10 Creative Opening Movie Scenes That Stick With You
These movies open on a high note, but that doesn't mean it's their only high note.
There's nothing more important than making a good first impression. This can be as applicable to artistry as it is to general conversation, especially when it comes to movies. Whether it's sublime dialogue or a major catalyst of an event, there's seemingly a hard-to-pinpoint recipe to making the audience's eyes grow wide from the jump.
The following movies start with a bang. Whether they ever let up is another matter. But what binds these films is their ability to capture the audience from frame one. That's a rarity, but these examples did it.
10 PHOTOS
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey is so iconic that it's been continuously referenced right up to Greta Gerwig's 2023 smash hit Barbie. The first nine minutes of the film are essentially unrelated to the narrative, instead showing the development of life on Earth.
First, there's a conflict between two tribes of hominins (Great Apes), after which one of the groups finds a massive object from outer space. It's a monolith, and it holds to key to knowledge that the hominins couldn't possibly understand. But they do get the grasp of using a bone as a club, and with this newfound knowledge, the weaker hominin tribe defeats the more physically bulky one.
9. The Godfather (1972)
Just about every gangster film that's been released since Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather has paid homage to it in some way. To not do so would be akin to a SyFy channel shark movie not throwing in a Jaws reference or three.
This includes the iconic first scene, which takes place "the day of" Vito Corleone's "daughter's wedding." It's a massive sequence, but what stands out is Johnny Fontane's rehearsing his request to the Don. Without even knowing who either man is yet, the audience can see that Fontane is frightened, even terrified, and they get the sense he has a good right to be. Don Corleone is a force of a human being, a powerful man with as much clout as one can get. Fontane, even though he's a successful star, knows this, and so does the audience.
8. Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg's Jaws is quite different from Peter Benchley's novel, but its opening remains the same. Chrissie Watkins and a young man she's just met leave their friends at the campfire and go down to the beach.
He passes out, and she goes swimming. But, it's almost dawn, which isn't the best time to go swimming if one wants to avoid sharks. Needless to say, Watkins does not avoid the shark. However, she doesn't see the beast, nor does the audience. If there's a scariest opening scene of all time, this is it. Thank goodness the shark didn't work, because if it did not only would this scene potentially have lost its impact, but the Alex Kintner sequence definitely would have. That said, the behind-the-scenes shots of his more elaborate and gory death sequence are pretty terrific.
7. Batman (1989)
The opening of 1989's Batman is one of the best moments from Tim Burton's two Caped Crusader films. It was also enough to convince skeptics that, yes, Michael Keaton is an actor with enough range to pull off both Batman and the comedic material that got audiences familiar with him in the first place.
Two low-level criminals have just robbed a family, one that isn't so dissimilar from Bruce and his parents. Unfortunately for the duo, Bruce is who sees them do so...or, rather, as he calls himself when he yanks one of the two criminals up towards him: "Batman." He's serious, the thug knows he's serious, and the viewer knows he's serious.
6. The Lion King (1994)
With gorgeous animation and one of the best Oscar-winning Disney songs, The Lion King is one of the best entries on the production house's massive filmography. The beautiful opening shot sweeps over the Pride Lands of Africa, where any number of different animals have congregated for an event.
The audience soon learns that the event is a birth, specifically that of their future king. King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi look on as Rafiki lifts the baby Simba, proudly displaying him to his people, all while the score blares. It's engrossing, both for kids and adults, with sweeping camera movements and a palpable sense of, well, pride.
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
The movie that gave John Travolta his short-lived comeback, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is the auteur's magnum opus, though Inglourious Basterds does have a way of nipping at its heels. Just like the opening diner scene in Reservoir Dogs, the opening diner scene in Pulp Fiction shows a director-screenwriter with a major way for words.
The dialogue is free-flowing and interesting. Even though the audience knows precious little about Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer's characters, they get the sense they've lived wild lives. And, once they start discussing the merits of robbing a diner instead of a bank or liquor store, the viewer gets a full sense of what those wild lives have entailed.
4. Casino (1995)
Practically a secret sequel to Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, the director's Casino is an equally expansive if not nearly as effective gangster film. That said, when the bar to match is Goodfellas, falling short isn't necessarily an indicator of weakness.
At the very least, Casino has as solid an opening scene as that classic. Robert De Niro's Sam 'Ace' Rothstein has been facing increased scrutiny from the SEC, not to mention greedy competitors and an ex bleeding him dry. But, the audience doesn't know any of this yet, they just know he nearly dies when he turns over the key in the ignition, setting off an explosion.
3. Scream (1996)
Wes Craven's seminal Scream has lost none of its impact, remaining every bit the shocking classic it was in 1996. And it's that way from the jump, establishing itself as a film that's willing to break its viewers' hearts, e.g. by killing off Drew Barrymore's character in the first act. Casey Becker is one of the franchise's most iconic and lovable characters, even though the audience barely gets a chance to know her.
And it's because they barely get to know her that it's so traumatic. No matter how many times someone watches the first scene of Craven's classic, they're begging for Becker to be allowed to live. But, it's not to be, and the slow build to Becker's murder and disemboweling is truly unbearable, and it wouldn't be quite as effective as it is were anyone other than the bubbly Barrymore in the role. It's the ultimate way to open a film with the proclamation that 'Yes, all bets are, in fact, off.'
2. Scream 2 (1997)
If Scream 2 isn't the best horror sequel ever made, it still ranks mighty high. This includes the first scene, which does everything it can to match the first film's Casey Becker scene, and it sure does come impressively close.
The first film had a certain level of meta, but Scream 2 takes it up into the stratosphere by setting the first scene in a movie theater. The audience (at the time of theatrical release) was forced to sit and watch two characters get dispatched by Ghostface, undoubtedly giving half glances to their left and right in their respective darkened auditorium. Brilliant.
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
One of both Tom Hanks and Matt Damon's best movies, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan opens with an incredibly realistic recreation of D-Day. It's so realistic that it took veterans right back to the bloodshed, and it does the same for general audiences (though, of course, to a lesser degree).
Even over 25 years later, Saving Private Ryan is a gut-punch of a film and one of the war genre's absolute best. From compelling performances from Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, and Vin Diesel to the engrossing cinematography, it's a masterpiece. That all being said, the opening scene truly is the film's apex. It's not that it plateaus or even decreases in objective quality at all, but when the first 24 minutes are so darn intense they feel like 24 seconds, it's art born of history right before the audiences' eyes.
Keywords: Movies | Opening Movie Scenes | Cinema | Films | Film openings