Countdown: Top 7 Best Movie Opening Scenes

Top seven? Why not a nice round number like 5 or 10? Well, here's why. I truthfully couldn't find any more than seven opening sequences that I thoroughly enjoyed and thought should garner a position on this list. That's it.

So without further adieu...

7. Gladiator: A battle of titanic proportions, a victory won, and a great life lost. The opening scenes of Gladiator, with it's depiction of a battle between the Holy Roman Empire and a horde of Germanic barbarians sets the stage for what would be one heck of an action packed ride.

6. Up: I'm not one known to cry while watching a movie, but I'm not sure if I've scene a more tragic scene in a film. Up's opening sequence, with it's tale of love found, love lived and love lost, brought me pretty darn close to tears!

5. Star Trek: The opening sequence for Star Trek's latest incarnation can be summed up as pure cinematic gold. From the breathtaking visual effects to the utilization of the classic Star Trek sound scheme from the original series, Star Trek's opening sequence sets the pace for the rest of the film. Not to mention, it pulls your heart strings!

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: After seeing the introduction with it's massive battles, elves clad in gold, Sauron wielding a mace to the terror of his enemies, and a story that held true to the books, fans of the novels instantly knew that they're childhood memories were in good hands on the big screen.

3. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark:

The first scene from the very first Indiana Jones film is pefect. It instantly sets up Indy as an extremely interesting character to follow. Indy has to avoid poison darts, spear pits, and gigantic boulders. And in the end, his efforts were in vain anyway. I don't think he'd be considered your typical archaeologist! For anyone who's seen the film, I don't believe any more needs to be said.

2. Saving Private Ryan: The opening sequence for Saving Private Ryan has already gone down in the history of cinema as one of the most realistic interpretations of modern warfare to date. From the first scene where we see Private Ryan, aged and tormented by the ghosts of his past, to the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach, Saving Private Ryan has one of the most notable opening sequences in cinema, period.

1. Star Wars: A New Hope: Every viewer, upon seeing the might of the Empire's gargantuan Star Destroyer eclipse Princess Leia's smaller Corellian Corvette, knew that they were in for something completely different than anything they'd ever seen. This in turn heralded the introduction of one of the greatest movie villains of all time, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith.

Your thoughts? Did I leave any movies out? Did I add any that you didn't think should be on the list? Feel free to comment below.