Monty Python and The Holy Grail.
The Dark Knight.
Akira.
robert siodmak’s “the killers” ; lubitsch’s “to be or not to be”
A few:
I agree with Pete…ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST’s opening was excellent. It was obvious that Sergio Leone was a true cinephile himself.
It’s been mentioned a lot, but MAGNOLIAs is great.
CASINO ROYALE had an thrilling way of introducing James Bond in a way we never had imagined him before…a rookie that is learning first hand that it is difficult to kill a man.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE left a good impression.
But the one I first thought to add was the first scene in Todd Solondz’s HAPPINESS. Granted, it had a lot to do with where I was in my own life when I first saw it, but it floored me. Without a doubt the best role Jon Lovitz ever took. That first scene left more of an impression than the remaining 2+ hours.
I’m sure I missed other great ones.
Blue Velvet still has my favourite opening sequence, without question.
It’s the first one that comes to mind, anyway.
Raising Arizona. I really wish the rest of the movie was as incredible as the pre-credit sequence, although it comes close a few times. Oh, and The Lion King. That shit is majestic.
raising arizona was pretty sweet.
“when there was no crawdad to be had, we ate sand.”
“you ate what?”
“we ate sand.”
“you ate sand.”
“that’s right.”
amazing.
X-Men. Yes X-Men!
The opening scene of Fellini’s 8 1/2 for some reason the opening to George Romero’s Season of the Witch.
The opening of Seven Beauties (1975) is pretty hard to top.
One among many: “All the Real Girls”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et3e6Ol1_Ew
a lot of great ones mentioned here, but I would like to call attention to the opening of Spike Lee’s He Got Game. Cinematographer Malik Sayeed’s images of people all over America shooting hoops over that Aaron Copland music (“John Henry”) leave an indelible imprint on my mind forever. So much so that when I use to have the vhs, I would watch just the opening over & over again. It was almost as if the music enhanced the images & the images complimented the music. It was one to remember.
The opening shot/scene of The Sacrifice nearly made me cry.
A Clockwork Orange!!!!!!!!!
I’d like to fourth RAISING ARIZONA’s seemingly endless pre-title sequence. Great.
Probably Apocalypse Now… both the visuals and music have a way of sticking in the mind, even years after its release.
‘Sawdust and Tinsel’, ‘Lolitia’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’
Ah, how could I forget Hitchcock — “North by Northwest” and “Vertigo” are perfect opening/title sequences.
Aguirre the Wrath of God: “On this river, God never finished his creation.”
A Clockwork Orange
The Dark Knight
Star Wars
american psycho
Rushmore’s opening sequence is great. it feels so real and so silly at the same time.
Somebody just said it but the opening to Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties is amazing. It’s also a rare example of an instance where a dub (the English one) is as good, if not better, than the original audio.
Robot Carnival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VEzgkMMsQ
La Bête Humaine
The Conversation
Tokyo Drifter
The Searchers
Lacombe Lucien
Cry Baby
Le Mépris
Le grand blue by Luc Besson has a black and white opening sequence that’s really beautiful with children running downhill taking a narrow street in a typical Greek village studded with white houses, talking in French and Italian, diving into the waters, etc. The a decade or more later, the film reopens in color.
The nekkid young women in the steam-filled locker room in “Carrie”.
Ghost
Birth
Dog Day Afternoon
I like many of the opening sequences you guys mentioned, but I must recall the first minutes of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable”. That wonderfull one shot sequence when Elijah is born and the doctor becomes horrified, finding the newborn with his arms and legs broken, is a spine chilling start, masterfully put to life with a beautiful use of a mirror. Truly outstanding.
Brazil (The Final Cut) – Opens with a short commercial and then an explosion- its brilliant.
The Mission – Natives throw a crucified man into the river
Blue Velvet – The bugs left a lasting impression
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.
Wall-E
Pete OHara
Once Upon A Time In The West… The 3 men waiting for the train. The Train wipes to reveal Charles Bronson playing the harmonica. Each character Bronson, Henry Fonda and Jason Robards are given these dramatic reveals to their characters at the start of the film… Brilliant