The 60s film A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS has an opening scene where a mysterious gunman (actually called in the credits "the man with no name") rides into a small western town -- a town which, he has been warned, is not kind to strangers -- on a mule. As he enters, a bunch of nasty cowboys, sitting on a fence, pick on the stranger by shooting their guns to scare the mule, who takes off leaving Eastwood without a ride. However, instead of letting it go (the odds are four to one) Eastwood walks back to the bullies and demands they "apologize" to the mule, who is, he says, very "sensitive."
At first the gunsels don't believe Eastwood is serious, but, when they realize he is, they move for their weapons. In one of the greatest western shootout scenes ever filmed (ANY western, not just "Italian Westerns") Eastwood draws and kills all of them before they can get a shot off. The viewer, rather than hear single shots, hears all the shots as one continuous noise.
According to film lore, in theatres across Europe and the US, viewers (male viewers) jumped to their feet at the sheer exhilaration of this scene.
That film launched the Leone trilogy, which launched Eastwood, which launched the Dirty Harry and ANY WHICH WAY franchises, which brought us Eastwood the Director, which begat many films and Oscars.
All from a great opening.
POI has an equally great opening. And this is it.
Watching the subway bullies gang up on the drunken bum in the corner, and watching Reese take them out in about 40 seconds flat, is every bit as memorable as the opening in FISTFUL.
Which begat many seasons of POI.
And deservedly so.
At first the gunsels don't believe Eastwood is serious, but, when they realize he is, they move for their weapons. In one of the greatest western shootout scenes ever filmed (ANY western, not just "Italian Westerns") Eastwood draws and kills all of them before they can get a shot off. The viewer, rather than hear single shots, hears all the shots as one continuous noise.
According to film lore, in theatres across Europe and the US, viewers (male viewers) jumped to their feet at the sheer exhilaration of this scene.
That film launched the Leone trilogy, which launched Eastwood, which launched the Dirty Harry and ANY WHICH WAY franchises, which brought us Eastwood the Director, which begat many films and Oscars.
All from a great opening.
POI has an equally great opening. And this is it.
Watching the subway bullies gang up on the drunken bum in the corner, and watching Reese take them out in about 40 seconds flat, is every bit as memorable as the opening in FISTFUL.
Which begat many seasons of POI.
And deservedly so.