Movie Openings that Still Give You Chills

Off-Topic
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I’ve seen a lot of films in my life and while I generally like a good lot of them, there are a few that the very opening almost always gets me one way or another. With some its nostalgia, some it brings back happy memories, and so on and so forth… here is my list.

  1. Circle of Life (opening from the Lion King) - The Lion King has remained one of my most cherished animated movies of all time for several reasons. Part of it is because its just one fantastic story, part of it is because my aunt worked in partnership with Disney at that time (she got to see special screenings and such before it was released, and my uncle was good friends with animator Tony Brancroft (creator of Pumbaa and director of Mulan). I was blessed to see it in LA at its opening as well. It was just an amazing experience. It was also emotional for me as well, as I lost my father that year.

Needless to say when my Grandparents took me to NYC to see LK on Broadway, I cried all the way through the Circle of Life opening as well. :smiley:

  1. Intro to Land Before Time - LBT was a staple of my childhood and even before I ever owned a cassette or CD, I had memorized note for note James Horner’s opening score for that movie. This is a strange talent I still have today. If a piece of music sticks with me, I can hum the entire thing back. My brain contents countless film score pieces that randomly cause me to burst out into song. Overall I love the music to LBT (original), but it is the theme “The Great Migration” that churns the memories.

  2. Intro to Jurassic Park - BOOM! choir BOOM! choir BOOM! snippet of Raptor theme… Jurassic is still one of my most favorite movies of all time, and hearing Jurassic Park begin with my subwoofer up to its max, still gets me every single time.

  3. Star Wars - I think most of us will have this on our list. There is nothing more magical than seeing “In a Galaxy Far Far Away” right before hearing the Star Wars theme.

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Lotr and the hunchback of notre dame come to mind.

Not much else.

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I actually can speak the Elvish part of LoTR opening. :smiley:

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 and 3. 3 was also the movie that led me to collect ZZ Top albums.
Terminator
Predator
Blood Sport
Mortal Kombat
And I have to agree with Jurassic Park
And the last one I can think of is Dark Crystal.

All of those have good intros and hold a special place for me.

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The opening scene to Hellboy perfectly sets the tone for the film. The paranormal, dark atmosphere is great.

Plus, the opening credits has this godlike theme:

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Alien

For some reason, I like the Rogue One theme more than the original Star Wars theme

It’s not a movie opening, but I still want to mention Primeval here.

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