Author Topic: Greatest Film Openings (Read 5951 times)

The Duck Man · « **Reply #120 on:** March 01, 2006, 01:30:39 AM »

Quote from: "A Passing Turk Slipper"

Is there not a new Robin Hood series being made at the moment, to be shown in a Doctor Who style slot?

A day late, but YES

Orias · « **Reply #121 on:** March 01, 2006, 09:52:27 PM »

Quote from: "The Duck Man"

Quote from: "A Passing Turk Slipper"
Is there not a new Robin Hood series being made at the moment, to be shown in a Doctor Who style slot?

A day late, but YES

Not sure how I feel about this. I was still half hoping for a "Robin and Marian" 20 years later Robin Of Sherwood special. Would love to see an older Ray Winstone-portrayed Will Scarlet. Everything was so right with the series; cast, music, script, tone, direction. Top notch.

Any news on casting?

Clinton Morgan · « **Reply #122 on:** March 01, 2006, 10:39:21 PM »

I'd nominate the opening of Ingmar Bergman's 'Persona'.

The Duck Man · « **Reply #123 on:** March 01, 2006, 11:17:17 PM »

I swear they've cast some unknown as Robin, but a BBC search turns up nothing and that's where I would have seen it.

Cerys · « **Reply #124 on:** March 01, 2006, 11:23:52 PM »

According to Digital Spy it's a chap called Jonas Armstrong:

Edit - I do believe he played the schoolboy that Penny was shagging in the last series of Teachers.

Edit again - Penny, not Polly, you silly woman.

fudgemonkey · « **Reply #125 on:** April 19, 2006, 05:15:52 PM »

BUMPED ...
for the reason I finally watched the film about the truck Duel yetserday and thought that the scene with him driving with the radio on at the beginning was brilliant.

jennifer · « **Reply #126 on:** April 19, 2006, 05:54:18 PM »

NOTHING stirs me more than *strings swell*

*helicopter shot swoops magestically over mountain range, snowy peaks, crystal blue skies*

THEEEEEEERE'S a buuunch of birds in the skyyyyyyyyyyy....

Blaaah · « **Reply #127 on:** April 19, 2006, 06:46:15 PM »

I've probably already posted on this thread and have no memory of doing so, but in case that isn't the case: the opening shots of Ivan (Alexander Dovzhenko, 1932). Throw in Aerograd (same director, 1935) for that matter, for the moment when you find yourself thinking "OF COURSE! IT'S MUSIC!"

Chimes At Midnight by Orson Welles, of course.

The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1971). Bang, we're off.

jutl · « **Reply #128 on:** April 19, 2006, 07:27:31 PM »

Quote from: "Clinton Morgan"

I'd nominate the opening of Ingmar Bergman's 'Persona'.

Yes, it is the only decent bit of the film. I love Bergman usually, but I've never managed to find Persona anything other than an extremely trying experiment in 'post-modern' themes. Lingering shots of immaculate Nordic blondes, the odd dirty anecdote and some poorly spliced in news footage does not make a movie into art, I'd say. Bergman seemed to go off the boil for a while in the mid-60s. All These Women from the same period is surely the worst film ever made by a great director. It's like a Blake Edwards film directed by Orac off Blakes 7.

Chers penis · « **Reply #129 on:** April 19, 2006, 07:30:15 PM »

dead or Alive by miike takeshi. might have been mentioned already and if not, shame on all of you.

thomasina · « **Reply #130 on:** April 19, 2006, 07:52:53 PM »

Betty Blue. Someone recently mentioned ithe film as not being all that good when you watch it now, but I disagree.

The first 30 minutes of every Bond movie.

Kill Bill - I don't care if everyone else hates it, that opening is fantastic.

Agree with donnie Darko and Star Trek:First Contact as well. Both openings gave me goosebumps.

Plaincunt · « **Reply #131 on:** April 19, 2006, 10:14:22 PM »

"La Dolce Vita" with Marcello Mastorianni flying a helicopter over Rome transporting a statue of Jesus. One of the more absurd moments in film history when the local women sunbathing on a rooftop rise up and scream "Look, it's Jesus!".
Hilarious too.

Have to agree on apocalypse now, if we consider the opening including the hotel room scene.

Psycho - the titles by Saul Bass are astounding. It's just a joy watching his titles, I mean this man transformed titles into an artform. There are some films I don't hold in very high regard, but would go see because of Bass' titles.

Mean Streets by Scorsese - "You don't make up for your sins in the church. You do in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it."
Scorsese's best film. I have to watch this at least once a year.

All Powell & Pressburger films, especially The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

And finally, Aki Kaurismäki's modernisation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. The protagonist sneaks into an apartment of a wealthy businessman and the following discussion ensues:

Businessman: "What are you doing here?"

Protagonist: "I'm here to kill you."

Businessman: "Why?"

Protagonist: "That's something you will not find out for the rest of your life."

*Bang*

This shot is composed so classically, it's just a pure joy. A truly fantastic film as a whole as well.

I could go on (instantly had an image of Morris in my mind saying "Please do!"), but I won't be wasting more of your time.

_ _
Apologies for possible typos and errors, English is not my first, although it is a very close second. And I'm a bit pished.

Blaaah · « **Reply #132 on:** April 20, 2006, 12:37:12 AM »

Quote from: "jutl"

Lingering shots of immaculate Nordic blondes, the odd dirty anecdote and some poorly spliced in news footage does not make a movie into art, I'd say.

All films are art, surely? The big question I ask of a film is not "is this film art?" but "is this film good art or bad art?"

Oh, and here's a few more openings:

The big shot in Touch Of Evil (you know who, 1958);

the opening of A Woman Under The Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974): the opera and the construction workers;

A Countess From Hong Kong (Charles Chaplin, 1967): A criminally underrated film. One of the most moving openings in cinema, actually, especially Chaplin's deliberately archaic use of the credit "An Original Screenplay Directed by Charles Chaplin". He apparently intended to make another film after this, but it doesn't feel ike it;

"I Gotta Horse" (or whatever it's called) in Guys And Dolls[/i ](Joseph Mankiewicz, 1955);

the beginning of Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1978), up until it starts to have a story;

Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964): For its outrageous formalism - you can hear the shots clunking into place;

the openings of My Ain Folk and My Way Home (Bill Douglas, 1973, 1978), which I couldn't describe in words.

I could go on...

Oh! How could I forget, the incredible tracking shot which opens The Long Day Closes (Terence Davies, 1992), which seems to take place outside of time.

jutl · « **Reply #133 on:** April 20, 2006, 12:46:10 AM »

Quote from: "Blaaah"

All films are art, surely? The big question I ask of a film is not "is this film art?" but "is this film good art or bad art?"

Films don't have to be art, do they? Persona is an unsuccessful art movie (for me) because it's clearly intended to be art but (unlike almost all other Bergman movies I've seen) has no unity and tries too, too fucking hard.

Anyway - my trying to trash Persona isn't really on topic.. sorry.

Darrell · « **Reply #134 on:** April 20, 2006, 01:00:03 AM »

Life Of Brian, for its pre-titles, its titles, and its first scene proper.

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory for that lingering montage of close-up shots of actual chocolate bars being made.

Oh, and Blazing Saddles, purely for that glorious song.

Garam · « **Reply #135 on:** April 20, 2006, 04:46:39 AM »

Bringing out the Dead. E-I-E-I-O I love this film. By far Scorsese's most underrated. Anyway, the opening with the ambulance speeding along to Van Morrison's T.B.Sheets gets me all tingly.

And Cool-Hand Luke where he's cutting the parking meters, the cops arrive and he just smiles. Coooool.

neveragain · « **Reply #136 on:** April 20, 2006, 12:20:37 PM »

Quote from: "mary toft"

NOTHING stirs me more than *strings swell*

*helicopter shot swoops magestically over mountain range, snowy peaks, crystal blue skies*

THEEEEEEERE'S a buuunch of birds in the skyyyyyyyyyyy....

Brilliant. 'And some deer just went running by...'

Also agree with Life Of Brian and add to that the Holy Grail for a tremendous slow-burn opening joke (credits sequence).

Purple Tentacle · « **Reply #137 on:** April 20, 2006, 03:44:15 PM »

I watched Wrath of Khan again the other day, and was rather enamoured by Kirsty Alley, all Vulcan and severe, killing off the Enterprise crew due to incompetence. But then I have an unhealthy thing for the husky voiced dirty Scientologist.

Die Hard With A Vengence has already been mentioned, hasn't it? Because I've been thinking about that opening a lot recently, and it's bloody hard to top if you want a film to grab you by the throat straight away. The 'I Hate n**gers' sign was also pretty shocking when I first saw it.

The first two overwrought 'BAAAAAAAH - baaaaaaaahh!!!!' notes of the 'Goldfinger' theme never fail to set me off in goosepimples, it really never did get better than that.

Hmm, how depressing, I've never made a film with a beginning that wasn't a bit lousy. I must start stealing.

The Boston Crab · « **Reply #138 on:** April 20, 2006, 04:06:05 PM »

"Roxy Robinson had spent his whole life making two and two into five, he could smell trouble like other people could smell gas but believe youse me, he should never have taken that blind alley by the side of Perito's bakery..."

Mobsters approach.

"Your name Robinson?" (nods)
"Roxy Robinson?" (nods)
"You work for Fat Sam?" (nods)

Splurge guns...freeze frame.

"As sure as eggs is eggs, Roxy the Weasel had been scrambled."

#He's a sinner, candy-coated...#

Blaaah · « **Reply #139 on:** April 20, 2006, 05:10:34 PM »

Quote from: "jutl"

Films don't have to be art, do they?

I'd say so, yes. I mean, they don't have totryto be. It's not a requirement, just an attribute. Film is an artform, after all, so all films are art. It's just a question of what kind of art. For me, anyway.

News:

Author Topic: Greatest Film Openings (Read 5951 times)