Openings

The first scene or sequence of any movie is the most crucial. It really determines whether or not your audience is going to stay with the film. There have been some great ones, but I think my all-time favorite is Jaws. It's nearly dialogue-free, beautifully shot, captures the tone of the film and makes the audience afraid of ever going into the water again. Perfect.

Recently, filmmakers seem to have moved away from opening titles and credits in favor of starting the movie "cold," or without any introduction, though a quick glance into the past reveals some famously untitled opening sequences (The Godfather, Braveheart, Apocalypse Now). 

Comedies seem to use opening title sequences more consistently. One of my favorites is a beautifully animated one for (another) Spielberg film, Catch Me If You Can. The Saul Bass-inspired graphic design, combined with the retro score, strikes the perfect balance of humor and mystery and contains within its own narrative. It reminds me a little like Hitchcock's North by Northwest, too.

The opening sequence I show most often to students is Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude. The amount of information it reveals about the story is limited, but significant. Carefully cropped, dimly lit and meticulously composed shots reveal Harold, a pale young man wearing expensive shoes and a dandyish smoking jacket, wandering around a cavernous, opulent room. Harold's actions in the sequence speak for themselves, but Ashby's blending of Cat Stevens' song, John Alonzo's cinematography and the performances of Vivian Pickles and Bud Cort, introduce a sense of humor and sadness that will collide for the next ninety minutes. It is my top "desert island film." Hands-down.

For Tan Lines, I'm thinking of something closer to this or this. But just for fun, here's another great one, Woody's love letter to New York City.