The discussion this morning on NPR's "Talk of The Nation" concerned the best teenage film of all time. That category is too big for me. I'm interested in film intros, especially when scored. One of my favorite first-5-minutes of a film is from 28 Days Later, partly for the ominous cinematography, but mostly for the perfectly chosen Godspeed You! Black Emperor music. My hands-down favorite last-5-minutes of a film is the alternate ending to The Bourne Identity: Joseph Arthur singing behind Franka Potente. Argue otherwise, and I will hear you but I won't, you must understand, listen. What are your favorite first-5- and last-5-minutes of films?
Posted by ghetto monk at August 4, 2005 02:04 PM | TrackBackOK, its not great cinema, but the first few minutes of Back to the Future are pretty cool with the clocks and dog food and amp and the strum. For setting the mood, the opening pastoral scenes and music of Hoosiers leading up to the opening of the action with the school bell works well. Finally, for pure ethereal beauty, the opening climb of the waterfall and flute playing by Father Gabriel in The Mission is achingly beautiful.
Posted by: Neil at August 4, 2005 04:04 PMI quite enjoy the first and last five minutes of The Big Lebowski, but they don't stand on their own.
Posted by: Michael at August 4, 2005 04:59 PMfirst five: manhattan by woody allen. from now on, rhapsody in blue is married to scenes of nyc in black and white
last five: momento. nothing like the "beginning" of a story to unravel the rest of it completely for you.
Posted by: natalie at August 4, 2005 06:59 PMi saw "birth" last week, so it's fresh in my mind, but the first minutes are beautiful and my favorite right now.
no favorite endings. i hate endings, even when they're good.
Posted by: judah at August 4, 2005 07:41 PMI love the first five minutes of "I Know Where I'm Going!" (a 1945 Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger film) because they're a little bit 1940s kitschy exposition but hint at the heroine's complete transformation by the end.
Posted by: Rachel at August 5, 2005 08:41 AMfirst 5: the song and animation in the Life of Brian intro. can't beat that. also, the opening sequence of Out of Africa, with the train steaming across the savannah, the big music, and meryl streep's voice: "I had a farm in africa, at the foot of the imgong hills..."
last 5: Amadeus. they're carrying mozart's body through the snowy streets to his grave. ethereal, in the background, you hear a choir singing the lacrymosa from his requiem.
Posted by: amys at August 5, 2005 10:04 AMLast five: "Come and See" also playing Mozart's lacrymosa. Both Sean Penn and myself can't forget it.
First five: At the time, Fight Club with all the synapses.
Posted by: Ben at August 5, 2005 07:00 PMlast 5: 'rudy'-- the gold, blue and white uniforms against the background of gray sky and fans bundled up in wool and scarves. the cliche' moment of 'the triumph of the human spirit' when rudy gets a tackle. the great soundtrack rising and falling in the background-- it makes me want to stand up and clench my fists in victory along with all of the notre dame fans. the only time i'm happy that georgia tech loses. the beautiful wave of gold helmets as rudy is carried off of the field, and the text before the credits telling us that 'since 1975, no other notre dame player has ever been carried off of the field.'
Posted by: sarah at August 6, 2005 09:10 AMThe Big Lebowski has already been mentioned. Any five minutes of it are my favorite. But seriously, I'd have to say the last five minutes of Truth or Consequenses, N.M.. That ending never fails to wrentch my heart.
Posted by: jon at August 17, 2005 08:42 AMcorrection: Consequences
Also, I see now that your question was both/and not either/or. But I'm not sure which first five minutes are my favorite. I'll have to get back to you on that one.
Posted by: jon at August 17, 2005 08:50 AMthanks for the heads-up on Truth or COnsequences, N.M., Jon.
Posted by: jeremy at August 17, 2005 09:18 AM