The 10 Best Movie Openings Ever, According To Reddit

The opening to a movie is so important for many different reasons. It has to capture the tone of the movie, introduce the characters, and if viewers are watching the movie on TV, it’ll determine whether or not they want to continue watching it. They’re especially important in the streaming age, as Netflix and so many other platforms often report on steep drop-offs of viewers after a movie’s first five minutes.

However, some movies go above and beyond what’s necessary, and even some bad movies have incredible intros. Between well-crafted montages with iconic music, totally unique chase sequences, and simple opening credits that advanced digital effects by years, these are Reddit’s favorites.

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Inglourious Basterds (2009)

The opening of Inglourious Basterds is one 20-minute-long scene, but it’s compelling from the opening second and has viewers clutching onto their chair arms until the very end. JHuttIII reckons it’s the best movie intro ever, explaining that they “can never get enough of the opening scene.”

The intense sequence introduces Hans Landa, AKA the Jew Hunter, as he interrogates a French dairy farmer he suspects is hiding Jews under his floorboards. Between the acting and the darkly poetic dialogue, it’s the gold standard of opening a suspenseful war drama.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is undoubtedly one of the most exciting adventure movies ever and one of the earliest examples of Steven Spielberg being the greatest living action director. In the 1981 movie, the ball gets rolling early, quite literally, as Indy (Harrison Ford) passes through a tomb full of booby traps, including a giant boulder that almost flattens the archeologist.

JKirbyFan explains that it’s the greatest movie opening because “the first 10 minutes are like a short film that tells you everything you need to know about the character.” Between the booby traps, the immediate charisma emanating from Ford, and the iconic John Williams-composed music, it’s the most exciting short film ever.

Scream (1996)

Out of all the slasher movies in the world, Scream is the most effective at making audiences feel like they aren’t safe even in the comfort of their own home. The movie makes viewers feel uncomfortable from the very first scene, as Casey (Drew Barrymore) is the victim of a home invasion after she’s taunted over the phone by the Ghostface killer.

Rattybeen believes that “younger people nowadays don’t really realize how shocking it was,” referring to how it subverted expectations by having the most famous actor of the movie be killed off in the first scene. That kind of opening became a tradition in the Scream series, but it was never reached the disturbing level of the original.

Furious 7 (2015)

The 2015 movie has some of Fast and Furious’ best explosions, but K-ambi reckons the greatest comes at the very beginning. The Redditor mentions that they “love a good Jason Statham opening,” and the intro sees Deckard Shaw (Statham) infiltrate a hospital, of all places, and leaves the building in absolute ruins.

While everything that happens in the bulk of Furious 7 might be way over the top, the movie is bookended with great scenes too, as the final sequence is surprisingly emotional. As Paul Walker died during the movie’s production, there’s a tear-jerking send-off to Brian O’Connor (Walker), and it’ll even have Dwayne Johnson-sized men sniffling.

Watchmen (2009)

Upon its release, some audiences were critical of Zack Snyder’s style-over-substance approach to the movie adaptation of Watchmen, as it’s full of slow-motion shots soundtracked by rock music. However, there’s no denying how epic the movie’s opening is.

BillMcCrearysStache thinks it’s one of the best movie openings ever, explaining that “the intro of Watchmen with the Bob Dylan song playing is God tier.” Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changing” plays over a montage of the Watchmen’s troubled history, and while the musical choice is totally on the nose, the aesthetic is so unique and the visuals are lifted from the comic book almost shot-for-shot.

Fight Club (1999)

Director David Fincher isn’t just a thriller auteur, but he’s tech-savvy too, and is always trying to find a way to advance digital effects. He even started in the industry by working for Industrial Lights and Magic, and that’s no more clear than at the beginning of Fight Club.

Redditor PugnaciousPangolin reminds users of the completely digital shot of “the journey out from the center of The Narrator’s brain.” The intro is part of why Fight Club still holds up today, and it’s made all the more tantalizing by the electronic and frenetic music score.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is far from the best X-Men movie in the world, as it is full of clunky effects and it suffered greatly from being developed during the 2007-2008 Writers Strike. There are very few saving graces of the movie, but Rex2k10 points to the opening scene in the 2009 film as one of the best.

The sequence might be one of the best scenes ever in one of the worst movies ever, as the montage expertly edits together Wolverine and Sabretooth fighting together through different wars. It’s a clever way to introduce the characters, it’s well shot, and it even makes viewers believe they’re about to experience the greatest X-Men movie of all time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

The Other Guys (2010)

Interestingly, the three-minute The Other Guys intro doesn’t even feature the main characters, which is part of what makes it so funny. The opening sees police officers P.K. (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher (Dwayne Johnson) cause $12 million in damages just to stop a couple of guys from causing a misdemeanor.

Littleloretta claims that “that ‘aim for the bushes’ thing always makes me laugh.” The intro perfectly captures the tone of the whole movie, but it also makes fans crave a spin-off movie starring Jackson and Johnson.

Drive (2011)

Ashthundercrow believes Drive has the best opener of all time, explaining that it did “a great job of throwing you immediately in the flames, then cooling you off, only to slow-burn you until the end.” The movie follows an unnamed protagonist who is the best movie getaway driver, and the opening scene sees him helping two bank robbers escape the scene of the crime.

Most of the sequence is shot from inside the car, which makes it feel so isolating and genuinely like the pressure is on. According to The New York Times, Director Nicolas Winding Refn chose to shoot it like that so that when Driver is trying to evade the police, it feels like a “diver in an ocean of sharks.”

Thief (1981)

14 years before Michael Mann directed the incredible Heat, he made Thief, another sublime crime thriller that doesn’t get mentioned as much as it should. And Britz94 reminds users of the movie’s 10-minute-long intro, which features “James Caan stealing diamonds to the tune of Tangerine Dream.”

The movie has an incredibly moody aesthetic, as the band Tangerine Dream’s synths soundtrack shots of a dark and rainy Chicago, neon blue title credits, and typically angular 80s American autos. It’s one of the coolest and most thrilling crime movies of the 80s, and the opening sets the tone perfectly.

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