In the beginning was the image...

The sound. The setting. The character.

A moving montage that reels you in, ready to transport you to the director's vision, another reality.

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This weekend, out of nowhere, I started to think about my favourite movie openings and what it is about them that makes them stand out (for me, personally). 

Manhattan (1979) dir. Woody Allen

"New York was his town. And it always would be."
The city of New York will always work in your favour. And alongside Gerswhin? Oooof.
Even Allen's neurosis jus feels right- it captures that 'New Yorker' vibe; but it knows when to stop- to savour that last visual orgasm.

Raging Bull (1980) dir. Martin Scorcese

Simple yet powerful. Scorcese's got style.
I'm da boss. I'm da boss.

Trainspotting (1996) dir. Danny Boyle

How does that saying go- Live fast, die young?

Or Choose life?

2001: A Space Oddyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

Kukrick in general always made excellent classical music choices. This is just one of the most memorable ones.

Blue Danube and zero gravity, amirite?

Pulp Fiction (1994) dir. Quentin Tarantino

(because you have to hear Miserlou after that...)
Bad. Ass.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) dir. Blake Edwards

Henry Mancini's nostalgic 'Moon River' + 5th Ave + Audrey Hepburn in a LBD

There's a nice anecdote about this scene: the day of the shoot, production was worried about having to stave off passersby and hold up the expected 5th Avenue commotion; to their surprise, 5th Ave was as calm as they wished it would be.

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