How To Begin A Movie
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ต.ค. 2018
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In this video essay, I ask what makes a great beginning for a movie and how we can make one ourselves.
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PJ Crabb
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Ken Grey
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Maarten Munter
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*A bunch of crazy shit going on and then a freeze frame*
"That's me. Wondering how I got here?"
That's obviously the best way to open a movie.
Deadpool
@@stinger9588 Yeah lol
Plus points if baba o'Riley by The Who is playing in the background
Megamind!
Skyros_42 really lol many other movies have done this besides dead pool
According to my research from school, you need a begining, middle, and end.
Not if you're Quentin Tarantino.
Or if your name is Lebowsky and your nick name Dude xD
A beginning, middle, and the twist!
@@mikemoore7232 dat Shyamalan way
Tell that to Christopher Nolan's "Memento"
I remember watching dark knight as a kid and being like, “where’s f**ken Batman!??”, for the first 15 minutes of the film
Lmao,I really loved TDK
@ExtraGoose Animations r/im14andthisisdeep
The Dark Knight is a cool Batman movie
Best batman movie oat
i wil *marry* that movie
"As far as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster"
Goodfellas summed up in 10 seconds
Idk how he didn't talk about it this is the goat start of a movie
He had voice-overs and visual storytelling and dialogue. He broke the rules.
I love this opening scene.
You start with a car driving down a highway. The opening placard places us in New York, 1970. Cut to the interior of the car. Ray Liotta is driving, Robert de Niro is sleeping in the shotgun seat and Joe Pesci is sleeping in the backseat behind de Niro. Ray wipes his eye - apparently he'd been driving for a while.
Suddenly, BUMP. Ray blinks, and Joe wakes up in the back. The bumping continues. The first spoken line of dialogue is, "What the fuck is that?" Appropriate, for a film with a '300' F-Bomb count. You know already this isn't a movie for the kids. de Niro, who we find out is named Tommy, gets asked if Ray hit something, or if they ran a flat. Joe then loudly declares, "What the fuck, you better pull over and see."
Next we're in a dark wood, or forest or something. All three of them are out of the car, and approach the trunk apprehensively. There's a shot of the trunk with the bumping sounds coming from it. The shot is a slow zoom, very ominous in the dark. We cut back to the guys and notice they're all wearing suits. Tommy is holding a shovel, while Joe pulls out a huge knife from his suit pocket. At this point we're invested. What's in the trunk? Tommy and Joe nod at Ray to open the trunk. Ray approaches as if he doesn't want to touch the thing. He pops it open...
There's a man covered in bloody cloth in the back. His face is unrecognizable. He's saying something, but is immediately interrupted by Joe Pesci. Joe has a look of hatred in his eyes, and goes, "He's still alive! Fucking piece of shit...die!" as he's stabbing the man repeatedly with his knife. Tommy then pulls out a gun and fires four shots into the man. If he wasn't dead yet from the stabbing, he is now. Silence reigns. Ray turns to his friends, then closes the trunk as the narration begins:
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." Freeze frame on Ray's face. "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennett plays.
From the start we know this is about a gangster, and his rise to power - from Rags to Riches - all without over exposition. We know the film is going to be brutal and bloody, as evidenced by the mob hit we just witnessed, complete with stabbings and shootings. We know it will be set in New York in the 70s, we know there's going to be a lot of profanity, we know it's not going to be a Sicilian family drama a la Godfather but deals more with the wet work side of the mafia and all the hardcore bloodletting that goes with it. The most amazing thing is, the whole thing takes place in a minute and thirty seconds, after that the opening credits roll and we get on with the show. Scorsese does not fuck around - there's a reason he is so celebrated.
I love it when a film shows you everything you need to know about the character without telling you anything. The joker intro was just about perfect.
Or Reservoir Dogs. Their intro sceen tells you each charecter. The rat calls out mr.pink for not tipping. Mr.pink survives because hes only looking out for himself. Mr.brown is irrelevant in the film hence why he talks about pop culture and the other guy sticks up for the waitress because he has some morality to him. Really a brilliant sceen.
Derek Lewis holy shit I never thought about the foreshadowing of the ratting
out
Also The Social Network
perfect*. Agreed, what a tremendous opening sequence.
The actor, the writer, the director and director of photography have to work together to achieve that. When done correctly, it just adds so much more value to the film.
Monty Python:
Not to mention that they start it out by playing "the wrong bloody film."
Holy Grail is just 🥰
Thank you for saying this ❤️
The subtitles in the opening credits and in fact the credits themselves are hilarious
and our adventure starts by following the local milk man....
Mynd you, moose bytes can be pretti nasti...
Regarding the opening sequence of The Matrix, to me, it's even more interesting considering how the Wachowski siblings used it as a gamble. The studio initially granted them a budget of only ten million dollars for the whole movie, although they needed sixty-three million. So what they did was to use the whole ten million they got, just to shoot that sequence with Trinity and make it so good as to convince the studio to grant them the budget they eventually got. So basically the Wachowskis used the opening sequence for its purpose to showcase the kind of movie it's going to be on its own, because they needed to and it worked perfectly.
I didn't know this!
Did they get the money they needed because of it?
@@gdsonsow they did
@@gdsonsowI mean...the Matrix exists innit?
Still blown away by that opening. I knew nothing, best way to see a movie
LOTR opens with dialogue that basically explains the story. And it is easily one of the best openings.
Missed the part where he said it's okay to break rules.
@Isaac
6:18
Here you go
It establishes what the film will be about... long af info dump with lore to your eyeballs. Perfect.
Godfather opening is so good I watched it like 20 times before I got the time to actually see the whole movie.
so does transformers, doesnt make it good
I also really like the opening of UP it didnt really have much dialogue but man it hits hard.
Up is excellently made, that shit makes a grown man cry
That one scene carrys the whole film
@@nguyen-vuluu3150 yep
That’s the beauty of film. “Show, don’t tell”
I rewatched Up the other day and that opening sticks with you the whole movie. It’s amazing
Willy Wonka: Here's a sequence of how a chocolate is packaged.
Lord of War: Hold my Beretta.
Beeretta
The wonka sequence had much better music
@@decatessara5029 imagine loading a bullet to the Wonka chocolate packing theme.
@@ToastGamingNCrew it could work
@@decatessara5029 who can make a gun range, sparkle up with joy?
I think another great example of an opening not mentioned is Baby Driver. It grips you from the first moment and conveys so much without a word.
That movie is just awesome overall
i love the opening of that movie! the camerawork, the driving, just everything is perfect! one of my favourite movies of all time
Inglorious Basterds opening scene will always be the one that sticks out to me as “perfect” … The suspense is like no other and it establishes the character “Hans Landa” in so much detail, all compacted in to a singular opening scene
The opening of the Dark Knight is something special indeed, I love it
It was a rip off of point break
What I love about it is how it portrays Joker an the anti-Batman. He's the criminal genius version, what Batman could be if he went bad.
He has everything planned out in a weirdly chaotic way. I imagine he had 8 different escape routes planned and had no idea which one he'd end up using.
I loved the way he turned the rest of the gang against each other as they became less useful to him, the way he stays masked until the end, the way he sent out that one thug against the bank manager after lying about the manager being out of bullets.
It's a brilliant piece of storytelling that sets up Joker as a credible, scary villain in just a few minutes.
@Mr Respectable he's right there's nothing unique or original about it it ripped off point break and pay day 2 I've better character intros out there
@Mr Respectable no ordinary bank robbery
Great movie series no doubt. Although I wish we could’ve kept the same Rachel throughout the movies!
*The opening of Logan is like the film maker grabbing a sledge hammer and smashing it in your face, saying “Get ready. You’re in for one hell of a ride.”*
- The closer look 2018
I had to pause the movie after he stabbed a bunch of people in the face. I had no idea it was rated R. I needed to buckle up for what I was about to watch.
Derek Lewis I had to do the same but for the emoji movie.
Oh, the innocence in this post... you never had 20/20 vision
The opening of How to Train Your Dragon established both many (but not all) of the musical leitmotifs as well as the characters. It's a really good opening.
My sibling can recite the whole beginning of that movie, word for word, from memory. It's just so good lmao
The dark knight intro and honestly any Christopher Nolan film always has that huge open world feel and I love it
But don't forget: You need to master the rules before you can break them.
what a wholesome way to put it
Good point! :D
And break them for a good *reason.*
Sounds like a rule to me
Precisely. I'm going to try to quote one of my old writing profs as best I can remember: "You can and should break the rules for a reason, but you can't know that reason until you know the damn rules."
There is one occasion where a character can narrate at the start.
*I am speed*
I mean, Cars has a pretty good opening. You immediately learn that Lightning is a cocky and douchey son of a b that thinks everything revolves around him. It sets up his own expectations, his character, what to expect for the character, and then after the intro we see things unravel for Lightning's cocky attitude that will inevitably change his life for the better: blowing the two tires on his last lap, getting stranded in Radiator Springs, etc.
This is Berk...
@@samarvora7185 and how to train your dragon was a really great movie, too
Or goodfellas
The Lord of the Rings, did it really well and well it was just kinda nescary I think as there just was no way to keep all the info in the film without making it unbearably long for the casual audience. (They already stretched it "quite beyond what was deemed the max time limit for a succesfull movie") So yeah doing the exposition saved a awfull lot of time for other themes and info. Meanwhile they still did an awfull lot of telling you bye showing or referencing or being accurate to the deeper lore they don't have the time for. So yeah they didn't choose the lazy way they just did both and they did it really well.
It's actually kind of brilliant how you explain the openings of the Dark Knight Trilogy. Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises focus on how the villain challenges Batman, and the openings focus on those villains while ignoring anything about Batman. Why do they ignore Batman? Well, because the audience knows who he's is, AND Nolan already did an intro completely focusing on the character of Batman in the first one!
How James Bond films didn't get a mention I don't know. They're renowned for their opening scenes.
Skyfall. The shadow walking down the hallway. Thrilling music. Slowly unveils bond. Right to the action. Sets up the plot by having an agent down and a hard drive gone. Fucking insane opening man
Up, man. That opening is up there with the greatest opening montages of all time.
Whats Up, man?
ikr man, one of the best movies out there
@@spacepatrolofficer nothing much, hbu
Mahmood Al-rawi nothing really
Not really agreeing... it's forced (albeit well executed) melodrama.
The shining used the helvetica font as the opening creds
HELVETICA
Thank you for letting me skipping this video and go to The Shining opening credits. Yes I’m sorry I haven’t watched The Shining enough.
Shouldve been comic sans
PAPYRUS
It kinda makes it more scary cuz it's so plain and blunt
AND FKIN AVATAR USED PAPYRUS
The opening to The Last of Us tv show, I think, is really good. It perfectly sets the chilling tone of dread and introduces newcomers to the idea behind the show but not in a boring way
I gotta say the opening for Scream is one of the best in horror. It tells us everything we need to know about Ghostface, tells us that the characters in this movie know about horror movies and their cliches, and is just a great display of tension building and pay off without using a crappy jumpscare or anything like that
The Dark Knight was an experience of it's own. That movie was WAY beyond many of the movies of today.
One of my best movies of all time
I’ve never watched Batman. Is it still good?
Damn straight!
i gotta say, greatest movie of all time imo
@@tietscho definitely watch the Bale trilogy, one of the greatest trilogies of all time and i’d consider The Dark Knight to be the best movie of all time
Halloween (1978) had an amazing opening. It threw you immediately into the POV of the killer, then revealing that you were in the shoes of a 6 year old child the entire time is utterly chilling on the first watch, and really establishes the dark nature of not only the film but the main antagonist as well.
I really like the scene where Indiana Jones writes on the blackboard and counts the lines in his writing. He's not really good at writing but has found a way to solve this problem. He's a little clumsy like in many scenes after, but always finds a way to master the situation - a really good setup for his character.
The best thing about the opening scene of The Dark Knight Rises is how the story is started within the first few seconds after Bane appears. It might be more like foreshadowing, but when Bane leaves an unknown body and performs a blood transfusion from Dr. Pavel to the corpse. It’s only until later in the film we see the need for the world to assume that Dr. Pavel is dead.
I like it when there's a narrator in a movie, LOTR proves that it doenst have to be boring as long as the words are spoken well.. or maybe im boring idk
DWTW no the prologue is iconic
I usually hate narrated intro's but until you mentioned it I never even realized that its the only narrated intro that just draws me in.
Like he said, Breaking the rules can still make a great intro and I think that is what was done for LOTR. Plus, Without a narrated intro to that series, I believe the whole story would be too overwhelming and confusing off the start because so much goes on and there is so much lore you already get introduced to later.
Syphious that intro needed to happen for sure
@@Syphious64 good points I agree
not a movie but you can't bring up narration without me thinking of the chimera ant arc of hunter x hunter...
What you really should have said is,
“If a scene serves no purpose at the time, it should be omitted.”
This includes it’s purpose on audience reaction, story integration, character development, emotional impact etc
Master the rules before you break them
No Country For Old Men begins with narration and it's great! Mostly because it's used to set tone, not plot.
Closer Look never says it in these exact words, but I think the best description of what he's talking about can be summed up with two points: A good opening to a story *sets the tone* and *establishes theme.* You could make whole essays on those two things separately, but I think that's the best summary.
The saddest part about Logan and it's lack of appeal is that people have been so diluted with quick peppy Marvel movies that when a proper story with dark themes and a developing plot is released it's "too slow" or "too serious"
That's not true otherwise every Tarantino movie would be labeled as such... Logan was just a shit movie period, it's fine that we disagree on this fact but it's not fine that you make the assumption that just because the viewer sees a movie for the pile of dig shit that it is that this must be because of one very generalised observation in the industry... the marvel series mostly is great because of the fact they are fast paced and funny entertainment. Tarantino movies are mostly great because of the fact they are slow and he takes his time to create suspense where ever he can... these are 2 very different styles made for 2 very different audiences that I happen to be a part of. Logan is a bad movie not for one singular reason but multiple but like all art industries movies are individualistic so your assumptions based on bias will always be wrong
@@ihateusernamesgrrr Then what are those multiple reasons for Logan being a"pile of dogshit". I understand that you can dislike the story itself, maybe it doesn't appeal to you, the genre could be nit your favourite, same for some creative elements etc., But for a movie to be ''a shit movie'' there must be quite some obvious flaws with it, flaws which even fans of the genre and people who like the story can't deny.
So if you want any credibility claiming a movie is shit, you should at least point some flaws out, when many people see said movie as good or even great.
Grunt_007 ok no you don’t. A fan doesn’t need to agree with me about reasons why a movie is shit.
@@coby4480 I'm with you 100%
@@coby4480 What are you even trying to say?
That you don't need a movies fanbase behind you?
Obviously not.
I haven't even seen Logan, and I'm not planning on doing so in the near future either.
But if you decide to critique a movie, you should at least try and make some points. How fucking worthless is your opinion if you can't even begin explaining why it is your opinion?
The Dark Knight's opening is still my all-time favourite, it was incredible to experience on the big screen.
Mizumono Lucky you
That window glass break shook me to the core in the theater.
Also very detailed
@@centpushups it was a rip off of point break
@@Anubis-xk4ht U can't deny that it isn't good, though.
Inglorious Basterds has one of my favorite opening scenes ever
One of my favourite opening scenes comes from the James Bond film Casino Royale. Where we see Bond achieve his 00 Status, telling the story of his first two kills. Great opening, great movie. It sets up: 1) This is a reboot, Bond’s origin. 2) This ain’t your grandad’s Bond. Gone are the days of super-lasers and white cats, to be replaced by cold, hard-edged and gritty violence. No quips, no gadgets, no foreshadowing. Just a brawl in a bathroom and an assassination.
Octopussy' has a great opening for a Bond movie too.
Super late, but The Dark Knight’s opening actually sets up the plot. I forgot how, but he’s robbing from a mob bank.
love the scene where he burnt all them money. laughed so hard at that.
Dark knight rises same
he kidnaps the professor who can arm and disarm the bomb
@@rianmacdonald9454 "some men just want to watch the world burn."
@@aaronseet2738 yep I sure do.
@@rianmacdonald9454 He told them not to worry, he was only burning his half.
Everytime I hear the word 'narration' I immediately hear the CinemaSins *ding* sound effect.
*45 seconds of opening logos*
Comcast
CinemaSins is gay
@@racconbuilders3665 no u
@@cursedspined990 that meme died two years ago
Man, A Clockwork Orange has to be the best - that music is unrivalled by anything I’ve ever heard before, Malcom McDowell’s alluring stare, the 90 seconds slow zoom out, the imagery, it sets up the character of Alex so perfectly even before his first lines
Back to the Future is my favorite movie of all time. I would say that pretty much every aspect of it is perfect, including the intro.
The only thing special about it is the clocks, but they foreshadow the events at the end of the movie. Later you see the news lady talking about missing plutonium, which leaves you very curious. Then we see machinery and gadgets such as an automatic toaster, a dog food can opener, and a few other odd things lying around. This establishes that whoever owns the house is an inventor, and is very creative. Now we see the main character, who’s calling to someone called Doc, who we assume is the owner of the place, and “Einstein” who we assume is a dog. He walks in and kicks his skateboard into a yellow box labeled “Plutonium: Handle With Care”, now informing us that this so called “Doc” stole plutonium from Libyans. Now Marty (who’s name we actually don’t know yet) walks up to the amp and starts turning everything up, and playing a destructive power chord that knocks him back and blows up the amp. Now Doc calls him asking for him to bring his camera to the mall at 1:15 AM. After the conversation is over, all the clocks ring 25 minutes slow, we’re informed, as Doc proclaims, “Perfect! My experiment worked! They’re all exactly 25 minutes slow!” Marty is now late for school, which shows that he’s the type of dude to own a watch, but doesn’t pay attention to it. The intro just establishes to much in such a short amount of time. My favorite part of the movie is that there is not a single scene or like if dialogue that doesn’t contribute to the plot of the movie. Everything is perfect.
The important thing about rules isn't that they must always be followed without exception.
The important thing about rules is knowing _why_ they're there, and when you can (and should) break them.
@PrestonTheLord I mean...if you can't tell the difference between rules and laws, and you're getting your moral guidance from a TH-cam comment...go for it? You'll probably be safer in prison anyway.
@PrestonTheLord Backatcha.
@Preston but first you should know why and when rob that bank.
@@Werrf1 that's interesting pov, take Loki series for example, at the end the rule was kinda you can't kill he who remains, they also explained why, and that's what made it interesting, why the rules are there and why shouldn't they be broken
Step One : get Hans Zimmer to do the soundtrack.
Step Two : Profit
So why hasn't Disney hired Hans Zimmer?
@@danieldosso2455 Because they're dumb
Jonny Greenwood's better
Barman vs Superman?
@@BenceQurie It still got profit tho
It would seem the most important things people forget when introducing characters, is that you are introducing their character as in who they are on the inside, not just their name, we saw the type of person Bane was, not just given a name and an explanation (like they did with the original suicide squad).
IT 2017 has one of the best opening movie scenes I know. A story between two brothers + the paper boat scene at the end. Great 5 min intro with beautiful music/camera work.
Interesting how the thumbnail promised one perfect opening to a movie in the Dark Knight but then you smashed our expectations with the intro from Logan being the best ever 👊🏻
Dude, spoiler alert
Diego Mc Lane 😂 my bad 😂
Oh cmon, Spoiler for something like this? So sensetive....
Clickbait more like. I think Dark Knight was chosen because it’s a very popular film.
@@bradyrieger5798 No, I actually was about to use a thumbnail for Indiana holding the gold idol but I went with the Joker's mask, I nearly went for the former however didn't for no other reason than the joker one looks quite visually interesting, I wouldn't call it click bait when it directly relates to a film I talk about in the video.
well, according to cinemasins, you can't have logos, reading, or narration.
Well I definitely disagree with that narration part. I said in this video that narration can be lazy, emphasis being on the word 'can'.
Look at the opening to lord of the rings. That is narration, yet still it is quite gripping and as an opening does a great job. It is a beautifully written monologue.
I don't dislike Cinemasins but they give off this sense that there are strict rules to what makes a film good or bad, in that respect I entirely disagree with them.
@@TheCloserLook I completely agree. Personally, I love a lot of narration, my favourite is probably the Deathly Hallows intro. "These are dark times, there is no denying...".
I think that a lot of sins they do, they only include because they kind of have to now. It's part of their brand.
What I do agree with is the logos thing. Seeing half a dozen obnoxious corporation logos can be annoying, especially when I just want to see an awesome film! The only one I will accept is the MCU, because it's essentially an OP for a TV show.
@@TheCloserLook i have to disagree with you cinemasins is trend surfing garbage
CinemaSins is a joke, litterally.
That's not an insult, it just pains me to see people on either side of the debate taking those videos seriously.
arenkai then explain all the times they make genuine criticisms to the film. Or the times that they just make a statement that isn’t a joke at all, and isn’t a criticism either.
The opening 15 word-less minutes of There Will Be Blood is mesmerizing and perfect. DDL and PTA are at their peak. Top 10 of all time in my book.
But there isn't even any blood
him : ''it's about as compeling as reading wikipedia article''
me, who does that for 'fun' : ''hey !''
mob leader: you think you can just steal our money and then walk away.
Joker: yea
*steal from us
Man, Lord of War was a great movie. It shows that serious Nicolas Cage can be a great serious actor.
Isaiah Belter Lord of war
Raising Arizona
Mandy
Matchstick men
National treasure 1 & 2
Leaving Las Vegas
Joe
Kick ass
Bad lieutenant
World trade centre
The weather man
Adaption
8mm
City of angels
The rock
Wild at heart
He really is a good actor....
CJ Russ people sleep on Matchstick Men.
@@anunusualironiccircumstanc2246 And Into the Spiderverse. He was awesome in that movie.
@@petery6432 yeah he was great as Spider-Man Noir
I like to compare Wolverine's intro in Logan to Luke Skywalker's intro in The Last Jedi. Both featured iconic characters who have aged a lot and whose personalities have changed drastically due to their experiences. I don't know why that one was more universally accepted vs the other as something that is possible for a character to go throgh.
My favourite beginning of all time is from the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera. I get goosebumps from when the most dramatic music ever starts and all the cobwebs are blown away, fires ignite and vibrant colours take over the grey of the beginning. Best beginning ever!
A good example of the "No information dumps rule"
Spiderman: Into the spideyverse
"I'm peter parker..." because it steps up a theme for the film
You should watch real movies and not the hype trash that is ruining the industry
@@naturalallnaturalwhitepist1789
What the hell is your point?
@@naturalallnaturalwhitepist1789
Yeah exactly, who h is why Spiderman into the spider verse was so good. it was an extremely inventive, witty, fantastically aesthetically unique and overall beautiful visually stunning movie. It wasn't hyped, it was left by the wayside and not particularly big, not at all.
Natural all natural White pistachio nut into the spider verse was really good
What I’m saying is that trash marvel type movies are ruining the industry, there well made (intentionally to hold attention) and fun to watch but are just money makers, real goof movies are dying out accept from the few indies that pull through.
"The code is more like guidelines than actual rules"
If you know you know
I don't
Ayy captain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Parlay!
Aye Captain
Bro!! Thank you for all the effort that you put into making this video.
It's interesting, because very often videogames similarly utilize the mini story in their intro hours as well.. They use it to set up the themes of the story and introduce the player to the character. But there's also another reason: because the player may not be familiar with the controls or mechanics of the game, the mini story provides a low-stakes narrative that they can ignore in favor of focusing on learning the controls, and then the main story kicks in once they are able to more fully focus on that element of the game.
The opening to Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Brilliant.
Absolute excellent example of introducing tone and stakes.
Enmanuel Tejada Asencio less stakes more tone
One of my top 3 movies of all time. T2 was and is incredible. If you’re going to open a movie that’s the way to do it! Note the symbolism of the burning playground during the opening credits - what is at stake is conveyed without using a word.
"The opening to the movie Logan is perfect"
no, this entire movie is perfect...
@Alvi Syahri The ending was more the thematic rather than a spectacle.
Having watched all those superhero movies for the last decade and a bit, one would expect Logan to take the super-serum and kill his evil clone in a glorious fashion but the movie goes into the direct opposite way. They let his evil clone fatally wound him and eventually kill him in a not-so incredible way.
Symbolizing Logan's long years of inflicting violence and suffering onto others finally catching up to him and him not being able outrun his horrible past and find peace in his homeland. He even dies just right outside of the border further driving the idea home.
But even still, his sacrifice doesn't go in vain as in the end he helps those poor children find protection and shelter in Canada. The place which he could never reach, the place he always has yearned for.
I am a young amatuer currently writing a book from a sleepless night of wild inspiration, and I stumbled upon this video unintentionally (although I have watched your videos before), I am impressed by the in-depth analysis which you provide me, you saved me from writing a terrible tale, thank you, I will be checking out your skillshare now.
Closer Look: You should never be afraid to break the rules
Me: *I'm gonna do what's called a pro gamer move*
I adore the opening of Coraline. It’s so unique and captivating, and it serves no purpose but to convey the tone and supernatural elements of the film. it’s just beautiful.
Can't believe this comments been year for over a year and I'm the first like when this comment is so true!
Can't believe it's been out for two years and I'm the 2nd reply and the 15th like....this is very very true
A great way to open a movie :
Mr blue sky playing over a fight scene
Mr Blue Sky near the opening of a story just reminds me of That One Doctor Who Tenth Doctor Episode.
@@BollywoodBonanzaB Mr Blue Sky was the background track to the opening fight of Guardians of the Galaxy II -- I suspect this is what he was alluding to.
Small bean music just please stop
I’d say that the only classic movie that I love with a voiceover intro is The Big Lebowski hands down
You don't like the "I am speed" opening from Cars?
I do this when I write my books. The beginning for me is a promise of the premise in some way either with the protagonist or antagonist. Sets the tone and excites the readers 😊
In my opinion this video should've started at 0:28. Asking the question that the title already asks is redundant.
that's good
woah you're right! That would have been great XD
This is the best comment on this video
It comes more like an intro, an appetizer to keep u staying for the end, but tbh 28 sec is better than the 5 mins that other channels do
Don't presume that everyone can see. Some are only able to listen. Repeating the title as an intro takes only a few seconds and is more inclusive.
The opening to Scorcese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" was also pretty good in my opinion. It was fun, crazy, and was a good warm up that prepared the audience for the hilarious vulgar depravity that followed throughout the rest of the movie. It set us up, clearly telling us, "Attnetion viewers: please power off your brain, and enjoy your acid trip."
Can’t believe Bond is not mentioned in the context of movies that open with “mini movies”. I think Bond pretty much invented that
I must admit, that I really enjoy your content. I just watched your video about how to convey sadness with Up, Green Mile, and Interstellar. This is before I have started this video, but I love how you able to describe all the emotions (that at least I) have felt watching all of these films in a quantifiable way. I say Bravo, you have earned my subscription.
“I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being.”
I still think Stand By Me has the greatest opening scene of any movie. It grabs your attention while also setting up the centerpiece of the entire movie. With the seriousness and gravity of that one line he is telling the audience, “this is a major point in my life. So sit down, this is a long story”
Funny how no one in the comments mentioned how the Bond franchise has been doing what has been called a "pre-title" scene for decades starting with From Russia With Love in 1963.
You are exsctly right.I was about to say the same thing while scrolling through the comments.the opening Bond sequences are brilliant at capturing the audience attention.
Pissed me off so much when he mentioned Kingsman but not Bond. Like wtf?!
@@ErwinPommel Right? It's like he'd never even heard of the series. It's been giving textbook examples for over 50 years!
Except in Goldeneye where the opening scene is crucial to the plot of the entire movie.
@@dagfinissocool it usually is crucial
I think "the marauders (2016)" is also a very good beginning of a movie, doing a bank heist, keeping the main characters constantly in the frame (introducing all you need to know about them) while still being able to keep them completely unrecognizable
You also are in the middle of the movie when you realize who they actually are and why they were important all along
Logan was a devastating film to me and incredible and its weird that people dont talk about it when it had so much to offer. And the performances, i thought, gave me the feeling there was a lot of devotion to the film. That movie was sad af though 😭😭😭
Awesome! Cya in two months!
Two months? You're leaving already?
See you then ;D
Hey
You are my hero, sir.
That was actually really hilarious. Good one, buddy.
I honestly thought that Avengers Infinity War was gonna have a Joker-type of Opening where Thanos, the Black Order and his Chitauri Army are storming Planet Xandar in order to take the Power Stone from the Nova Corp then he was gonna blow the whole Planet up or cover it in the Power Stone's supreme purple destructive energy leaving the Planet in ruins and headed off for Thor, Loki, Hulk, Heimdall, and the rest of the Asgardians...but I can see now that while epic in the imagination, it wouldn't really matter in the overall Story since it's more about Thanos collecting the other 5 Infinity Stones, especially the Soul Stone.
I heard that's what happens in endgam,but the avengers will try to stop him before he gets the first stone...It's just leaked rumor
I kinda like it when a movie drops you into something, like a character on a plane or waiting in a line.
It’s also easier to write it out that way
Such a great channel with incredible knowledge and production value. Thank you so much!
I love all of the beginnings to Quentin Tarantino’s films, like from pulp fiction, inglorious bastards, django
FRRR like the opening scene to inglorious basterds was horribly charming
The Closer Look grew up starting a movie
Wrong channel ;)
@@technicallystupid25 tell that to Zod's snapped neck
I hate that im the only one who dosen't understand this :(
C'mon, please. It's horrible enough that Chis' channel is flooded with these awful comments.
Just ignore him hes a troll
My favorite intro to any movie is Django. It shows how the world is, how the characters act, the actions of others and plot. The way the the scene plays out is just brilliant.
I very much enjoy your video essays. Thanks for taking the time to put these together.
Maybe it's because I'm in my 30s but my favourite channels are now video essays
Unnatural09 nope I'm 16, been into this channel genre since 13 and will stay far past 30, and I suspect you will too :)
john Smith your right
i'm a 15 year old girl but channels like these are some of my favourites on yt, maybe i'm an old soul
Yesssss I just turned 30 and I’m finding myself enjoying them
@@lovemazegcf970 TH-cam is full of click bait money hungry you tubers, seeing good content like this refreshes my soul.
Explain next how to make a great mystery movie
zoinks
I think the joker put it best:
"So how do you keep a secret from the World's Greatest Detective? Well, do you know? You stick it right in front of him, right under his long pointy nose, and wait."
“To write a thriller keep your audience one step ahead of the protagonist. To write a mystery keep them one step behind them.”
While there are mystery movies/ books/ etc that break this, it’s generally what most writers go for.
(I’m sorry to the author I quoted this from for forgetting your name and butchering your quote.)
Shaggy Rogers Watch The Thing and you’ll know
lmao
One of my favorite opening scenes is from the movie Swordfish.
Eventhough the whole movie isn't that great (allright to watch for me), the first dialogue and the explosion scene are so great!
My favorite opening is reservoirs dogs.
I don’t tip.
Why is it that when you're talking about a "terrible intro", you're flashing Django: Unchained?
Right? That's a hell of an intro. It introduces the setting, character and tone of the movie flawlessly
I think the big segment around there was showcasing good intros as a thing to compare to when he would say its missing ____ . and then be showing the missing thing in that intro...
this is at least my feelings at that point in the vid.
not sure he was trash talking the film he was showcasing.
So basically, an good movie opening is about giving an straight foward theme about what is going within the story. Or tricking the audience, that is the "beginning" and show the plot twist that is the end.
almost, that last part i believe was a bit off.
The point of starting a story with it's end is much trickier than that. You have to create a scene that takes on different meanings in the beginning and in the end of the movie.
For that to work you have to have a somewhat misleading theme, one that seems like it's obviously one thing at first but it turns out to be another thing, basically what i mean is you have to create a scene that works as a good opening and establishes this theme and then spend the rest of the movie twisting this theme slowly to show you that it isn't actually the obvious theme you thought it was but something a bit different so when you get to the ending you see it in a different way and what is exactly the same scene feels like two completely different scenes. To clarify the theme in general is the same, but just a little different.
I think the best example of this is without a doubt Gone Girl that takes this idea to the extreme(spoilers of course):
In the opening it tells you the theme, it's gonna talk about marriage and relationships and more specifically about the relationship between these 2 people and this movie, in my opinion, does something even more brilliant than most movies that have this structure, because at first viewing that scene seems odd why would he say that? it's not something you usually say.
So when you find out she's missing something clicks in your brain and you immediately suspect him and whatever suspicions you may have of "other things" going on in that opening get shattered. And in my opinion it also does this amazing thing of making you forget the scene was ever there, you saw the scene it made you feel weird but then it clicked later on so you forget all about it, since now it seems quite irrelevant to the movie.
So when the twist does come you still don't remember that scene in particular. So finnally when the ending scene comes it hits you with a bang, and only then do you truly appreciate what a great opening that movie has.
And this examplifies perfectly what i was talking about earlier with the slightly different theme, in the begining of the movie you think it's a movie about a relationship between 2 people, but a somewhat "normal relationship", as the movie goes on you start to realize that they're relationship isn't normal at all and altought the theme is still around relationships, it's handled in a completely different manner than the opening indicated it would be. So i guess in the end it's not the theme that changes but the way that that theme is handled.
Well a good movie opening, to summarise it into some points.
1. Needs to be entertaining
2. Needs to establish elements of the story e.g. characters, themes, plot elements etc
And that's most of it. I mean if you can pull off those two things you will have a good opening :)
@@TheCloserLook Great video, it's funny cause I watch CinemaSins and his number #1 and #2 sins during the opening are Narration and Exposition. Every example you gave us story, themes, characters by showing it us not spelling it out and telling us.
@@TheCloserLook Heat opening is a good example
@@TheCloserLook Sounds like an overture.
I love your use of the movies' soundtracks when talking in depth about them
I love how enthusiastic you sound in talking about film scenes :'D
my dream is to be a film writer and director and I live in Turkey and Turkish movies are really horrible so I won't have much competition. Even if I make an OK movie I'll probably be famous. 👍
Yo good luck man.
@@myvanwycalista3387 thanks, good luck with your goals too
Good luck brother!
ozan demirel Be sure to remind me when your film is ready. I'll come to Turkey to see it.
ozan demirel let us know when it’s done! I wanna see it!
Fun fact: The opening music to the Shining is a plainchant called "Dies Irae". It's one of the most common motifs in all of music. Classical composers used it all the time and there's no shortage of it in film music either. Certainly chilling and probably the perfect choice for the shots at the beginning of the Shining.
I think the opening of "A Clockwork Orange" is a good example of a voice-over. Establishes what you're going to be seeing.
I love Goodfellas begining, well the first act is art, but how Henry (ironically in a voice off) tell us everything about him, the neighboorhood, the mafia, his family and how the movie will happen in like 10 minutes its just beautiful, also Inglorious Basterds first scene is just freaking amazing
The closer look: Films with voiceover openings are bad
A clockwork orange: *exists
Well I wouldn't say the voice over is always bad. If you remember in the video I say many times every rule can be broken. Look at the opening of lord of the rings, it is a voice over and is still very good.
@@TheCloserLook Totally agree with you there, meant it more as a joke as it's probably the most impactful opening I can think of.
Still an interesting vid tho :)
@@TheCloserLook True, but honestly there are no rules to tell, if every one of them can be broken for the possible promise of better effect. In which case, this should be titled "Guidelines on How To Begin a Movie" since the phrase "How To" almost comes off as a "rule".
But OP: what about "Dune"? It was fantastic, and it opens with a long, boring, VO preface of pure exposition, with no attempt to dress it up otherwise. Just VO over images of planets and occasional tight shots of the heterochromic princess (the VO) just telling us about the different planets, houses, some of their driving forces (sand worms, spice, "blue within blue eyes", etc). To be fair, fucking Tolkien would have struggled to keep up with it all, so it kinda helps, but it could be shortened/condensed/trimmed, or done another way. BUT the trope works: finally Princess Exposition seems to conclude her Plot Point presentation, so cue dissolve as she fades away into the black, starry space behind her... just about. A sudden, quick fade-in reveals her again as she says, "Oh, I nearly forgot..." to make one last, but very key, note. Pretty funny. Almost makes it worth it. Then the actual opening scene reveals that what we just watched was a video also being reviewed by the film's protagonist ("My name is a weapon!"). Warning: that preface is even longer in the director's cut, btw, which is totally unnecesary. In spite of that, it's a fantastic picture, love it or hate it -- David Lynch took his name off it, crediting good ol' Alan Smithee (who also 'directed' many good and bad piles, like "Critters 2", iirc. Not bad for a mythical character, killed off like the unicorn in "Legend" [Ridley Scott! Wtf were you thinking?!]) ...but I digress. A lot. All the time.
Point remains: there is an exception to every rule. Ridley Scott makes breathtaking films like "Blade Runner" and "Alien", but he also made "Legend". Tim Curry is fuckin' fantastic, but he also was in "Legend". And VO over an opening scene is quite often cheap, lame, and lazy (sceenwriting rule #1: show, don't tell) but it can very much work, like with "Dune". I figure it was that "there will be a quiz, so you'd better be taking notes" execution or just a title card saying "PAUSE THE FILM, THEN READ THE BOOK OR HOPE FOR CLIF NOTES".
Besides, the video OP said himself that he doesn't speak in absolutes. There are always exceptions! Everywhere in life!
Oh, and "A Clockwork Orange" was shite. A few good scenes, like the modified Ludovico, of course, and the big penis statue beating, but mostly it was a dumb, choppy, avant garde mess of "strange for the sake of strangeness" and huge missed opportunities for TONE, which was all over the place. (Again, pulled off expertly in the Ludovico scene, but otherwise, attemots at tone only "worked" occasionally throughout the film.)
300k views in 4 days with 280k subs
Wierd to say i was in a csgo clan with this man 2 years ago
Youve come a long way Rusky
Luka Vidmar epic
The good Csgo days
@@GloryBe2God ye it was hella fun
@@fkkyourlife yeah he's a good friend of mine
@@lukavidmar123 are you serious?
I think there are even exceptions to the narration aspect. Shawshank Redemption does it when Red narrates, the acting Morgan Freedman says explains the conditions of the setting but the voice acting his voiceover adds contributes to the characters of the people in the prison. Even in the Dark Knight, Nolans adds a clever and barley noticeable voiceover, but it still is what it is. It's of the new anchor explaining that batman is intimating thugs and making them run scared, though there's still a controversy of his place in Gotham. It's pretty much a voiceover but since the story doesn't; depend on it it works because it just reinforces the story and the character of Batman that is explained later on if you hadn't watched the first movie. So as you say, even the clearest rules in writing could and should be broken.
What a great video! There are some great tips from this guy.
This may sound cliché but the opening to Avengers Infinity War is brilliant. So many Marvel movies with jokes and laughs have been released that we almost take it for granted. But as soon as we see the Marvel title be almost completely silent with a chilly soundtrack...we knew they weren't fuckin around this time
How does that sound cliche'? That opening scene was uniquely brilliant and, of course, VERY CHILLING!
Damn straight sg98films
Thanks for giving me more and more reasons to never watch that movie and keep pretending it never happened.
@@Pikashades We're not talking about Justice League.
@@andyparker5688 there is no Justice League movie, only Josstice League.
Expected pulp fiction to be there. IMO your perfect example, logan, requires viewers to have knowledge about previous movies on that subject to make sense, whereas something like pulp fiction, not only engage you with the movie and tells you a lot in few first sentences, it is absolutely not redundant and at the end of movie the story will go back to that scene.
Wow you’ve really surprised me, I don’t really watch this kind of content but you’ve drawn me in man. new subscriber
Dark knight soundtrack in the background of your ad made it so inspirational, haha. Great video!