20 Opening Movie Scenes That Are Totally Flawless

Most films are subtle in the way they introduce characters, tackle controversial themes and set the tone for what's to come, but you'll find none of that subtly in the opening minutes of Andrew Niccol's provocative drama Lord of War.

Starting with Nic Cage's arm dealing veteran Yuri sharing a terrifying statistic about the number of guns in worldwide circulation, before asking a menacing question about how that number could be increased, the film then gives us a harrowing POV sequence of a bullet being made, sold, and then used to kill a child soldier.

All of this is set to Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth", a searing anti-war anthem which is disturbingly upbeat and melodic.

The traumatising montage, mixed with the music and the abrupt finale, is meant to be as shocking as possible, illustrating the dangers of guns, arms dealing and war, but it also sets the stage for the brutal, frustrating war drama to come, which holds nothing back and knows exactly which side it's on.