Today movies have to start with a bang - otherwise the crowd won’t know when to stop munching and pay attention to the big screen.
In the good old days proper movies started with an overture - and if they were longer then 90 minutes they had an Intermission (vulgo pee break).
Overtures are borrowed from classical music, mostly Opera. They were played before the curtain went up - often already introducing themes and Leitmotivs of the upcoming performance.
Three movies come to mind: 2001, Khartoum and Spartacus has all an Overture. Anyone else can remember a classic with an Overture (or peek at the Wikipedia list for such movies)?
As a big movie and soundtrack fan I love Overtures!
