10 Opening Movie Scenes Which Immediately Stunned Audiences

There haven't been many films which have left your mouth gaping wide open before a single line of dialogue has even been said on screen.

Yet, that's exactly what happened in cinemas all around the world when Star Wars (1977) first burst onto the scene just over four decades ago.

After having their ears blown off by the first notes of the legendary title anthem and drinking in the vibrant yellow opening crawl, fans were introduced to a version of space they'd never seen before in a galaxy far, far away. The serene environment was then suddenly penetrated by what appeared to be a small space ship... and then it happened.

The nose of a seemingly never-ending Star Destroyer engulfed the frame and reduced bitter middle aged adults into nothing more than wide-eyed infants. This high speed intergalactic chase was our entry point into George Lucas' larger than life space opera and if the rest of the film could captivate us even half as much as this tremendous opening we were in for a treat.

Lucas didn't disappoint and A New Hope would become the first of many Star Wars features, but it's hard to think of another first scene in the series (or any other film series for that matter) which blew people's minds in quite the way this sci-fi cat and mouse pursuit did in the late '70s.

The force was with us from that moment on and it wasn't going anywhere.