17 Opening Movie Scenes That Actually Start At The End Of The Film

Starting at the start is waaay too obvious.

Sometimes the classic "start at the beginning" thing gets a bit old, doesn't it? From time to time it's refreshing to start somewhere more interesting, like at the end.

Netflix

Luckily, loads of films use this technique, so here are 17 that absolutely nailed it.

🚨FYI – this post contains spoilers, so if you see a film that you don't want spoiled, scroll past! 🚨

1. Slumdog Millionaire

Pathé Distribution

At the very start of Danny Boyle's Academy Award–winning picture, we instantly felt tense after seeing where Jamal would end up. 

“Jamal is one question away from winning 20 million rupees; how did he do it?” The interchanging snippets of him in the chair, then being interrogated, really made us want to know the answer to that question. A fine piece of filmmaking, if you ask me. 

youtube.com

2. 12 Monkeys

Universal Pictures

Okay, I know it's a "time loop" situation, but I feel like it deserves a place here. The opening clip of the child watching a man get gunned down is technically in the past and the future, but it's still the end of the actual film. The repetition of this vision throughout the film really makes the ending more impactful — and also kinda infuriating?!

youtube.com

3. Memento

NewMarket

It's an early Christopher Nolan classic, and of course, he brings us a film that jumps around the timeline. Starting with the ending is one thing, but continually messing with the order (without making it way too confusing) is a different feat entirely. As you'd expect, he totally pulled it off, and the start/end had us gripped from the off. 

youtube.com

4. Pan's Labyrinth

Warner Bros. Pictures

The fantastical Pan's Labyrinth gave us a fairly ambiguous start (ngl, though, I thought she was a goner). As the movie plays out, we're starting to think that maybe the ending we saw wasn't real (not impossible, considering the fantasy world we're being led through). 

However, if you wanted some closure, then you were in the wrong place, because that ending is soooo open to interpretation.

youtube.com

5. The Prestige

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

This is another excellent one (I think we're seeing something of a theme from Nolan here). The opening of The Prestige really spells out the whole plot of the film, showing us what's going to happen, and then of course asking us the only question it can: "Are you watching closely?" 

youtube.com

6. Moulin Rouge!

20th Century Fox

The scene at the beginning of Moulin Rouge! doesn't give us any indication of where the story will go, other than that it's gonna be about love and it's probably going to be sad (and they were NOT misleading us). "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

youtube.com

7. Pulp Fiction

Miramax

Clearly another one who loves a nonlinear story timeline — Quentin Tarantino. The starting and ending diner scenes (from different perspectives) perfectly fit the chaotic storyline(s) of Pulp Fiction. Even though this scene probably fits somewhere relatively early in the events that unfold, it seems like the perfect moment for the movie to begin and end. 

youtube.com

8. Sunset Boulevard

Paramount Pictures

One of the earliest examples of a famous film trope — the record-scratch opening — but here it’s done perfectly. Maybe it just goes hand in hand with film noir? Just like its beginning and end, this film holds up waaay better than I thought it would and was fully deserving of its Academy Award. 

youtube.com

9. City of God

Miramax Films

This has to be one of the best openings you'll ever see. The frantic energy of the chickens and the knife sharpening builds up to the incredibly precarious situation we find Rocket in. 

As the film moves on, we're so engrossed that we've utterly forgotten that it was heading back to this super-tense moment. The climax (and ending) that follows is one hell of a scene too. 

youtube.com

10. Saving Private Ryan

Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures

The opening of Steven Spielberg's epic is both straight to the end and straight to the point — war memorial, aged man looking at headstones...we can see where this is going. Using the ending as the beginning really did give this movie the emotional bookends that it deserved. 

youtube.com

11. Goodfellas

Warner Bros.

I know, I know, the beginning isn't the END, but it's near the end, and it's such a good opening scene that it has to go in. Not only does it show us exactly where this film is going, but it also introduces us to the three main characters and their evidently wild lives.

youtube.com

12. Fight Club

20th Century Fox

We couldn't forget Fight Club. The whole "telling us what's going to happen" thing and hinting at the big twist right away — some may say they spotted it from the off; some people may also be lying.

youtube.com

13. The Usual Suspects

Gramercy Pictures

Another one that had to be included, this is one of those films where you spot more things the more you watch — particularly Keaton saying, "I can't feel my legs, Keyser." Hearing it now, it's easier to tell who it is, but when you first watch the ending scene, with the return to the first sequence — literally, goosebumps! 

youtube.com

14. Forrest Gump

Paramount Pictures

Fine, it's probably more of a third-act scene; sue me. This opening sequence, with Forrest on the bench, acts as a wonderful platform for us to take in his whirlwind life. Until we finally catch up to that excellent moment when the man doesn't believe that Forrest is a millionaire — gold!

youtube.com

15. Crash

Lions Gate Films

Crash deals with soooo many important themes, which we see right from the very beginning through Don Cheadle's social commentary. They then crop up again with the racially motivated altercation between the drivers. By the time that scene rolls back around, we've faced so many complicated relationships that it becomes even more impactful. 

youtube.com

16. Inside Llewyn Davis

CBS Films

The bookend scene in this frankly amazing but pretty solemn film is used by the Coen brothers to represent the cyclical nature of Llewyn and his futile attempts to achieve success. Using the beginning as the end here really gets you thinking — not necessarily happy thoughts, but it sure is powerful.  

youtube.com

17. Snatch

Sony Pictures Releasing

If you didn't realise you were watching a Guy Ritchie movie, it probably only took the first few lines of the opening scene to find out. Turkish is merely introducing himself and Tommy, but you are well aware that the events that are about to unfold will be utterly chaotic. By the time we roll back to the opening scene, all of those expectations are proved to be 100% correct. 

youtube.com

Are there any beginning-at-the-end films that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

When you subscribe to BuzzFeed UK’s Shopping newsletter between March 4 and 14, 2022, you will be entered in a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. One entry per person. Must be 18+ and a legal resident of the UK. Full T&Cs here. Promoter: BuzzFeed UK Ltd. We will contact the lucky winner via email. Good luck!