Seven Samurai is certainly right up near the top of the list. Not only the first scene(s), but the entire problem of the 3 1/2 hour film is set up in the first ten minutes. Quick editing, wonderful cinematography, and great writing just make the film flow as fast as any other.
well there is the first shot and there is the first scene. “L’Eclisse” comes to mind immediately for both. You have the crazy upbeat music over the title sequence which transitions into a cacophonous noise which is followed by some discordant minimalist type music to finish of the credits. It stops and we are hit with the brilliant first shot; a closeup of a bunch of objects on a desk: books, a lamp, paintings in the background, etc. There is some strange humming noise on the soundtrack. The shot holds for several seconds. Sounds unremarkable? It is. But a gentle pan reveals one of the stationary objects is actually an elbow of the first character we are introduced to, Ricardo with look of quiet desperation on his face. The new framing puts him at the center, surrounded by more objects, almost appearing cut up by a strange piece of pointy art. In the corner of this new frame we see the source of this noise; a cheap oscillating house fan. It’s the only real movement we’ve seen thus far, and certainly seems more animated than Ricardo. Until after several more seconds, he slumps onto the pointy piece of art.
To me this one simple shot illustrates brilliance on so many levels. Unless you are very perceptive, you don’t notice that you are looking at an elbow until the camera moves. He is fusing the human with a still object, and after the camera pans to show the fan and pointy statue, it’s almost as if objects are more lively than the people. But the characters do come to life in their own subdued ways as the scene progresses, a near 20 minute almost “mini-movie” that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
The opening sequence of Le Samouraï is pretty excellent. We see Jef in bed, the credits, and the quote. The camera is fixed in one spot. The juxtaposition of the average looking room and the mysterious assassin really worked for me. Not my favorite scene but definitely one of the best.
I’ve been burning DVDs to make a James Whale Collection for a teenage cinema-lover.
Gad, could that man create an opening scene!
The opening of FRANKENSTEIN, shot mostly in close-ups so that you have to puzzle out what is going on (Who are these people gathered begind that hand holding a rope? Why are they here? Who are those two men peering over the Fence?).
The opening of INVISIBLE MAN with Jack Griffin slogging through the blizzard, then a cut to the tavern & its bucolic inhabitants, interrupted by Griffin’s menacing entry.
The opening of SHOW BOAT, with the riverboat gliding up to the docks, camera alternating between shots of thre boat, shots from the boat and shots of the townfolk running to the wharf to greet the boats arrival. Magnificent.
City of God – even though it was terribly over played and I’ve seen it a million times before..
The only intro that springs to mind is that of The Wild Bunch. The entire scene sets the pace and tone of the movie, especially the ants overwhelming the scorpion. That one sequence foreshadows the final shootout so incredibly well.
Wings of Desire – The titles which looked scratched into the back of a mirror; the slow, intimate strings; and then the hand with ink pen writing, and Bruno Ganz’s voice: <>
Als das Kind Kind war…
The opening scenes of Hou’s Millennium Mambo is hands down my favorite opening scene I’ve seen. The beautiful night and Shu Qi at dinner just casually talking and laughing with her friends had a great spark about it.
Fellini has a couple that I really enjoy.
Cabiria nearly getting drowned by her john. Establishes the character beautifully.
The helicopter carrying the statue of Christ that is quickly cut away from to the bikini clad group who don’t give up a phone number in La Dolce Vita.
The opening scene of Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) by Claude Jutra gives it a sense of place and the local culture (music, the stark feel of the athletic field, mountains, mines, people milling around, mist, a mining machinery spewing out a smoke of dust, etc.) After this initial slow pan shot of the surrounding landscape, in a scene that appears to be the true opening scene, the camera focuses on a red truck stopped in the middle of a road. The uncle gets under the truck trying to figure out what is wrong with it and an overseer drives up in another truck and addresses him aggressively in English blaming him for the condition of the truck. The uncle replies in French and the overseer momentarily backs off saying that he’s just doing his job but raises his voice again as the uncle and the nephew drive off. The nephew asks what the overseer had said and the uncle replies that he doesn’t understand English. Then we see a machinery on a hilltop spewing out white minerals, hinting at the encroaching conflict between the management and the workers over asbestos which is the subject of this film.
The opening scene of Satantango is breathtaking. Also, the opening of The Man From London.
The Music Lovers
GOZU—-The first 8 mins or so blew me away. Dark,confusing, scary and pretty darn funny in the most shocking way possible. The whole movie is crazy and nice little surrealist brain screw in the same vine as a Lynch film. The movie starts and ends very strongly. The middle is full of hit-or-miss moments. Worth a viewing.
Nothing is more beautiful than the opening scene of Stellet Licht (2007) by Carlos Reygadas.
Le Million, Barbarella…
Raiders of the Lost Ark – the Paramount Studios mountain symbol turning into that mountain in South America, and then we hear the John Williams score, and the sounds of the jungle. Brilliant.
The Wild Bunch and Wings of Desire are great suggestions.
More include (yes, lots of Orson):
The Third Man
Touch of Evil
Citizen Kane
The Magnificent Ambersons
and maybe the opening I’ve watched the most times… Hiroshima Mon Amour ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T7qPEeCjek )
2001: A Space Odessy
The music alone makes it for me.
That opening scene in Birth is really amazing, the run through Central Park. But honestly, I think the beginning of 8 1/2 is the best thing I’ve ever seen
Certainly, fantastic opening scenes don’t always presage a great film. I loved the first 5 minutes or so of Baz Lurhmann’s “Moulin Rouge”, for instance.
“Touch of Evil”, “8 1/2”, “Manhattan”, “Match Point”, …
A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, Kagemusha.
The beginning of Reprise when it goes through what could happen
vampyr
Once Upon a Time in the West
Godard’s Contempt
Once Upon a Time in the West and The Wild Bunch, No Country for Old Men, and The Propsoition. Those have to be my favorites they just always blow me away.
lawrence
Orson Welles always said " THE FIRST SHOT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SHOT", What are your favorite opening scenes..it does not have to be art house material, any movie.