Opening scenes that are complete narratives unto themselves. We're all familiar with the hors d'oeuvres offered at the beginning of Bond films. These are teasers that say "Stick around, there's more to come!" - essentially, attention-getting devices. Just as one shots or "oners" sometimes extend to lengths which encapsulate massive chunks of the narrative, so too do these opening riffs sometimes become an increasingly ambitious and independent movie-in-a-movie.
Think of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. 22 minutes of hell storming Omaha Beach.
This is really a film unto itself. It established what the rescue squad had already faced before being sent on their "fool's errand" to save Ryan.
"The Dybbuk" scene in A Serious Man only connects thematically/tonally with the rest of the film (the mechanics of the character and plot do not directly with it, even if the loose "thesis" is the same). That scene is basically a 7:12 TLDR for the rest of the film.
More important it is a primer for how to watch the film (embracing the absurdity of experience, the comedy of what most take to be tragedy).
Other examples are simpler. The opening scene from Darkness Falls, for example, is great, and really all of that film that you need to see.
Or take the 20 minute opening farmhouse scene from Inglorious Basterds.
I'd add the openers to Blade, Hurt Locker, and Desperado among others.
What should be added to this list? What should be subtracted? At what point does the opening teaser really become a miniature movie unto itself and not just a "hook" before the opening credits?
Think of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. 22 minutes of hell storming Omaha Beach.
This is really a film unto itself. It established what the rescue squad had already faced before being sent on their "fool's errand" to save Ryan.
"The Dybbuk" scene in A Serious Man only connects thematically/tonally with the rest of the film (the mechanics of the character and plot do not directly with it, even if the loose "thesis" is the same). That scene is basically a 7:12 TLDR for the rest of the film.
More important it is a primer for how to watch the film (embracing the absurdity of experience, the comedy of what most take to be tragedy).
Other examples are simpler. The opening scene from Darkness Falls, for example, is great, and really all of that film that you need to see.
Or take the 20 minute opening farmhouse scene from Inglorious Basterds.
I'd add the openers to Blade, Hurt Locker, and Desperado among others.
What should be added to this list? What should be subtracted? At what point does the opening teaser really become a miniature movie unto itself and not just a "hook" before the opening credits?