>>The most awesome opening scene in a movie:
>>
>>The Matrix Reloaded - where Carrie-Anne Moss rides the bike off the roof and drops it into the guard room. 10/10 ...
>
>
>I think I'll take the open scene from Apocalypse Now.
>To be fair I have not seen any of the Matrix Movies.


Great suggestion! It would be hard to choose one "awesome opening scene" but that one has to be right up there. Striking visual images, perfect choice of music with "The End" by The Doors (you probably know Francis Ford Coppola knew Jim Morrison at UCLA film school), and an immediate sense of the dread and foreboding of the rest of the story.

Don't worry about missing the Matrix movies. The first one was a mindbender, then the series fell apart.

A few other memorable opening scenes, without casting a ballot ---

"Body Heat"
"Touch of Evil"
"Citizen Kane"
"True Lies"
(just about any Bond movie)
"To Live and Die in L.A."
"The Big Chill"
"American Beauty"
"Goodfellas"
"Raising Arizona" (!!! -- probably my choice if I had to make one)
"Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels"

I'll stop there. Actually it's hard to think of a good movie that DOESN'T have a good opening scene. "Casablanca" maybe? That spinning globe and then the connect the dots thing with a ponderous voiceover were pretty clunky even back then, especially for a movie with so many classic scenes. (Note to self: watch "Casablanca" yet again). Do you have any nominations in the Bad Opening Scenes In Good Movies category?