Greatest film openings.

[Gulftastic]

Beauty & The Beast's light operatic opening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVovQfq7U0w

It's not Disney's greatest work for nothing.

[Famous Mortimer]

Mute Witness

A largely British-made and Moscow-filmed thriller with an amazingly tense opening 20 minutes. Really well shot and made, I thought, and the rest of the film's good too.

[babyshambler]

The opening scenes of Jaws are gripping. Brilliantly filmed, terrifying music. A woman nommed. Love it.

[Jemble Fred]

Life of Brian seems obvious, but then it has a number of openings in a way – I love the Three Wise Men sketch, but could also have stood to have kept the Shepherds in as well. But more to the point, it's the theme music and Gilliam's animated titles crashing in which really gets the blood pumping, even now.

[ThickAndCreamy]

I always seem to forget just how incredible the first two Monty Python films are as they're so ingrained in popular culture. I do agree though, and Life Of Brian could easily be seen as having one of the greatest film endings as well. I find it hard to articulate just how glorious the whole film is.

[Sam]

The list of Great Film Openings and Great Films full stop would be pretty much the same. All my favourite film openings are from films which carry on being great.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but the beginning of The Thin Red Line is my favourite bit of cinema ever. It literally changed my life, i.e. my whole appeciation of films, of beauty, of life having good bits in etc. I very much can divide my life into "before seeing TTRL" and after. Ditto with the writings of Cioran. Some things turn out to be exactly the thing you were looking for without realising there was a gap beforehand.

[QDRPHNC]

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but the beginning of The Thin Red Line is my favourite bit of cinema ever. It literally changed my life, i.e. my whole appeciation of films, of beauty, of life having good bits in etc. I very much can divide my life into "before seeing TTRL" and after. Ditto with the writings of Cioran. Some things turn out to be exactly the thing you were looking for without realising there was a gap beforehand.

I agree with you on Thin Red Line (although I perhaps didn't find it quite as life-changing as you). I watched it high, thought my heart was going to explode.

Similarly, watched Inglorious Basterds high, thought my head would explode from the tension of the first scene. Fucking brilliant film.

Where should I start with Cioran?

[wasp_f15ting]

'Touch Of Evil' is an great one, starting with a shady character putting something in the boot of a car, which is then driven away by an unsuspecting couple and followed in an unbroken tracking shot for three minutes, during which time Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh walk past the vehicle, before it drives offscreen and blows up. The fact that the rest of the film is just as good is no indictment against this amazing opening.

I only recently saw this on Eureka's masters of cinema blu ray series.. what a stunning opening.

For a modern film, Children Of Men's opening sequence is bloody stunning.

[olliebean]

The first 6:30 of Brazil is pretty good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeY1dxlC7Sg (sorry, can't find a better quality YouTube clip of it).

Also I love the opening 3 minutes of Contact: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuxTTVtgjb4

[Old Nehamkin]

Once upon a time in the west.

[non capisco]

'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' has to be up there. doesn't it? Teasing shots of our hero in silhouette before the eventual dramatic reveal of Harrison Ford when he was handsome and cool and didn't wear an earring, Alfred Molina covered in spiders, that speared skeleton, Indy's twitching fingers when he replaces the idol with the bag of sand, "Throw me the idol!" "Give me the whip!" "Adios, senor!", the much-parodied fucking great big boulder (I loved this film so much as a kid even the Terry's Chocolate Orange ad that took the piss out of it made me punch the air with joy), Indy appearing over the ridge being chased by loads of blowdart wielding Hovito tribesman who are all luckily terrible shots, "come on, show a little backbone will ya?" It's all perfect, as is everything that follows for the next two and a bit hours. Just the best blockbuster ever. I want to watch it all again now, but it's pushing 11 o clock and I've got work tomorrow.

See also: Goldfinger.

[Eclectic Boogaloo]

I've always loved the opening to Scrooged, especially the music.

Also - I would definitely add the opening Drew Barrymore torment from SCREAM as a great opening!

[samadriel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2swpZhXOK8
"We're on a submarine.  Two sailors sit down and have a game of chess..."

[Stone Cold Jane Austen]

Mute Witness

A largely British-made and Moscow-filmed thriller with an amazingly tense opening 20 minutes. Really well shot and made, I thought, and the rest of the film's good too.

This is the only horror film that, as an adult, I've had to switch off from being too freaked out by it. This was a few years back, I might have to have another crack at it now.

My pick for best film opening would be Steven Soderburgh's Out Of Sight, When George Clooney robs a bank without a gun. It sets up his character so well. I could probably quote the whole thing from listening to the soundtrack album so much.

[CaledonianGonzo]

David Lean's Great Expectations, when Pip meets Magwitch in the graveyard. 

One of the greatest literary openings as well, and Lean matches it - from the silhouttes of gallows poles to the constant creaking of the branches that build tension to the slightly distorted angles that take the viewer into the child's perspective, Lean employs every trick in the book and the result is spine-tingling.

[Pete23]

Delicatessen, the whole bit with the guy being smuggled out wrapped in paper* followed by the best opening credits sequence ever. Unfortunately I can only find a link to the credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtbTe52lmlc

*If you want to know whether the guy makes it out alive or not at the beginning of the film, don't watch the link. There's a bit of a givaway at the beginning.

[Kane Jones]

'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' has to be up there. doesn't it? Teasing shots of our hero in silhouette before the eventual dramatic reveal of Harrison Ford when he was handsome and cool and didn't wear an earring, Alfred Molina covered in spiders, that speared skeleton, Indy's twitching fingers when he replaces the idol with the bag of sand, "Throw me the idol!" "Give me the whip!" "Adios, senor!", the much-parodied fucking great big boulder (I loved this film so much as a kid even the Terry's Chocolate Orange ad that took the piss out of it made me punch the air with joy), Indy appearing over the ridge being chased by loads of blowdart wielding Hovito tribesman who are all luckily terrible shots, "come on, show a little backbone will ya?" It's all perfect, as is everything that follows for the next two and a bit hours. Just the best blockbuster ever. I want to watch it all again now, but it's pushing 11 o clock and I've got work tomorrow.

Raiders was my choice too.  Back on page 1.

[El Unicornio, mang]

It's quite short, but I thought the black and white opening to Casino Royale was brilliant, really did a good job of re-introducing the character. (the "second" opening scene is also amazing)

Here's the full 4:30 version that was cut in half for the theatrical release

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvzNWuzI9Y

Warning: features gratuitous scenes of people playing cricket

[Mini]

I think my favourite is David Cronenberg's A History Of Violence.

[kidsick5000]

It's quite short, but I thought the black and white opening to Casino Royale was brilliant, really did a good job of re-introducing the character. (the "second" opening scene is also amazing)

Here's the full 4:30 version that was cut in half for the theatrical release

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvzNWuzI9Y

Warning: features gratuitous scenes of people playing cricket

Wow. interesting but good job they cut that down. shorter is much better.

[garbed_attic]

I know I'm always going on about it, but..

A Matter of Life and Death

Also intriguingly like the track across the vista of space in openings to The Clangers!

I do wonder if it's a bit of a homage on the part of Postgate!

The beginning of Heavenly Creatures is a remarkably assured way to open a film. I'm fond of the Lord o' the Rings films (well, the 2 I've seen!) but I wish Jackson had continued making stuff like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4_HltjFpX8

EDIT: Wait a minute, there's a bit of a montage of 50s New Zealand before that - ah well, it's still brilliant!

[The Region Legion]

If you can get through the first 10 minutes of the 2009 Star Trek movie and not want to watch the entire thing, there's something wrong with you. A masterwork.

[Hangthebuggers]

I quite liked the intro to Harry brown (A wee bit shocking and Daily Mail but tense all the same) , also No country for old men and 28 lays later had me gripped.

Also Delicatessen is charmingly grim, whereas Eraserhead is memorable but sinister.

[dr beat]

Not a classic opening, but I've always been fond of the start of O Lucky Man with the b&w of McDowell as a coffee-picker

Spoiler alert

getting his hands chopped off

[close]

and then straight into Alan Price playing the piano intro for the  theme tune.

[Don_Preston]

If you can get through the shots of Donald Sutherland's bare arse in Don't Look Now and not want to watch the entire thing, there's something wrong with you.

Plus there are a few great openings if you focus on certain frames!

[surreal]

I have much love for the Donnie Darko opening sequence, from the original not the Directors Cut.  So wonderfully dreamlike with the slo-mo and the most perfect choice of music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWEBdA7swM4

[Hank Venture]

My favourite opening ever is from Sling Blade. The first fifteen minutes are pretty much flawless. The ambient music, JT Walsh being amazingly convincing as an awful human being, the lights, Carl

Spoiler alert

telling the journos about how he killed his mother

[close]

, the setting...

I couldn't find it on YouTube, so here it is on an illegal streaming site: http://www.solarmovie.eu/movie/playlink/id/154011/