Rantings and Ravings
Think back to the original Jaws. How long was it before we saw that damn shark?
We saw people getting pulled beneath the waves by some unseen force.
We saw another shark hanging by it’s tail on the dock. Then Hooper cutting it up later that night.
We saw a fin.
But we didn’t get a good eyeball on that bastard for a good long while into the movie.
How about 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea? Even for a 1960′s era Disney movie they didn’t outright show the Nautilus until probably a half-hour in, after it had sunk the ship the Professor, Counseil and Neg Land were on.
Now, how long was it in pretty much every actioney movie today where it starts off with explosions, a car chase through Manhattan, pretty pointless shootout in the swamps, or whatnot… has a good long period of rising plot followed by yet another wild climax then the hero walks off into the sunset.
Or gives his boss a Harrison Ford-type look in the eye and drops his badge on the desk, walking out of the police station.
I’ll argue though that there are needs for opening fighty scenes. The opening to American Gangster wouldn’t have made such a powerful impact if it hadn’t opened the way it did. Brutal as it was.
