Gore should go back and watch "Do The Right Thing" with an all-black audience like I saw it. I got called terrible names and told I had no right to be in the theater on my way out. it's a film that encourages race hatred against white people. I'm sure he saw it with all whites and never got that point. Go watch it again in the Bronx. "It's such an original vision!" LOL not really.
@@ScaryStoriesNYC That's what you get when you sit with an audience filled to the brim with professional victims & no accountability. Its learned behaviour by Democrats. Nothings their fault when they can blame the white man
There's a book called Battle Royale and (SPOILERS) the main character dies like half way into the book and it's not like a heroic sacrifice, him and his 2 other friends get brutally murdered by main villain and the book just picks up with 3 other characters and they suddenly become main characters. I never saw anything like that before and it was crazy
@@lovetownsend That is cool, but the problem with that element is the how you do it. Not only the description, but the transaction, that the reader/watcher feels like we NEED and WANT them.
You see this problem with other art platforms, e.g. video games with Last of Us 2, forcing a bunch of new, boring characters onto the player after building amazing characters from the first game and killing off one of them couple hours into it
@@lithantushelo7932 I think it means that wannabe practitioners once they decide to move to the other side of the screen forget what it was that hooked them. Or they never really knew in the first place. A lot of how movies work is invisible. So when an experienced professional tells a student, "You have to hook 'em" they think it means action and explosions. They haven't yet mastered the technique.
@@freakazoid4691 yes but guess what? the whole trilogy one of the most successful franchises of all time and remains superior in it's genre. And by the way Peter Jackson tried to use as minimal of the CGI as possible. Most of them are real locations and miniature props. You can't make a fantasy movie without that much cgi duh. You try to compare it to superhero movies nowadays and you can tell the difference of the use of cgi.
@@freakazoid4691 I actually disagree with that. They really only used cgi for the battle scenes and even then there was plenty of costume and makeup work that was noticeable. It takes place in a fantasy world so I don't know how you can penalize it for using cgi in some areas.
It was very exposition heavy and I notice that most movies fail when they have an opening like that. But what made it different was how it was done more as a tale/legend rather than a regular explanation. Without Tolkien’s voice being brought foreword through that intro, I don’t think it would have worked. Think of Green Lantern’s exposition heavy intro and how horrible it was as an example.
UP. I haven't seen anyone say that one yet; but my gosh. If there was ever an opening that tells the story to get you hooked before the real story even truly begins, it's the first 10 minutes of UP.
@@christopherfleming7505 I was going to say the same thing , the rest of the film does not live up to the promise of the opening. Then again, could it ever have?
@@michaelcortez1531 i think that was kind of point of UP. Main character had that kind of fairy tale life in first 10 minutes and had to come to terms with it that adventure being over an turning the page
@@aaronkelly5192 This 100% ... See a lot in the comments about Dark Knight and only one guy mentioned Heat. Heat stands above Dark Knight any time of the day as far as artistic merit and ambition of the film. Not to mention that people playing GTA V are literally reworking the LA scenes from HEAT in certain moments of the story and are not even aware of it. Even the guys name is Michael and he is a retired bank robber. Heat is iconic. Dark Knight has great parts but as many Nolan creations - it is an empty vessel especially without Heath Ledger on screen
Funnily enough I remember being very impressed by the opening of Dark Knight Rises at first watch. The rest of the movie was a big disappointment though.
@@HankScorpio86 yes agreed... He needs a great script. Often times in the middle feels like some kind of meta mission impossible stuff, and his endings are not half as clever as he thinks they are
The opening of Raiders is stunning. Indiana's introduction: the whip disarming his armed guide as he pushes into view from the shadows, his face partially lit by the rays of sunlight. The first 15 minutes gets me everytime and I'm obliged to watch it for the 2000th time. Godfather likewise with the Baker's narration 'the good American' - Brando unseen then his playing with the cat on his lap. Genius. Get the opening correct and the audience will follow....
@@weallliveintrees if you're going to borrow, then borrow from the best. Carl Barks duck comics were masterpieces in storytelling and everyone who wants to write adventure stories for screen, print or whatever needs to read Barks' work. Wouldn't also hurt to read Herge's Tintin stories.
I can't recall I film with a great opening right now, but I assume the same principle applies to a book and River God by Wilbur smith which is set in Ancient Egypt is always a book that I vividly remember 'grabbing' me on the very first page. Its a phenomenal book and a story I always wished they would adapt for the big screen, the same for a lot of Wilbur Smiths books really.
The first 10 minutes of "A New Hope" vs the first 10 minutes of "The Force Awakens". They BOTH featured battles. But one drew you in. The other was just a battle.
Then in The Force Awakens I was kicked out of the moment by that cringey "you talk first, or I talk first?" line. Ruined my engagement to see a Marvel style joke in a Star Wars movie.
@@jscottupton glad someone agrees. It was too soon, and inappropriate for a joke like that. Had ANH done that between Vader and the rebel in ANH back in the seventies, no one would have taken the movie seriously.
I think that could be said with almost all of his films, they begin with a crazy (yet subtle) events that dont explain everything until later on, we may not consciously know why were hooked to the film but its most likely because of the opening scene and because it makes you watch till the end to find the mystery and before you know it "bam" your'e hooked"
scorsese likes to set the tone and tell you what the movie is about in the first 10 mins. opening scenes in gangs of new York and goodfellas for example.
The audience should at least know where it’s GOING, but should be surprised how they get there. Meaning from the beginning I should say “this movie will be over when the detective catches the killer.” But then we find out the killer is his parent or something we weren’t expecting.
Watch the documentary on the making of Jaws. It's around in the 'net. It's great. Steve thought he would be fired at any minute. Speilberg was watching the premier from the lobby. Early on, a guy walks out. He said, "there's our first walkout.". Then they guy threw up, after the scene where the young boy was killed. He knew his little film grabbed the audience.
@@scottslotterbeck3796 i agree with about everything he said. Most movies are soooo predictable. They have discarded the art of storytelling. Great stories get you from the start and don't let go. I have walked out of many.
@@waderivers99 I've written short stories since I was nine. I will tell you it's a hell of a lot easier to write a good story than one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. (Even easier to write a mediocre one, ha ha.) I've been published, gotten a few awards, but nothing that puts my name up in lights. It's a gift a few have in spades (Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, others). I'll be satisfied with a good film. But I agree, the emphasis is now in money. Like most businesses, profit has taken the place of quality and even community benefit.
I don't know why but watching this guy talk about films really makes me miss video stores and just browsing the aisles. There's so many amazing movies out there that exist and actually had stories to tell and I miss hunting them like gems.
It is funny, how the simpler things make you experience it more. There was something magical about a full evening, going to the movie store. Going up and down the isles until settling on a movie. Then going home, making the popcorn and treats. It was a big experience and a good way to get into the movie before it starts. Now everything comes so fast and easy, harder to grab the attention of people.
Goodfellas is my favorite opening. In less than 3 minutes, gives you everything. Let's you know it's gonna be tense, greatly acted, violent and even sets up the point of view character: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
I agree wholeheartedly. Stories should be used to help deal with our anxieties, and learn from different perspectives. To me, it's all about reevaluation over escapism. Even "escapist" pictures have characters dealing with personal struggles, and learning to overcome them (regardless if they relate to you personally or not).
Love how the sequel begins unexpectedly decades prior in Corleone. You're expecting Michael's story to continue, instead you're seeing the childhood trauma his father suffered.
To be fair, I do clinch up if someone were to strongly dislike _It's A Wonderful Life_ I know it's not gonna be for everyone, but every Christmas it's a must and fills me with a temporary level of positivity and optimism!
@@zqxzqxzqx1 Yep, alos had a huge budget for the time, even developing techniques for creating fake snow. Many critics thought too sloppy also and the failure went on to ruin Frank Capra's career and film company. So many films are seen differently though the lens of time, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Fight Club were critical and financial failures when released, earning a greater appreciation down the line, even one of the greatest sequels of all time (my own opinion) The Empire Strikes Back surprising received mixed reviews first time round (didn't flop, just made quite a bit less than it's predecessor)
@@srksharma8199 When Joe Rogan said Tarantino is just hyper violence and no intrigue to the human condition, I wanted to know what Joe was smoking and where I can get a hold of that.
I love the opening to "Duel" by Steven Spielberg. No dialogue except for the sounds of a crackling car radio as we see Dennis Weaver driving on the road.
The opening of Terminator 2 always had me hyped to see the future war against the machines, and that didn't even happen until a later installment in the franchise. (And for some odd reason, I haven't gone back to watch those films, but whenever I see T2 on some random TV channel, I grab some snacks and settle in.)
For myself, Star Wars: A New Hope has the best opening sequence ever in film. It still blows me away. And then after that, the movie delivers in spades. Such a perfect movie.
I love Star Wars. But I'll be honest, I've never much liked the trench run sequence. And it's not that I don't like the trench run sequence, it's just that I have always felt that it belongs in its own film. For me, Star Wars ought to end after fleeing the Death Star and saving the princess. And then the hypothetical sequel should pick up with the quest to destroy the Death Star. That sequence just feels so different from what came before it and it's always a jarring shift when I rewatch the film. I mean it works for what it is, but just a slight nitpick. Of course, we would not have got Empire if my idea had happened, so I am glad it turned out like it did.
The first 3 original star wars movies all had killer openings. Vader capturing Leya, Battle of Hoth and the ice monster, saving Han from Jaba...all great openings.
I love the opening to Office Space. Everyone just dragging themselves to work in the morning. Instantly recognizable, the frustrations of sitting in traffic and never getting anywhere while trying to get to a place you really don’t feel like going to, it’s even relatable to kids who stood outside in the rain and then had to sit on a bus for an hour. Another one off the top of my head I don’t see anyone else mentioning is Field of Dreams. With three minutes of exposition you know everything you need to about Ray Kinsella. Right after that they cut to him hearing the voice for the first time. No messing around, they get right to the story and pull you in.
Mad Max: Fury Road has a pretty great opening. The rest of the film just shows what could happen if creative people could actually be creative in a big budget world. George Miller hit it out of the park.
Was looking for this comment. Sometimes creatives need structure or else nothing would get done. But Miller has the experience to marry the managerial side with the creative side. Truly a perfect movie.
How long are you willing to wait in a script for your attention to be grabbed like for example the good the bad and the ugly takes a few minutes for any great action to really happen whereas something like goodfellas grabs your attention immediately. Basically do you need to be immediately interested or are you ok with a slower but as affective intro.
French films, say the ones by Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer, tend not to grab ... at beginning; and yet, the memory of them can linger for a long time! Am thinking of: Pauline at the beach, for example, and Le Boucher.
@@diabetus115 it's not about action, he said "craft": he's talking about artistry, an engaging concept or compelling characters, maybe the establishment of an interesting concept to be explored, and also underlying everything how well written it all is in doing so. Is the dialogue compelling, or does it feel unbelievable? Is it clichéd? Basically is there any indication the writer has any idea what they're doing, and the talent to pull of whatever it is they're trying. Good writing comes across within a few pages for sure, regardless of pacing.
"Slacker" was filmed right down the street from my house. "Dazed and Confused" a little further. I also judged a short film competition a few years ago. He's absolutely right about the opening scene, even in something that's only ten minutes long.
The opening Star Destroyer crawl in A New Hope was enough to make me want to immerse myself in that world. The first line can be a great narrative hook in literature: "My name is Lew Archer," said Sam Spade.
I love the opening of Shawshank. After that opening court scene, we get Red saying, "When Andy came to me asking if I could smuggle Ritta Hayworth in, I said no problem" Really makes you wonder where that is going.
I disagree. I thought it was much too long. I 'experienced' the horror of war in the first 5-6 minutes The set-up ( of the task of finding Private Ryan) could have happened quite easily in that time frame. That's my opinion.
The soccer game in the opening even sets up every major character without saying a word: Begbie injures a player on the other team, Spud can't stop a ball that's kicked right at him from entering the net, Tommy is left to fend for himself, Sickboy cries foul and and Renton takes a direct shot to the dome. Brilliant.
He nailed. It’s the journey that makes a movie. Few of today’s movies have it. It’s why I love movies like Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Forest Gump, Reality Bites, Bullit etc. Interest characters piecing together life.
As a teenager in 1970 or 1969 (unsure) I saw 2001 : A space odyssey...it's first moments were the lights dimming into a deep blue.light & a powerful piece of amazing music until finally the curtain openned onto a curved screen & "Thus spake etc ".......my soul moved...
For me, the most powerful opening is something similar to one of those '70s poliziotteschi (Italian crime) movies. There was no dialogue, no single word for more than ten minutes. The audience had to pay attention to pure visual storytelling to understand the story's premise. Then, after the visual exposition, the dialogue started. (No, I wasn't even born at this time. I found those movies later). When a movie starts with people talking a lot, mentioning characters I don't know and don't care, or telling events I'm not watching, I lose interest quickly.
@@bencarlson4300 They are great imo :D I learned a lot from them. Oh, Citizen Above Suspicion is great. Gian Maria Volonté is one of my favorite actors of all time.
that's the golden period for me. i mostly just watch the old italian thrillers and westerns. i can't get enough of that style, i'm just in love with it.
@@iansmith8783 Aw man! Me too! I love those movies. Gian Maria Volontè, Franco Nero, Tomas Milian... Poliziotteschi are my favorites! I've been watching a ton of them on the Film&Clips channel (and they're legit. No pirated crap).
That's too bad, you've probably missed out on some songs you would've liked had you given them a full listen. Hell, sometimes I gotta listen to a song all the way through a few times until I really "get" it.
@@LopezAlabama I simplified it in the first comment, usually I skip ahead in the songs a few times, to hear if there's something in there that gets me. But I don't do this all the time. When I'm doing something else and the music just plays in the background, I don't skip anything at all.
Another great example is Leon, the Professional. First scene is in fact very quiet & just a short dialogue scene. But the camera focuses in so much on the character's faces that there's no chance of escape, a trick the film repeats throughout. We are shown Leon right away but basically just his face, or more so just his eye. But the scene right away tells us, indirectly, that he is a hitman, we are shown, in the same extreme up-close, who provides him the job & what the job is, & that Leon drinks milk! And his milk drinking is an essential plot point! Then the film wastes no time showing us what a super assassin Leon is. A great, effective action scene that shows us the results of his work but rarely the man himself. In fact, we finally see Leon properly when the job's over & he goes home! THAT is an opening! It gives us everything we need to know with as little dialogue as possible & keeps our "protagonist" mysterious for as long as possible. And calling Leon a protagonist, considering what he does for a living, is up for debate. Because this film is one of those nice surprises that makes us root for & even love the otherwise traditional villain or bad guy. Even if Leon is a killer for money he is otherwise a total sweetheart! A gentle soul that unbeknownst to himself wants another life. And that happens to him when the bond with Mathilda, the neighbor girl, starts. Many say that when he lets her through his door & saves her life it is when she starts to change his life. I claim it happens sooner. Leon himself chooses to talk to her, under no pressure whatsoever. He simply takes notice of this little girl that is badly treated. He notices & he cares even if he absolutely shouldn't & had no reason to. THAT is what makes me care for characters & stories. And the traditional "villain" is suddenly on a journey to become a "hero". What is also a fun note is that Natalie Portman, who played Mathilda, was, as we all know, the lead actress in V For Vendetta &, from her character's perspective of Evie, it's the same journey for Evie as it was for Mathilda, in a lot of ways. The only difference is that Evie is an adult & Mathilda isn't. And V is very much like Leon, much smarter & works alone sure, but the symbolism is very much the same. They both die but they die happier since both Mathilda & Evie brought meaning back into their dark lives. That is why we end up caring so deeply for Leon & V. They may do villainous things but we love them anyway. because they learn to love in return & they have honor.
I think the easiest movie to say has the best opening that makes you wanna know more and really engages the audience is The Dark Knight. Certainly not an understated movie by any means, but for good reason. DC fan debates aside, it is a near solid film. It has some weak points here and there, but it remains an example of how to do a big budget comic book adaptation right. And that intro isn't what you would expect of a film to begin with, least of all a comic book film. It's the kind of intro you wish you could purge from your memory just so you can rewatch it the first time again and again. Some folks have even said it was their favorite part of the movie, that not even the rest of the film carries such a strong intro. So if you want a great example of a movie intro that captivates the audience, a movie that many people have seen, then that's the perfect one.
Movies with great openings: Jaws, Avatar, Sound of Music, Alien, Star Wars, The Flight of the Navigator, The Abyss, Indiana Jones movies, The Martian, Passengers, etc.
We appreciate every speaker here for good reason. But I just wanted to take a sec to say that this is one of the best interviewers I've seen too. She asks some great open ended questions, has great follow up questions and humour next, but most importantly - let's the guest talk and open up. This seems so obvious yet so many people with podcasts and talk shows and TH-cam channels are so full of themselves, that they can't be bothered to listen to what another person has to share. Kudos for that to you personally, if you're reading this!
The greatest opening in cinema history is LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring. The opening of that film was the greatest display of world building and specital. It made you mad that only 12 hours of that trilogy exists.
One of my favorite openings is the title sequence of Batman 1989. When you have one of the best movie scores ever and you give it the spotlight it deserves before an introductory narrative you can create the hightened expectation I still remember today.
7:25 difference of opinion is one thing, but today’s critics get VERY personal in their so called criticisms. I’ve seen critics that will verbally destroy someone’s life all because they don’t like a movie.
@@pheunithpsychic-watertype9881 Funny because from the perspective of the whole trilogy, Godfather II is the middle. Yet it's universally recognized as the best of the three (personally I liked the first one better)
One film that comes to mind is Gladiator. Strong opening since it constantly focuses on our lead protagonist, Maximus. The battle itself is in fact not really important, it's who Maximus is & why he is the way he is that is the opening strength. Then that builds immediately after the battle when he has conversations with other characters, mostly the Emperor that wants him to take over the Empire. But because of this, because of one of the best villains in recent decades, Commodus, Maximus becomes an even greater protagonist because he is betrayed,. the Emperor is murdered & so is Maximus' family. From here it's all a vendetta story. There is so much to love & marvel at with Gladiator, the emotional roller-coaster alone deserves all attention. But one thing that I really love that the film does is towards the end of the film when Commodus has a chat with Maximus just prior to their final fight. And Commodus sums up the entire movie for us by reminding us of Maximus' journey; General, Slave, Gladiator. The exact same thing was the tagline for the film itself & for the villain to say it in the film itself is genius! And I always smile a little extra when Commodus continues to call it a striking story & now the audience wants to know how the story ends. By the time we reach that scene the audience of the film actually agrees with what the villain is saying! Even if there's surely not a single person watching Gladiator that doesn't passionately hate Commodus as a character we still agree with what he's saying right there, consciously or not. The nr 1 role for any villain of any story is to create the story & make the protagonist as great as possible. The better the villain the better the hero = the better the story. Gladiator, with its strong opening & hero's journey that makes us feel everything there is to feel, got it all right.
That's a really good call. Awesome example of showing the "why" behind a characters motives and "who" he is. It's been years but I think they portrayed it without any dialogue too.
The opening of The Wrath of Khan--the Kobiyashi Maru sequence. The introduction of Saavik, the foreshadowing of Spock's death, and the twist ending, featuring the almost god-like entrance of the backlit Kirk. Great stuff!
A great opening sequence of a recent movie I saw was "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" which made a comical play on the Western genre, from the echoes in the canyon to the bar scene (which introduced something "new").
I think the end of a movie is just as important as the opening. One of my all time favorites, is the ending of Se7en. What's in the box. Even as I wrote this I got goosebumps. No joke. Such a brilliant movie. What I loved about New Hope, was that Darth Vader lived and got away! WHAT, the bad guy lived and got a away that was unheard of in my day. I'm in my 50s.
I love how he says he wants "to be in that world." That sense of place is so important. That is how I look at my favorite movies. "I like being there" is the way I put it. I just watched The Thing for the millionth time and loved it! I know damn near every word of dialog but I don't care. I love being in that claustrophobic world. Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer is another favorite of mine. I love being on that cold island in that amazing house. Movies like Braveheart, Goodfellas, Doctor Zhivago, Dunkirk, Falling Down, Heat, many more, I like being "there."
Star wars, a female hope would have had a good opening if they did not make fun of the scary villain in his first dialogue. He was scary for 2 minutes and then star wars started dying and the torment ended with the last jedi. The 9th episode which i haven't seen should probably have been named "no jedi" because the skywalkers are gone.
It's funny that Chris pointed to *Slacker* as an example. I actually saw *Waking Life* (one of my all time favorite films) first, then *A Scanner Darkly* , and went back to find *Slacker* because I wanted to find more of Richard's work. When I saw it, I thought, "Wow, this is like the prequel to *Waking Life* " At the same time, I thought *Slacker* was very raw and that you had to really be in an indy head space to appreciate the film from start to finish. I was drawn in only because of the similarities. On the flip side, *Waking Life* had more experience, could connect to a larger audience, and had a bigger budget so it was polished. Both films jump all over the place & don't truly follow traditional structures, but I think you can see many of the important points brought up on this channel about film making by juxtaposing the two films.
Two movies which have spoken deeply to me and helped me learn about what I value most in life are Sideway and Lost in Translation. This interview was amazing and I totally agree with Chris on the purpose of story.
If I could list down my favourite openings in movies I like. - The bank heist in The Dark Knight - The Normandy landings in Saving Private Ryan - The early days of the apocalypse in A Quiet Place Part II - The hilarious interview in Slap Shot - The tragic scene in Finding Nemo - John McClane’s introduction in Die Hard - The starship battle in A New Hope - Shrek’s introduction in his movie. - Indiana Jones’ introduction in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and his backstory in The Last Crusade - Nicholas Angel’s introduction in Hot Fuzz - The brutal opening in Logan - Seeing the many firefighters battling a building fire in Ladder 49 - The first ten to fifteen minutes of A Bug’s Life - The brutal battle between the Natives and the Dead Rabbits in Gangs of New York - That opening in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - The first twenty-five minutes of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (the only best part of the movie for me) - That opening in Mission: Impossible Fallout up to the main titles - Both the openings in the first-two Terminator movies - The beautiful and calming atmosphere in the first Blade Runner. - Mark Zuckerberg getting dumped by his girlfriend and crashing the computer network on campus in The Social Network - The warehouse scene was okay for me in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - The playoff loss to the Oakland A’s in Moneyball
One of my favorite openings of all time is Reservoir Dogs. There's such a casualness about it and Tarantino breaks all the rules about storytelling with it. Watching a bunch of guys talking about random stuff over breakfast doesn't pertain any to the story and barely gives you any tell of who the charactersare, yet still makes you engaged in the rest of the film.
I just realized The Force Awakens do really have a very good opening. We are introduced with the plot, of finding Master Skywalker, introduced to a new bad guy Kylo Ren, and also the first ever Stormtrooper who defect (Finn), and then in the middle to a mystery of who Rey really is Its all just good and interesting until the rest of it throws it all in the garbage lmao
Id say Lord of the Rings opening was amazing. So.much exposition to deliver and yet they found a way to.make a compelling story out of ten.lines of dialogue.
i see the parallels of the craft and art form of making music and making great movies i just replace the words a bit in my mind while watching these interviews
Tho The Lost World is my favoriteJurassic Park film i didn’t like the opening... from a woman screaming to Jeff Goldlum yawning with a fake beach background
“Take two Steele Magnolias and call me in the morning.” OMG I love you!!! This is absolutely my favorite episode so far. Your advice is absolutely spot on.
The whole point of being a film critic or a enthusiast is to point someone to a film or music that is good and they would have never heard of otherwise. You don't need to be told to watch Harry Potter or Fast and Furious or the new Beyonce song that stuff is drilled into you through marketing anyway
2001 A Space Odyssey is my favorite opening. The music, to the dawn of man sequence, to space ships floating around made me wonder what the hell was going to happen next and I loved it
The opening of the fellowship of the ring, the matrix and especially saving private ryan in my opinion are excellent and some of the best opening sequences ever. They're engaging and leave you wanting for more.
One of the best openings of a film is Notorious by Hitchcock. Having Cary Grant sitting with his back to the audience is highly unusual, particularly since he was so going looking. The opening of Sunset Boulevard is also brilliant, by showing a dead body in a swimming pool.
When I saw Slacker (in Madison, Wisconsin), as I left the movie, two people were having a conversation in the lobby, talking the same kind of disjointed nonsense that I had watched in the movie. I was not able to escape from the movie for about three days. It was all around me, and sort of changed my sense of reality.
When I took film classes back in the early 1990s, the first thing we learned when writing a script was, "You have 10 minutes to grab the audience's attention. If you don't set the stage for your story in those 10 minutes, then you will lose the audience. Go watch the 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast. Perfectly set the background and the characters in the first five minutes with the opening song. Hooked.
I think a lot of writers took the "grab the audience's attention" in an unintended direction. They think it means do something big and bombastic. But by now, big and bombastic has been done so many times, it's lost all it's edge. Meanwhile, they've spent 10 minutes doing nothing to build the world or set the stage for an interesting story.
Check out Chris Gore's previous interview 'Why 99% Of Movies Today Are Garbage' - buff.ly/34g3FkI
This previous interview was even better!
Gore should go back and watch "Do The Right Thing" with an all-black audience like I saw it. I got called terrible names and told I had no right to be in the theater on my way out. it's a film that encourages race hatred against white people. I'm sure he saw it with all whites and never got that point. Go watch it again in the Bronx. "It's such an original vision!" LOL not really.
@@ScaryStoriesNYC That's what you get when you sit with an audience filled to the brim with professional victims & no accountability. Its learned behaviour by Democrats. Nothings their fault when they can blame the white man
@@ScaryStoriesNYC Also Spike Lee is the KING of pushing the "white man bad" agenda. He is a scumbag race baiting piece of shlt hack
The 8 deadliest words any storyteller can hear:
"I don't care what happens to these people".
There's a book called Battle Royale and (SPOILERS) the main character dies like half way into the book and it's not like a heroic sacrifice, him and his 2 other friends get brutally murdered by main villain and the book just picks up with 3 other characters and they suddenly become main characters. I never saw anything like that before and it was crazy
@@lovetownsend That is cool, but the problem with that element is the how you do it. Not only the description, but the transaction, that the reader/watcher feels like we NEED and WANT them.
@@lovetownsend it sounds to me, the entire perspective of the narrative would alter drastically.
You see this problem with other art platforms, e.g. video games with Last of Us 2, forcing a bunch of new, boring characters onto the player after building amazing characters from the first game and killing off one of them couple hours into it
Prometheus and Alien Covenant come to mind when you say that.
When he says “grab you” he isn’t talking about action. He’s talking about being engaged, regardless of type.
It says a lot about movie viewing patterns today, if you need to make that clear :/
@ Litha Ntushelo
yes!
@@lithantushelo7932 I think it means that wannabe practitioners once they decide to move to the other side of the screen forget what it was that hooked them. Or they never really knew in the first place. A lot of how movies work is invisible. So when an experienced professional tells a student, "You have to hook 'em" they think it means action and explosions. They haven't yet mastered the technique.
The notebook, what’s eating Gilbert grape, white Christmas. These movies got me even though I disliked the synopsis for them lol
True but if i had applied this standard to novels i would have sacked some great books. FIVE pages is utterly ridiculous.
"Nobody gets mad when you give a bad review to a car." Do you know any Tesla owners?
FACTS!!
No Tesla gets a bad review!!!
!!!!!
Tesla is a religion appearing as a car company
@@kane4013 Just like Apple.
Tesla fanboys get meltdowns - Karen’s of the car world
Fellowship of the Ring had such an iconic opening. Cate Blanchett's narration still gives me goosebumps.
Still kind of plastic and too much CGI though.
@@freakazoid4691 yes but guess what? the whole trilogy one of the most successful franchises of all time and remains superior in it's genre. And by the way Peter Jackson tried to use as minimal of the CGI as possible. Most of them are real locations and miniature props. You can't make a fantasy movie without that much cgi duh. You try to compare it to superhero movies nowadays and you can tell the difference of the use of cgi.
@@freakazoid4691 I actually disagree with that. They really only used cgi for the battle scenes and even then there was plenty of costume and makeup work that was noticeable. It takes place in a fantasy world so I don't know how you can penalize it for using cgi in some areas.
The two towers one is my favorite, that Gandalf - Balrog duel…incredible.
It was very exposition heavy and I notice that most movies fail when they have an opening like that. But what made it different was how it was done more as a tale/legend rather than a regular explanation. Without Tolkien’s voice being brought foreword through that intro, I don’t think it would have worked. Think of Green Lantern’s exposition heavy intro and how horrible it was as an example.
UP. I haven't seen anyone say that one yet; but my gosh. If there was ever an opening that tells the story to get you hooked before the real story even truly begins, it's the first 10 minutes of UP.
Oh my goodness I always cry at that opening! Probably the only time I’ve ever cried in the opening of a movie instead of the middle or the end!🎈🎈🎈
Yes, fantastic opening. Sadly, the rest is a bit tedious, at least from an adult perspective.
@@christopherfleming7505 I was going to say the same thing , the rest of the film does not live up to the promise of the opening. Then again, could it ever have?
Hey kids and parents, welcome to this family film, NOW CRY!!!! MWAHAAHAAHAAAAAA
@@michaelcortez1531 i think that was kind of point of UP. Main character had that kind of fairy tale life in first 10 minutes and had to come to terms with it that adventure being over an turning the page
That opening Bank Robbery scene from the Dark Knight is one of my favourite openings.
@@aaronkelly5192 This 100% ... See a lot in the comments about Dark Knight and only one guy mentioned Heat. Heat stands above Dark Knight any time of the day as far as artistic merit and ambition of the film. Not to mention that people playing GTA V are literally reworking the LA scenes from HEAT in certain moments of the story and are not even aware of it. Even the guys name is Michael and he is a retired bank robber. Heat is iconic. Dark Knight has great parts but as many Nolan creations - it is an empty vessel especially without Heath Ledger on screen
Funnily enough I remember being very impressed by the opening of Dark Knight Rises at first watch. The rest of the movie was a big disappointment though.
Nolan definitely knows how to grab audiences with his opening scenes. Often times though they’re the single best part of the movie.
@@HankScorpio86 yes agreed... He needs a great script. Often times in the middle feels like some kind of meta mission impossible stuff, and his endings are not half as clever as he thinks they are
I love that opening
The opening of Raiders is stunning. Indiana's introduction: the whip disarming his armed guide as he pushes into view from the shadows, his face partially lit by the rays of sunlight. The first 15 minutes gets me everytime and I'm obliged to watch it for the 2000th time. Godfather likewise with the Baker's narration 'the good American' - Brando unseen then his playing with the cat on his lap. Genius. Get the opening correct and the audience will follow....
Raiders was my first thought
Temple of Doom and the diamonds and ice scene was pretty good, too.
Raiders, great opening scene, even if it was 'borrowed' from a classic Carl Barks, Donald Duck' comic.
"I believe in America..." brings tears to my eyes.
@@weallliveintrees if you're going to borrow, then borrow from the best. Carl Barks duck comics were masterpieces in storytelling and everyone who wants to write adventure stories for screen, print or whatever needs to read Barks' work. Wouldn't also hurt to read Herge's Tintin stories.
The Prince of Egypt's opening still moves me to this day.
Such a good movie
I can't recall I film with a great opening right now, but I assume the same principle applies to a book and River God by Wilbur smith which is set in Ancient Egypt is always a book that I vividly remember 'grabbing' me on the very first page. Its a phenomenal book and a story I always wished they would adapt for the big screen, the same for a lot of Wilbur Smiths books really.
The first 10 minutes of "A New Hope" vs the first 10 minutes of "The Force Awakens". They BOTH featured battles. But one drew you in. The other was just a battle.
Then in The Force Awakens I was kicked out of the moment by that cringey "you talk first, or I talk first?" line. Ruined my engagement to see a Marvel style joke in a Star Wars movie.
@@felixdacat4941 Absolutely correct. Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams had NO idea what they were doing.
@@jscottupton glad someone agrees. It was too soon, and inappropriate for a joke like that. Had ANH done that between Vader and the rebel in ANH back in the seventies, no one would have taken the movie seriously.
TFA was also a by committee soft reboot made by a hack.
LUKE SKYWALKER HAS VANISHED
No he hasn't. Go away JJ. Start again. You don't understand Luke.
The opening of John Carpenter's "The Thing" is absolutely phenomenal.
Gotta agree here.
Totally great. Poses a lot of questions to get you interested and hook you in. And pretty much all just through the visuals. Next to no dialogue.
I think that could be said with almost all of his films, they begin with a crazy (yet subtle) events that dont explain everything until later on, we may not consciously know why were hooked to the film but its most likely because of the opening scene and because it makes you watch till the end to find the mystery and before you know it "bam" your'e hooked"
@@LuisAngel-mu4zv that whole movie is excellent
A Clockwork Orange's opening is legendary. How a STARE be that iconic and legendary. Top with music and narration. Perfection of the craft.
Agreed
Your comment reminded me of that stare and that memory alone gave me goosebumps, that's how powerful it is
The Dark Knight. Phenomenal opening
YES!
Also Batman v Superman.
I know The Dark Knight was a great movie because I hate comic book movies but Dark Knight is one movie I really love.
Spielbergs first 10 minutes often leave you wondering, "what are all these strange things that hare happening"
scorsese likes to set the tone and tell you what the movie is about in the first 10 mins. opening scenes in gangs of new York and goodfellas for example.
Bugs Bunny is the same, so many strange hare happenings.
@@chrisoliver3642 Well, hardy har hare.
Let’s ignore Ready Player One.
The worst: Knowing how it all will end after the first few minutes.
The audience should at least know where it’s GOING, but should be surprised how they get there. Meaning from the beginning I should say “this movie will be over when the detective catches the killer.” But then we find out the killer is his parent or something we weren’t expecting.
Dead Silence is a great example of this. I guessed the ending twist almost right away
Jaws, great opening.
Watch the documentary on the making of Jaws. It's around in the 'net. It's great. Steve thought he would be fired at any minute. Speilberg was watching the premier from the lobby. Early on, a guy walks out. He said, "there's our first walkout.". Then they guy threw up, after the scene where the young boy was killed. He knew his little film grabbed the audience.
Star Wars, greatest opening of all time, IMO.
@@scottslotterbeck3796 i agree with about everything he said. Most movies are soooo predictable. They have discarded the art of storytelling. Great stories get you from the start and don't let go. I have walked out of many.
@@waderivers99 I've written short stories since I was nine. I will tell you it's a hell of a lot easier to write a good story than one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. (Even easier to write a mediocre one, ha ha.) I've been published, gotten a few awards, but nothing that puts my name up in lights. It's a gift a few have in spades (Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, others).
I'll be satisfied with a good film. But I agree, the emphasis is now in money. Like most businesses, profit has taken the place of quality and even community benefit.
Probably the most influential opening ever.
I don't know why but watching this guy talk about films really makes me miss video stores and just browsing the aisles. There's so many amazing movies out there that exist and actually had stories to tell and I miss hunting them like gems.
It is funny, how the simpler things make you experience it more. There was something magical about a full evening, going to the movie store. Going up and down the isles until settling on a movie. Then going home, making the popcorn and treats. It was a big experience and a good way to get into the movie before it starts. Now everything comes so fast and easy, harder to grab the attention of people.
I worked at a Blockbuster all throughout Highschool and it was the best job at that time period even with the crappy pay lol (2003-2006)
and the human at the counter knows every movie and can tell you smth about it
@@moritzrathmann2529 for real, and they could even make awesome recommendations! That's how I found Pi back in 1999
Goodfellas is my favorite opening. In less than 3 minutes, gives you everything. Let's you know it's gonna be tense, greatly acted, violent and even sets up the point of view character: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
Yep... first came to mind, then star wars
Thats right. Whoever watches the first minutes wants to know everything from these characters and their story.
I agree, the opening of that movie is heartwarming
I agree wholeheartedly. Stories should be used to help deal with our anxieties, and learn from different perspectives. To me, it's all about reevaluation over escapism. Even "escapist" pictures have characters dealing with personal struggles, and learning to overcome them (regardless if they relate to you personally or not).
Great to see you comment on that part of the video Ryan!
Brazil by Terry Gilliam is a wonderful representation of the 20th century.
Exactly! As a kid, I wasn't able to verbalize it, but I always found movies to be about other people's experiences.
The Godfather's "I believe in America" opening scene is so good.
Love how the sequel begins unexpectedly decades prior in Corleone.
You're expecting Michael's story to continue, instead you're seeing the childhood trauma his father suffered.
Exactly what I had in mind!
“The Godfather” is the one exception to the “book is always better” rule. The book is great, but Coppola elevated it.
Which reminds me of the simple, yet captivating beginning of Goodfellas. It doesn't have to be more complicated or longer than that.
@@Sweetish_Jeff_ Correction.... Coppola and Puzo elevated it together. Puzo rewrote his own novel for the screenplay, as authors sometimes do.
Best movie opening of all time is absolutely Raiders of the lost Ark. Truly the greatest opening and the Greatest introduction to a main character.
To be fair, I do clinch up if someone were to strongly dislike _It's A Wonderful Life_ I know it's not gonna be for everyone, but every Christmas it's a must and fills me with a temporary level of positivity and optimism!
Did you know it didn't do well in theaters during it's initial run? The fact that it's a beloved xmas movie is a purely modern phenomenon.
@@zqxzqxzqx1 Yep, alos had a huge budget for the time, even developing techniques for creating fake snow. Many critics thought too sloppy also and the failure went on to ruin Frank Capra's career and film company. So many films are seen differently though the lens of time, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Fight Club were critical and financial failures when released, earning a greater appreciation down the line, even one of the greatest sequels of all time (my own opinion) The Empire Strikes Back surprising received mixed reviews first time round (didn't flop, just made quite a bit less than it's predecessor)
@@dannyr2976 Yes. As you say, interesting how time can change things.
Opening of Inglorious Bastards has to be one of the best.
All Tarantino movies have great opening scenes
Yes.
Yes.Too bad some casual viewers are too lazy to pay attention to the dialogue
@@srksharma8199 When Joe Rogan said Tarantino is just hyper violence and no intrigue to the human condition, I wanted to know what Joe was smoking and where I can get a hold of that.
Saving private Ryan is a fantastic opening for a film. Very memorable. Also batman 89. Mind see that in the cinema as a kid.
I love the opening to "Duel" by Steven Spielberg. No dialogue except for the sounds of a crackling car radio as we see Dennis Weaver driving on the road.
The opening of Terminator 2 always had me hyped to see the future war against the machines, and that didn't even happen until a later installment in the franchise. (And for some odd reason, I haven't gone back to watch those films, but whenever I see T2 on some random TV channel, I grab some snacks and settle in.)
For myself, Star Wars: A New Hope has the best opening sequence ever in film. It still blows me away. And then after that, the movie delivers in spades. Such a perfect movie.
I love Star Wars. But I'll be honest, I've never much liked the trench run sequence. And it's not that I don't like the trench run sequence, it's just that I have always felt that it belongs in its own film. For me, Star Wars ought to end after fleeing the Death Star and saving the princess. And then the hypothetical sequel should pick up with the quest to destroy the Death Star. That sequence just feels so different from what came before it and it's always a jarring shift when I rewatch the film. I mean it works for what it is, but just a slight nitpick. Of course, we would not have got Empire if my idea had happened, so I am glad it turned out like it did.
The first 3 original star wars movies all had killer openings. Vader capturing Leya, Battle of Hoth and the ice monster, saving Han from Jaba...all great openings.
I love the opening to Office Space. Everyone just dragging themselves to work in the morning. Instantly recognizable, the frustrations of sitting in traffic and never getting anywhere while trying to get to a place you really don’t feel like going to, it’s even relatable to kids who stood outside in the rain and then had to sit on a bus for an hour. Another one off the top of my head I don’t see anyone else mentioning is Field of Dreams. With three minutes of exposition you know everything you need to about Ray Kinsella. Right after that they cut to him hearing the voice for the first time. No messing around, they get right to the story and pull you in.
The old man walking faster than traffic is moving. 🤣
Mad Max: Fury Road has a pretty great opening. The rest of the film just shows what could happen if creative people could actually be creative in a big budget world. George Miller hit it out of the park.
Was looking for this comment.
Sometimes creatives need structure or else nothing would get done. But Miller has the experience to marry the managerial side with the creative side.
Truly a perfect movie.
for me that movie does not have sense or meaning.
@@constantinsabin3193 To each his own!
Awful movie!
Like watching a really bad PS2 game; characters going back to previous areas in order to stretch out the story.
Lame and over-rated!
@@bobrew461 Well you should probably stick to watching movies instead of PS2 games. Haha that's all I have to say about that nonsensical comment.
I read a LOT of script submissions. You can also tell from the first five pages of a script whether the craft is there...or not.
How long are you willing to wait in a script for your attention to be grabbed like for example the good the bad and the ugly takes a few minutes for any great action to really happen whereas something like goodfellas grabs your attention immediately. Basically do you need to be immediately interested or are you ok with a slower but as affective intro.
If i had applied this standard to novels i would have sacked some great books. FIVE pages is utterly ridiculous.
Do you do that for a living?
French films, say the ones by Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer, tend not to grab ... at beginning; and yet, the memory of them can linger for a long time!
Am thinking of:
Pauline at the beach,
for example, and
Le Boucher.
@@diabetus115 it's not about action, he said "craft": he's talking about artistry, an engaging concept or compelling characters, maybe the establishment of an interesting concept to be explored, and also underlying everything how well written it all is in doing so. Is the dialogue compelling, or does it feel unbelievable? Is it clichéd? Basically is there any indication the writer has any idea what they're doing, and the talent to pull of whatever it is they're trying. Good writing comes across within a few pages for sure, regardless of pacing.
"Slacker" was filmed right down the street from my house. "Dazed and Confused" a little further.
I also judged a short film competition a few years ago. He's absolutely right about the opening scene, even in something that's only ten minutes long.
Greatest opening of ALL TIME: “Once Upon A Time In The West!!”
EPIC!!! Thanks for the platform!!🙏
"You brought two too many".
Definitely, that is my personal favorite opening. Tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
That opening is goat!!!!
“Think what other people think can be creatively crippling” - Chris Gore
So true.
My favorite opening is probably Apocalypse Now. The ceiling fan with helicopter noises was geeeeeenius
The opening Star Destroyer crawl in A New Hope was enough to make me want to immerse myself in that world.
The first line can be a great narrative hook in literature: "My name is Lew Archer," said Sam Spade.
Drive has an amazing opening. Gripping 10 minutes or so.
I love the opening of Shawshank. After that opening court scene, we get Red saying, "When Andy came to me asking if I could smuggle Ritta Hayworth in, I said no problem" Really makes you wonder where that is going.
Saving private ryan had a fantastic opening scene
You mean the second scene right?
@@davidhoffman6980 You know exactly what I mean
@@reeanimationgaming1034 yeah. Lol
100%
I disagree. I thought it was much too long. I 'experienced' the horror of war in the first 5-6 minutes The set-up ( of the task of finding Private Ryan) could have happened quite easily in that time frame. That's my opinion.
Trainspotting has one of the most energetic awesome openings ever!!
The soccer game in the opening even sets up every major character without saying a word: Begbie injures a player on the other team, Spud can't stop a ball that's kicked right at him from entering the net, Tommy is left to fend for himself, Sickboy cries foul and and Renton takes a direct shot to the dome. Brilliant.
He nailed. It’s the journey that makes a movie. Few of today’s movies have it. It’s why I love movies like Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Forest Gump, Reality Bites, Bullit etc. Interest characters piecing together life.
As a teenager in 1970 or 1969 (unsure) I saw 2001 : A space odyssey...it's first moments were the lights dimming into a deep blue.light & a powerful piece of amazing music until finally the curtain openned onto a curved screen & "Thus spake etc ".......my soul moved...
Worldbuilding. Scorsese's Casino does about 35 minutes of exposition about the Casino before the story even starts :D
"What's a movie with a great beginning"
"Slacker, a movie whose beginning I will not say anything about"
Nothing happens in Slacker but it grabs you anyway.
It's quite the journey over one day
@@kerbal666 is that the movie that goes from person to person?
@@EddieMachetti yep
@@kerbal666 I saw that movie once about ten years ago and it always stuck with me. I’ll have to watch it again.
The 1st jurassic Park had a great opening
For me, the most powerful opening is something similar to one of those '70s poliziotteschi (Italian crime) movies. There was no dialogue, no single word for more than ten minutes. The audience had to pay attention to pure visual storytelling to understand the story's premise. Then, after the visual exposition, the dialogue started. (No, I wasn't even born at this time. I found those movies later).
When a movie starts with people talking a lot, mentioning characters I don't know and don't care, or telling events I'm not watching, I lose interest quickly.
I recall Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion having an opening like that (and it’s a 70s Italian crime film)
@@bencarlson4300 They are great imo :D I learned a lot from them.
Oh, Citizen Above Suspicion is great. Gian Maria Volonté is one of my favorite actors of all time.
that's the golden period for me. i mostly just watch the old italian thrillers and westerns. i can't get enough of that style, i'm just in love with it.
@@iansmith8783 Aw man! Me too! I love those movies. Gian Maria Volontè, Franco Nero, Tomas Milian... Poliziotteschi are my favorites! I've been watching a ton of them on the Film&Clips channel (and they're legit. No pirated crap).
@@Amelia_PC looking at it right now. this looks awesome! everything i love. grazie mille!
I just realized this is how I listen to music I haven't heard before: if the first 30 seconds doesn't get my attention, I skip to the next one.
That's too bad, you've probably missed out on some songs you would've liked had you given them a full listen. Hell, sometimes I gotta listen to a song all the way through a few times until I really "get" it.
@@LopezAlabama I simplified it in the first comment, usually I skip ahead in the songs a few times, to hear if there's something in there that gets me. But I don't do this all the time. When I'm doing something else and the music just plays in the background, I don't skip anything at all.
Citizen Kane, Star Wars (the first movie), Goodfellas, The Shining, Staying Alive, Patton, A Clockwork Orange all immediately come to mind.
Another great example is Leon, the Professional. First scene is in fact very quiet & just a short dialogue scene. But the camera focuses in so much on the character's faces that there's no chance of escape, a trick the film repeats throughout. We are shown Leon right away but basically just his face, or more so just his eye. But the scene right away tells us, indirectly, that he is a hitman, we are shown, in the same extreme up-close, who provides him the job & what the job is, & that Leon drinks milk! And his milk drinking is an essential plot point! Then the film wastes no time showing us what a super assassin Leon is. A great, effective action scene that shows us the results of his work but rarely the man himself. In fact, we finally see Leon properly when the job's over & he goes home! THAT is an opening! It gives us everything we need to know with as little dialogue as possible & keeps our "protagonist" mysterious for as long as possible. And calling Leon a protagonist, considering what he does for a living, is up for debate. Because this film is one of those nice surprises that makes us root for & even love the otherwise traditional villain or bad guy. Even if Leon is a killer for money he is otherwise a total sweetheart! A gentle soul that unbeknownst to himself wants another life. And that happens to him when the bond with Mathilda, the neighbor girl, starts. Many say that when he lets her through his door & saves her life it is when she starts to change his life. I claim it happens sooner. Leon himself chooses to talk to her, under no pressure whatsoever. He simply takes notice of this little girl that is badly treated. He notices & he cares even if he absolutely shouldn't & had no reason to. THAT is what makes me care for characters & stories. And the traditional "villain" is suddenly on a journey to become a "hero".
What is also a fun note is that Natalie Portman, who played Mathilda, was, as we all know, the lead actress in V For Vendetta &, from her character's perspective of Evie, it's the same journey for Evie as it was for Mathilda, in a lot of ways. The only difference is that Evie is an adult & Mathilda isn't. And V is very much like Leon, much smarter & works alone sure, but the symbolism is very much the same. They both die but they die happier since both Mathilda & Evie brought meaning back into their dark lives. That is why we end up caring so deeply for Leon & V. They may do villainous things but we love them anyway. because they learn to love in return & they have honor.
Godfather, Godfather II, Star Wars and ESB…more recently Drive. The greatest movies of the last 50 years. All of which DO NOT open with any credits.
I think the easiest movie to say has the best opening that makes you wanna know more and really engages the audience is The Dark Knight. Certainly not an understated movie by any means, but for good reason. DC fan debates aside, it is a near solid film. It has some weak points here and there, but it remains an example of how to do a big budget comic book adaptation right. And that intro isn't what you would expect of a film to begin with, least of all a comic book film. It's the kind of intro you wish you could purge from your memory just so you can rewatch it the first time again and again. Some folks have even said it was their favorite part of the movie, that not even the rest of the film carries such a strong intro.
So if you want a great example of a movie intro that captivates the audience, a movie that many people have seen, then that's the perfect one.
some of the best best films ive seen have taken me 30-45 minutes to warm up to
Movies with great openings: Jaws, Avatar, Sound of Music, Alien, Star Wars, The Flight of the Navigator, The Abyss, Indiana Jones movies, The Martian, Passengers, etc.
We appreciate every speaker here for good reason. But I just wanted to take a sec to say that this is one of the best interviewers I've seen too. She asks some great open ended questions, has great follow up questions and humour next, but most importantly - let's the guest talk and open up. This seems so obvious yet so many people with podcasts and talk shows and TH-cam channels are so full of themselves, that they can't be bothered to listen to what another person has to share. Kudos for that to you personally, if you're reading this!
Thank you, Raymando! I appreciate the kind words. Great to hear you're enjoying the videos. :)
For my money the opening of Saving Private Ryan is the best. I was instantly engaged and invested
one of the best historical war scenes ever made
Yup. The first five minutes is the test of the directors mastery of story telling.
That's like the diner scene in Pulp Fiction and how it opens up. SO GOOD.
Or the opening diner scene in Reservoir Dogs. Brilliant!
The greatest opening in cinema history is LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring. The opening of that film was the greatest display of world building and specital. It made you mad that only 12 hours of that trilogy exists.
One of my favorite openings is the title sequence of Batman 1989. When you have one of the best movie scores ever and you give it the spotlight it deserves before an introductory narrative you can create the hightened expectation I still remember today.
Mad Max and especially Road Warrior…boom that’s how you open a movie.
7:25 difference of opinion is one thing, but today’s critics get VERY personal in their so called criticisms. I’ve seen critics that will verbally destroy someone’s life all because they don’t like a movie.
Pauline Kael did that, quite often...
@@bobrew461 I’m glad Idk who that is.
@@TheNuGeekz
:-0
They are horrible
Left wing “progressives”
As a musician I was taught that people remember the beginning and the ending.....The middle is fluff.
Except with Dark Knight Rises
@Mike MCbain that whole movie was a big ball of meh personally.
I didn't feel that way about the godfather. In fact I think the middle is what I liked the most
@@pheunithpsychic-watertype9881 Funny because from the perspective of the whole trilogy, Godfather II is the middle. Yet it's universally recognized as the best of the three (personally I liked the first one better)
@@ekathe85 yeah you're right. And personally I can't decide between 1 and 2
One film that comes to mind is Gladiator. Strong opening since it constantly focuses on our lead protagonist, Maximus. The battle itself is in fact not really important, it's who Maximus is & why he is the way he is that is the opening strength. Then that builds immediately after the battle when he has conversations with other characters, mostly the Emperor that wants him to take over the Empire. But because of this, because of one of the best villains in recent decades, Commodus, Maximus becomes an even greater protagonist because he is betrayed,. the Emperor is murdered & so is Maximus' family. From here it's all a vendetta story. There is so much to love & marvel at with Gladiator, the emotional roller-coaster alone deserves all attention. But one thing that I really love that the film does is towards the end of the film when Commodus has a chat with Maximus just prior to their final fight. And Commodus sums up the entire movie for us by reminding us of Maximus' journey; General, Slave, Gladiator. The exact same thing was the tagline for the film itself & for the villain to say it in the film itself is genius! And I always smile a little extra when Commodus continues to call it a striking story & now the audience wants to know how the story ends. By the time we reach that scene the audience of the film actually agrees with what the villain is saying! Even if there's surely not a single person watching Gladiator that doesn't passionately hate Commodus as a character we still agree with what he's saying right there, consciously or not. The nr 1 role for any villain of any story is to create the story & make the protagonist as great as possible. The better the villain the better the hero = the better the story. Gladiator, with its strong opening & hero's journey that makes us feel everything there is to feel, got it all right.
Complety agree man, thought of Gladiator too
There Will Be Blood has an epic opening!
That's a really good call. Awesome example of showing the "why" behind a characters motives and "who" he is. It's been years but I think they portrayed it without any dialogue too.
A great opening I loved was the “Okay folks let’s do this one last time” opening from Into the Spiderverse
The opening of The Wrath of Khan--the Kobiyashi Maru sequence. The introduction of Saavik, the foreshadowing of Spock's death, and the twist ending, featuring the almost god-like entrance of the backlit Kirk. Great stuff!
A great opening sequence of a recent movie I saw was "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" which made a comical play on the Western genre, from the echoes in the canyon to the bar scene (which introduced something "new").
The movie is amazing. "First time?" Gets me every time 🤣
@@matthewconnor5483 😂
The opening of The Two Towers is just one of the best ever made.
I think the end of a movie is just as important as the opening. One of my all time favorites, is the ending of Se7en. What's in the box. Even as I wrote this I got goosebumps. No joke. Such a brilliant movie. What I loved about New Hope, was that Darth Vader lived and got away! WHAT, the bad guy lived and got a away that was unheard of in my day. I'm in my 50s.
I heard brad pitts characters tone just reading that.
I love how he says he wants "to be in that world." That sense of place is so important. That is how I look at my favorite movies. "I like being there" is the way I put it. I just watched The Thing for the millionth time and loved it! I know damn near every word of dialog but I don't care. I love being in that claustrophobic world. Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer is another favorite of mine. I love being on that cold island in that amazing house. Movies like Braveheart, Goodfellas, Doctor Zhivago, Dunkirk, Falling Down, Heat, many more, I like being "there."
I like batman trilogy, but for the love of God I don't like being in Gotham city
@@andakara27 Ha! Makes good sense. Seems like a place at high risk of collateral damage. I'm with you, I love the Batman trilogy, too.
Probably going to sound weird to some but the opening 10 minutes of Falling Down with Michael Douglas got me hooked
The cool openings I can instantly pull out of my memory are "The Martix" ; "A New Hope" ; "Joker"
Star wars, a female hope would have had a good opening if they did not make fun of the scary villain in his first dialogue. He was scary for 2 minutes and then star wars started dying and the torment ended with the last jedi. The 9th episode which i haven't seen should probably have been named "no jedi" because the skywalkers are gone.
The Rise of Skywalker had one moment that tugged on my heart-strings. The rest the movie just had me thinking “I need to watch real movies”
“The female hope”
😂😅😭🤣😂😅😭🤣
Agreed! You know when you hear lines like "As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster..." you're not goin' anywhere...
It's funny that Chris pointed to *Slacker* as an example. I actually saw *Waking Life* (one of my all time favorite films) first, then *A Scanner Darkly* , and went back to find *Slacker* because I wanted to find more of Richard's work. When I saw it, I thought, "Wow, this is like the prequel to *Waking Life* "
At the same time, I thought *Slacker* was very raw and that you had to really be in an indy head space to appreciate the film from start to finish. I was drawn in only because of the similarities. On the flip side, *Waking Life* had more experience, could connect to a larger audience, and had a bigger budget so it was polished. Both films jump all over the place & don't truly follow traditional structures, but I think you can see many of the important points brought up on this channel about film making by juxtaposing the two films.
Excalibur 1981 has a wonderful opening and I can't get the soundtrack out of my mind.
Have to rewatch it. Loved that movie. Very different and rich with mythology
"I just found out my dad's evil."
"Might I recommend the Star Wars saga?" (Minus the sequels.)
Two movies which have spoken deeply to me and helped me learn about what I value most in life are Sideway and Lost in Translation. This interview was amazing and I totally agree with Chris on the purpose of story.
So much art is forgotten or will be forgotten. Maybe at the end of the day, you have to create the adventure so you can go on it yourself.
Jaws...is how to open a movie. It's been parodied now...but go back and watch it. Genius film making!
The last time I'm grabbed is with Parasite, I don't know, I'm so wanted to see the next one after that opening ..
If I could list down my favourite openings in movies I like.
- The bank heist in The Dark Knight
- The Normandy landings in Saving Private Ryan
- The early days of the apocalypse in A Quiet Place Part II
- The hilarious interview in Slap Shot
- The tragic scene in Finding Nemo
- John McClane’s introduction in Die Hard
- The starship battle in A New Hope
- Shrek’s introduction in his movie.
- Indiana Jones’ introduction in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and his backstory in The Last Crusade
- Nicholas Angel’s introduction in Hot Fuzz
- The brutal opening in Logan
- Seeing the many firefighters battling a building fire in Ladder 49
- The first ten to fifteen minutes of A Bug’s Life
- The brutal battle between the Natives and the Dead Rabbits in Gangs of New York
- That opening in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- The first twenty-five minutes of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (the only best part of the movie for me)
- That opening in Mission: Impossible Fallout up to the main titles
- Both the openings in the first-two Terminator movies
- The beautiful and calming atmosphere in the first Blade Runner.
- Mark Zuckerberg getting dumped by his girlfriend and crashing the computer network on campus in The Social Network
- The warehouse scene was okay for me in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- The playoff loss to the Oakland A’s in Moneyball
I love that Chris said a movie is like therapy!
I actually like when you get to see the end right away and then the movie explains how/why we got there.
One of my favorite openings of all time is Reservoir Dogs. There's such a casualness about it and Tarantino breaks all the rules about storytelling with it. Watching a bunch of guys talking about random stuff over breakfast doesn't pertain any to the story and barely gives you any tell of who the charactersare, yet still makes you engaged in the rest of the film.
I just realized The Force Awakens do really have a very good opening. We are introduced with the plot, of finding Master Skywalker, introduced to a new bad guy Kylo Ren, and also the first ever Stormtrooper who defect (Finn), and then in the middle to a mystery of who Rey really is
Its all just good and interesting until the rest of it throws it all in the garbage lmao
Id say Lord of the Rings opening was amazing. So.much exposition to deliver and yet they found a way to.make a compelling story out of ten.lines of dialogue.
i see the parallels of the craft and art form of making music and making great movies i just replace the words a bit in my mind while watching these interviews
Jurassic park. Great opening! With the creature in the cage.
Tho The Lost World is my favoriteJurassic Park film i didn’t like the opening... from a woman screaming to Jeff Goldlum yawning with a fake beach background
@@jemadriano1217 agree, that was bad
“Take two Steele Magnolias and call me in the morning.” OMG I love you!!! This is absolutely my favorite episode so far. Your advice is absolutely spot on.
2:06 It's a terrible example because none of us have ever seen or heard of that movie. Name a popular movie that we can all relate to.
you obviously never grew up visiting a blockbuster or a hollywood video every other day.
@@jasonpbass I actually did, just never heard of this one
Slacker is a great movie, check it out you might really like it.
The whole point of being a film critic or a enthusiast is to point someone to a film or music that is good and they would have never heard of otherwise. You don't need to be told to watch Harry Potter or Fast and Furious or the new Beyonce song that stuff is drilled into you through marketing anyway
2001 A Space Odyssey is my favorite opening. The music, to the dawn of man sequence, to space ships floating around made me wonder what the hell was going to happen next and I loved it
Dude, Conan the Barbarian has an incredible opening.
It's mesmerizing.
John Milius! What a crazy director. To me Conan and big Wednesday will always be special
The opening of the fellowship of the ring, the matrix and especially saving private ryan in my opinion are excellent and some of the best opening sequences ever. They're engaging and leave you wanting for more.
The original suspiria had a great opening
Star Wars has the best opening of all time. It was so good that it changed filmmaking.
One of the best openings of a film is Notorious by Hitchcock. Having Cary Grant sitting with his back to the audience is highly unusual, particularly since he was so going looking. The opening of Sunset Boulevard is also brilliant, by showing a dead body in a swimming pool.
This channel is amazing! Chris is the best. But the woman interviewing him is simply fantastic! Bravo!
Never prescribe "Requiem for a Dream." That movie is a strictly controlled substance.
When I saw Slacker (in Madison, Wisconsin), as I left the movie, two people were having a conversation in the lobby, talking the same kind of disjointed nonsense that I had watched in the movie. I was not able to escape from the movie for about three days. It was all around me, and sort of changed my sense of reality.
When I took film classes back in the early 1990s, the first thing we learned when writing a script was, "You have 10 minutes to grab the audience's attention. If you don't set the stage for your story in those 10 minutes, then you will lose the audience. Go watch the 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast. Perfectly set the background and the characters in the first five minutes with the opening song. Hooked.
I think a lot of writers took the "grab the audience's attention" in an unintended direction. They think it means do something big and bombastic. But by now, big and bombastic has been done so many times, it's lost all it's edge. Meanwhile, they've spent 10 minutes doing nothing to build the world or set the stage for an interesting story.