We recently asked members of our BuzzFeed Community a very simple question: What is the greatest opening scene in any film ever? Well, their passionate responses DID NOT disappoint. Here are just a FEW of the best:
"I watched this for the first time when I was 14, and it absolutely terrified me. The way Ghostface taunts Drew Barrymore while she’s locked inside of her house, only to have her boyfriend gutted in front of her before getting slaughtered herself, all while her parents are listening to her last breaths through the phone, unable to help her. There's a reason it’s considered a horror classic."
"The snapping sequence where the Jets and the Sharks are fight-dancing while the music is getting louder and louder for five minutes straight is just plain awesome."
3. Juno (2007)
"The music is absolutely perfect in setting the tone, and I love the mix between animation and live-action."
"When Maria is up in the mountains, singing as the camera zooms in on the beautiful scenery...I love it so much! It's iconic."
"It immediately show the funny and dark side of the main character, and it's a great action opening scene."
"The song, the chase, the action, the way everything just clicks together so beautifully...I never thought a car chase scene could get me so hooked!"
"It sets the stage for the entire film in two minutes. It covers the story of worldwide infertility, the death of the youngest person on the planet, and the potential extinction of human beings. We meet the lead, Clive Owen, and see the horrific event that sets off the film. It's an epic roller coaster about survival from the first moments onward."
"The scene on Thor's ship perfectly sets up Thanos, his goals, his strength, and Thor’s understandable drive for vengeance."
"That opening scene with Christoph Waltz is the best opening scene in any movie. Waltz does an amazing job capturing that friendly, disturbingly nice sort of evil."
"When Peter Quill is on the abandoned planet and sings 'Come And Get Your Love' while kicking aliens and using them as microphones...you learn everything you need to know about the main character's personality with zero dialogue."
"The monologue Leonardo DiCaprio gives perfectly presents the movie’s vulgar and hilarious vibe. I’m biased because this is my favorite movie of all time, but everyone who I’ve spoken to about the opening THOROUGHLY agrees with me."
"The detailed explanation of the alternative history done during the opening credits sequence set to Bob Dylan's 'The Times They are A-Changing' is absolutely perfect."
"The POV shots fill you with dread as you watch Michael Myers stalk his older sister and her boyfriend. Especially when he grabs the knife — then the horrifying reveal that the killer was actually a 6-year-old is perfect. Even though most people watching today already know this in advance, it must have been such a huge twist to audiences back when it first came out."
"The scene when Nightcrawler attacks the Oval Office is one of the greatest openings to a comic book movie ever. You get a clear picture of just how outmatched humans are against a powerful mutant in full attack mode."
"In the original Disney animated version, when the story is told through the stained glass windows...it's simply stunning."
18. Up (2009)
"In just a matter of minutes you get a whole love story filled with joy and heartbreak. It never fails to make me sob, but I don’t care. The tears are worth it."
"I've always loved the opening for this one. It builds up suspense with a bit of humor. It had me immediately hooked the first time I saw it."
"The first five minutes is STUNNING. 'Deliver Us' is such a powerful opening song, and the animation pairs so well with it. I genuinely get chills during the last note when the screen slams to black."
"There's so much beautiful imagery, and the sound of the Galadriel’s voice narrating in English AND Elfish is so powerful."
"No character has even spoken yet, and the audience can already tell what the story will be about. Plus, it opens with one of the greatest songs ever written, and it is matched with great cinematography that literally brings me to tears each time I watch it."
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Some entries have been edited for length and/or clarity.
