Saga Favorite Opening shot(s) in the Skywalker Saga

AOTC. At my first viewing people literally gasped at the shot of Padme's ship descending through the clouds. I shared the sentiment then and now. Beautiful opening to a beautiful film.

 

Cool video appropriate for this thread.

 

01. AOTC - Pan Up FTW!
02. ANH - The OG!
03. TFA - Finalizer cuts a planet in half!
04. ROTS - Star Destroyer hides a massive space battle!
05. TROS - The Supreme Leader personally leads his own death squad!
06. ROTJ - The OG 2: Death Star II Bugaloo!
07. TPM - Jedi smuggled on to a giant C!
08. TESB - Eh... Star Destroyers look cool from the front?
09. TLJ - Eh... zooms are fun?

 

This is a tough question, as all opening scenes in the Lucas trilogies have their own strengths and specialties. I voted for ANH, simply because it's so iconic and started it all. Not that the others are bad, but ANH gets extra points for being the first of its kind in movie history. But once again, AOTC to me is the least "generic" and the opening is different for not following tradition by panning up instead of down. That sleek ship gliding through the mist is also very atmospheric and has a different mood than the other openings. Then there is ROTS, which begins in the middle of a huge battle, very impressive. So it's really hard to decide.

 

It's harder to compare the opening shots because, unlike the final shots of each film, they vary in lenght and aren't static "picture-shots". (and some people here seem to be talking about opening scenes, rather than actual shots).
I'd choose either ANH (iconic visual storytelling) or ROTS (the longest of the shots), but I also like ROTJ very much.

 

ANH no contest

edit, after that would probably go with in order…

ESB - probe droids
AOTC - assassination attempt, this one is interesting because it’s my least favorite film, but I generally liked seeing Coruscant for the first time, and Padme is good in the scene
ROTJ - Death Star 2
TFA - stormtrooper attack, especially if you count all the way to Finn’s introduction
TPM - negotiations
ROTS - battle over Coruscant, never been a big fan of that space battle, definitely one of the weaker ones in the Saga
TLJ - Poe and Hux
TROS - yeah, not a fan of Kylo so nope

 

Actually, we see Coruscant in TPM for the first time, or, if you can call it "before", a glimpse of it as early as 1997 in the ROTJ SE. But of course the city is presented in a much more spectacular way in AOTC.
Padmé is good in almost every scene.

 

yes, we see a little bit of Coruscant in TPM

 

As awesome as Kylo's spree is in TROS, I think the Battle of Coruscant in ROTS wins it, for me. Such an epic opening!

 

A New Hope got my vote. Yes it’s possibly the most iconic opening in cinema history, but it also STILL looks amazing to this day. Probably because it didn’t use any CGI so doesn’t feel outdated. Practical effects age incredibly well.

The way it makes the Star Destroyer look like the biggest, most threatening thing you’ve ever seen still puts me in awe every time I watch it. Plus the soundtrack is the cherry on top.

Revenge of the Sith is a close second. Honestly they all look incredible.