10 Greatest Opening Shots From Recent Movies
1. Boiling Point
Yet perhaps the most truly fascinating "opening" shot of any movie released this past year appears in Philip Barantini's astonishing drama Boiling Point.
The film, which takes place entirely inside a swanky London restaurant as head chef Andy's (Stephen Graham) life and career begin to unravel, was shot in a single 90-minute take.
More to the point, this is a real "one-r" that was shot legitimately without any sneaky digital joins, requiring the large ensemble cast - including dozens of extras as restaurant patrons - to hit their markers perfectly for the entire movie's runtime.
The result is nothing short of incredible. Stephen Graham and his co-stars are fantastic as the put-upon members of this restaurant on a particularly busy and stressful evening, while Barantini's camera smoothly travels from table to bar to kitchen with a gliding efficiency.
While it might be a little bit of a cheat to call it an opening shot considering it's the only shot in the entire movie, Boiling Point is a daring feat of high-wire filmmaking that absolutely needs to be seen.
Anyone who's ever held a cinema camera will tell you that the stamina required to execute something this complex for so long is basically superhuman.