film, I remember seeing it in the cinema and everyone just sat there dead silent afterwards.

e_e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw-juxQ5Sj4

Gives me goosebumps.

krudler

Irreversible is pretty memorable, between the ending credits opening the film by playing backwards and the dizzying journey through the nightclub its a gruelling beginning to a film, Enter The Void too, mmm, epilepsy inducing credits...

Myrddin

I remember the first 10 mins of 28 Weeks Later in the cinema, the escape from the Cottage...the music built & built and became so loud, twas class

Colash

cson wrote: »

There Will Be Blood.

Don't think a word is spoken for a good 30 mins.

Saving Private Ryan too, you can feel the tension ("30 SECONDS")

There will be blood gets my vote also . Day Lewis at his best

saintsaltynuts

The Dark Knight Rises plane breakout scene at the start.

blue note

Lots of great ones mentioned already.

Prometheus is an opening scene that really struck me. It was just an incredible Alien / semi human / prehistoric landscape (I think it was actually just Iceland!). It seemed religious, primal, sacrificial and generally mysterious.

That said, I watched it on the small, old telly during the week and didn't find it all that incredible. One for the big screen I suppose.

krudler

saintsaltynuts wrote: »

The Dark Knight Rises plane breakout scene at the start.

A great stunt scene even if it make zero sense in the story

Can't believe I forgot the opening of Jaws, otherwise known as how to put an entire generation off swimming in the ocean :pac:

kingtiger

opening scene of Casino

onliner

The Inside Man with Clive Owen and some great music

check_six

Werner Herzog's "Aguirre, Wrath of God" has a very striking intro. The camera moves in towards an Andean mountain that is wreathed in mist. As the mountain becomes clearer you can see a conquistador army threading its way down it along a tiny winding path. The men are struggling with horses, and cannons, and sedan chairs, and the mountain itself. There is a haunting musical score over the top.

Knowing some of Herzog's methods you just know those guys aren't acting being wrecked and labouring with the equipment, they've probably been marched for days to get that one shot. It's well worth tracking down the clip on your favourite video sharing site if you are not familiar with it. The rest of the movie is great too, if you like your crazy Peruvian river adventures, with Klaus Kinski on top mad-eyed form.

s_carnage

Always liked the Life of a Bullet opening scene from Lord of War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxuHiiIFlec

dilallio

Lars von Trier's Antichrist.

jill_valentine

castletownman wrote: »

The opening of Watchmen is phenomenal. When Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changing hits, it gives me goosebumps. Favourite movie intro ever

It's a shame the rest of it is pants, but I agree. I would give a nod to his Dawn of the Dead intro too - not quite as spectacular, although the film itself is better.

Somebody upthread mentioned X Men 2, I actually found the concentration camp intro to the first X Men haunting. You're rooting for him to manage it, but you know better:

.jacksparrow.

Terminator 2, can't believe hasn't been mentioned yet.

1tak

This one is the best EVAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

In terms of setting the mood for the rest of the film, Apocalypse Now has to have one of the best first few minutes in cinema history!!

norrie rugger

I have two (three)

Serenity for the way they give a background for Simon and River (while introducing the stone cold Operative)
Followed by that awesome single take throughout the length of the ship.

Star Trek 2009 for George Kirk, that opening was IMO better than the rest of the film.




Oh and Up!. The first 20 minutes is some of the best storytelling and bitter sweet images.

pookiesboo

Surely this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okpCx87orOA

pookiesboo

Or Amelie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgJgQrdxsY

e_e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyaj2P-dSi8

Best use of black and white ever?

Looper007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz9vgtXq_Hs

A simple speech, With footage of riots in Paris with The wailers Burnin' and looting on the soundtrack brilliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvzNWuzI9Y

Bond at it's best.

the baby bull elephant

Maybe a bit strange but from ones not mentioned already Layer Cake, The Departed and Equilibrium.

grohlisagod

2001: A Space Odyssey opening is one of my favourites.

quickbeam

If it's opening credits we're talking then I'd have to go for Lord of War as already mentioned - the bullet's eye view of its journey from factory to head, all to a great soundtrack.

If it's opening scene then I'd have to go with the opening of Children of Men. Sets the premise of the world we're entering perfectly - the death of the world's youngest person and people's grief over it, and then .... bang, when you're not expecting it the coffee shop blows up - and all in one streamlined take.

Marty McFly

Two that haven't been mentioned yet

Battle Royale: Such a powerful opening scene that really sets the tone for the film with that somewhat shocking shot of the little girl holding a teddy bear smiling and covered in blood.

Intermission: As much as I didnt enjoy the film the opening scene was brilliant so unexpected.