Question: What are the best opening scenes in movie history?

I was having this discussion with a writer the other day. So many fantastic opening scenes of all sorts. Some of them bombastic, some subtle, some of them funny, some brutal, all of them great. Tough to write, too, because it’s not only about being entertaining, it’s also about introducing the story universe and key characters, setting the mood and so forth.

I’ve got a list of several great opening scene, but I’d like to hear what the GITS community has to say.

And while we’re at it, let’s analyze the scenes as to why they’re so stellar, and hopefully get some takeaway as far as our own writing goes.

UPDATE: So many great responses, I think I’ll do at least one week of great opening scene posts. We can view one each day, then analyze it in terms of writing and see what takeaway we can glean from that analysis. Thanks for you feedback!

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