The opening of a film needs to do a lot: pull the viewer in, set the tone, and define the stakes, all in a matter of minutes. It’s no small feat — actually, it’s pretty darn hard, yet some directors make it look effortless. They grab our attention from the very first frame and never let go, making the movie memorable, even when the rest of it can’t quite measure up to the near-flawless start.
The greatest opening scenes establish character, atmosphere, and theme with impressive precision. These sequences are the focus of this list. They cover a range of genres and styles, but they all hit hard, serving as focused thesis statements for their entire films. This list will rank the most legendary opening movie scenes based on their reputation, how effectively they set the pace for their respective movies, and their overall contributions to the film medium.
10
‘Scream’ (1996)
“What’s your favorite scary movie?” Wes Craven reinvented the slasher with Scream, and its opening scene remains one of the most shocking in horror history. Drew Barrymore, then the biggest star attached to the film, was marketed as its lead, only to be brutally killed off in the first fifteen minutes (strong shades of Psycho). The sequence is a masterclass in suspense: a phone call that begins playfully escalates into something terrifying as the anonymous voice quizzes Casey on horror trivia, threatening her life with each wrong answer.
The scene culminates in the murder of both Casey and her boyfriend, Casey’s body next found hanging from a tree. The mix of self-awareness and genuine terror reinvigorated the genre, proving slashers could still shock in the ’90s. It’ impressive that, decades after helping to create the slasher blueprint, Craven was able to significantly innovate with it. It’s an intro that subverts expectations, setting the mood for everything to come.
9
‘Touch of Evil’ (1958)
“You folks American citizens?” Orson Welles‘ Touch of Evil begins with one of the most technically dazzling tracking shots ever filmed. The camera glides through a bustling Mexican border town as we follow a car with a ticking time bomb hidden in its trunk. For three unbroken minutes, Welles builds unbearable tension as the vehicle moves through crowds and across the border, the audience waiting for the inevitable explosion. It is suspense through duration, immersion through movement.
When the bomb finally detonates, it’s the catalyst for the entire story of corruption, crime, and moral rot that follows. The long shot itself became legendary, inspiring countless homages and analyses, but its brilliance is in how it combines spectacle with storytelling. From the very first frame, Touch of Evil announces that the audience is in the hands of a master. Critics didn’t appreciate all this on release, but the film has since been recognized as one of the greatest noir movies of the genre’s waning days.
8
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
“Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” The Dark Knight wastes no time in plunging audiences into chaos, opening with a bank heist that feels both familiar and electrifyingly new. Shot in IMAX, the sequence follows masked criminals as they methodically rob a Gotham bank, each betraying the other until only one remains: the Joker. The reveal of Heath Ledger’s clown-painted face, paired with his chilling first line, “Whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you… stranger”, instantly cemented the performance as iconic. The character continues to loom over all movie villains since.
The scene works on multiple levels. It’s a set piece that could stand alone as a perfect short film, but also serves a role within the larger narrative. It establishes not only the Joker’s ruthless cunning but also the film’s blend of crime thriller realism and comic-book grandeur. Nolan’s choice to open with spectacle and dread created an unforgettable introduction to the film’s central conflict, raising the bar for superhero storytelling.
7
‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)
“May I have a glass of your delicious milk?” Inglourious Basterds opens with a masterful, slow-burning, dialogue-driven scene. On a quiet French farm, SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) engages in seemingly polite conversation with a local farmer (Denis Ménochet), gradually tightening the noose as he reveals he suspects Jews are being hidden beneath the floorboards. Waltz’s performance is mesmerizing, charming, sinister, and methodical, and Tarantino milks every pause, every smile, to stretch the tension to its breaking point.
When Landa’s soldiers finally open fire, the violence is shocking but inevitable, the release of fifteen minutes of unbearable suspense. It’s one of the most perfectly executed opening scenes of the century. It sets up Shoshanna’s (Mélanie Laurent) entire arc, while also telling us all we need to know about our antagonist: he’s viciously intelligent, verbally fluent, and deeply mercurial, forever three steps ahead of his opponents. It establishes the movie’s tone, too: history will be rewritten, but with no less darkness.
6
‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)
“Clear the ramp! Thirty seconds!” Saving Private Ryan opens with perhaps the most harrowing battle sequence ever filmed: the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. For nearly thirty minutes, the audience is plunged into chaos as soldiers wade through surf under relentless gunfire, bodies torn apart around them. The handheld camerawork, desaturated colors, and deafening soundscape place the viewer directly in the terror of combat, stripping away any romanticism of war. Ears ring, blood spatters a camera lens, a shellshocked soldier runs across the sand carrying his severed arm.
Tom Hanks anchors all this carnage as Captain Miller, his dazed perspective mirroring the audience’s struggle to process everything. This sequence goes way beyond being an action scene: it’s an assault on the senses, a visceral reminder of the cost of war. It set a new standard for realism in war films. Before the story even begins, Spielberg forces the audience to live through history’s most traumatic battlefield.
5
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
“Throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip!” Spielberg strikes again. Few openings are as thrilling or as iconic as the introduction of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the seminal action-adventure movie. The sequence follows our whip-wielding hero (Harrison Ford) as he navigates a booby-trapped temple to retrieve a golden idol, only to be betrayed by a companion and pursued by the famous rolling boulder. In less than ten minutes, Spielberg and Ford create a fully-formed character: resourceful, daring, morally complex, and constantly in over his head, an old adventure comic character brought to vivid life.
The set pieces are perfectly staged, each trap more dangerous than the last, culminating in one of the most famous action moments in cinema history. This opening is pure adventure distilled, announcing Indiana Jones as an instant icon and setting the tone for a franchise built on spectacle and charm. It’s a lesson in character introduction, establishing Indy’s flaws and strengths with clarity and style.
4
‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)
“Nobody ever robs restaurants. Why not?” Tarantino reinvented crime cinema with Pulp Fiction, and its opening scene is a perfect microcosm of his style. In a diner, a couple (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer) debate the merits of robbing restaurants instead of banks. The dialogue is witty, meandering, and absurdly funny, until it suddenly turns violent as the pair leap to their feet and declare a stick-up. The scene ends mid-scream, with Tarantino cutting away to credits and surf rock, leaving the audience both amused and unsettled. From this moment, you know you’re watching something special.
The opening melds the mundane with the shocking, the comedic with the dangerous, in a way only Tarantino could. It’s a declaration of intent: the film will be unpredictable, stylish, and violent, with dialogue as sharp as any gunfight. By the time the scene returns at Pulp Fiction‘s time-bending conclusion, it has already become one of the defining moments of modern cinema.
3
‘The Godfather’ (1972)
“Don Corleone, give me justice.” The Godfather opens not with gunfire but with a quiet, chilling monologue. “I believe in America,” says undertaker Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto), as the camera slowly pulls back to reveal Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) listening in shadow. The juxtaposition is striking: a plea for justice in a courtroom denied, contrasted with the quiet assurance of justice outside the law. Brando’s presence dominates the scene, his gravelly voice and mannerisms instantly iconic.
Coppola‘s patient pacing sets the tone for the film. This will be a story of power, family, and the blurred line between legitimacy and crime. The themes are all here: the dark side of the American dream, the failures of the system, the complexity of the mafia code. The scene may not be flashy, but it’s legendary for its atmosphere, establishing Corleone as a man of immense authority and quiet menace. The line “You don’t even think to call me ‘Godfather'” instantly became famous.
2
‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ (1977)
“We’re doomed.” After the crawl of yellow text fades into space, Star Wars: A New Hope gives us a chase: a small rebel ship pursued by the colossal Star Destroyer that stretches across the screen. The sheer scale of the imagery was revolutionary at the time, announcing George Lucas‘s space opera as something unprecedented. What follows (stormtroopers storming the ship, Darth Vader’s imposing entrance) cements the tone of adventure and menace. Since then, we’ve had Rogue One fill in the blanks and provide even more context.
This opening perfectly balances spectacle with storytelling, delivering a ton of plot information in a way that feels organic and entertaining. Audiences instantly understand the stakes, the rebellion against tyranny, and the terrifying power of the Empire. From the first blast of John Williams’ score to the sight of Vader’s cape, Star Wars established itself as myth in motion. It’s an opening scene that divides all of sci-fi cinema into “before” and “after.”
1
‘Jaws’ (1975)
“Come on in, the water’s fine!” With Jaws, Spielberg takes a restrained approach rather than a splashy one. Instead of showing us the shark directly, we get only a vague suggestion. A young woman goes for a late-night swim, unaware of the danger lurking below. As she splashes, John Williams’ now-legendary two-note theme begins, growing faster as the unseen predator closes in. The attack is brutal, chaotic, and terrifying, yet the shark itself remains hidden, leaving the imagination to do the work.
This approach was partly due to the technical limits of the animatronic shark, but it still works incredibly well, proving that suggestion could be scarier than any special effect. In this regard, it bears traces of Hitchcockian influence. This scene alone ensured the shark’s place in the pantheon of movie monsters and made a fair number of viewers terrified to enter the water. It’s a perfect opening because it encapsulates the movie’s power: primal fear, suspense built through sound and editing, and horror born of what we can’t see.
