Grand Openings: 10 Great 1st Scenes

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman! I am your host, David, and today we’re going to look at ten films with phenomenal opening scenes. Truth be told, all of today’s films are wonderful from start to finish, but these ten lead off with some of the best scenes in film history.

And early success is important. 

In the sports world, think about returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, or having your leadoff hitter hit a home run. An early goal in hockey (and especially soccer) can set the tone for the entire game. It’s good to get out on the front foot.

The same is kind of true in movies. If that opening scene is a stunner, the audience is, quite possibly, hooked for the rest of the way. 

The term “cold open” may have started with “Saturday Night Live” in reference to their skits that take place before the opening credits. Other popular shows, including “Brooklyn Nine Nine” are famous for their wonderfully crafted cold opens.

The all-time king of the film world cold open is, of course, the James Bond franchise. Case closed. No arguments will be heard at this time. That may be an upcoming episode of its own!

For today, let’s look at 10 non-Bond movies with tremendous opening scenes. 

I have decided to list these films in chronological order because, once again, I am not willing to go out on that limb. I’m afraid of heights, after all.

Citizen Kane (1941)

NR/119 m/IMDb: 8.3

“Rosebud.”

I remember seeing Citizen Kane in film class at BU and being mesmerized by the opening sequence. We see a “No trespassing” sign, and then we pass right by it and go trespassing into the life of Charles Foster Kane. 

This haunting beginning culminates with Kane whispering one of the most famous words in film history; “Rosebud.” Kane drops the snow globe he was holding, and it shatters on the floor.

We then get “News on the March!” a newsreel that gives us all the background we need to know about Kane before director Orson Wells (who also wrote, produced, and starred) unravels the mystery behind Kane’s cryptic final words.

If you count the newsreel, this opening scene is 14 ½ minutes, but wow. 

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

P/110 m/IMDb: 8.4

This film noir masterpiece opens with a crime scene at an old Hollywood mansion. There’s a dead man floating in the pool. We hear narration about what’s happening, and it turns out the narrator is the dead man himself.

It’s not the only movie narrated by a dead character, but it’s certainly the first one that I had ever seen.

The dead man, screenwriter Joe Gillis, is played by William Holden. His character goes on to tell the story of how he ends up being shot twice and floating in a faded movie star’s pool. 

This is great noir, and it’s also one of the best movies about movies of all time. That’s another upcoming episode!

Gloria Swanson is tremendous as the aged starlet, and Erich von Stroheim plays her loyal servant Max.

Fun fact about that pool; it wasn’t real! They built it just for the movie. It didn’t have any filtration system at all and was filled in and covered over when the production concluded. 

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

G/149 m/IMDb: 8.3

Have you seen Barbie yet? I did, and I loved it! You’ll definitely hear more about it during next week’s “Best & Worst of September” episode!

I mention Barbie because the wonderful director, Greta Gerwig, pays homage to the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey at the start of it, and it’s absolutely brilliant!

2001: A Space Odyssey is considered one of the best science fiction films of all time. 

It tells the story of an astronaut sent to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious artifact. 

It also tells the story of a computer who may or may not have the astronaut’s best interests in mind.

The opening of this space movie actually takes place around the dawn of time. We see a group of apes doing what our ancestors tended to do back then. 

Richard Strauss’ classical piece, “Also sprach Zarathustra” swells as the apes gather around a monolith, touching and sniffing its smooth surface.

They’re then shown destroying dried animal bones with clubs. So I guess the Strauss piece drove them to violence. 

If you haven’t seen this movie, find someone who has and ask them to explain it to you. Good luck.

Did I mention that Stanley Kubrick directed this? It’s something else.

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

NR/165 m/IMDb: 8.5

This epic western, directed by the “King of the Spaghetti Western,” Sergio Leone, is one of the greatest westerns ever made. 

A co-production between Italy and the United States, it tells the story of a mysterious stranger out for revenge. 

The stranger (played by Charles Bronson) goes by the name Harmonica. When you find out why, you’ll understand the revenge aspect of this movie. 

It’s a long movie, which I usually complain about, but when it’s a really long movie made before the 80s, I tend to cut it some slack. 

The opening scene takes place at a semi-deserted train station where three men are waiting for a train to arrive.

 

There is zero dialogue, and no music as Leone relies on natural sounds. 

Much of the 7:04 run time of the opening scene is spent on Jack Elam. He plays one of the men waiting for the train. After dismantling the telegraph because of its annoying sound, a fly lands on his face and won’t leave. He sniffs, snorts, and blows, but the fly stays. 

Elam’s unique face is key here, and Leone shoots him in a closeup as he traps the fly with the barrel of his gun. 

Nothing is going on, and everything is going on as Leone begins to tell his tale of revenge and retribution.

The Godfather (1972)

R/175 m/IMDb: 9.2

        “That I cannot do.”

Every time I hear that haunting music over the rotating stars of the Paramount logo, I get chills. 

The Godfather is really the only movie I ever remember my parents dropping Vanessa and me off at Grandma Lou’s to go to see. When they got home, I was curious about how much they enjoyed it. Ray nodded his head indicating that it was really good, Jean was still kind of wide eyed and said something along the lines of, “That was a lot.”

Many people (critics and regular people) will tell you that The Godfather is the greatest movie ever made. I never argue with those people because they could very well be right!

Marlon Brando is the “Godfather,” and in the opening scene he is visited by an acquaintance/neighbor on the day of his daughter’s wedding. 

The man tells the story of his daughter being assaulted by two men and almost beaten to death. He says he went to the police, the boys were tried, but ultimately released. He asks Don Corleone for his help carrying out justice. 

Director Francis Ford Coppola has the man whisper his request to Don Corleone. We can’t hear it, but we know what it is. 

Don Corleone’s response is, “That I cannot do.” Corleone eventually agrees to send someone over (Clemenza) to teach the boys a lesson and send a message, but he won’t kill the boys as the man wished. He says, “We’re not murderers, after all.” 

The best part of this scene, other than Brando playing with a cat in his lap for most of it, is what Corleone tells the man before agreeing to help him. 

Don Corleone tells him, sad story, but you come to me now when you need something? You never invite me and my wife over to the house, etc. He berates the man for his behavior before agreeing to help in exchange for a favor he may or may not ask for in the future. 

It’s an amazing opening scene and it wonderfully sets up the character of Don Corleone. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

PG/115 m/IMDb: 8.4

“Throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip!”

Lies!

The opening sequence in Steven Spielberg’s love letter to the days of movie serials has everything!

*secret treasures

*booby-traps

*traitorous goons

*angry natives

*and a lead-in to a most enjoyable movie that should have been a one and done. Every sequel to this film has been horrible, in my opinion. 

Of course, there’s a 5th one with 81-year-old Harrison Ford. Come on. Hang up the whip, Indy.

All that does NOT take away anything from the original and its opening scene. 

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

R/99 m/IMDb: 8.3

“If you shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.”

Even though I am, by no means, a Quentin Tarantino fan (I dislike more of his films than I like), there’s no arguing that the opening of Reservoir Dogs is tremendous, and it put him on everybody’s radar.

The story about a group of strangers (one an undercover cop) and a jewelry store robbery that goes very wrong begins with the men eating breakfast at a diner. 

There’s a lot going on here including a profane discussion of the meaning behind a Madonna song, the former loves of the gang leader who has found an old “little black book” of his, and the fact that Mr. Pink doesn’t tip.

The camera never stops moving as the conversations all seem to overlap. 

Yes, there’s too much Tarantino. 

There’s always too much Tarantino. 

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

R/169 m/IMDb: 8.6

All you really need to know about this stunning opening scene is that it depicts the Normandy Invasion (D-Day) on June 6, 1944. 

That and the veterans who saw Saving Private Ryan (including many veterans who were actually there) said it was the most realistic scene of war they had ever witnessed. 

Chaotic, confusing, violent, louder than hell, and extremely bloody. This scene is ultra-realistic.

Spielberg really is a master. He has two films on this list and could have had a third. 

Ever seen the opening of Jaws?

The Dark Knight (2008)

PG-13/152 m/IMDb: 9.0

Christopher Nolan is a skilled director whose movies are always anxiously anticipated. 

Ramp up that anticipation when a superhero or super villain is involved. 

The opening of The Dark Knight features a bank robbery organized by The Joker and carried out by a bunch of criminals who eliminate each other during the robbery!

It begins with a zip-line stunt between two Gotham City skyscrapers and ends with a school bus making a withdrawal.

It’s a wonderful introduction to Heath Ledger’s Joker and kicks off a very entertaining movie.

Even if it involves a superhero.

Our final film is an experience in excess from start to finish. 

Babylon (2022)

R/189 m/IMDb: 7.1

It’s extremely difficult, almost impossible, to describe everything that’s going on in the opening scene of Damien Chazelle’s epic tale of early Hollywood.

Babylon opens with a Hollywood party/orgy that appears to be straight out of one of Dante’s 9 Circles of Hell.

This party’s debauchery not only has a capital D, it has a capital everything!

There’s drinking and drug use to excess, ample nudity, wild music, various animals wandering about, urophilia (don’t look that up), lavish decorations, violence, fetishism, and more drinking and more drugs.

And it seems like there are a thousand people there. I have no idea how Chazelle shot that scene. It must have taken weeks. 

The PRE-party scene features an elephant pooping all over a man in disturbingly graphic detail. Straight from the old pachyderm’s tuchus.

It’s absolute madness. The whole thing.

And what a way to end today’s list! That is a wrap. 

Thank you so much for joining us here at Cinema Wellman for some “Grand Openings!”

A special thank you to my good friend Jack for suggesting this topic for an episode! If you have ideas, let us know! Ask, and you shall receive!

We hope you’ll be back next week when it’ll be time to break down the “Best & Worst” of the month of September.

Until then, take care.