Greatest SW opening scene>>>>>>

For sure, the greatest SW opening scene is ANH. It gives you goosebumps.

My second pick would be JEDI, then ATOC, then EMPIRE, and lastly MENACE.

 

Indeed, ANH have the best opening sequence ever im a SW movie.

 

The place for lists is really the SW Community board, but if posters care to go in depth and discuss the reason they think its the best opening, I think this will fit more in this board.

 

I like the ANH opening scene the best

I think i like it the best largely because it gives you a preview of everything that's going to happen in the rest of the trilogy. Lots of action and sweet as hell characters. My drama teacher once said that when it was first released in 1977 when the star destroyer flew on screen accompanied with Lucas's new brand of sound the entire crowd got goosebumps and many cheered

ESB's opening scene is hardly anything to gawk at, although the rest of the film more then makes up for it

The ROTJ opening scene is very nice, it gives you a quick run-down on the situation the Empire is in and helps give you the feeling that the final battle is at hand

TPM's opening scene isn't bad but not a whole lot happens in the first several minutes

AOTC's wasn't bad either, i love how the queen's ship gets destroyed, the way it explodes is awesome

But ANH by far has the best opening scene IMO. It really lets you know that your about to watch an action sci-fi adventure with anything you could ask for

 

I think AHH's is the best also. It's the only one so far that actually begins violently, right out of the shute. AOTC does so too but not as quickly.


I remember seeing it for the first time in 1977 as a kid and it still gives me chills today like it did when I was a child.

 

I think ANH's opening scene is the greatest in movie history.The opening scene(s) of Raiders Of The Lost Ark is (are) a close second.

 

ANH's opening is one of the most famous shots in film history. For an opening, it's probably second only to Citizen Kane, in historical terms. To truly put it in context of the greatness, you need to put it outside of star wars and look at it in terms of it's effect on film and what hadn't been done before at the time.

On a personal level, when i saw it in '77 my mom gasped when she saw the shot, I asked her what was the matter. and she said, "I've never seen something like that before"
no mother gasping jokes, please.
btw, this is post #100.

 

ANH
TPM (Hey I like Jedi)
ROTJ
AOTC
ESB

 

Definately ANH, its the one that sticks out most in the mind. It evokes great memories of when I was younger, and then there's Darth Vaders introduction - Awesome

 

ANH is classic of course, and really great. However, I also love TPM when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon remove their hoods and Obi-Wan says "I have a bad feeling about this"... classic SW stuff

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

ANH has the best opening.

 

A New Hope is by far the best opening scene because, for most of us, it was the first scene you ever saw of a Star Wars movie. It was the scene that you first saw and said "WOW! This is really cool!" This is the scene that started your love for Star Wars.

 

A never ending spaceship...in a never ending battle.

ANH's opening scene is not only the best in SW, but one of the most amazing, beautifully crafted movie opening of all time.

 

I'm going to conform with everyone else and say that ANH's is the best. The first Star Wars movie (chronologically speaking), and it starts off with a bang. The audience is immediately introduced to this galaxy far, far away by seeing two new spaceships, one new planet, and a battle to top it all off. The opening crawl describes the civil war, then the moment it ends we actually see it for ourselves. We are introduced to the two main sides of the war, four main characters, including the two droids, and several other elements that will play important roles later in the movie, and indeed in the saga (Star Destroyers, stormtroopers, rebel troopers); all this takes place within a few minutes. It's an utterly classic scene.

ESB's is, in my opinion, rather dull. It's simply a Star Destroyer launghing probes. Nice artistic way of doing it; almost complete silence, showing the relentless, methodical way the Empire hunts down the Rebels.

ROTJ's is great for the first shot of the incomplete Death Star, one of my favorite images in the saga. There's something hauntingly surreal about it. Good music, too.

TPM's is a great looking one. We have the Republic Cruiser and Trade Federation battleship, two well-designed ships, and ones that have the prequel design feeling, while also including traces of the OT design (especially in the Republic Cruiser, one of my favorite ships). Behind this, suspended in the endless, silent, black expanse of space hangs this green orb of Naboo, which we can't begin to suspect how important a role it will play.

AOTC's is also very nice-looking, while also giving the audience the foreboding feeling of danger the rest of the movie will carry. Coruscant, the bright, sunny, vibrant place of TPM, is now shrouded in fog and unclear. There's something almost sinister about the shots of the Naboo Royal Cruiser flying through space into Coruscant. It's one of the darkest in color, and in all is rather unsettling.

 

ANH
ROTJ
TESB
TPM
AOTC

 

ANH was the best with it's slow silent music between the scrolling text and the appearance of the first ship which suddenly you hear a roaring past the screen (must have surround sound, if you have not seen it at the theater) and lasers firing followed by an even larger ship that seems to keep growing and growing.

 

A New Hope by far has the best opening. one large ship chased by another both fly over the camera for true scope. brillent. an instant hook if ever there was one. who can look away.

 

ANH is a classic moment in films. In 77, we'd seen nothing like it. Today, when we are bathed in cgi and fx, it may seem simplictic, but that opening sequence is still powerful and visually striking!

 

Tantive IV chased by the Devastator above Tatooine in ANH...

 

Well, ANH, of course

Coming in second would be AOTC, for me. The buildings sticking up through the fog are quite beautiful. I like the way the camera reverses and flips between the first and second shots, too.

Gotta love Vader's arrival on the Death Star for number 3.

 

1. ANH
Its classic...
2. ROTJ
Vader seems so dangerous in this scene....a well directed scene
3. TPM
I guess cuz it was the movie everyone was waiting for so the opening scene just felt great
4.AOTC
pretty solid...I liked how it opened with a literal bang
5. ESB
Pretty boring

 

AOTC had the best opening. It grabs your attention, which none of the others did except for ANH.

ANH would come in next, it really has suspense and keeps you guessing.

TPM starts off slow, but picks up a few minutes in.

ROTJ. Desert. Droids. Talking. Not saying it was bad, but not as gripping as the above mentioned three.

ESB. Boring. 'Nuff said.

 

ESB - I just love the probes appearing from the Star destroyer. It is beautifully shot and looks incredibly realistic, and I love the way we trace its journey to Hoth before it slams down on the surface and the probe droid appears.

Of course I love ANH opening, my dad said he'd never seen me so wide eyed and silent when the SD first appeared, but as an adult ESB just sends tingles down my spine.

 

ANH is by far the best. Stunning to look at, and conveys almost everything you need to know quickly - little tiny ship (the republic) is getting its ass kicked by endless ship (the empire). perfect.

I'd put TPM second. as an opening for all six movies it lays the groundwork pretty well. jedi solve disputes, have special powers, and use lightsabres to cut through walls and robots.

 

ANH has byfar the best opening. Loud, bomastic, action packed. All the other SW films had quiet, subdued openings. Hopefully, Episode III will change that trend.