Effective opening sequences in: Four Weddings and A Funeral, City Of God, Goodfellas

Four Weddings and A Funeral

This is an effective opening scene because it is fast-paced and comical. This gets the audience interested for the rest of the film. the main characters are introduced very quickly Most of the comedy comes from the juxtaposition of the organised characters opposed to the disorganised characters on the morning of a wedding. The characters curse a lot, which is very conventional in Britian this demonstrates that this as a British film. There is a further juxtaposition as British people are seen to be punctual however in this film they are not. This scene also tells us Hugh Grant is the main protagonist, despite it not being his wedding, as it focuses primarily on him.

City of God

This opening scene works because it jumps straight into the action. It is a very emotionalIt sequence which makes the audience question why the two youths are running away and stealing a car. The scene establishes the setting as a gritty town in an exotic country with a high crime rate and malicious living conditions. Shaggy is set up as the main protagonist, so we initially root for him, which makes his sudden death more dramatic and emotional.
The clever use of the high angle almost overhead shot displays Shaggy as weak and foolish for thinking he could escape but it could be a metaphor for shaggy viewing himself on the floor after death.

Goodfellas

This scene introduces the world of gangsters, but not at the start of the story. It is midway through the story, and sets up how the first part of the film will show how Henry Hill has transformed from a normal kid to reaching this point in his life "A gangster". We can tell the characters of Tommy DeVito and Jimmy Conway are violent and volatile as they kill the man in the trunk of the car without a second thought, from the look on Henry's face we figure he has certain  issues with this, but doesn't speak up out of fear and respect as he knows he could be the next dead! Fear, respect and gangsterism are all themes that get explored throughout the film. The fact that the film begins in the middle of the story is unorthadox and unique to Goodfellas