Best opening scene in movie history
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wlandolfi-1 — 13 years ago(February 04, 2013 08:20 PM)
The real opening scene to MIDNIGHT COWBOY is a completely white screen with sounds of horses in the background. Then the camera pulls back and we see a Drive-In movie screen in the day-time. At the same time, we hear someone singing a cowboy song. The next scene is Joe Buck singing the cowboy song while taking a shower. That opens the film to the fact that we are seeing someone who thinks he is a cowboy and has dreams of making it big in New York City.
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Edward_de_Vere — 13 years ago(February 05, 2013 04:35 PM)
love the song, it just fit in with the whole mood/tone of the film so well, carefree, wistfuljust perfect.
There's also a certain irony to it too, because Joe's life winds up anything but carefree once he's in New York. -
wlandolfi-1 — 13 years ago(February 08, 2013 08:21 PM)
Another thing worth mentioning is that when we first see Joe Buck in the movie, he is taking a shower and singing the cowboy tune. In fact, the bar of soap falls to the ground and Joe picks it up. That in itself is not really a big deal. However, I wonder if that is a precurser to the fact that Joe's life is about to spiral down-hill.
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fentress — 12 years ago(April 22, 2013 09:52 AM)
When I was in a film class in college years ago, the instructor showed us the opening of Midnight Cowboy one day as an example when he was lecturing about the power of a a good opening. I remember he said, "Now how could you not want to keep watching to learn more about this Joe Buck character?" I had already seen the movie, but I totally agreed and still do.
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rrb — 12 years ago(June 23, 2013 12:37 AM)
Absolutely! You're spot on in saying that scene/music perfectly captured the carefree, hopeful mood of the opening. That song takes me right back to the warm, sunny summer of '69, when I was a happy kid of 14, life was uncomplicated and the world was beautiful.
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jrl0726 — 12 years ago(February 08, 2014 05:15 PM)
Just another great aspect of this master work which I believe is the closest thing to a perfect film ever made. The music by both Nilsson and Barry was not only brilliant musically but just right for each scene. There isn't a aspect of this film that is not outstanding. For instance, the editing is the best I've ever seen in a film.
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htdavidht — 12 years ago(February 09, 2014 01:59 PM)
I don't really have a rank of "best opening scenes". I do really like the one call "the life of a bullet" from the movie "lord of war", just check out this opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHn1zogeyO4 -
gioconda91423 — 11 years ago(January 12, 2015 12:09 AM)
i don't think most people on this thread have seen many movies. Because this is not a masterpiece. It's heavy-handed and artsy. The opening scene is interesting, but "Touch of Evil", "La Dolce Vita"these are openings that make you want to see the rest of the movie.
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degree7 — 11 years ago(February 07, 2015 05:22 PM)
You complain about MC being "heavy handed" and "artsy", but then go on to bring in two even more overblown and artsy-fartsy films as an example of superior filmmaking?
La Dolce Vita has to be the longest 3 hours of nothing I've ever sat through. You can always tell the wanna-be cinema enthusiasts by their favouring of typical autere films.
~ I've been very lonely in my isolated tower of indecipherable speech.