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Post by Head Mutant on Mar 9, 2008 6:20:24 GMT -5
Let's get a bit light and fluffy this week: what are some of your favorite opening sequences to movies? They might have a great song, a great hook, clever implementation, what have you.
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Big T
Ghostbuster
yo
Posts: 323
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Post by Big T on Mar 9, 2008 10:31:45 GMT -5
One of my favorite opening sequences has got to be The Two Towers. The breathtaking mountains followed by one of the coolest action sequences as Gandalf battles the Balrog all the way down the chasm. Freakin' awesome!
I also really liked the opening of Pirates 3: At Worlds End. All the people lined up for a hanging followed by the singing just set the right kind of emotional chord and gave me chills.
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Post by aargmematey on Mar 9, 2008 12:06:00 GMT -5
I'm gonna go with Fellowship of the Ring. Expository and visually amazing. I remember watching it and just being blown away.
I've got to also give love to The Lion King. I get chills every time I watch that part. Beauty and the Beast also has a great opening. I give a lot of props to movies that can successfully open with complete exposition.
And finally Ferris Bueller's Day Off, since it pretty much sets the tone for the whole movie.
Actually, I forgot one. The beginning of X2 stands as one of my favorite parts of any superhero movie I've seen. Watching Nightcrawler go crazy and wreck everyone in the Whitehouse never gets old for me.
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Post by immortalwog on Mar 9, 2008 12:17:50 GMT -5
One of the best opening sequences ever would have to be in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I would suggest that the opening sequence goes from the opening (Great use of the mountain) until Indy's escape on the plane. It's long, fun, dangerous, and a great setup for what would become one of the best film mainstays in history.
Also, on a nostalgic note, I have to give props to The Muppet Movie's "Rainbow Connection".
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Post by StarOpal on Mar 9, 2008 14:12:03 GMT -5
Raiders of the Lost Ark is my number one choice as well, but since that's been taken...
I'll go with Casino Royale: tone setting, action, B&W, and a spiffy line.
Then there's The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews spinning around on a mountain is classic.
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Post by tenenbaum1985 on Mar 9, 2008 14:59:13 GMT -5
I really like the opening to The Shining, with it's amazing helicopter shots of the snowy mountains. Also, the opening credits of Sleepy Hollow are great.
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Post by Genetic Mishap on Mar 9, 2008 18:23:40 GMT -5
Tank Girl.
Wayne's World (Technically, the Bohemian Rhapsody segment *is* in the beginning).
Jaws.
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Post by tremorsfan89 on Mar 9, 2008 18:27:31 GMT -5
Gotta go with Flash Gordon (1981). The way they go through the comic books while Queen is playing in the background is incredibly cheesy and totally awesome in every way. Also Superman: The Movie (1978) has a good one too. I get goosebumps every time the girl starts reading from the comic.
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Post by blinkfan on Mar 9, 2008 18:38:22 GMT -5
Army of Darkness
Evil Dead 2
Clerks 2
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Mar 9, 2008 19:48:57 GMT -5
Aside from the expository sequence of Fellowship of the Ring (already mentioned, dangit), the opening scene for House of 1000 Corpses has always stood out for me. Some good, twisted humour and violence that sets the bar a little too high for the rest of the film (it's never good when a movie peaks in the first five minutes).
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Post by DarthShady on Mar 9, 2008 21:47:10 GMT -5
Definitely the Graduate with Dustin Hoffman walking through the airport. I love it. The white walls, his expressionless face, Simon & Garfunkel....It's perfect.
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Post by CheshireKat on Mar 10, 2008 1:17:25 GMT -5
The first fifteen or so minutes of Serenity was top notch. First the necessary background laying out the reality of the story, which then turns out to be River's dream, which then turns out to be The Agent watching a vid of River's escape, and to top it all off, one of the most brilliant steady-cam shots ever during the opening credits. Choice.
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momo
Mini-Mutant
This is an awfully big wardrobe...
Posts: 32
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Post by momo on Mar 10, 2008 16:50:48 GMT -5
It's probably cliche, but the opening of Star Wars is always a thrill whenever I watch it. The view of the planet below with spaceships passing right overhead firing at each other- it's all my eight year-old self needed to fall in love.
On the hoity-toity movie critic side, the opening to Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo is a personal favorite. From behind we see Toshiro Mifune's samurai walking down a road through the opening credits. He comes across a small town, curiously empty and seemingly deserted, until he sees... a dog with a human hand in its mouth. And you know something's going down.
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Post by pitbossnj on Mar 10, 2008 16:56:05 GMT -5
I can't believe you've all missed the Greatest Movie Opening Of All Time- The beginning of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"! The artistry is astounding- soft-shoe, tap-dance, Rockette kick-lines, and even reversing the tape! And how it sets the tone of the entire film, oh my! I get goose bumps just thinking about it...
For real, I ditto the last comment. "Star Wars" always stands out as a great movie opening. Watching the Rebel soldiers taking a desparate last stand against the Empire gives me chills.
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Post by donalsgirl on Mar 11, 2008 6:50:16 GMT -5
I'd have to go for 'Some Kind of Wonderful' - the three main characters are introduced to us perfectly (the handsome but social outcast dude, the tough tomboy drummer, the girl who has a good life) and contrasted with each other, all to funky '80s music.
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