Top List Thursdays – Top ten entrances

You know the old saying: You only get one chance to make a first impression. And in movies, that saying takes plenty of precedence. When you’ve got millions of dollars behind you and a small army of film crew recording your every move, you better make damn well sure that your first appearance in a movie is memorable. Here’s ten of the best.

• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – Darth Maul arrives

As much as we love to heap scorn on the first Star Wars prequel, director George Lucas did manage to film one piece of gold in a sea of excrement and bad hair. And that’s when he re-introduced audiences to the Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. With nowhere to run or hide, this time it was do or die for the Jedi as they prepared to duel the savage tool of the future Emperor. But from the moment he dropped his cloak to reveal his piercing yellow eyes, followed up by igniting both of his light saber blades while the Duel Of The Fates music began working its magic, it was pure goosebumps from start to finish.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Shredder revealed

For a film that starred four mutated turtles with attitude and corny one-liners, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle had some surprisingly dark and artistic moments. Take for instance the appearance of the Shredder, as he greets his Foot Clan with an awe-inspiring presence that quickly reminds the audience just who the master really is.

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show – How do you do?

Already a strange movie after the Time Warp song had finished, The Rocky Horror Picture Show got even weirder as an elevator descended behind newlyweds Brad and Janice, with the infamous Doctor Frank N Furter inside. Clad in his finest lingerie, make-up and cloak, the sight of Tim Curry greeting the young couple and bursting into song will always remain one of the greatest moments within a cult musical, leaving you stuck with antici…pation for the next chapter in that flick.

• Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Jessica Rabbit

When Jessica Rabbit took to the stage, you could hear the collective jaws of not only the various toons in attendance dropping, but their fleshy counterparts as well. Drawn to be impossibly leggy and sultry, the femme fatale breaks out into a song and dance routine, that ensured that nobody forgot that particular piece of art.

• The Dark Knight – Planned chaos

The opening of the first Christopher Nolan Batman sequel may have taken quite a bit of inspiration from another iconic heist movie, Heat, but its hard to argue with just how effective that directing was. Never knowing who to trust, the audience is left guessing just who the hell the Joker is, as his henchmen slowly kill each other before the clown prince of crime is finally revealed. What doesn’t kill you, does indeed make you…stranger.

• Pirates Of The Caribbean – Meet Captain Jack

Captain Jack Sparrow. Legendary pirate, swashbuckler and all-around scourge of the seven seas. With a legend like that behind him, you expect a mysterious sailor to appear on screen, but instead audiences were treated toa  great sight gag as the infamous pirate sailed into port, barely making it to the docks as his vessel sank below him.

• Terminator – Clothes.Now

Despite several big budget films, Arnold Schwarzenegger had yet to truly show off his greatest ass…ets. But in the first Terminator movie, the mighty Austrian traveled back in time, showing more nudity than was possible for a 1980s movie and with glute muscles so sharp, that merely flexing them would make anyone watching lose an eye.

• The Big Lebowski – Nobody f***s with the Jesus

The Jesus? You don’t mess with him mang. The Jesus mess with you. The Jesus, he take your gun, shove it up your ass and pull the trigger until he hear it go click click. That’s the Jesus. Mang.

• A Clockwork Orange – Alex at large

What makes this scene so effective, isn’t down to dialogue, set design or special effects. it’s that it happens to be so damn unsettling, as local yob Alex DeLarge and his cronies enjoy a nice glass of milk before setting out for an evening of the old ultra-violence. Sometimes, all you need is a stare that can make the devil back off, resulting in one memorable opening in A Clockwork Orange.

• Alien – Fit to burst

Man, it’s all laughs and smiles as you dig into a hearty meal on your spaceship, and the next moment you’re riddled with heartburn and various other chest pains before a lethal organism bursts forth. Horribly gory, with reactions that are shockingly real, the introduction of the iconic Xenomorph is an entrance that is fit for the ages.

Last Updated: November 13, 2014