Thinking of the cult movies made me think about what opening scenes have had the most visual impact on me.

Saving Private Ryan was the most intense, I think.

The original Star Wars was the best.  Sitting up close the movie screen, of course, watching the ship go and go and go, getting bigger and bigger.  And then being followed by the Death Star.

But right among those two, is the opening scene of Monty Python In Search of the Holy Grail.  It just sets up the rest of the movie.

Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Well, "Enemy at the Gates" had a somewhat similiar opening to "Saving Private Ryan" in the sense of soldiers being slaughtered but the part where Russian soldiers were mowed down by German troops and then were cut down by their own comrades when they retreated kind of disturbed me.

The Spy Who Loved Me

Refresh my memory, how did that one start again?

Mario Puzo's The Godfather.

 You know, the one where he's in this cavern avoiding all of the traps and finally getting to a small golden statue or something like that. He switches it with a bag of weight and a rolling ball appears threatening to mow him down and so on...

the sixth sense was good

I also like all the die hard openings. One thing I like about those movies, is they never run credits at the start, they just start with something action filled.

Fight Club or JackAss the Movie.

super troopers, funniest first 15 minutes.