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An opening scene of a movie is like a cinematic thermometer. You take a movie’s temperature by that first scene. It holds you, intrigues you, grabs you — or it doesn’t. Though it’s true that plenty of great movies take their time building up our involvement, obviously they can’t take too long. Then there are those others that start off with a bang. It’s this latter group we’re celebrating today. Here are fifteen of our favorite movie openers, covering seven decades of filmmaking:  

 Dads are sometimes manhandled in movies – depicted as absent, neglectful, or comically inept. They can be relegated to grim portrayals in films like “The Great Santini” (1979) or “This Boy’s Life” (1993), where fatherhood is all about intimidation.  Life with these fathers would make for a very disturbing Rockwell painting.        I think it’s patently unfair for a few movie Dads to cast a poor light on men that work hard to be affectionate, considerate, and above all, always there for the family. Like me. So, as Sunday is Dad’s day, let’s show him (or his memory) some love, respect, and affection. Just once, for your father, take his advice, thank your mother, chew with your mouth closed, stop making that face, finish your chores without any sass-back, and stick to one of these father-friendly films.