How often do you decide if a movie is worth watching during its first five minutes? And how often it is these first five minutes that leave an everlasting impression upon the audience as the true mark of a masterpiece? Check our selection of the ten greatest opening movie scenes!
10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Once you see the deranged, maniacal stare of Malcolm McDowell, as he pierces through the cranium of your brain while drinking a glass of milk, you are aware there is a rollercoaster of a movie to watch. Grotesque, sinister, stylish in a very deranged and kind of wrong, misogynistic way, the opening scene of A Clockwork Orange is the perfect window through which you can glance at the whole movie!
9. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
No, this list does not include Stanley Kubrick movies only, but you can hardly overlook the stylistic genius of one of the best directors of all time. Using Shostakovich’s Waltz #2 as a musical background we are treated with an inside look on the high-class Harford family (played by then-married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman). A touch of family romantics, a touch of perfect eroticism in the stunningly beautiful and nude Kidman – and at once you dive into the atmosphere of one of the best psychological dramas of our age.
8. The Dark Knight (2008)
Arguably the best action movie of the new century starts with a bank robbery worthy of its pulsating quality. The gang members begin to kill each other to cut the shares of the large loot until only one survives – and this is a fitting way for Christopher Nolan to present us with the ultimate villain in the trilogy – the Joker. Smart, fast-paced, original, slightly demented and even scary – a fitting opening scene for a true masterpiece of the genre!
7. Gladiator (2000)
Many historical movies rely on slowly building the plot to the culminating decisive point but Ridley Scott decided to break the rule by hurling the audience in a gritty, full-scale battle between the Roman legions under general Maximus (Russell Crowe) and the German tribes. We are immediately drawn to Maximus and his superior fighting skills, grim charisma and iron code of honor. Besides, the audience is blown away by the sheer scale of the epic clash – one of the best we have seen on the big screen. It takes Ridley Scott just ten minutes to convince us this is a movie that will always remain in our memory.
6. Goodfellas (1990)
“As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta driving together in a car. A body in the trunk, covered in a bloody sheet. If all this does not make you want to see Goodfellas, I do not know what possibly can.
Widely regarded as one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, the opening sequence of this gangster classic is the definition of an instant hook-up – who is in the car and how did he get there? And why is Liotta’s character so distressed by the fact, despite his blunt confession about his desire to be a gangster? Martin Scorsese at his very best!
5. The Matrix (1999)
Another perfect example how the first scene of a movie can hook us up immediately, asking too many questions that need to be answered. How come the tiny looking Trinity beats a squad of cops and then jumps over rooftops with the grace of a prima ballerina and the athletic abilities of Usain Bolt? And where is her body that should have been smashed by the monstrous clash of the huge truck into the telephone cabin she used to be just seconds before the impact?
And we do not even have to mention the impeccable dark style and frantic pace of the opening sequence of this dystopian classic!
4. Inglorious Basterds (2009)
Quentin Tarantino is a master of pretty much everything related to movie making, but the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds is a gem of special deranged quality even by his unreachable standards. Frivolously dancing between the grotesque and the tragic, we are immediately acquainted with SS standartenfuhrer Hans Landa, played by the sublime Christophe Waltz. His subtle interrogation turns into a sinister massacre with a single change of facial impression and the “Au revoir, Shosanna!” mocking cry echoes throughout the whole movie!
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Can you present the central character of a story and show the audience everything they have to know about him in just five minutes? Steven Spielberg answers the question with a resounding “yes” in the first installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy. The very first scene of the film contains more action than many other movies of the genre, with professor Jones raiding an ancient temple in the jungle and snatching up a priceless artifact from the jaws of death.
Harrison Ford delivers a larger-than-life performance as the adventurous archaeologist – his aura blends Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western silent macho type with James Bond’s charm and playfulness. And we want to see more and more of him after watching just five minutes of the movie.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The grandiose prologue of the epic fantasy trilogy stands tall as number two in our list of the greatest opening movie scenes. It transcends everything The Lord of the Rings stands for – phenomenal visual effects, brilliant screenplay, epic plotline, sublime production design and overall vision. Cate Blanchett’s deep, enchanting voice takes us on a time travel in the history of Middle Earth and even if you know nothing about Tolkien universe, you are blown away by Peter Jackson’s mastery in storytelling!
1. The Godfather (1972)
There is one opening movie scene that stands unrivaled in both quality and influence – every line and frame is so deeply rooted in our modern culture that it has become at least as iconic as the movie it belongs to. A piece of pure cinematic genius, combining the directing power of Francis Ford Coppola and the titanic presence of Marlon Brando, The Godfather’s initial sequence embodies everything that makes the movie great. It is also one of these scenes that you can watch over and over again without getting bored – arguably the best testament for its ever lasting quality!
