Gunnery Sergeant Hartman Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Hannibal Lecter The Silence Of The Lambs (1990)
The Entrance: Though it’s actually Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who does the entering, going down into the bowels of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane to meet Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), it’s Lecter we’re being introduced to.
And boy is he scary.
Why So Awesome: Hannibal’s in a locked cell with absolutely zero power.
But when Starling meets him, he’s stood still as a statue waiting for her – and we soon discover he actually has /all/ the power. “Fly, fly, little Starling, fly, fly…”
Alex DeLarge A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Entrance: Nothing at all fancy, but still bone-chillingly unsettling, as Kubrick’s camera slowly tracks out from Alex DeLarge’s face.
It’s a stare that could melt your eyeballs.
Why So Awesome: In one swift, deceptively simple move, the master director has told us this is a guy to fear.
It doesn’t take long to find out why.
The Chestburster Alien (1979)
The Entrance: Ash (John Hurt) starts convulsing after his brush with an alien facehugger.
Crashing onto the dinner table, he writhes and groans until his chest buckles and concaves, spewing out the alien Chestburster…
Why So Awesome: The stories surrounding the film – that the cast had no idea what was going to happen – are the thing of legend for a reason.
Visceral, bloody, and one of the best ‘shock scenes’ ever put on film.
Even if the Chestburster is sort of unintentionally cute.
Darth Vader Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (1977)
The Entrance: Smoke from a laser gun battle hangs in the air. John Williams’ trumpets give a staccato punch. And then he’s there.
Vader does little more than survey the damage and breathe in that first shot, but what presence…
Why So Awesome: That costume. That gasping audio effect. And later on, that voice.
Nothing matches Darth Vader for awesome when it comes to high stakes villainy.
Jessica Rabbit Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
The Entrance: If we had cartoon hearts, this intro would be sure to set them hammering something chronic as Jessica Rabbit seduces her audience by crooning ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’.
Small wonder the audience goes wild.
Why So Awesome: It managed the impossible by making a cartoon character stratospherically sexy.
The Joker The Dark Knight (2008)
The Entrance: Christopher Nolan’s second Batflick opens with a distinct sense of Heat about it.
That is, until one particular bank heisting clown starts offing his comrades before unmasking as The Joker (Heath Ledger) himself.
Why So Awesome: It’s the perfect introduction to The Joker’s anarchic spirit. This is a giggling lunatic who’ll stop at nothing to fulfil his master plan.
Which, apparently, is unleashing pure chaos.
Harry Lime The Third Man (1949)
The Entrance: In the streets of Vienna, we see a figure skulking in the shadows before a light from a window suddenly illuminates him – Harry Lime, who we’ve just been informed is dead.
Why So Awesome: Orson Welles plays this moment beautifully by shooting the most ambiguous of looks over his shoulder.
It forces us to wonder, just who is this guy?
Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The Entrance: Concealed in darkness for the entirety of the opening credits, this guy’s nothing more than a shadowy figure in a fedora.
Then, when a gun’s raised at his back, Indy (Harrison Ford) cracks the whip, disarms his would-be assassin and steps into the light…
Why So Awesome: It’s our first glimpse of Indy – one of the coolest screen heroes ever.
Not only that, but it leads into the archaeologist’s first tomb raid, and that infamous boulder scene…
Honey Ryder Dr No (1962)
The Entrance: Of course. No ‘movie entrance’ list would be complete without the inclusion of Bond girl Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), who makes her inauspicious debut by emerging from the ocean in a figure-hugging white bikini…
Why So Awesome: It’s an entrance so iconic that the Bond producers just couldn’t help sending it up – and then some – in Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig in some tiny trunks.
