Great Cold Opens

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  • Great Cold Opens

    Hey guys,
    I'm doing some research into cold opens at the moment and I'd love to hear some of your favorites - most notably in thriller/adventure films. The two I keep bounced around in my head are JAWS (skinny dipper attack) and JURASSIC PARK (raptor cage scene).

    Can you help me out by listing some of your favorites (or least favorites)?

    Thanks!
    Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

  • #2
    Re: Great Cold Opens

    CHILDREN OF MEN's opening does a masterful job of quickly establishing a sci-fi world, before capping it with a bang.

    I also really, really, really love the WAR GAMES opening (the men in the silo). It's a risky move because that entire sequence involves characters and locations that are only briefly revisited in the story. But man, that opening works.

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    • #3
      Re: Great Cold Opens

      I'm sure the great ones will be mentioned so I'll go with fairly recent faves:

      IRON MAN

      DJANGO

      MI:3
      "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
      - Screenwriting Friend

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      • #4
        Re: Great Cold Opens

        Raiders.

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        • #5
          Re: Great Cold Opens

          No Country for Old Men

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          • #6
            Re: Great Cold Opens

            Once Upon a Time in the West

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            • #7
              Re: Great Cold Opens

              What is the definition of a "cold opening"?

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              • #8
                Re: Great Cold Opens

                Arlington Road

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhW8SMEy1eo
                Last edited by bjamin; 09-19-2015, 04:05 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: Great Cold Opens

                  American Beauty... Academy Award winner, etc

                  This is the type of stuff that jumps off the page

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMqwSTe5rvo

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                  • #10
                    Re: Great Cold Opens

                    Originally posted by Bananos View Post
                    What is the definition of a "cold opening"?
                    like the first 5-10 minutes of every James Bond movie, where there is a whiz-bang action sequence that is extraneous to the main story to follow (although others may not always be as separable)

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                    • #11
                      Re: Great Cold Opens

                      cold openings are used a lot in tv shows like CSI/Criminal Minds. Where the episode starts off with a crime and then the team swoops in to solve it. At least that's my limited understanding of a cold opening.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Great Cold Opens

                        Definitions may vary, but generally a cold opening is any action before the title and openng credits. The audience has had no prior cues to provide any background on what is taking place.

                        Saturday Night Live does it every episode.

                        James Bond (already mentioned) is the classic example in film.

                        For films, it is generally not an item for writers, it is more of a director-editor type decision as to open with something going on or to open with

                        Warner Bros in association with DoneDeal Films presents...
                        A Roger O. Thornhill Production of...
                        COLD OPENING: Revenge of the Fridge!
                        Starring
                        Ice Cube
                        Iced Tea...
                        with Morgan Freeman as the President and the voice of God


                        However, sometimes material is pre-written as a cold-opening prior to opening titles.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Great Cold Opens

                          Paprika! Potato quality. Kon Satoshi...

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                          • #14
                            Re: Great Cold Opens

                            Some nice cold openings:


                            Postcards from the Edge ... a lengthy tracking shot
                            Patton ...speech in front of flag

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