dBerczerk | 25 Apr 2014 5:49 p.m. PST |
I just watched the first 15 minutes of the movie "Gladiator" on television. The opening sequence -- battle against the tribesmen; never fails to impress me. The rest of the film is good, but does not compare with the opening battle. What other movies start strong, but then lose momentum as the film progresses? **** 2001 Space Odyssey -- great opening with the "Dawn of Man" but then never quite grips the audience like those opening scenes. **** Enemy at the Gates -- The Soviet river crossing under enemy fire and air attack was epic, but the rest of the film could not compare. Any other films start strong, but then lose steam? |
elsyrsyn | 25 Apr 2014 5:56 p.m. PST |
Saving Private Ryan comes immediately to mind. Doug |
John the OFM | 25 Apr 2014 5:56 p.m. PST |
I will get shot for this, but "Saving Private Ryan" had a really dumb final 2/3 of a movies. |
mjkerner | 25 Apr 2014 6:16 p.m. PST |
I don't know John, I agree with you and elsyrsyn. |
Pictors Studio | 25 Apr 2014 6:17 p.m. PST |
I agree on Saving Private Ryan. Also my remake of Starship Troopers which I haven't even started casting for yet, will be in this category. |
Frederick | 25 Apr 2014 6:21 p.m. PST |
Have to agree – for Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan, the best minutes are the first 15 minutes The first half hour of Barry Lyndon is also, in my humble view, the best part of it |
DS6151 | 25 Apr 2014 6:28 p.m. PST |
So "blood and explosions" is all it takes for you to call something good? That is what makes something the "best"? That's really kind of sad. Gladiator and SPR had exciting openings, but they were far from the best parts. |
jurgenation | 25 Apr 2014 6:28 p.m. PST |
'They Came to Cordura",the great cavalry charge on the hacienda and then nothing. |
leidang | 25 Apr 2014 7:57 p.m. PST |
I agree on the first part of Barry Lyndon. While I like Gladiator overall, there was so much wrong with that opening battle that I sort of cringe to get though it. I'll give you that it is exciting and flashy though. How about the Omega Man. I like the first part while they establish who he is and what's happened to the world, then the hippies show up. |
Dynaman8789 | 25 Apr 2014 8:03 p.m. PST |
Star Trek the Motion Picture. The Klingons were excellent, the rest of it
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Cincinnatus | 25 Apr 2014 8:11 p.m. PST |
Sorry but SPR wins this hands down. If all you see in the first 20 minutes is blood and explosions, you completely miss the feeling of the scene. No movie has ever taken me from 0 to 60 in such a short period of time. The ramp drops and 20 minutes later you come up for air not realizing you were holding your breath (okj not literally but you know what I mean). |
William Warner | 25 Apr 2014 8:21 p.m. PST |
I enjoyed all of Enemy at the Gates, but the opening sequence showing the the raw recruits moving to the front, crossing the Volga under hellish conditions and being thrown immediately into combat was breathtaking. |
Gone Fishing | 25 Apr 2014 8:24 p.m. PST |
I totally agree with Saving Private Ryan. If I remember rightly however, aren't the first two or three minutes devoted to showing an aging veteran and his family visiting the graves at Normandy? I remember that as being Spielberg at his worst; maudlin and snivelling, I find those first minutes worse than anything that comes after the excellent landing scenes. |
Space Monkey | 25 Apr 2014 8:43 p.m. PST |
So something like this oughtta go over well with the TMP crowd? YouTube link |
vtsaogames | 25 Apr 2014 8:58 p.m. PST |
Walker, which had a great slow-motion Mexican bayonet charge set to salsa music and then went downhill after that. |
David Manley | 25 Apr 2014 9:56 p.m. PST |
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Whatisitgood4atwork | 25 Apr 2014 10:09 p.m. PST |
'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was a terrific movie from start to finish, but the first 15 minutes was still the best bit. |
Bunkermeister | 25 Apr 2014 10:31 p.m. PST |
I saw SPR on a 70mm screen on opening day. The first 20 minutes was riveting. It was not the blood and explosions, anyone can do those. It was the feeling that you were on the LCVP with those other troops and hitting the beach with them. It was a total immersion into the movie. I came up for breath and realized I had gripped the arm rests so hard I almost ripped them off the seat. It almost seemed as if I had been there with them. Excellent movie making. Gladiator's first 15 minutes was great too. I know almost nothing about Roman combat, so the historical anomalies were lost on me. Mike Bunkermeister Creek Bunker Talk blog |
doug redshirt | 25 Apr 2014 10:42 p.m. PST |
Star Wars. Come on what could top a ship flying from the top of the screen shooting and being shot at. Then the enemy ship comes into view at the top of the screen and keeps coming on and on and on. I just remember sitting in the theater with my mouth open going wow. Then the boarding action oh my. I could have gone home right then and still thought Star Wars was a great movie. Nothing else left as much as an impression to be honest. |
Arthur Chance | 25 Apr 2014 11:35 p.m. PST |
Seem to remember the opening scene of Beatty Blue, but not much else of the film. Also the Star Trek reboot, while overrall very good, had a great opener, which played on the Kirk name. |
Martin Rapier | 26 Apr 2014 5:15 a.m. PST |
I actually thought the opening of Gladiator was one of the weaker parts of the film, and in many ways unnecessary to the plot. More votes for the opening scenes of SPR and EatG, both very gripping, and naturally Star Wars. I really loved the beginning of Collateral as LA transformed into the city at night, as well as the immediate sense of dislocation in Memento. Many books have excellent openings of course: It was a cold dry day in April and the clocks were striking 13; What's it going to be then eh?; It was a joy to burn; It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. |
Gone Fishing | 26 Apr 2014 9:26 a.m. PST |
Nice point about books, Martin. That's a catchy quote about the April clocks--what is it from? Other great first lines: They were the best of times
; Call me Ishmael; In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. And of course, Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles
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ubercommando | 26 Apr 2014 1:02 p.m. PST |
I think the opening Omaha Beach scene in SPR is flawed. Yes, there's all the carnage but for me the Spielberg is still being mawkish in little moments throughout and there's way too much foreshadowing, such as "Good job I was wearing my helmet" then BLAM! His head gets shot off. I think Band of Brothers took the concept from SPR and did it a whole lot better. I think the sniper duel in the tractor factory in Enemy at the Gates is up there with the opening scenes and as for Barry Lyndon, the seduction of the Countess during the card game to the sound of Schubert is one of the highlights of the movie. |
Tankrider | 26 Apr 2014 7:17 p.m. PST |
SPACEBALLS with Spaceball 1's awesome entrance. "We Break for Nobody!" |
BigNickR | 26 Apr 2014 10:13 p.m. PST |
GI Joe the movie. (The animated one) YouTube link After what was perhaps the finest 3 minutes and 15 seconds of animation laid to celluloid until Samurai Jack
we got a 3 hour polished about ecoterrorist aliens and coming of age angst from a green beret Lieutenant who saved the day with the help of a wisecracking Latino MP with a dog, a basketball-player, his love interest (a ninja who looked like a brunet version of the "Chicken Lady" from "kids in the hall"), and of course his mentor, and voice of venerable knowledge and wisdom
Professional Wrestler Sgt Slaughter |
Rhoderic III and counting | 27 Apr 2014 10:12 a.m. PST |
I realize this thread has almost slipped off the main page as I write this, but the seminal anime movie Jin-Roh could be a candidate. Many viewers were probably like me in expecting it to be an action romp before watching it for the first time, but it turns out the confrontation between rioters/terrorists and military police forces in the opening scenes (worth watching in itself) is almost the only action in the whole movie. It then turns into a surprisingly slow-paced, low-key, heavy and grown-up drama about political maneuvering in a totalitarian regime and the psychological damage of being a soldier for the same. Having said that, I did appreciate the whole movie, from beginning to end. |
skippy0001 | 27 Apr 2014 1:35 p.m. PST |
The Bridge at Remagen with the M24 Chaffees racing along the Rhine if I remember correctly. |
dBerczerk | 27 Apr 2014 3:07 p.m. PST |
Wow -- lots of movies I've never heard of! Although not ringing endorsements, I think I'll check out the titles mentioned, such as: -- Jin-Roh -- Collateral -- Beatty Blue -- Walker Even if they're not great movies, at least they sound interesting. |
Rhoderic III and counting | 27 Apr 2014 5:00 p.m. PST |
I just re-watched Jin-Roh to confirm that I was remembering it right (last time I saw it must have been 7-8 years ago), and for the most part I was. The first 16-17 minutes are pretty damn cool (if jarringly violent at times). The rest is good too, but most of it in a much more sober way. Definitely not an "archetypal" anime, despite being one of the higher-profile ones (it's clearly influenced several miniature manufacturers – just look at the 15mm sci-fi German stormtroopers from Eureka, for instance). I personally think that all things considered it's a must-see movie, but judging by the average ratings on websites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, many others are not of this opinion, so no guarantee you'll like it. If you do watch it, be aware that it's set in an alternate-history mid-20th century Japan that's recovering from a German occupation instead of an American one. This isn't made quite clear enough in the movie itself. Most societal themes are the same as in the real historical period it mirrors (economic upheaval, student riots, government shenanigans to get around the ban on military rebuilding, etc) but with the critical difference that it's much more violent. All in all, if nothing else, it's certainly interesting as the personal "art project" of Mamoru Oshii, one of the biggest names in anime. |
Littlearmies | 04 May 2014 4:10 a.m. PST |
@Daryl Haselton – "It was a cold dry day in April and the clocks were striking 13" is from "1984" by George Orwell. "It was a PLEASURE to burn" comes from "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury "What's it going to be then eh?" came from "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen Apologies but what is "Beatty Blue"? Did you mean "Betty Blue"? |
WillieB | 01 Jun 2014 2:41 a.m. PST |
The contraries. The opening scene from the Wild Bunch ( the robbery) is quite spectacular. But the last scenes (where Pike and the others die is even better) Cross Of Iron : even the title music sends shivers down my spine and the opening scenes are just grand The finale is breathtaking.As an added bonus anything in between is also very good. PLay Dirty. Stil the best opening scene ever with that lone jeep crossing the enemy lines. And the end is totaly unexpected and hearthwrenching. |
OSchmidt | 04 Jun 2014 5:11 a.m. PST |
I found the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan completely boring. Yah Yah, explosions and gratuitous arterial spray, lots of gloating scenes of shooting Nazi's, Yah Yah Yah-- dull as dishwater. The truly gripping part of the movie for me was the next 10 minutes with the discovery of "Ryan"s sole survivor status, followed by the utterly soul tearing scene of that car coming up that long winding drive to the house in the middle of the immense prairie, and the mother, seeing it, collapses on her porch, knowing what news the car brings, and she's already lost two sons. That scene destroys me and I dissolve in tears and can't watch the rest of the movie which seems to me not only anti-climactic and boring, but insulting. I also do not find the last scene maudlin or stupid. The Ryan character, visiting the graves of those who died to save him is understandably desperate to know "Was I worth saving?" Was I worth the moment when all those other mothers and wives would collapse at the approach of that car with that letter or telegram telling them that one of their loved ones will not be coming home, because they died to save him. At that point the man desperately needs to know that he was worth saving. This is a question faced by every man who survives war where his friends and comrades do not. "Why me?!" As for movies that somehow slip away I vote for Battle of Britain. Actually the best part of the movie is the title and music and the inspection. After that it gets fragmentary, and the romance between Christopher Plummer/Susannah York misfires. Gladiator is pretty much unwatchable for me, especially after the superimposition of the sound track from Zulu for chanting Germans hit the screen. The rest of the story got worse. Most of the rest though have been pretty good. |
dBerczerk | 06 Jun 2014 5:12 p.m. PST |
The letter from President Lincoln to the mother who lost her son was also quite moving. Nice to see officers working at the Pentagon portrayed as something other than soul-less opportunists. |