Stanley Kubrick was a master of cinematic composition, and frankly just about every one of his films could have made this list (I was particularly gutted about not including A Clockwork Orange). His 1975 period pic Barry Lyndon begins in fantastic style, melding gorgeous visuals and uproarious humour to perfectly convey the style and tone of what we're about to watch. "Gentlemen, cock your pistols". We immediately glean from this that a duel of some kind is about to take place, before a thoroughly amusing narrator chimes in to provide some pre-text to this events. We witness the death of Barry's father, apparently over the purchase of some horses, explained in amusingly calm fashion, as is the vibe both before and after the shooting. If films should possess the identity of the film within their first shot, then few are as wryly effective as Barry Lyndon.