Iconic Film Openings

[Harmony]

Hopefully we can have some fun with this.  Please try to post a YT clip so we all can enjoy them.

So for me - my favorites usually revolve around an iconic song.  But not always

Speilberg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whkbSHrR8zs

Badham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM_rwTKSxJ4

Scorsese

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sC6f-Qbmhs

Kasdan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az-VjJLwn2I

Coen bros

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1epEtB0lVo

Fosse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2e9acreKmQ

Heckerling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrmbKv7FQA

[El Barto]

My pick for Scorcese is violent enough that I won't post it, but suffice it to say, "as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster." Though if we're talking about the entire first 5-10 minutes Casino might win out.

Fast Times was one of the first things I thought of. Winner.

All-time favorite is probably Coppola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntPHFVWDIqM
Gorgeous and depressing, and an iconic song certainly does make a difference.

Also, since all of Tarantino's films have a great opening scene, I'll go with one that isn't Basterds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igATSoUU954

[Cool Chris]

Fast Times was one of the first things I thought of. Winner.

Had to think about this for a second, and needed YouTube to verify what I thought the opening was. Good pick.

All-time favorite is probably Coppola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntPHFVWDIqM
Gorgeous and depressing, and an iconic song certainly does make a difference.

Probably not surprising to you, this was the first film that came to my mind. Next up in my mind, another Coppola film, "I believe in America..."

[faizoff]

So many iconic opening scenes I can think . All the ones linked are fantastic.

Another Spielberg one I would highlight is Saving Private Ryan. This scene skips a couple of mins and then begins what is one of the most visceral war scenes.

The Matrix by the Wachowskis, undoubtedly set the bar for action movies.


I could go on and on, will wait for others to post more.

[Chino]

The intro to contact is probably my favorite.
https://youtu.be/EWwhQB3TKXA   

And the opening scene to Gladiator is pretty rad and gets an honorable mention:
https://youtu.be/mtdsFKFigl8

[soupytwist]

Scream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn5SkCvPEYo

[Kingly Gizz & Liz Wiz Bizzy]

The 1st 1/2 scene from Saving Private Ryan sent me for a loop. Not like your romantic versions of war we saw from older movies.

[Harmony]

The intro to contact is probably my favorite.
https://youtu.be/EWwhQB3TKXA   

Oh yes - I can't believe I forgot this one.  So amazing.

A couple more:

Ashby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3taMrJZ6p8


Pakula

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbVqs_2cn_4

[Stadler]

So many iconic opening scenes I can think . All the ones linked are fantastic.

Another Spielberg one I would highlight is Saving Private Ryan. This scene skips a couple of mins and then begins what is one of the most visceral war scenes.

The Matrix by the Wachowskis, undoubtedly set the bar for action movies.


I could go on and on, will wait for others to post more.

The first 45 minutes of Saving Private Ryan is probably the most intense 45 minutes of cinema I've ever seen in the theater.  I literally sweat through my shirt it was so intense. 

For a ten year old boy at the movies with his dad, this was pretty special:
https://youtu.be/tRX4JFWffkM

[Adami]

One of the first things that pops into my head.



The Lion King opening.

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

[El Barto]

Speaking of forgetting, I always thought this was the perfect movie opening. It's fun to watch, fun to listen to, and actually shows you the crime at the beginning of the movie Penn and Teller style. No idea why they split it between the opening scene and the title sequence. The shift from the great French ballad to the textbook Mancini theme is a huge part of what makes it so wonderful.

Blake Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC_s4gyIqag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxBJfuSnmls&t=32s

[Phoenix87x]

Terminator 2 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHKxoARmjLU&ab_channel=FlashbackFM

[jingle.boy]

Also, since all of Tarantino's films have a great opening scene, I'll go with one that isn't Basterds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igATSoUU954

Reservoir Dogs for me.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvFZUOn1TCs

[contest_sanity]

my favorites usually revolve around an iconic song 

ICONIC SONG YOU SAY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNEeyYp4fyg

[Zantera]

The Matrix?

[KevShmev]

Also, since all of Tarantino's films have a great opening scene, I'll go with one that isn't Basterds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igATSoUU954

Great pick. I have to admit that the first one I thought of was Tarantino, and it was Jackie Brown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivKGY-zAa1g

Of course, it borrows heavily from The Graduate, but the song choice (110th Street, great song) and Pam Grier both make this awesome.

[T-ski]

Love these two opening scenes from John Carpenter…

Halloween https://youtu.be/-3KwxcCA-bs

The Fog https://youtu.be/CsYFEFh5RWo

[jammindude]

We’re not having this conversation without mentioning Star Wars ANH.

That very first visual of the Star Destroyer on the big screen was unprecedented at the time.  That clip should be in the dictionary under the definition of “massive”.

[Stadler]

We’re not having this conversation without mentioning Star Wars ANH.

That very first visual of the Star Destroyer on the big screen was unprecedented at the time.  That clip should be in the dictionary under the definition of “massive”.

Didn't I list that?

[jammindude]

We’re not having this conversation without mentioning Star Wars ANH.

That very first visual of the Star Destroyer on the big screen was unprecedented at the time.  That clip should be in the dictionary under the definition of “massive”.

Didn't I list that?

So you did! 

I read the SPR blurb and then totally missed your link.

Though to be fair, you didn’t specify in writing what it was. 

In any event, it was worth mentioning twice.

[Architeuthis]

Return of the Jedi is epic.
The.opening scene  where the commander welcomes Darth Vader.

Commander:  "Lord Vader, we are honored by your Presence! "
Darth Vader: "You can dispense with the pleasantries Commander,  I'm here to get you back on schedule". 

[XJDenton]

Spaceballs

James Bond's opening sequences are mostly excellent.

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings

Inglourious Basterds

[El Barto]

James Bond's opening sequences are mostly excellent.

Good call. I'd probably go with Spy Who Loved Me, myself, but they were generally all good.

I actually watched a documentary on Tom Cruise doing a similar stunt for one of the MI moves. He spent months training, they used CAD to design the ramp, gathered weather data, used countless cameras, and all sorts of high-tech stuff. Dude in TSWLM pretty much just found the right mountain, hired a helicopter for one day, and said "We'd better hurry, a storm's rolling in fast." 

[Kingly Gizz & Liz Wiz Bizzy]

Slap Shot. That interview gets me every time.

[bosk1]

As a fan of spy thrillers, including the Bond films, the play on that genre in the opening sequence of True Lies was brilliant.  Might not quite qualify as "iconic," but it was still excellent. 

[El Barto]

As a fan of spy thrillers, including the Bond films, the play on that genre in the opening sequence of True Lies was brilliant.  Might not quite qualify as "iconic," but it was still excellent.

Good call. James Cameron doing a send up of a Bond opening is an incredible thing. True Lies was a fantastic film that really only suffered for being 20 minutes too long.

[XJDenton]

As a fan of spy thrillers, including the Bond films, the play on that genre in the opening sequence of True Lies was brilliant.  Might not quite qualify as "iconic," but it was still excellent.

Good call. James Cameron doing a send up of a Bond opening is an incredible thing. True Lies was a fantastic film that really only suffered for being 20 minutes too long.

Damn, I need to watch that movie again.