Great Film Scenes

[Carlisle Blues]

What makes a film scene memorable or even great? special effects? emotional connection? Technical achievement? Emotional connection? Laughter? Tears? Suspense? Joy? A sense of wonder and amazement? Great acting? Great dialogue? Great directing? Great editing? Or, simple motion picture magic? How about all of the above. Or something else.

What film scenes do you consider great? [huh]

One that comes to mind is:

"Dr. Zhivago" - When Omar Sharif and Julie Christie are at the frozen country estate and he writes her a poem.

This kind of love is the stuff of dreams. Married to an upper-class girl who is devoted to him, yet in love with an unfortunate woman who becomes his muse, Zhivago is torn between fidelity and passion. Sympathetic with the revolution but shaken by the wars and purges, he struggles to retain his individualism as a humanist amid the spirit of collectivism.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Maybe it's me but I thought this was an interesting topic. Bump

I guess if not I will talk to myself ....lol lol lol lol lol

 

[Diamondback]

For "food for thought": Dr. Malcolm's lectures in Jurassic Park.

Good use of psychological warfare: The Punisher's popsicle-and-blowtorch scene.

On "closure": the scene at Viper's place in Top Gun.

For being so inspiring in spite of its cheese you can't help but wanna join the cheering: the big Presidential speech before the final battle in Independence Day.

On knowledge and how it changes: K's recruitment pitch in MIB. "1500 years ago, everyone knew the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everyone knew the Earth was flat, and 15 minutes ago you knew people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll 'know' tomorrow..."

And there are a lot of great scenes that it's difficult to put a finger on just "why" they'd belong on a list like this...

 

[Story]

The fantastic panoramas in The Bounty, set to Vangelis' music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4js05xk6tMs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zF2bTHyKag

 

[La Strada]

So many greats come to mind but this one from the french film" Girl on the Bridge" has resonated with me recently. Also the Marianne Faithful / Angelo Badalamenti song is incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxCSQY4zskg&feature=fvw

 

[Miss Neecerie]

My absolute favorite scene in a film would have to be the 'language learning' montage scene in 13th Warrior.

As a huge huge language and linguistics geek, this scene covered the whole thing with such grace and humor and yet also for once did not just suddenly have the protagonist speaking a new language fluently.

Plus the whole film just is cool. Reminds me i need the dvd

 

[NicknNora]

Oh boy, do I have a lot of favorite scenes: lol

One of my favorite scenes is the taxi scene in On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger. The "I could have been a contender" scene.

Another favorite scene is when Gregory Peck leaves the Courtroom in To Kill a Mockingbird and the people in the courtroom balcony stand up out of respect for him as he leaves the courtroom. It's a very powerful moment.

I also liked the scene in the movie The Oxbow incident when Henry Fonda reads the letter of the man wrongfully hanged by the angry mob.

I cry everytime I see the scene in Casablanca where Paul Henreid leads the orchestra in playing the French national anthem, drowning out the Nazis.

We just finished watching another moving scene in Wuthering Heights where Olivier carries Merle Oberon to the window to take one more look at the moors before she dies in his arms.

Which reminds me of another death scene when Kirk Douglass is dying on the cross in the movie Spartacus as Jean Simmons lifts up his son for him to see before he dies.

I could go on and on...

 

[NicknNora]

I don't know why I'm focused on death scenes I guess it's because they are so emotional but another scene that comes to mind is when they take photos of Denzil Washington's (Steven Biko) body in the movie Cry Freedom. It just breaks your heart knowing what agony the real Steven Biko endured.

I was also moved by the scene in the movie Invitation to a Gunfighter where Yul Brynner's character is accidently fatally wounded by George Segals character. Another Brynner scene I like was when he and Steve McQueen ride the coffin into boot hill in the move the Magnificent Seven.

Another death scene where I always cry is when Kirk Douglass dies in the movie The Vikings. It's certainly a tribute to Kirk's acting ability because it's not a particularly great scene and it's immediately followed up by a terrible scene by Tony Curtis.lol

I also love the scene with Errol Flynn and Sydney Greenstreet in the movie They Died With Their Boots On where they both fight over creamed Bermuda onions. Of course I like most of the scenes where Sydney Greenstreet appears. He was such a fabulous and underrated actor.

I love the scene in Inherit the Wind where Spencer Tracey has Fredric March's character on the stand to testify about his expertise on the bible.

And speaking of Spencer Tracey, I love the scene in Desk Set where he gives Katherine Hepburn's character an IQ test during their lunch together on the roof. It's absolutely hysterical.

 

[NicknNora]

Most of the scenes I mentioned were great for me because of the emotional connection. There are also scenes that I think are great because of the great writing (almost any scene in Casablanca) or in the way it was filmed (the scene in Lawrence of Arabia where we first see Omar Sharif's character. He starts out as a speck in the vast desert and as the scene progresses we finally see him as he reaches the watering hole. Or the scene in Shadow of a Doubt where Joseph Cotton's character arrives in town on a train that billows huge amounts of black smoke. It was a great way to show evil arriving into town. Another great Hitchcock scene is in Psycho where the camera angle on the guy walking up the stairs in Perkin's house just before he's murdered by Perkins is superb. Great suspense.

 

[Blackthorn]

My favorite of all time is in Fiddler on the Roof, where Tevya meets his daughter at the train stop as she is leaving to join her love in a Siberian prison camp. As he sits next to her, waiting for the train, he realizes he'll never see her again, and his mind goes back to her running across the yard into his arms when she was a little girl...oh man, that tears my heart out every time.

 

[Steve]

I've always loved the moment in The Third Man when the light shines down on Harry Lime and his knowing smirk. Perfectly timed and shot.

 

[HadleyH]

Amazing!

Many great film scenes out there, but oh boy! the last scene in " The Public Enemy" (1933)... James Gagney's homecoming...wrapped like a mummy ... and falling to the floor dead when his brother opens the door!!!!!!! OMG that scene is tattoed in my mind forever!

 

[HadleyH]

 

[Carlisle Blues]

One chilling scene from Marathon Man (1976)

"Is it safe?"

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHbBWC7w_Gk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHbBWC7w_Gk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Oral hygiene is my friend... ..lol lol

 

[scottyrocks]

The sound went away for the rest of the clip after he screamed. But yes, a nail biter.

 

[Torpedo]

I'd like to mention two stirring scenes, where singing is involved - no musicals, incidentally, but war films!

The last assault in Zulu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csr0dxalpI

The bunker scene in The Battle of Bulge (after the general expresses his lack of trust in the novice troops):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi3Rh4TDDlo

The last charge scene in Glory is great in stirring sequences, too. Possibly my favourite is at 1:50 in the video, when a regiment that had previously mocked the 54th, now cheers them on their way to battle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi3Rh4TDDlo

 

[avedwards]

I like a lot of the scenes mentioned here (especially the one from To Kill a Mockingbird and Casablanca when the orchestra plays).

However I have two favourite scenes in films because of the suspense. Both little known Golden Era B-movies with actors who were more famous than the films were.

Firstly, in the Sherlock Holmes film "The Scarlet Claw" at the end when Rathbone's Holmes finally outsmarts the villain by using his own tactic of disguise against him. It's clever because with a voice over of the actor who plays the character Holmes is disguised as, the audience are led to believe that it is not actually Holmes and that the killer will succeed.

The second, is in the 1951 Bogart film "The Enforcer". At the end when Bogart goes to collect the witness for the trial (who is hiding in a phone booth on his orders), knowing full well that two professional killers are also after her. I like the suspense created by the fact that he acknowleges the risk he is taking of leading the killers to her, he actually carries a gun (despite only being a DA) and of course that we know he is being followed.


On second thoughts, I'll also add the final scene of "The Day of the Jackal" due to the suspense that has.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

The sound went away for the rest of the clip after he screamed. But yes, a nail biter.

I know best I could get. After the first scream my imagination completed the audio sequence of the scene. I guess that clip was not safe. lol lol

 

[Gene]

Among many of my favorite scenes from "Apocalypse Now," the bombing of the village...

"Some day this war's going to end."

"Blue Velvet," Dean Stockwell singing "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison.

The opening of "Quadrophenia."

The "chicken" scene in "Rebel Without a Cause."

"Why do we do this?"
"Because you gotta do something."


Gene

 

[NicknNora]

I like a lot of the scenes mentioned here (especially the one from To Kill a Mockingbird and Casablanca when the orchestra plays).

However I have two favourite scenes in films because of the suspense. Both little known Golden Era B-movies with actors who were more famous than the films were.

Firstly, in the Sherlock Holmes film "The Scarlet Claw" at the end when Rathbone's Holmes finally outsmarts the villain by using his own tactic of disguise against him. It's clever because with a voice over of the actor who plays the character Holmes is disguised as, the audience are led to believe that it is not actually Holmes and that the killer will succeed.

The second, is in the 1951 Bogart film "The Enforcer". At the end when Bogart goes to collect the witness for the trial (who is hiding in a phone booth on his orders), knowing full well that two professional killers are also after her. I like the suspense created by the fact that he acknowleges the risk he is taking of leading the killers to her, he actually carries a gun (despite only being a DA) and of course that we know he is being followed.


On second thoughts, I'll also add the final scene of "The Day of the Jackal" due to the suspense that has.

Those two are good too! I love the Basil Rathbone, Sherlock Holmes movies. I wish they had made more of them.