Star Wars Opening Shots (Some Spoilers!)

Dangermouse · Post by **Dangermouse** » 2005-06-06 03:39pm

Now that the six films are complete, what opening shot do you enjoy the most from Star Wars, both in terms of the shot itself and how it ties in to the rest of the narrative?

First, to help refresh memories, including my own:

The Phantom Menance: My memory is rusty on this film, but I believe the opening shot is a flyover of the Trade Federation ships orbiting Naboo and then a cut to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

Attack of the Clones: My memory is rusty on this film as well, but I believe the opening shot shows a Naboo ship landing at the capital and blowing up as the crew disembarks. The shot then reveals Amidala as one of the pilots who goes to help her dying decoy.

Return of the Sith: The camera tilts down to reveal a Star Destroyer orbiting Corsucant. As we hear the beat of the drums, the camera then begins tracking two fighters as they overfly the Star Destroyer and dive down. We then see a somewhat chaotic battlescene as Star Destroyers fight Separatist ships. The camera continues to track and rotate around the fighters as they fly toward the Separatist flagship.

A New Hope: The camera tilts down to reveal the upper half of a planet. From this stationary viewpoint, Princess Leia's ship overflys the camera and is seen firing backward. We then see a much larger ship overfly the camera and dominate the upper half of the frame as it pursues the fleeing smaller ship.

Empire Strikes Back: The camera tilts down to reveal a Star Destroyer in space. We see several probes exit the hanger and fly off in separate directions.The camera then tracks one of the probes as it heads towards Hoth. We see the probe enter the atmosphere and impact on the ground; a droid then appears from the smoking crater.

Return of the Jedi: A little fuzzy on this one as well. I think the camera tilts down again to show a Star Destroyer. We then see a shuttle leave the hanger, escorted by two fighters. A reverse shot (I think) then reveals an unfinished Death Star as the shuttle and fighters fly toward the battlestation. A series of shots then show the shuttle landing in the Death Star Hanger.

I pick Return of the Sith as having my favorite opening shot to a Star Wars film. The scene is very tranquil at first showing Coruscant lit by its sun. As we pan down, we then see the Star Destroyer enter the shot as the soundtrack reveals a slow and subdued beat of the drums. Its not immediately apparant that there is a battle at all; both the soundtrack and the visuals help to reinforce the calmness of the shot. I like how the camera then begins to track the two fighters as they weave through the Venator and eventually overfly it. For me, it conveyed a very nice sense of the size and scope of the ship, and how majestic Star Wars ships really are. I also enjoyed the transition from the drums to the more familliar Star Wars theme in this part of the shot as well.

The fighters then overfly the Venator, and dive down as the tracking camera now reveals a battle. The transition from one of tranquilty to one of chaos is very abrupt and was very unexpected for me. I loved how the battle was not revealed right away. The rest of the shot then tracks the fighters as they weave in between the fighting ships. Its very exciting and it drew me right into the movie.

Aesthetically speaking, I am a very big fan of long tracking shots, especially ones that rotate around the tracked object and reveal differnet glimpses of the surrounding background. I like the change of pacing and mood in the shot, as well as the change in music and overall scene complexity. I think the tranquil opening is a very nice transition from the title crawl to the battle; I would not have enjoyed the scene as much if we saw that a battle was immediately taking place. A very beautfiul and complex mix of camerawork and atmosphere.

Narratively speaking, I like how the shot focuses on both Anakin and Obi-wan through their fighters. Both move as one throughout the opening shot, reinforcing the tie between Master and Apprentice. I like how the transition in the atmosphere of the shot foreshadows the events later seen in the film, although in different ways. For the Republic/Empire, we see a transition from open war to one of peace as the Emperor consolidates and assumes power which is a reversal of the atmosphere change seen in this shot. For Anakin and Obi-Wan, we see a transition from a very close and intimate master/apprentice relationship in which both have mutual respect and concern for each other to something else entirely.

I like this shot very much and I think Lucas and co. did a very good job composing it. So, what is your favorite opening shot, and more importantly, why is it your favorite? Does the opening of the movie help make or break it for you?

Edit: Grammer x2 -> +5 vs Pronouns

Firefox · Post by **Firefox** » 2005-06-06 04:02pm

I'd say the RotS and ANH opening shots tie it for me. The introduction of the Venator in RotS was masterfully done, as you said, but so was the scene of T4 being overrun by the Devastator. There was that air of desperation, especially in the music.

By the way, TPM opened with Radiant VII flying towards the camera, which pans to reveal the blockade fleet with Naboo in the background. RotJ shows a pan-down to reveal the DSII and Endor, with a Star Destroyer taking up the upper right of the frame before the shuttle appears. The latter's pretty good, as well, with the music providing a subdued sense of calm.

The Guid · Post by **The Guid** » 2005-06-06 04:13pm

For me... Attack of the Clones. One of the few things in a SW film to make me go "Oh crap!" as the craft goes "BOOM!!!!".

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2005-06-06 04:31pm

One of the best things about "Revenge of the Sith" was, indeed, the opening...however, I'm not sure whether it beats out the opening to "A New Hope". It's one of the most recognizable shots in film history, and it's been parodied nearly as often as the "Luke, I am your father" sequence.

Nothing really beats the sight of that little cruiser shooting past the screen...and then just the unimaginable sense of BIG as the Star Destroyer comes in overhead.

Admiral Drason · Post by **Admiral Drason** » 2005-06-06 05:03pm

PM had the Republic Transport flyover not TF Battleships.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-06-06 05:23pm

Return of the Sith:

WTF is Return of the Sith?

REVENGE buddy, Revenge.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2005-06-06 05:31pm

The Original Nex wrote:WTF is Return of the Sith?

It is clear to me, at least, that it is an error by Dangermouse that is easy to understand, given the similarity in acronym and even title of RotS and RotJ.

On topic, the ANH one takes the cake. That was just such an impressive shot, the massive Star Destroyer overtaking the wee Blockade Runner. It sure wowed me as a kid, anyways.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2005-06-06 05:54pm

ANH:

Best
Opening
Ever

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-06-06 06:08pm

It is clear to me, at least, that it is an error by Dangermouse that is easy to understand, given the similarity in acronym and even title of RotS and RotJ.

It was clear to me as well, but that's one hell of a brainfart!

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2005-06-06 06:19pm

Used to be ANH, but now is ROTS (though they could be tied again at some point down the line).

Manus Celer Dei · Post by **Manus Celer Dei** » 2005-06-06 06:31pm

Did the RotS opening remind anyone else of the last cutscene in Halo 2? Where you see Earth, and then the Forerunner ship drops out of slipsace and glides into the picture.

Admiral Drason · Post by **Admiral Drason** » 2005-06-06 06:47pm

Manus Celer Dei wrote:Did the RotS opening remind anyone else of the last cutscene in Halo 2? Where you see Earth, and then the Forerunner ship drops out of slipsace and glides into the picture.

I guess it kind of does.

Dangermouse · Post by **Dangermouse** » 2005-06-06 07:11pm

I was tempted to pick the ANH opener as well. What is perhaps even more impressive is that ANH came out in 1977. In my mind, the effects in ANH do not appear to be dated (the lightsaber scene is perhaps one of the few that is showing its age), which I think really speaks to the quality of work from the ANH special effects team. Its a very fun and exciting opening shot to the series; I wish I could have seen it when it first came out.

The other opening shot, which no one has mentioned, that I like as well is the ESB opener. Sure it does not contain the fast paced and exciting ship introductions seen in ANH and ROTS, but I appreciate the simplicity in the scene and how it reinforces the idea of a search in ESB. I like the score as well during this part of the film and how it adds a bit of mystery to the scene. We see the probe emerge from the crater, and then we never see it again for quite some time.

Edit: I suppose I am cheating with this one as it is not one continous take with the camera.

Noble Ire · Post by **Noble Ire** » 2005-06-06 07:28pm

ANH. I still get chills watching that ISD go overhead.

ROTS is a close second.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-06-06 07:32pm

ANH, because it follows up the tense space battle with a nifty boarding action.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2005-06-06 07:32pm

ANH was the first, and is for that reason the best in my mind, and will remain in that spot despite the awesomeness of many others. The ones that come close are RotJ and RotS. RotJ would have been a huge HOLY SHIT moment had the second Death Star not been introduced in the opening crawl, but alas, it was. The ISD flyover was just as in ANH, but abbreviated. Still better than ESB's, however.

Better than RotJ, but worse than ANH is RotS. For obvious reasons. The immediate space battle, and more relevantly, how it is immediately sent into an amazing flyby right over the top of a Venator. Something that actually made me subconciously slide back in my seat a bit.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2005-06-06 07:48pm

Revenge of the Sith. It pans down, you see the Venator, and all of a sudden two fighters come from top right and buzz the length of the ship, do the sunchronized roll, then fall into battle. Simply amazing.

The whole battle's amazing too, pity they didn't show too much of it

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2005-06-06 08:02pm

Sorry, as fresh as RotS is, and as neat as it is, ANH is still king. The 'wow' factor as the blockade runner streaks past and then the 'double wow' factor as it takes like half a minute for the Imperial Stardestroyer to pass, is incredible.

I had never seen anything close to that as a kid. Look mom, no wires; and all.

RotJ take's the number two slot. The Imperial Stardestroyer in approach to the Death Star II. Fucking awesome. In two quick shots, you can get the overwelming tension of the flick. The big, bad doom that is awaiting the rebels both in the DS and Vader.

I'd put RotS as three. It was kind of neat to do a fly by of the Venator.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2005-06-06 08:08pm

Star Wars opening. It dives right into battle(something even RoTS didn't) and gives a wonderful sense of power with the ISD.

SpacedTeddyBear · Post by **SpacedTeddyBear** » 2005-06-06 10:19pm

It's a big tie between ANH and ROTS.

In ANH you have this ship zooming by blasting away at something for a few moments before you see what it's shooting at. Even when the barely half of the stardestroyer is shown in the flyby, you know that other ship is totally screwed.

On the other hand, you are greeted by a majestic shot of a Venator as it orbits Coruscant before the camera trails a pair a fighters streaking by. The next thing you know the fighters take a steep "dive" and next thing you see is a huge fucking battle between Republic and Seperatists ships.

Post by **Kuja** » 2005-06-06 10:36pm

Like some have already said, ANH followed closely by ROTS.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2005-06-07 01:32pm

ANH, but I do like the way the ROTS opening is silent apart of the drum beat until the battle is revealed.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2005-06-07 01:35pm

RotS's opening shot is utterly amazing. ANH's, though, is still the best, with the flyover of the ISD.

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2005-06-07 01:42pm

ANH is awesome, and some others are good in ways that have been mentioned, but RotS is the only one that gave me goosebumps.

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2005-06-07 06:46pm

It's a toss up between ANH and RotS for me. ANH is well... ANH. The ISD is still impressive today.

One thing I noticed about the RotS opening was the sheer length of the first shot. From "Star Wars" and to the next cut is several minutes. That's very rare to see.