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While many a film has a great ending there are not quite so many with a great start. It was a plan of many a filmmaker that if you gave a film a great ending the punters would go home happy as this was the last thing that stuck in their mind. While this is probably true it is also important to get the start of your film correct – if the start is wrong the whole film may be spoilt. For example it is not always ideal to start off too fast or action packed but rather to build up to tense ending, the best example of this I could find was Se7en where there is a truly shocking ending after a slow build up. This can also be associated with Jaws, although we know a shark has devoured the lady it is not until late into the film that we actually see it. Had we seen the entire shark at the outset the film would have lost some of its impact. Below are my five favourite beginnings to the films I have seen in reverse order:
5) The World is not Enough: There’s got to be a Bond film in this list and while there are some great starts such as the ski chase in The Spy Who Loved Me or the paintball fight on Gibraltar from the Living Daylights my favourite is the most recent. Perhaps the longest start in the Bond series this one has it all, a sexy woman, Bond getting out of a close situation, a great explosion in the MI5 building, an exciting pursuit on the Thames and the best use yet of the Millennium Dome. Although the film may not be one of the best the start is right up there.
4) Saving Private Ryan: War films are always a difficult subject especially when there are still people alive who fought in it. The start of Ryan is particularly horrific and highlights the shocking waste of life from WWII. Perhaps the best compliment paid to Spielberg was that veterans said this was as close to the experience as anything on film to date. The start looks like it was filmed with a handheld camera and gives you a giddy feeling that adds to the effect of the film. Disturbing but compelling viewing.
3) Braindead: This may seem a strange entry but the start is comedy/gore at its best and perfectly sets the tone for this gem of a film. Seeking a rat monkey on an island to take back to a zoo in New Zealand, two explorers capture it but are attacked by an ethnic tribe trying to stop them escaping with the monkey. Obviously there is something sinister about the ape and when one of the explorers is scratched the only way the tribesmen can save him is to hack off his arm. Too late, the disease has spread and they cut off another limb, the last thing you see are the signs of the poison appearing on his head and a massive machete looming down – cue the titles. From here on in you know what you are going to get impressive scenes of gore with large comic undertones, it’s well worth seeing it if you haven’t and see what the director of the forthcoming Lord of The Rings has done in the past. Be warned you may not want to eat custard again after seeing this.
2) Scream: In second place is the opening to the first of the Scream trilogy. Talk about grabbing your attention from the start, this is a truly terrifying opening to the hugely successful series. Left alone at home Drew Barrymore is pestered by a nuisance caller only to realise that the caller is watching her from outside. Then it is a cat and mouse chase and probably the biggest star of the film ends up dead in the opening act. Excellently directed by Craven this totally throws you, as the main named actress is dead within ten minutes. The opening does exactly what a horror film should do, have you glued to the screen gripping to the arms of the chair. While the remainder of the film is good it never quite lives up to its opening and the two sequels do not come close to eclipsing this terrific sequence.
1) Raiders of the Lost Ark: An obvious choice but it is the best start to any film, bar none. This one has everything, comedy (the spider sequence), horror (the man on the spikes – truly scary for the age that are allowed to see it), suspense (Will he make it under the falling wall in time, has he enough sand) and plenty of action (the unforgettable boulder sequence, the chase to the plane etc.).
Pure genius – Spielberg at his best.
The other films in the series also had good beginnings but this is the standard against which all films have to compete.
Other films I feel I should mention are Star Wars (If I didn't someone else would), when that first star destroyer comes from overhead it is amazing, especially in the cinema, Terminator 2 – when the endoskeleton crushes the skull and the fight Arnie has in the bar – that’s pretty cool. Blade also has a good start.
I challenge anyone to come up with a better five beginning of films than that. Obviously there will be some films I will not have seen but from my memory these are the most impressive.
5) The World is not Enough: There’s got to be a Bond film in this list and while there are some great starts such as the ski chase in The Spy Who Loved Me or the paintball fight on Gibraltar from the Living Daylights my favourite is the most recent. Perhaps the longest start in the Bond series this one has it all, a sexy woman, Bond getting out of a close situation, a great explosion in the MI5 building, an exciting pursuit on the Thames and the best use yet of the Millennium Dome. Although the film may not be one of the best the start is right up there.
4) Saving Private Ryan: War films are always a difficult subject especially when there are still people alive who fought in it. The start of Ryan is particularly horrific and highlights the shocking waste of life from WWII. Perhaps the best compliment paid to Spielberg was that veterans said this was as close to the experience as anything on film to date. The start looks like it was filmed with a handheld camera and gives you a giddy feeling that adds to the effect of the film. Disturbing but compelling viewing.
3) Braindead: This may seem a strange entry but the start is comedy/gore at its best and perfectly sets the tone for this gem of a film. Seeking a rat monkey on an island to take back to a zoo in New Zealand, two explorers capture it but are attacked by an ethnic tribe trying to stop them escaping with the monkey. Obviously there is something sinister about the ape and when one of the explorers is scratched the only way the tribesmen can save him is to hack off his arm. Too late, the disease has spread and they cut off another limb, the last thing you see are the signs of the poison appearing on his head and a massive machete looming down – cue the titles. From here on in you know what you are going to get impressive scenes of gore with large comic undertones, it’s well worth seeing it if you haven’t and see what the director of the forthcoming Lord of The Rings has done in the past. Be warned you may not want to eat custard again after seeing this.
2) Scream: In second place is the opening to the first of the Scream trilogy. Talk about grabbing your attention from the start, this is a truly terrifying opening to the hugely successful series. Left alone at home Drew Barrymore is pestered by a nuisance caller only to realise that the caller is watching her from outside. Then it is a cat and mouse chase and probably the biggest star of the film ends up dead in the opening act. Excellently directed by Craven this totally throws you, as the main named actress is dead within ten minutes. The opening does exactly what a horror film should do, have you glued to the screen gripping to the arms of the chair. While the remainder of the film is good it never quite lives up to its opening and the two sequels do not come close to eclipsing this terrific sequence.
1) Raiders of the Lost Ark: An obvious choice but it is the best start to any film, bar none. This one has everything, comedy (the spider sequence), horror (the man on the spikes – truly scary for the age that are allowed to see it), suspense (Will he make it under the falling wall in time, has he enough sand) and plenty of action (the unforgettable boulder sequence, the chase to the plane etc.).
Pure genius – Spielberg at his best.
The other films in the series also had good beginnings but this is the standard against which all films have to compete.
Other films I feel I should mention are Star Wars (If I didn't someone else would), when that first star destroyer comes from overhead it is amazing, especially in the cinema, Terminator 2 – when the endoskeleton crushes the skull and the fight Arnie has in the bar – that’s pretty cool. Blade also has a good start.
I challenge anyone to come up with a better five beginning of films than that. Obviously there will be some films I will not have seen but from my memory these are the most impressive.
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While many a film has a great ending there are not quite so many with a great start. It was a plan of many a filmmaker that if you gave a film a great ending the punters would go home happy as this was the last thing that stuck in their mind. While this is probably true it is also important to get the start of your film correct – if the start is wrong the whole film may be spoilt. For example it is not always ideal to start off too fast or action packed but rather to build up to tense ending, the best example of this I could find was Se7en where there is a truly shocking ending after a slow build up. This can also be associated with Jaws, although we know a shark has devoured the lady it is not until late into the film that we actually see it. Had we seen the entire shark at the outset the film would have lost some of its impact. Below are my five favourite beginnings to the films I have seen in reverse order:
5) The World is not Enough: There’s got to be a Bond film in this list and while there are some great starts such as the ski chase in The Spy Who Loved Me or the paintball fight on Gibraltar from the Living Daylights my favourite is the most recent. Perhaps the longest start in the Bond series this one has it all, a sexy woman, Bond getting out of a close situation, a great explosion in the MI5 building, an exciting pursuit on the Thames and the best use yet of the Millennium Dome. Although the film may not be one of the best the start is right up there.
4) Saving Private Ryan: War films are always a difficult subject especially when there are still people alive who fought in it. The start of Ryan is particularly horrific and highlights the shocking waste of life from WWII. Perhaps the best compliment paid to Spielberg was that veterans said this was as close to the experience as anything on film to date. The start looks like it was filmed with a handheld camera and gives you a giddy feeling that adds to the effect of the film. Disturbing but compelling viewing.
3) Braindead: This may seem a strange entry but the start is comedy/gore at its best and perfectly sets the tone for this gem of a film. Seeking a rat monkey on an island to take back to a zoo in New Zealand, two explorers capture it but are attacked by an ethnic tribe trying to stop them escaping with the monkey. Obviously there is something sinister about the ape and when one of the explorers is scratched the only way the tribesmen can save him is to hack off his arm. Too late, the disease has spread and they cut off another limb, the last thing you see are the signs of the poison appearing on his head and a massive machete looming down – cue the titles. From here on in you know what you are going to get impressive scenes of gore with large comic undertones, it’s well worth seeing it if you haven’t and see what the director of the forthcoming Lord of The Rings has done in the past. Be warned you may not want to eat custard again after seeing this.
2) Scream: In second place is the opening to the first of the Scream trilogy. Talk about grabbing your attention from the start, this is a truly terrifying opening to the hugely successful series. Left alone at home Drew Barrymore is pestered by a nuisance caller only to realise that the caller is watching her from outside. Then it is a cat and mouse chase and probably the biggest star of the film ends up dead in the opening act. Excellently directed by Craven this totally throws you, as the main named actress is dead within ten minutes. The opening does exactly what a horror film should do, have you glued to the screen gripping to the arms of the chair. While the remainder of the film is good it never quite lives up to its opening and the two sequels do not come close to eclipsing this terrific sequence.
1) Raiders of the Lost Ark: An obvious choice but it is the best start to any film, bar none. This one has everything, comedy (the spider sequence), horror (the man on the spikes – truly scary for the age that are allowed to see it), suspense (Will he make it under the falling wall in time, has he enough sand) and plenty of action (the unforgettable boulder sequence, the chase to the plane etc.).
Pure genius – Spielberg at his best.
The other films in the series also had good beginnings but this is the standard against which all films have to compete.
Other films I feel I should mention are Star Wars (If I didn't someone else would), when that first star destroyer comes from overhead it is amazing, especially in the cinema, Terminator 2 – when the endoskeleton crushes the skull and the fight Arnie has in the bar – that’s pretty cool. Blade also has a good start.
I challenge anyone to come up with a better five beginning of films than that. Obviously there will be some films I will not have seen but from my memory these are the most impressive.
5) The World is not Enough: There’s got to be a Bond film in this list and while there are some great starts such as the ski chase in The Spy Who Loved Me or the paintball fight on Gibraltar from the Living Daylights my favourite is the most recent. Perhaps the longest start in the Bond series this one has it all, a sexy woman, Bond getting out of a close situation, a great explosion in the MI5 building, an exciting pursuit on the Thames and the best use yet of the Millennium Dome. Although the film may not be one of the best the start is right up there.
4) Saving Private Ryan: War films are always a difficult subject especially when there are still people alive who fought in it. The start of Ryan is particularly horrific and highlights the shocking waste of life from WWII. Perhaps the best compliment paid to Spielberg was that veterans said this was as close to the experience as anything on film to date. The start looks like it was filmed with a handheld camera and gives you a giddy feeling that adds to the effect of the film. Disturbing but compelling viewing.
3) Braindead: This may seem a strange entry but the start is comedy/gore at its best and perfectly sets the tone for this gem of a film. Seeking a rat monkey on an island to take back to a zoo in New Zealand, two explorers capture it but are attacked by an ethnic tribe trying to stop them escaping with the monkey. Obviously there is something sinister about the ape and when one of the explorers is scratched the only way the tribesmen can save him is to hack off his arm. Too late, the disease has spread and they cut off another limb, the last thing you see are the signs of the poison appearing on his head and a massive machete looming down – cue the titles. From here on in you know what you are going to get impressive scenes of gore with large comic undertones, it’s well worth seeing it if you haven’t and see what the director of the forthcoming Lord of The Rings has done in the past. Be warned you may not want to eat custard again after seeing this.
2) Scream: In second place is the opening to the first of the Scream trilogy. Talk about grabbing your attention from the start, this is a truly terrifying opening to the hugely successful series. Left alone at home Drew Barrymore is pestered by a nuisance caller only to realise that the caller is watching her from outside. Then it is a cat and mouse chase and probably the biggest star of the film ends up dead in the opening act. Excellently directed by Craven this totally throws you, as the main named actress is dead within ten minutes. The opening does exactly what a horror film should do, have you glued to the screen gripping to the arms of the chair. While the remainder of the film is good it never quite lives up to its opening and the two sequels do not come close to eclipsing this terrific sequence.
1) Raiders of the Lost Ark: An obvious choice but it is the best start to any film, bar none. This one has everything, comedy (the spider sequence), horror (the man on the spikes – truly scary for the age that are allowed to see it), suspense (Will he make it under the falling wall in time, has he enough sand) and plenty of action (the unforgettable boulder sequence, the chase to the plane etc.).
Pure genius – Spielberg at his best.
The other films in the series also had good beginnings but this is the standard against which all films have to compete.
Other films I feel I should mention are Star Wars (If I didn't someone else would), when that first star destroyer comes from overhead it is amazing, especially in the cinema, Terminator 2 – when the endoskeleton crushes the skull and the fight Arnie has in the bar – that’s pretty cool. Blade also has a good start.
I challenge anyone to come up with a better five beginning of films than that. Obviously there will be some films I will not have seen but from my memory these are the most impressive.
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