A good many movies tend to save the best for last, building to some kind of climax and ending things right after a narrative is at its most exciting. It’s an approach that makes sense, and applies to theWesterngenre, generally speaking. Whether it’s a straight tale of good vs. evil, or something a little more morally complex, Westerns often end with a dramatic showdown, shootout, or selfless act of heroism.
Just as important, but perhaps not always as flashy as an ending, is the opening scene; you know, the one that’ll convince viewers that they’re in safe hands, and should remain seated for the next 90 to 180 minutes (or however long things go on). And,just as the Western genre has many great climactic scenes, so too does it have its fair share of brilliant opening sequences, as the following films will hopefully demonstrate.
10’Django Unchained' (2012)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantinohad demonstrated hisappreciation for the Western genre before 2012, thanks to using pieces of oldEnnio Morriconescores and also making the somewhat Western-yKill Bill Vol. 2, butDjango Unchainedwas his first full-blown film belonging to the genre. It sets the tone pretty well straight away, owing to the opening scene featuring the same theme from the originalDjangofilm, released in 1966.
The opening of the film also features the titular character being, as the title promised, unchained, thanks to a bounty hunter who was after the slavers who were keeping Django as one of their slaves. From there, Django and the bounty hunter form a bond, and further violence is enacted against slavers and plantation owners who had it coming. Itgets much bloodier and more intense, but the opening scene sets the stage well.
Django Unchained
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9’El Topo' (1970)
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Rightly considered one ofthe strangest Westerns of all time,El Topobegins odd but then proceeds to get so much more bizarre the further it goes along. It’s uncompromising stuff, even for anyone who might already be familiar withotherAlejandro Jodorowskyfilmsof a similar confronting nature. And, right from the start,El Topodoesn’t mess around or mislead.
El Topobegins with a father and his son riding through the desert, before the father tells his son that he needs to begin being a man and bury things in the sand that represent his childhood… even though the kid’s only seven. And thenthe movie goes on to, fittingly, have some very mature content, with a constant sense of unease, owing to much ofEl Topobeing violent, intensely metaphorical, and psychedelic/surreal.
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8’Bone Tomahawk' (2015)
Director: S. Craig Zahler
Bone Tomahawkis understandably considered to be one ofthe most violent Western movies ever made, owing to its particularly brutal final act and the fact it’s as much a horror movie as it is a Western. But even though it saves the worst for last, the opening ofBone Tomahawkdoes serve as a mood setter, or perhaps even something of a warning for what lies ahead.
Early on, two side characters are ambushed and one’s killed, while the other escapes but is pursued, and eventually recaptured (alongside others), setting off the rescue mission which is the central plot of the film. The violence on offer within the film’s early minutes is brutal, but really just a friendly warning of what’s to come. Thatbecomes painfully apparent asBone Tomahawkreaches its nauseating final act.
Bone Tomahawk
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7’El Mariachi' (1992)
Director: Robert Rodriguez
First and foremost,El Mariachiis an action movie, and a well-loved onerenowned for the small amount of money it cost to make. It also works as something of a crime film, a thriller, and a gritty Western with a slightly different flavor to most, taking place in Mexico and in what seems to be the modern-day (it’s definitely not the Old West it depicts).
Its opening scene demonstratesEl Mariachi’swillingness to waste no time as a film,featuring a criminal pulling off an ambitious jailbreak and being at large in a small town. Shortly after, someone who’s just strolled into said town eventually finds himself mistaken for this criminal, and targeted by said criminal’s enemies. From there,El Mariachiis non-stop and remarkably well-executed. Fora film made for so little, it ends up doing a lot.
El Mariachi
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6’The Searchers' (1956)
Director: John Ford
A seminal revisionist Western, and a film that is deeper than it initially seems,The Searchersis rightly regarded as one ofJohn Ford’svery best movies. It was one of many he made withJohn Waynestarring in a lead role, and it can, unsurprisingly, also be considered up there among thebest movies in Wayne’s filmography, too.
It’s a Western with a final shot that’s probably the most iconic part of the film, but just as brilliant and beautiful is the opening shot, which mirrors what’s seen at the very end. The scene in question involves Wayne’s character reuniting with his younger brother and his family after many years away, but it’s the first shot that shines. A door is opened, revealing a squared-off view of an outdoor desert landscape, before the camera follows the woman who opened the door, the image getting wider and more epic in scale all the while.Coupled with the soaring music, it makes a strong first impression, especially at a time when widescreen films (anything wider thanthe Academy ratio, at least) were still relatively new.
The Searchers
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5’Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid' (1973)
Director: Sam Peckinpah
It’s no secret, from the get-go, thatPat Garrett & Billy the Kidis aWestern that will build to tragedy. It’s ominous and downbeat right from the start, ultimatelycommencing with one of the title characters being gunned down before things flash back to some years earlier. From there, the film is about that same title character embarking on a mission to take down the other titular character.
So,Pat Garrett & Billy the Kidis just a downer all around, being about two doomed men, and its opening minutes make that trajectory apparent to the point where saying that’s what the movie’s about doesn’t feel like a spoiler. Still, it’s an incredible and overall underrated film, and for as impactful as the story is when put into words, it’s the filmmaking craft, the brutally somber screenplay, and brilliant lead performances that make the entire thing inevitably soar.
Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid
4’The Revenant' (2015)
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
This one might feel like cheating, butThe Revenantisa Western, in some ways. It’s a lot chillier and considerably more brutal than more traditional examples of the genre, trading deserts for a harrowingly cold wilderness. Somewhat more cheating might be the fact that the incredible action sequence near the start of The Revenant isn’t at the exact start… but it’s close enough to feel like the film’s opening.
Like withBone Tomahawk(released the same year), brutality is established early on inThe Revenant, with a group of trappers being attacked by a Native American war party, with only a few escaping. It unfolds in what’s either one shot, or a few long takes strung together to give the appearance of one shot. But,either way, it’s stunning and nightmarish in equal measure, instantly getting the audience immersedin what ends up being a dark, violent, and intensely emotional odyssey of a film.
The Revenant
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Director: Sergio Leone
Put simply,The Good, the Bad and the Uglyisan essentially perfect movie, so just about any scene can be plucked out and identified as an excellent individual sequence. Of course, they all combine to make something even greater than the sum of its (already great) parts. Then again, there’s also an argument to be made that it gets a little better as it goes along, beginning excellently and then concluding with a final act that’s one jaw-dropping scene after the other.
But you may’t disregard the character introductions, with the first proper scene ultimately introducing Tuco (AKA the Ugly). It feels right for him to make the first impression, because he does end up stealing the show.Shooting three bounty hunters off-screen before jumping out a window with what looks like a chicken leg in his hand (apparently ambushed mid-meal), capped off with a freeze-frame mid-escape?It’s just great.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
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2’The Wild Bunch' (1969)
The Wild Bunchis the cinematic equivalent of a sandwich that’s made up of great filling sandwiched between the two most delicious pieces of bread you’ve ever had. Like, that filling really is amazing, but it’s hard to stop thinking about bread. Put simply, this is becauseThe Wild Bunchhas a perfect extended opening scene and then a perfect climax… plus plenty of compelling stuff that happens between those two points.
The opening features a long build-up to a robbery that goes wrong, withthe suspense being palpable, leading to a shootout that’s incredibly visceral and explosive. It instantly establishesThe Wild Bunchas a first-class Western, and one ofthe best films not just of 1969, but of the entire 1960s. The Western genre hasn’t been the same since, in all honesty.
The Wild Bunch
1’Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968)
The opening scene ofOnce Upon a Time in the Westis perhaps the most memorable in the entire movie, and that’s saying something, considering how many iconic sequences follow the opening. It follows a group of men waiting for another to arrive at a station, playing out with no music and very little dialogue, capturing what feels like real-time boredom while steadily building suspense.
Then, when theinevitable confrontation does happen, it’s surprisingly funny, exciting, and a remarkable release of tension. The whole ofOnce Upon a Time in the Westgoes on to function like this sequence, only more drawn out and with a more epic scale (plus, music ends up playing a bigger part, owing to an incredible Ennio Morricone score). But for establishing what’s to come, and encompassing almost everything great aboutOnce Upon a Time in the Westwithin just 15 to 20 minutes?It’s amazing stuff, and justifiably considered one ofthe best opening scenes of all time, regardless of genre.
