I humbly feel that Blade Runner's opening shot was the best of all times, that Vangelis soundtrack, the reflexion of the world on an android's eye was very poetic, a true masterpiece.
+Incertus Veritas I don't think I've been overawed as much as with Blade Runner's vast cityscape, and I didn't even see it until a few years ago, about thirty years after the fact. The music of course, as Ridley says, gives the movie wings.
Chris Wright I will always call it a Masterpiece. I saw it in the theatre when it came out in 1982, I couldn't believe my eyes, developed as a kid a huge crush on Sean Young... (my first wife even looked like her LOL)... This movie simply blew me away, I still watch it once a month.
+That Nintenja You Know That's what I liked the most about it. If you want to see the same hollywood flicks mentioned over and over again, you have watchmojo.
The intro to Star Wars is fantastic because that first shot of the blockade runner blew everyone in the theater away... only for George Lucas to immediately one up himself with an even more impressive starship.
BLAIR M Schirmer Oh no, we realize you have no taste as you haven't seen enough to realize what makes a great film. Just wait, when you grow up your tastes will eventual (hopefully) mature.
My dad always tells the story of how absolutely mind-boggling the opening to A New Hope was in the theatre. Says it's his favourite moment from a movie ever.
Only Star Wars itself has topped that, and only once(at least in my opinion): The opening scene from Revenge of the Sith. It starts out with a huge display of the Republic fleet, and Obi-wan and Anakin's fighters shoot onto the screen, flying alongside the flank of one of the destroyers, with an almost serene feel, but then the fighters drop off the destroyer's side, and them, and the viewer, are immediately plunged into a massive battle.
Fargo: The opening shot is a dead-white screen, out of which a car gradually emerges. It introduces an unnamed character: the weather. Patton, with the title character delivering a gripping speech in front of the biggest American flag you've ever seen.
+Boba Fett Unsub from WatchMojo. The channel is a huge troll, the polling on their website means nothing -nothing good. Their lists are always intentionally skewed to troll viewers and incite comments.
First time ever I watch the godfather, it's the response from the Don himself to bonasera monologue that got me hook up to this film, there's some solid logic right there
Great shout-out! This list focuses mainly on the visual aspects of opening shots and overlooks ones with great narration - of which The Godfather would likely be the best. In the same vein, The Two Jakes had a great opening shot too, though not on par with The Godfather's IMO.
Sorry, the opening shot is just people going through a jungle as the title plays. Believe it or not I had the thought "I hope this movie is not going to be boring". I didn't know what I was in for! (This movie had practically zero pre-publicity in Australia. I only went for the names in the credits.)
Hell yes. There's no doubt in my mind they just look up lists that have been done on film before and just copy&paste. Screw watchmojo I'm so happy I unsubbed them.
Difference is.. watchmojo is the result of a month long voting by the public... where as this.. is personal opinion. *shrugs* People always forgot.. that Watchmojo dont wack on as they feel like it.. they place Topic on their website.. let people nominate, and vote.. and then by that data alone.. they go research about the top ten votes.
The opening scene from The Sound Of Music, with the panoramic views of the Austrian Alps and Julie Andrews whirling has universally been one of the top ten opening scenes.
Yeah, any top film opening lists that don't have 'The Sound of Music' I can't take seriously. It's like making a top Christmas film list and forgetting 'It's A Wonderful Life'.
My number one is Barry Lyndon. Looks like a gorgeous painting, nothing quite like it. The men stand in the distance in the midst of an aristocratic gun duel. Pure and utter brilliance at the hands of the genius himself, Stanley Kubrick. And the fact that it was done entirely with natural light is a spectacle in itself.
+Hubert Beck Jesus. Again, Cinefix doesn't rank the 10 entries among themselves. They are separated into 10 different categories, and each one that makes it into the featured number entry is the best in the category.
I was watching this entire video thinking, “Where’s Touch of Evil?!” And then ... This is the most satisfying movie channel I have found on TH-cam. By far.
One of my favorites is "Fargo" where the all white screen is suddenly crossed by a flying bird, awakening us to the featureless landscape of white overcast sky and snow.
I was 22 when Star Wars came out. I will never forget that giant ass spaceship coming from, it seemed, behind and over me. Whoa!!! Touch of Evil had the most tension filled opening shot. Brilliant. Deserved the #1 spot.
Where the hell is the #2 GREATEST OPENING SHOT OF ALL TIME? ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST....(Just 3 dirty cowboys waiting for a train.) When it arrives...with a haunting HARMONICA... Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me? Elam: I guess....we're shy one horse. Harmonica: (Shaking head), You brought two too many. Blam-Blam-blam-Blam... After Wells Touch of Evil...the # 2 Greatest Opening Shot of All Time! Are ya wit me Folks?
I have Touch of Evil, Player, Once Upon a Time in the West as the top 3 all time opening shots/scenes. Though I haven’t seen Flowers of Shanghai, so I can’t honestly disagree with narrator.
When you have the 5th Avenue and Tiffany's Co. and Then you add, Henry Mancini and John y Mercer, plus Truman Capote and Givenchy, and finally put Blake Edwards and Audrey Hepburn, what you get is perfection. The opening shot to BREAKFAST at Tiffany's perfectly sumarizes the novel title both literally and methaphorically. That scene is NOT in the book. It was especially created for the film. That is pure film making magic.
I love the opening shot in Spectre. Really brilliant shot of the carnival following bond onto the roof, proceeding to shit going absolutely fucking crazy. The way a bond film should be. Yes, I'm guilty. I'm one of the few people who love Spectre.
+Lead To Light Liam I thought it was horrible. I don't understand the love for that scene. It felt way too overblown and on top of that the special effects were bad. I mean that fucking helicopter part looked like COMPLETE shit. It was one of the worst CGI I've seen in a blockbuster film since the 90s tbh. But that opening one shot was okay, from the carnival to the roof but once the action began it turned to shit.
the opening to Bladerunner was inspired by the ICI plant near my home town of Redcar in the North East of England, director Ridley Scott is from round here and stated he had fond memories of seeing the flame pillars at the plant whilst walking home. Nice to know such an iconic film can have roots so close to home, it's a nice feeling
Opening scene of Millennium Mambo is gorgeous, it's haunting, the cameramen and slight slow motion gives you the core themes of passing time, loss of path. The entire sequence makes you feel like a ghostly memory. Add gorgeous cinematography and amazing music, and it's an instant classic.
So much yes! It sets up the main character, style and tone of the movie, the world, the hook of the story AND on top of that has a bomb exploding and a woman carrying her own arm in her hand.
I have watched and re-watched the opening scene of the newest James Bond: Spectre film at least a dozen times. What makes this opening scene so profound is that it is one seamless and uncut scene. Though it's not the first to do it, it's the first I've seen to do it whilst following our hero through a crowd, in and out of various rooms, through an elevator, through multiple levels of a building, in and out of a building, and across a busy scene. That's one thing that has become synonymous with Bond films: the opening scene is always epic!
Spectre opening is EPIC! I especially love the part where 007 walks on the roof with a big ass shotgun on his back and then the typical Bond music swells on. I felt like an awestruck eight year old boy again when I saw - no _experienced_ - that in the IMAX cinema
I remember going to the theater to watch Up with my little sister. In 5 minutes it told a more beautiful story than most feature length films did in their entirety. That empty chair put me right over the edge. I wasn't crying. I just had something in my eyes.
The Evil Dead (1981) has one of the best opening shots of all time... from the bloody liquid title, to the camera (the evil force) meandering over the eerie, foggy lake , interspersed with shots of the 5 people in the car driving towards the cabin and the evil force (camera) floating thru the woods...
Strange Days has an amazing POV shot of the 'squid rig footage' of the junkies robbing the Chinese restaurant. It's an incredible start to a hugely underrated film
I think the opening in "The Master" was strikingly beautiful, and connects to the last shot of the film. The music, with the exposition and beautiful visuals is truly amazing and wrapped up perfectly.
there's the opening shot from Serenity that's quite cool. it starts off with a narrated history shot of earth and ships leaving it, then coming into a new planetary system, outline of the war of Independence, then it pans out and appears to be a history lesson for students, then appears to be a dream in River's sleep, then appears to be a chase scene, then appears to be holographic security camera footage then appears to be a bounty hunt.... you know that's pretty intense. just throwing it out there
Fun fact about the opening shot from Halloween. It was kind of a milestone in cinema: They spent nearly a third of the films budget on fancy new camera equipment, what would become known as steady-cam or steadicam. This is very likely the first time ever in cinema that we see not only a POV shot with a steadicam, but a long-take first person POV "oner" on a steadicam. It was such a long shot that they had to hide a cut in the scene, probably another first, (the cut is when michael puts on his mask) because the new portable camera system could only hold so much film. John Carpenter was a badass and ahead of his time.
Opening scene of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn walking in front of Tiffany's is one of the most beautiful, well-aged and iconic opening scenes in all of Holywood.
A few that I like: "Alien" - the little personal touches (coffee mugs, family photos, etc) as the camera pans through the spaceship Carpenter's "The Thing" - the saucer disappearing over the horizon, then the title burn-through (nice tribute to Howard Hawke's original)
HER (2013) it starts with beautifull music. Then the movie tries to trick you by seeing theodor(the main caracter) to speak romanticcaly. then we see that he writes letters for others which tells us hoe fake the world is and in contrast how real the future love to the OS is. it also connects the beginning with the finish. in the last sceen Theodore talks and writes a real letter to his ex wife. a masterpiece of Moviehistory
The beginning of blue velvet is not only visually stunning but it captures the entire essence of the film, what is happening right below the surface. I think it should be mentioned somewhere
Beautiful list! Other movies that come to my mind when it comes to remarkable opening shots: Hitchock's "Topaz" (skip the opening credits!), Fincher's "Zodiac", Polanski's "Knife in the Water" , Leone's "Once upon a Time in the West" (as already mentioned), von Donnersmarck's "The Life of Others", Tanhofer's "H-8"
Is the shot in Contact the shot that Jodorowsky was planning for Dune? I remember in the documentary that some of the shots became iconic parts of other movies and I can't remember if that particular shot was one of them.
+domxthexdon It was based on the classic kid's science film "Cosmic Zoom" that was made in the 60's. So it's not surprising more than one filmmaker has thought about using the idea.
I’m guessing or hoping that you’re only half-kidding; already one of the funniest movies ever made, the cinematography for “Grail” is about 100 x better than it needs to be.
One of my favourites is the opening to Ridley Scott's _The duellists._ Actually, thinking about it another one of my favourites is _Alien._ The camera drifting around the sleeping ship, things flapping as the systems start pumping fresh air in preparation for the crew waking up, and computers beeping to lift... it's genius.
inglorious bastards had an absolutely amazing one as well, it has more tension and is more thrilling and unpredictable than most movies I know as well. everything about it is beautiful and heart wrenching, like the rest of the movie as well.
I know there are many great opening scenes... but "Once upon a time in West" not one of them? Even Stanley Kubric called Sergio Leone (director of the movie) to ask him how was he able to use music in the movie the way he did... For anyone that has never seen the movie just watch the opening scene and how music is being used. An incredibly beautiful movie... Just my opinion.
my favourites in no specific order: Inglourious Bastards Memento Forrest Gump Reservoir Dogs the Prestige Raging Bull the Departed Whiplash Birdman Inception Pulp Fiction Fight Club the Green Mile Dark Knight Rises Mad Max Fury Road the Dark Knight Django Unchained Drive the Revenant American History X The Hatefull Eight Once up one a time in America The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey the Assassination of Jessy James Casino Warrior Heat Batman Begins The Desolation of Smaug
+Sven Verret I'm not that big superhero movie fan but the Nolan trilogy is so extremly awesome it's more like a Thriller with great Characters and a lot of good Action scenes then a "normal superhero movie" you should watch it
I'll never forget the first time I saw Apocalypse Now at the theatre. Movies about Vietnam were few and far between and I was excited to see this premiere. The scene opens with this shot of a tree line. We hear this mysterious music playing softly in the background. I know this.....what is this? I couldn't place it. Then suddenly I realized it was THE END! OMG! One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands of all time! I remember I excitedly said to my wife, "THAT'S THE DOORS!" ......Then "THIS IS THE END......" and the tree line EXPLODES! I knew it was PERFECT! I think the first Ten minutes of Apocalypse now is a Cinematic MASTERPIECE!
Freaking excellent piece. Not pretentious, funny and friendly. Well done, guys! I just subscribed. PS: I've been in the film business for over 30 years, and in my opinion, your "get it."
I think it works more to establishing the characters and showing off dialogue than being an incredibly noteworthy shot, if you can see what I'm saying.
I think they did Reservoir Dogs in their opening credits list. There is a fine line between the 2, but, it's an entirely separate list that has all the ones people are complaining weren't on this one.
+Onmysheet Barry's father had been bred, like many other young sons of a genteel family, to the profession of the law. And there is no doubt he would have made an eminent figure in his profession had he not been killed in a duel, which arose over the purchase of some horses.
I've seen all of these, but the opening shot that took the breath out of the audience was the opening scene in Star Wars IV. We had never seen anything like it.
2001 is my all time favourite film. The opening is grand and yet minimal. But for the reasons they gave, I would also put Contact here. That opening is fantastic. Better than 2001? Of course not, but I'd still give it a place here! 😀
David Hartley I agree with you, this is more of a joke really haha I actually like Contact more than most people, but I wouldn't put it in any place higher than 2001 ever
*Touch of Evil* (1958) is an outstanding film noir with expert direction by Orson Welles and great acting by Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Akim Tamiroff and Marlene Dietrich. Fantastic opening scene and cinematography with Henry Mancini score. Gets better and better with each viewing. Another great one is the long (14:30) opening scene of *Once Upon a Time in the West* (1969).
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will always be one of my all time favorite openings! So disorienting and jarring, uncomfortable and claustrophobic - perfectly sets up the entirety of the movie.
Some good choices, Missing Catch 22 though, a very long opening shot of a quiet sunrise suddenly interrupted by a large number of piston engines aircraft starting up. Sets the tone beautifully.
I would like to humbly suggest Whiplash. The sound of drums brings you into the movie's subject, and a great pan that is revealed to be a character POV. Really liked it.
I definitely agree with putting Touch of Evil first. It's probably the best example of how Welles turned everything he touched into gold. Who else would have thought to start the sequence with such incredible suspense and flair? I just walked past the mural that pays homage to the film in Venice Beach, which has "Touch of Venice" written on it. Classic film.
I teach high school, and I have this scene in a slide show about the use of "details" in storytelling (part of a classic literary analysis acronym called DIDLS -- diction, imagery, details, language, syntax). When I show that opening shot, the kids are ALWAYS dead silent and mesmerized. (Of course, that's just from my brilliant teaching style...) Seriously, the brilliance of Welles' ability to LITERALLY "direct" our attention from detail to detail is phenomenal. I specifically point out where the director shifts our focus from the car to the pedestrian couple, and then we look at the specific moments where our attention is shifted again and again and again, from couple to car, car to couple, and where the focus is SHARED. It's a master class in directing.
First and last shots are so much fun. They are able to set the tone of the movie and give a chance for directors to show off their creativity, so much fun to shoot.
This may seem boring to others, but I really like the intro to Forrest Gump with the feather that's floating through the sky. To me its an interesting metaphor which relates to the constant uncertain path of Forrest's life and the brilliant series of events which led him to where he got.
I humbly feel that Blade Runner's opening shot was the best of all times, that Vangelis soundtrack, the reflexion of the world on an android's eye was very poetic, a true masterpiece.
+Incertus Veritas
Especially when you find out how they did it. Fucking amazing, puts all this CGI nonsense to shame, frankly.
Serai3 When you have a perfect script & cast... there's no need for fancy CGI.
+Incertus Veritas I don't think I've been overawed as much as with Blade Runner's vast cityscape, and I didn't even see it until a few years ago, about thirty years after the fact. The music of course, as Ridley says, gives the movie wings.
Chris Wright I will always call it a Masterpiece. I saw it in the theatre when it came out in 1982, I couldn't believe my eyes, developed as a kid a huge crush on Sean Young... (my first wife even looked like her LOL)... This movie simply blew me away, I still watch it once a month.
Agree!
These have almost become "which movies have I seen" videos for me.
For me it's 5 tops almost all the time xD
+That Nintenja You Know I'm not very good with cinema besides english and american so for me it's usually "what movies should I see" :P
GellyfishProductions They're the reason I heard of the movie "The Fall", and I'll admit it's a great movie.
That Nintenja You Know Thanks to them I found the french movie "Amelie" and I love it so much
+That Nintenja You Know That's what I liked the most about it. If you want to see the same hollywood flicks mentioned over and over again, you have watchmojo.
The intro to Star Wars is fantastic because that first shot of the blockade runner blew everyone in the theater away... only for George Lucas to immediately one up himself with an even more impressive starship.
I can't believe I spotted a real Scott Manley out in the wild.
Apparently the next star wars films is rumored to star with a gigantic pair of mickey ears enveloping a rebel planet.
BLAIR M Schirmer Oh no, we realize you have no taste as you haven't seen enough to realize what makes a great film. Just wait, when you grow up your tastes will eventual (hopefully) mature.
My dad always tells the story of how absolutely mind-boggling the opening to A New Hope was in the theatre. Says it's his favourite moment from a movie ever.
Only Star Wars itself has topped that, and only once(at least in my opinion): The opening scene from Revenge of the Sith. It starts out with a huge display of the Republic fleet, and Obi-wan and Anakin's fighters shoot onto the screen, flying alongside the flank of one of the destroyers, with an almost serene feel, but then the fighters drop off the destroyer's side, and them, and the viewer, are immediately plunged into a massive battle.
Fargo: The opening shot is a dead-white screen, out of which a car gradually emerges. It introduces an unnamed character: the weather.
Patton, with the title character delivering a gripping speech in front of the biggest American flag you've ever seen.
LOVE Fargo's opening!
Love Patton
One of my fav too..that carter burwell music and grim opening
Midnight Cowboy did it first.
Clockwork Orange deserves the 1st place. The opening fully prepares you of the ultra-violence you are going to see in this masterpiece of Cinema
The Shining opening shot was also great... It was beautiful but somehow intriguing.
I have also a video with some great movie moments XD
@@raedsakly2463 Without a doubt, Kubrick was a genius
You must not have seen Touch of Evil. Clockwork is probably my second choice, though!
i love these Top 10s. they are much better than Watchmojo
ikr they need to do top ten hood or urban movies.
+Boba Fett watchmojo suck socks.
+Boba Fett Unsub from WatchMojo. The channel is a huge troll, the polling on their website means nothing -nothing good. Their lists are always intentionally skewed to troll viewers and incite comments.
+Boba Fett These take weeks to make. WatchMojo makes one every day.
+FreedInsanity WatchMojo make about 4/5 videos a day, vomiting up lists quickly in a dire bid to get views. It's kinda sad really.
godfather. Bonasera monologue.
Whole wedding scene portraying dynamics and... freaking oranges!
Not just the best opening but also one of bests endings.
First time ever I watch the godfather, it's the response from the Don himself to bonasera monologue that got me hook up to this film, there's some solid logic right there
I actually love Bonasera's monologue it's still America in a nutshell. I believe in America....but then it's all lies.
Great shout-out! This list focuses mainly on the visual aspects of opening shots and overlooks ones with great narration - of which The Godfather would likely be the best.
In the same vein, The Two Jakes had a great opening shot too, though not on par with The Godfather's IMO.
For me "2001: A Space Odysey" got the most epic- opening shot.
Odyssey*
+Illusion -- yes, absolutely
+Illusion For me, too!
thanksfernuthin
Yes!
and the closing one Fucking Too
Personally, I think the opening in Shrek should be number 1
Shrek 2 ;P
maria ceguera I remember Shrek 2 had a brilliant opening .
someBODY
Karolis Kesminas transformers
Yeetyeet321 ONCE TOLD ME-
Introducing Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It describes him beautifully and tells us we're about to go on an adventure. Perfection IMHO.
Or, seconds earlier, when the Paramount logo turns into the jungle mountain.
Sorry, the opening shot is just people going through a jungle as the title plays. Believe it or not I had the thought "I hope this movie is not going to be boring". I didn't know what I was in for! (This movie had practically zero pre-publicity in Australia. I only went for the names in the credits.)
You guys actually know how to do these type of lists not like that WatchMojo bullshit they do now, good job guys!
Hell yes. There's no doubt in my mind they just look up lists that have been done on film before and just copy&paste. Screw watchmojo I'm so happy I unsubbed them.
+Hero5054 ScreenRant is the worst, with every title a replica of something they've already done, so confusing
Watchmojo is a youtube channel that's not based in specialized cinema critic's standpoints, that is what makes Cinefix so badass.
Difference is.. watchmojo is the result of a month long voting by the public... where as this.. is personal opinion. *shrugs*
People always forgot.. that Watchmojo dont wack on as they feel like it.. they place Topic on their website.. let people nominate, and vote.. and then by that data alone.. they go research about the top ten votes.
The opening scene from The Sound Of Music, with the panoramic views of the Austrian Alps and Julie Andrews whirling has universally been one of the top ten opening scenes.
Cotton Mather and it ends with them hiking in the mountains.
I need to see that movie again.
Yes!
Yeah, any top film opening lists that don't have 'The Sound of Music' I can't take seriously. It's like making a top Christmas film list and forgetting 'It's A Wonderful Life'.
Russian Ark. Technically the whole film is the opening shot since it was all done in one take.
Such a good movie
My number one is Barry Lyndon. Looks like a gorgeous painting, nothing quite like it. The men stand in the distance in the midst of an aristocratic gun duel. Pure and utter brilliance at the hands of the genius himself, Stanley Kubrick. And the fact that it was done entirely with natural light is a spectacle in itself.
The opening of Once Upon A Time In The West is wonderful. For me is the best I've ever seen
Your videos are wayyy better than WatchMojo. Please keep them coming!
soo true
Almost every video is better than Watchmojo's.
Bender
No definitely not!
WatchMojo is shit hahahaha
@@vincesoner5829 I don't think they make bad content they are just way too overrated in my opinion
i'm glad apocalypse now is in here. It kind of got me into movies and music.
+Nick M And I'm dissapointed that it isn't #1
+Hubert Beck Jesus. Again, Cinefix doesn't rank the 10 entries among themselves. They are separated into 10 different categories, and each one that makes it into the featured number entry is the best in the category.
I had to scroll down before I watched to make sure that Apocalypse Now was in otherwise i knew the list would have been shit!
i looked up the best opening shots ever just to see the apocalypse now intro
I was watching this entire video thinking, “Where’s Touch of Evil?!” And then ...
This is the most satisfying movie channel I have found on TH-cam. By far.
Aguirre, The Wrath of God has that amazing shot of the conquistadors descending the mist-covered Andes.
I second that, the natives coming down the steep mountain with the music by Popol Vuh would be my choice too.
You're right!
One of my favorites is "Fargo" where the all white screen is suddenly crossed by a flying bird, awakening us to the featureless landscape of white overcast sky and snow.
I was 22 when Star Wars came out. I will never forget that giant ass spaceship coming from, it seemed, behind and over me. Whoa!!!
Touch of Evil had the most tension filled opening shot. Brilliant. Deserved the #1 spot.
Call me a sucker for nostalgia, but th Lion King opening is so iconic and beautiful, I think it deserves a mention
Where the hell is the #2 GREATEST OPENING SHOT OF ALL TIME?
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST....(Just 3 dirty cowboys waiting for a train.)
When it arrives...with a haunting HARMONICA...
Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?
Elam: I guess....we're shy one horse.
Harmonica: (Shaking head), You brought two too many.
Blam-Blam-blam-Blam...
After Wells Touch of Evil...the # 2 Greatest Opening Shot of All Time!
Are ya wit me Folks?
that is a complete scene not one shot
I was looking for once upon a time in the West; but yeah it's probably one of the best opening SCENES of all time rather than shots
I have Touch of Evil, Player, Once Upon a Time in the West as the top 3 all time opening shots/scenes. Though I haven’t seen Flowers of Shanghai, so I can’t honestly disagree with narrator.
YES! Exactly what I was thinking when I read the title
if we're talking westerns, the opening shot of Django dragging the coffin in the mud to that iconic theme song is honestly TOP
When you have the 5th Avenue and Tiffany's Co. and Then you add, Henry Mancini and John y Mercer, plus Truman Capote and Givenchy, and finally put Blake Edwards and Audrey Hepburn, what you get is perfection.
The opening shot to BREAKFAST at Tiffany's perfectly sumarizes the novel title both literally and methaphorically.
That scene is NOT in the book. It was especially created for the film. That is pure film making magic.
I’m very impressed by this list but the opening scene from the lion king deserved a spot if not a mention. That sunrise is magical
I love the opening shot in Spectre. Really brilliant shot of the carnival following bond onto the roof, proceeding to shit going absolutely fucking crazy. The way a bond film should be.
Yes, I'm guilty. I'm one of the few people who love Spectre.
+Lead To Light Liam Despite not loving the movie as a whole, definitely agree that opening shot (and the whole New Mexico scene) was phenomenal!
+Lead To Light Liam the opening shot was so fucking good. too bad the movie wasn't that good.
***** Haha as a Brit, what is it actually like, then?
+Lead To Light Liam I thought it was horrible. I don't understand the love for that scene. It felt way too overblown and on top of that the special effects were bad. I mean that fucking helicopter part looked like COMPLETE shit. It was one of the worst CGI I've seen in a blockbuster film since the 90s tbh.
But that opening one shot was okay, from the carnival to the roof but once the action began it turned to shit.
I concur with everything you said.
Touch of Evil is great, deserves to be at the top. They did not mention that it was Orson Welles who conceived and shot it.
He was some kind of a man...
@@dapete Yes, and you clearly have seen the movie. What a tour de force it is too
Citizen Kane also has a great opening too, of course.
the opening to Bladerunner was inspired by the ICI plant near my home town of Redcar in the North East of England, director Ridley Scott is from round here and stated he had fond memories of seeing the flame pillars at the plant whilst walking home.
Nice to know such an iconic film can have roots so close to home, it's a nice feeling
Always in awe of your succinct, elaborate analyses!
Star Trek: First Contact! Opening scene coming out of the eye of Captain Picard inside the Borg space ship.
@@azeemanu9379 so? doesnt mean its bad
I love your voice, Narrator Man! By the way, your lists are great. They actually teach me stuff, and they're epic, well written and well edited.
1:39 number 9?
+Peter Jason Quill
> Says number 9
> "For our number 8 pick"
Opening scene of Millennium Mambo is gorgeous, it's haunting, the cameramen and slight slow motion gives you the core themes of passing time, loss of path. The entire sequence makes you feel like a ghostly memory. Add gorgeous cinematography and amazing music, and it's an instant classic.
No love for Trainspotting?
Choose Life
jpvideo Nah, choose the big fucking teli
it's not actually one opening shot. The opening shot of that movie is only 3 seconds long.
Come on, the opening of Sound of Music is simply breath taking
Children of Men anybody?
Santtanna Rivera completely agree that beginning shot a narration was beautiful,
So much yes! It sets up the main character, style and tone of the movie, the world, the hook of the story AND on top of that has a bomb exploding and a woman carrying her own arm in her hand.
one of the greatest..
I have watched and re-watched the opening scene of the newest James Bond: Spectre film at least a dozen times. What makes this opening scene so profound is that it is one seamless and uncut scene. Though it's not the first to do it, it's the first I've seen to do it whilst following our hero through a crowd, in and out of various rooms, through an elevator, through multiple levels of a building, in and out of a building, and across a busy scene. That's one thing that has become synonymous with Bond films: the opening scene is always epic!
Spectre opening is EPIC! I especially love the part where 007 walks on the roof with a big ass shotgun on his back and then the typical Bond music swells on. I felt like an awestruck eight year old boy again when I saw - no _experienced_ - that in the IMAX cinema
@@notsorandumusername It's not a shotgun. It was a sniper rifle. What does it matter anyway the comment was 5 years old.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind has one of my favorite opening scenes of all time.
I remember going to the theater to watch Up with my little sister. In 5 minutes it told a more beautiful story than most feature length films did in their entirety. That empty chair put me right over the edge. I wasn't crying. I just had something in my eyes.
It's an incredible opening. I cried and cried, and the story hadn't even begun. It was just so heartbreaking and beautiful
The Evil Dead (1981) has one of the best opening shots of all time... from the bloody liquid title, to the camera (the evil force) meandering over the eerie, foggy lake , interspersed with shots of the 5 people in the car driving towards the cabin and the evil force (camera) floating thru the woods...
Strange Days has an amazing POV shot of the 'squid rig footage' of the junkies robbing the Chinese restaurant. It's an incredible start to a hugely underrated film
Flowers of Shanghai mentioned on the list gives this channel some solid cred. well done.
Lord of War comes to mind. Haven't seen in in some time, but I'll always remember that opening "shot" - literally
Star Trek First Contact has one of the longest pull back shots on record and it was pretty impressive.
I think the opening in "The Master" was strikingly beautiful, and connects to the last shot of the film. The music, with the exposition and beautiful visuals is truly amazing and wrapped up perfectly.
The Searchers and My Darling Clementine were two of my favorites from childhood.
there's the opening shot from Serenity that's quite cool. it starts off with a narrated history shot of earth and ships leaving it, then coming into a new planetary system, outline of the war of Independence, then it pans out and appears to be a history lesson for students, then appears to be a dream in River's sleep, then appears to be a chase scene, then appears to be holographic security camera footage then appears to be a bounty hunt.... you know that's pretty intense.
just throwing it out there
Fun fact about the opening shot from Halloween. It was kind of a milestone in cinema:
They spent nearly a third of the films budget on fancy new camera equipment, what would become known as steady-cam or steadicam. This is very likely the first time ever in cinema that we see not only a POV shot with a steadicam, but a long-take first person POV "oner" on a steadicam. It was such a long shot that they had to hide a cut in the scene, probably another first, (the cut is when michael puts on his mask) because the new portable camera system could only hold so much film. John Carpenter was a badass and ahead of his time.
For me one of the best openingshots is the one from Braveheart. The Scottish mountains combined with the beautiful music gives me the shivers.
Opening scene of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn walking in front of Tiffany's is one of the most beautiful, well-aged and iconic opening scenes in all of Holywood.
David Lean's opening of Lawrence of Arabia. An oil painting in motion.
I can't imagine not even mentioning it.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly should be #1.
You know its a classic, when all three are introduced in silence.
A few that I like:
"Alien" - the little personal touches (coffee mugs, family photos, etc) as the camera pans through the spaceship
Carpenter's "The Thing" - the saucer disappearing over the horizon, then the title burn-through (nice tribute to Howard Hawke's original)
HER (2013)
it starts with beautifull music. Then the movie tries to trick you by seeing theodor(the main caracter) to speak romanticcaly. then we see that he writes letters for others which tells us hoe fake the world is and in contrast how real the future love to the OS is. it also connects the beginning with the finish. in the last sceen Theodore talks and writes a real letter to his ex wife. a masterpiece of Moviehistory
I'd give this video an 8 1/2 out of 10 for forgetting one.
8 1/2 ??
+EkzoVirus HD 8 1/2
YES!
I like the beginning of "To Kill a Mockingbird" with the rolling of the black and the white marbles.
Moonrise kingdom has the best 1st scene I've ever Seen
It's about the shot, not the scene.
The beginning of blue velvet is not only visually stunning but it captures the entire essence of the film, what is happening right below the surface. I think it should be mentioned somewhere
Beautiful list! Other movies that come to my mind when it comes to remarkable opening shots: Hitchock's "Topaz" (skip the opening credits!), Fincher's "Zodiac", Polanski's "Knife in the Water" , Leone's "Once upon a Time in the West" (as already mentioned), von Donnersmarck's "The Life of Others", Tanhofer's "H-8"
Would have give the first place (or at least a place lol) to Lord of War's opening
The life of a bullet.
+Bender B. Rodriguez But it's not just one shot.
I'm really surprised it didn't make the list or was even talked about. Life of a bullet was an amazing opening.
bigninja27 Yeah, but it's not "best openings", but best opening shots.
+The90slim90 I'm counting the carpet of bullets and Cage wondering "how to arm the 11 other"
Goodfellas. Just saying, that opening shot was pretty badass.
Well I guess that was a scene...
Is the shot in Contact the shot that Jodorowsky was planning for Dune? I remember in the documentary that some of the shots became iconic parts of other movies and I can't remember if that particular shot was one of them.
You are right. But contact did it even better with scientifically accurate radio signals.
+domxthexdon
It was based on the classic kid's science film "Cosmic Zoom" that was made in the 60's. So it's not surprising more than one filmmaker has thought about using the idea.
+Serai3 cosmic zoom! I remember watching that at school in the 70's and it was amazing. It's still on TH-cam!
Everything on this channel is fantastic, I rarely find that I disagree with anything on these lists
To Kill A Mockingbird's opening scene is my all time favorite.
Wow.forgot about that.. the tree.. the box full of trinkets,, I have to find it. Good work!
Beautiful shots 👏👏👏
How about Top 10 Movie OST of All Time?
Would like another list with the Top 10 Opening Movie OST as well.
The City of god has a brilliant opening.
Jamming InDaStreets
MN
-rh-
The best opening has the Lion King
Opening sequence of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is hands down greatest opening sequence in history of cinema.
I’m guessing or hoping that you’re only half-kidding; already one of the funniest movies ever made, the cinematography for “Grail” is about 100 x better than it needs to be.
The opening of "Blade" has to be one of the most exhilarating and action packed openings in film.
I really love the beginning of Blade Runner 2049. It looks so beautiful and stunning.
What about the 96 minute opening shot of ''Russian Ark''?
what about the opening shot of the revenant? that opening is just beautiful.
All I can say is that the opening of LoTR: Two Towers was one of my favorite movie-going experiences to date...
One of my favourites is the opening to Ridley Scott's _The duellists._
Actually, thinking about it another one of my favourites is _Alien._ The camera drifting around the sleeping ship, things flapping as the systems start pumping fresh air in preparation for the crew waking up, and computers beeping to lift... it's genius.
inglorious bastards had an absolutely amazing one as well, it has more tension and is more thrilling and unpredictable than most movies I know as well. everything about it is beautiful and heart wrenching, like the rest of the movie as well.
I know there are many great opening scenes... but "Once upon a time in West" not one of them?
Even Stanley Kubric called Sergio Leone (director of the movie) to ask him how was he able to use music in the movie the way he did... For anyone that has never seen the movie just watch the opening scene and how music is being used. An incredibly beautiful movie... Just my opinion.
I agree that that's one of the best opening SCENES ever, but this list focuses only on opening SHOTS.
I'm surprised that The Graduate's opening was not mentioned at all.
+John Klein Yeah, and what about that first shot in Russian Ark? Easily the most important shot in the movie.
Or fury's opening, any opening that ends with brad pitt stabbing a nazi in the face is a great opening
benmcfee I definitely won't argue with the their picks but they did kinda missed some important and/or famous openings. Not a single mention of them.
+benmcfee But isn't Russian Ark all one shot?
talha devci That was the joke, yeah. But when you think of it, that still technically qualifies as an incredible opening (and closing) shot.
my favourites in no specific order:
Inglourious Bastards
Memento
Forrest Gump
Reservoir Dogs
the Prestige
Raging Bull
the Departed
Whiplash
Birdman
Inception
Pulp Fiction
Fight Club
the Green Mile
Dark Knight Rises
Mad Max Fury Road
the Dark Knight
Django Unchained
Drive
the Revenant
American History X
The Hatefull Eight
Once up one a time in America
The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey
the Assassination of Jessy James
Casino
Warrior
Heat
Batman Begins
The Desolation of Smaug
Take out the Hobbit films and you've got a good list xD
I really don't like superhero movies, but should I watch the Dark Knight movies because of Nolan?
+Sven Verret I'm not that big superhero movie fan but the Nolan trilogy is so extremly awesome
it's more like a Thriller with great Characters and a lot of good Action scenes then a "normal superhero movie"
you should watch it
Not my favourites list ; ) )
You're cheating a little with Birdman because it's all one shot...but that's a great list nonetheless!
I'll never forget the first time I saw Apocalypse Now at the theatre. Movies about Vietnam were few and far between and I was excited to see this premiere. The scene opens with this shot of a tree line. We hear this mysterious music playing softly in the background. I know this.....what is this? I couldn't place it. Then suddenly I realized it was THE END! OMG! One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands of all time! I remember I excitedly said to my wife, "THAT'S THE DOORS!" ......Then "THIS IS THE END......" and the tree line EXPLODES! I knew it was PERFECT!
I think the first Ten minutes of Apocalypse now is a Cinematic MASTERPIECE!
Freaking excellent piece. Not pretentious, funny and friendly. Well done, guys! I just subscribed.
PS: I've been in the film business for over 30 years, and in my opinion, your "get it."
1:38 "...but for our number eight pick..." Oops. Editing doesn't catch everything.
what about reservoir dogs I thought it was great and brilliant as it introduced all the characters personalities
I think it works more to establishing the characters and showing off dialogue than being an incredibly noteworthy shot, if you can see what I'm saying.
+Gravitynaut yeah I do see what you mean. It's not visually spectacular-I just kind of like the subtlety of it.
Oh yeah, definitely. The film is incredible, and that scene makes rewatches even more rewarding.
I think they did Reservoir Dogs in their opening credits list. There is a fine line between the 2, but, it's an entirely separate list that has all the ones people are complaining weren't on this one.
No mention on The Shining? Dissapointed.
That opening scene is so beautiful yet so creepy at the same time with the creepy music.
+Sunrose 8 there's a mention of it, watch again :)
And Barry Lyndon
+Onmysheet Barry's father had been bred, like many other young sons of a genteel family, to the profession of the law. And there is no doubt he would have made an eminent figure in his profession had he not been killed in a duel, which arose over the purchase of some horses.
+Onmysheet --so right
I've seen all of these, but the opening shot that took the breath out of the audience was the opening scene in Star Wars IV. We had never seen anything like it.
Love this list! Great work there!
I really would have expected to hear about Once Upon a time in West at least once here.
Best opening scene
If Star Wars wasn't on here I was going to throw a Kylo Ren-type fit in my apartment.
You seriously put 'Contact' on the list in the place of '2001'?
Do you think this is a motherfucking game Cinefix?
2001 is my all time favourite film. The opening is grand and yet minimal. But for the reasons they gave, I would also put Contact here. That opening is fantastic. Better than 2001? Of course not, but I'd still give it a place here! 😀
David Hartley I agree with you, this is more of a joke really haha
I actually like Contact more than most people, but I wouldn't put it in any place higher than 2001 ever
+Ivo Wilson ☺
I agree. "2001" is my fav sci-fi film. The audio-visual impact of the opening is just stupendous!
Agreed I cant bear to see contact on a list of best anything
*Touch of Evil* (1958) is an outstanding film noir with expert direction by Orson Welles and great acting by Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Akim Tamiroff and Marlene Dietrich. Fantastic opening scene and cinematography with Henry Mancini score. Gets better and better with each viewing.
Another great one is the long (14:30) opening scene of *Once Upon a Time in the West* (1969).
Can someone please tell me the song that starts at 1:22? I know it's really common but I can't seem to remember the name, and it's driving me crazy.
It's from Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet Overture
I'm suprised Boogie Nights isn't on this list.
Yes indeed! At least they mentioned it..
+Felix ten Haaf I see, I just scanned through really quick and didn't see the mention.
I think Lord of Wars "Story of a bullet" should have landed some where in the top 5.
Thats actual not the opening it starts with nic cage talking and then transitions to life of a bullet
Yea i actually looked it up after this comment and saw that. Guess I was wrong. Still a good sequence.
It's still very very profound.
+Kareem A IIRC they included it in some other top 10.
awesome episode as always!
Love opening scene of "The Fall"...black and white slow motion shots with Beethoven playing over it...just amazing!
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will always be one of my all time favorite openings! So disorienting and jarring, uncomfortable and claustrophobic - perfectly sets up the entirety of the movie.
Some good choices, Missing Catch 22 though, a very long opening shot of a quiet sunrise suddenly interrupted by a large number of piston engines aircraft starting up. Sets the tone beautifully.
Catch 22 has an absolutely brilliant open, you're right.
I would like to humbly suggest Whiplash. The sound of drums brings you into the movie's subject, and a great pan that is revealed to be a character POV. Really liked it.
I definitely agree with putting Touch of Evil first. It's probably the best example of how Welles turned everything he touched into gold. Who else would have thought to start the sequence with such incredible suspense and flair? I just walked past the mural that pays homage to the film in Venice Beach, which has "Touch of Venice" written on it. Classic film.
I teach high school, and I have this scene in a slide show about the use of "details" in storytelling (part of a classic literary analysis acronym called DIDLS -- diction, imagery, details, language, syntax). When I show that opening shot, the kids are ALWAYS dead silent and mesmerized. (Of course, that's just from my brilliant teaching style...) Seriously, the brilliance of Welles' ability to LITERALLY "direct" our attention from detail to detail is phenomenal. I specifically point out where the director shifts our focus from the car to the pedestrian couple, and then we look at the specific moments where our attention is shifted again and again and again, from couple to car, car to couple, and where the focus is SHARED. It's a master class in directing.
First and last shots are so much fun. They are able to set the tone of the movie and give a chance for directors to show off their creativity, so much fun to shoot.
This may seem boring to others, but I really like the intro to Forrest Gump with the feather that's floating through the sky. To me its an interesting metaphor which relates to the constant uncertain path of Forrest's life and the brilliant series of events which led him to where he got.
Would have ranked 2001 over Contact, but a good choice nonetheless.