sorry, no. you mean the very first moment in the intro, snow and mountains? so the video starts and than it is freezing before it switches to the menu?
im using the gog version / win7 64bit / nvidia gtx760 / 1920x1080 / all settings max, never had a problem with this game, no compatibility settings too. must be something else, not the game itself. just started it for testing (i really should play it again)
normally the first i think is a problem with the graphics driver or the card, but when it starts the intro video... idk.
maybe a problem with the saves, could be that the game is starting to load the settings when its freezing cause the settings or savegame file is broken.
the saves folder is in the game folder. maybe rename the folder for testing...?
whats with access rights of the game to these folders? try to run it as admin...?
no other ideas atm, sorry. its so long ago i played it.
edit: link
https://steamcommunity.com/app/6300/discussions/0/630802344876524905 could be the moment when its switching the audio from video to game.