No Country for Old Men - Opening Scene 

You can hear the time passing in the voice. You can hear the struggle that he's faced with. You can actually feel the world becoming more hectic around him, and his hopelessness to stop it. It's the opening scene.

Love how this whole movie has no score. Just silence. Builds atmosphere

"I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, 'Ok...I'll be part of this world'." I get chills every time I hear that line.

“A man would have to put his soul at hazard.” Indeed. Merely in living, we do so. I come back to this scene a handful of times a year, and it’s still haunting every time.

I think this is genuinely the greatest film of all time

99% of directors would have opened with the firefight among the smugglers that's never actually seen in the flick. Instead we're hooked by TLJ's voice and the sparse scenery. Way to go Coen bros!!!

'' If I don't come back tell mother I love her. Your mother's dead, Llewelyn ? Well then. I'll tell her myself.''

"be there in about 15 minutes" gives me chills every time.

I think that's about my favourite opening scene to any movie I've seen. Tommy Lee-Jones almost whispers the last line and you can almost hear it reverberate through the rest of the movie.

He actually explains why the movie ends the way it ends at the beginning. Ingenious!!!

My favorite opening to any movie.

I really like the west Texas scenery.

I obsessively rewatch this. It's so great.

CinemaSins cannot sin this for 'narration.' This here, it's one of the best narration ever. Sets up the conflict, problem, themes and moral conflict on the central character all in one shot of narration.

Cormac McCarthy is incredible. It’s surreal reading classics being written in our time. I read Suttree in Peru at a conservation camp just west of Bolivia. There was a Capuchin monkey that liked to curl up in your lap when you rested in a certain hammock and I read that entire novel by an Amazon tributary just so. I’ve never felt so adrift in time and space and never will again. The tradition of the great American novel is kept alive by very few. Patrick Dewitt is another of the last remaining heroes of western literature, but it’s on all of us to keep it alive. It’s an endangered art.

I think this is one of the best movie openings in the history of cinema.

"Be there in 'bout 15 minutes" chilling sentence

This and the first 20 mins of There Will Be Blood are by far two of the greatest opening scenes in film history

This is one of the best opening scenes of any movie. The silence is deafening. They did a really good job of portraying the Genesis of a character represented by the morning sun coming up and the hope of a new day. There is a part near the end of the movie where he finds out his father was murdered at nighttime and buried just before the morning. Such a deep movie.

I love the sound of his voice, the tone, his meter is perfect, I love the scenery and the sound of the wind, but it's the writing that's so beautiful that it grips me right where I live. Those of us who were raised a little bit county knew a few people growing up that talked like this, to some degree or another, even those that hear it without knowing such people know that it sounds genuine and authentic. The names of the other sheriff's sound realistic, and when he says things like "that's the younger Jim" it makes it feel like a realistic conversation. He talks about hoping his dad was proud, and that he knows he was, wow that's a powerful and efficient way to build intimacy with an audience. If I was a college professor teaching young aspiring writers I probably do a couple weeks just on this opening dialogue making students dissect it and analyze it and challenge them to learn to think like this. Really amazing writing.

Here’s the opening monologue from the book. It’s one of my favorite openings to a book just like how this is my favorite opening to movie. I sent one boy to the gaschamber at Huntsville. One and only one. My arrest and my testimony. I went up there and visited with him two or three times. Three times. The last time was the day of his execution. I didn't have to go but I did. I sure didn't want to. He'd killed a fourteen year old girl and I can tell you right now I never did have no great desire to visit with him let alone go to his execution but I done it. The papers said it was a crime of passion and he told me there wasn't no passion to it. He'd been datin' this girl, young as she was. He was nineteen. And he told me that he had been plannin' to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again. Said he knew he was goin' to hell. Told it to me out of his own mouth. I don't know what to make of that. I surely don't. I thought I'd never seen a person like that and it got me to wonderin' if maybe he was some new kind. I watched them strap him into the seat and shut the door. He might of looked a bit nervous about it but that was about all. I really believe that he knew he was goin' to be in hell in fifteen minutes. I believe that. And I've thought about that a lot. He was not hard to talk to. Called me Sheriff. But I didn't know what to say to him. What do you say to a man that by his own admission has no soul? Why would you say anything? I've thought about it a good deal. But he wasn't nothin' compared to what was comin' down the pike. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I don't know what them eyes was the windows to and I guess I'd as soon not know. But there is another view of the world out there and other eyes to see it and that's where this is goin'. It has done brought me to a place in my life I would not of thought I'd of come to. Somewhere out there is a true and living prophet of destruction and I don't want to confront him. I know he's real. I have seen his work. I walked in front of those eyes once. I wont do it again. I wont push my chips forward and stand up and go out to meet him. It ain't just bein' older. I wish that it was. I cant say that it's even what you are willin' to do. Because I always knew that you had to be willin' to die to even do this job. That was always true. Not to sound glorious about it or nothin' but you do. If you ain't they'll know it. They'll see it in a heartbeat. I think it is more like what you are willin' to become. And I think a man would have to put his soul at hazard. And I wont do that. I think now that maybe I never would.

The part he whispers “okay I’ll be part of this world” to me it’s like he accepts all of this but he doesn’t agree with all of it.

I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five years old. Hard to believe. My grandfather was a lawman; father too. Me and him was sheriffs at the same time; him up in Plano and me out here. I think he's pretty proud of that. I know I was. Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough'd never carried one; that's the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn't wear one up in Comanche County. I always liked to hear about the oldtimers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can't help but compare yourself against the oldtimers. Can't help but wonder how they would have operated these times. There was this boy I sent to the 'lectric chair at Huntsville Hill here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killt a fourteen-year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell. "Be there in about fifteen minutes". I don't know what to make of that. I sure don't. The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job. But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, "O.K., I'll be part of this world."

This was the film that made me re-evaluate all films. I saw this all the way back in 2007 and it woke something in me. Now, I have such a huge respect for film, and I know it will be with me forever

Roger Deakins cinematography is amazing

I love to listen to this before I go to work in the morning makes me feel like a real cowboy...living in Brooklyn New York

One of the most perfect films ever made.

I’m a Native American Coast Salish wood carver in the PNW of America. I come from a long and proud line of wood carvers. There’s an old wood carver man named Duane who is a 92 year old Korean War vet, he is still carving. Whenever I feel down and out, stuck, or just stumped by the world around me; I go to Duane. I do chores around his house, I do all kinds of manual labor and help him anyway I can, just to sit down with some black coffee and hear his stories. And when I leave his house, I feel reinvigorated, I feel better. I love this opening scene, and Duane loves this movie. He said in his youth, listening to the old timers was priceless and that that resource goes so quick. To all you who have an old timer in your life or have memories of an old timer, cherish them. Remember them. They won’t be here forever, and neither will you.

I remember seeing this movie, There Will Be Blood, and The Dark Knight relatively close to each other with the same friend of mine at the time, and we were both blown away from each movie and would talk about the stories so much. To us it was like 2006-2009 was an era of incredible movies.

I have watched this opening maybe 100 times and every time, the voice of Tommy Lee just gives me the chills!

Okay, I'll be part of this world.

This film has one of the most compelling opening scenes and ending scenes of any I have ever watched in my 60 years. What a masterpiece of movie making and story telling.

Wow, what an incredible opening scene, simple yet powerful.Tommy Lee Jones voice and dialogue is absolutely superb

Love this opening. It’s so great how it starts at dawn and how the sun is rising on the following shots. And I love how the car speeding by splits up the line, “You’d have to say okay, I’ll be a part of this world.”

But I don't wanna push my chips forward, and go out and meet something I don't understand..

This in all reality brought Cormac Mcarthys masterpiece of a book to life and made this movie into a top 10 of all time it’ll always stay in that list

Such an epic film. I watched this for the first time in a few years last month and had forgotten just how incredible it truly is.

Hands down probably one of the best monologues to ever be written and performed in a film. So much being said and so brilliantly yet unpretentiously.

Just when you think, it's totaly silly to make a 'Western' that plays in our times and not as a faux re-imagining of older flicks, along comes this movie. It's cinematography is gorgeous, it's subject matter (and main antagonist) absolutely chilling. I would listen for hours to Tommy Lee Jones talking about the old timers (or to the younger Jim Gaston Boykins up in Commanche County). You do feel this movie more than you watch it.

It's strange to think that the dystopian present day that the sheriff is talking about is the year 1980. Now it's 43 years later, and things have not gotten better.

What’s crazy is I saw this movie when it first came out and never paid this opening line any thought. A year later I became a cop. 15 years later I find myself thinking exactly this and I can’t wait to get out either.

As I get older I find myself thinking about Ed Tom's monologues more and more.

Everybody’s talking about how good Tommy Lee Jones is here, which is absolutely fair, he’s incredible, but I just wanna draw some attention to the fucking stellar writing in this monologue.

One of the best movies ever made. In the future, they'll show it as such.

Hands down, greatest opening monologue of any movie ever made!

No matter how many times I hear it, that last sentence combined with that subtle ambient music just throws one hell of a chill down my spine.

I remember I did this monologue for my theater final, my teacher was too Shakespearean to enjoy it and gave me a b but my friends in my class loved it and watched the movie because of this.

Cormac McCarthy is the best writer of western dialogue. But don't take my word for it. When asked about their screenplay of McCarthy's novel, the Coen brothers looked at each other, laughed, and said "Well, we didn't change very much."

I remember watching this in theaters on Black Friday of ‘07 and til this day, this intro still gives me goosebumps like it did on that day.

I loved this movie from the first time I watched it, and it's only grown on me since. One of my very favorites.

There are just a small handful of thespians that carry the weight in just their voice to impact a movie the way Tommy Lee Jones does in this monologue. Wow, the character in his vocal chords is just amazing

I was traveling east from Ft. Bliss (El Paso) and some of the landscape reminded me of this, so I put it on. I was shocked when I read the town I passed through, Marfa, is where the opening scenery is shot.

I just have to echo what all have said here in that this is incredible cinema - every aspect of the medium is executed at the highest level, the effort coalesces into a cohesive emotional feeling that is beyond powerful. Incredible.

Simple fact, the Coen Brothers make masterpieces of cinema!

I love the double meaning of “the crime you see now is hard to understand”. Literally the crime right there in front of you, and also the type of crime in general around this time.

There is such a profound deepness to this movie.

God, I love this movie.

I always loved how the intro to No Country For Old Men calls backs to the Coen's first film, Blood Simple.

The best Cohen brothers film

You know you are in the presence of a good movie when you're creeped out by an opening monologue

This is literally one of the greatest movies ever made. I remember seeing it in the theater back in 2007 and it blew me away.

70's had the best films. 90's as well. But 07-08 gave us a renascence.

One of the great moments of 21st century American cinema, thanks to Joel and Ethan, Cormac McCarthy, Roger Deakins, Tommy Lee Jones, and the rest of the crew.

"But I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand." The way this bit of narration hits when we see Anton's weapon just adds to its weight.

Tommy Lee Jones has the most accurate old school Texan accent I've heard in movies. Just like the old folks of the small Texas town I grew up in and all my old Texas relatives.

It's like the west Texas scenery is one of the characters in the movie

Came here after reading the book, and gonna watch the movie again. Really helped flesh everything out reading it, and such a well done movie.

What a fantastic opening to a film, I’ve always liked this scene since I saw it at the cinema.

It’s amazing how well this film demonstrated that if a movie is created properly, a score is sometimes unnecessary The same is true of real life at the most harrowing situations rarely are accompanied by any sound aside from your heart pounding in your ears. I now find myself imagining films with silence instead of the score and I find that a lot of the time it would be just as if not more effective... Truly bored minimalist approach that ended up being a gamble paid off in dividends

I just realized, just after he says “I’ll be part of this world” and the car drives off, there is a mild score to the film. If you don’t hear it listen carefully for it it’s the last couple seconds of the video, and the car driving is still louder. But it’s there. Just a mild picking at a guitar or other stringed instrument. That is the only score in the entire film. How interesting.

The greatest movie ever made. Uncompromising and unforgiving.

This monologue is the best part of any movie I’ve ever seen. Finally a Hollywood like that wasn’t cheap or shallow.

The opening dialogue for this film and Blood Simple are perfect.

As good as Javier Bardem is in this movie, I keep going back to the Tommy Lee Jones scenes. I appreciate his performance more with each passing year.

Ok. I'll be part of this world.

When you run out of toilet paper after taking a huge sloppy shit. "Ok, I'll be part of this world"

i feel like this is like a homage to their first film “blood simple” (1983), i watched both of them once

Hands down the best monologue in film history.

ONE of The Greatest Movies of ALL TIME!!!💯% I mean, no music even!!! Just the atmosphere. Amazing!!!💯%

One of the best opening monologues in modern day cinema

Best written and best monologue in any movie. Outstanding.

My dad and grandfather were friends with Gaston Boykin, who is mentioned in this monologue. This movie haunts me.

A-lot of your old time sheriffs here in Wyoming didn’t carry a side arm. And I know this for a fact I’m talking from Rod about 1895 on up to right about 1945. To this day I have have 4 people in my family in law enforcement. One of them is a deputy US Marshal here in Wyoming.

The Coen's previous Texan landscape voice-over opening monologue: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7xifH6CGNzs.html That and this inspired by Carol Reed's opening monologue in The Third Man: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NSAsJ-_tKdg.html

the opening shots of texas landsvape along with TLJ voice over is haunting and perhaps the best opening in movie history

that opening is so cruel

I love to see empty plains, and only hear the sound of the wind.

It’s almost as if a genius wrote the screenplay.

of all the movie intros i have seen thus is my favorite.

TLJ's interviews on this are cool. He's an amazingly talented actor. He puts a lot of good work into these roles.

the car’s on fire and there’s no driver at wheel..

It goes so hard. It’s so sharp end polished.

So this is what art looks like

A masterclass in writing, holy shit

There hasn't been an opening scene this powerful since Apocalypse Now.

This is, without a doubt, the best intro of any movie made so far

Look at the contrast of the tone in the opening shots then Chigurh at 2:26. Great characterization of good and evil and their fight over the country.

One of the most epic intros in the movie history.

Almost forgot to watch it today.

"ok......i'll be a part of this world"