Few movies demonstrate the value and impact of long takes like Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men.

Oscar winning director Sam (American Beauty, 1999) Mendes shows impressive control over the bond franchise with a rooftop motorcycle chase in Istanbul, part of a pursuit that’s a mixture of foot, car, motorcycle, and train.

For many, the favorite scene in both Blade Runner’s movies (the 1982 original and the sequel decades later) comes at the beginning.

Starting The Watchmen with a TV sequence about Nixon and the Cold War is a risky, over the top opening, but what comes after is incredible.

The Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) have relied extensively on voice-over narration to start many of their films–it’s one of their stylistic trademarks.