36 Comments:

An obvious one: Harry Lime's entrance in The Third Man.

And Jambo's top two are probably mine as well.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 7:38 AM  

I have two Chris Walken-related scenes.

1. Pulp Fiction--Everybody remembers his scene with the young Bruce Willis Character.

2. Annie Hall--His spooky monologue in the bedroom, when he's talking to Woody. "Sometimes at night when I'm driving." Then he talks about pulling out into oncoming traffic. Memorable scene, even though I don't remember the dialogue verbatim.

I may come up with some non-Chris Walken scenes later

By  Anonymous, at 8:06 AM  

Just thought of another:

Rushmore--the revenge montage set to the Who's, "A Quick One While He's Away." Recall the bees, the cut brakes, Blume running over Max's bike? That is a funny scene, or string of scenes, for that matter.

By  Anonymous, at 8:12 AM  

I have 2 (and more to come, probably):
The funniest scene I have ever seen is in "Young Frankenstein" when the monster goes into the blind hermit's (played by Gene Hackman) cabin. "Umm, fire gooood."
The second, and this is a very brief brief shot. In "Goodfellas" Tommy DeVito played by Joe Pesci has learned that he will become "made." He drives up to the house with 2 others, and they walk into a basement room where the ceremony is supposed to take place. But, the room is empty. The next shot is focused on his face, and you see the recognition in his expression that he has been set up and BANG, he's shot.

By  Anonymous, at 9:43 AM  

A bunch of good suggestions already, cool. One mental image I'm trying hard to get my mind around--Dirge watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. A great film but not one I would ever expect to see on his shelf.

That Rushmore scene is a great one that I had not thought of. I don't know why I get such a laugh out of Bill Murray running over Max's bike. I also like the slow motion bit (classic Wes Anderson) as Max walks out of the elevator and sticks his gum to the wall.

Sorry to step on your picks Joseph. I guessed from your past movie comments that might be the case tho.

Why do I suspect that we will see a few more gangster movie scenes before the day is out?

By  Jambo, at 10:12 AM  

Goodfellas is just full of great scenes. The one already mentioned (Pesci thinking he was made); the long uncut walk through the kitchen at the night club; Liotta's cocaine-fueled paranoid drive, watching for police helicopters; and of course "What is so funny about me?". I could go on.

Best gangster movie ever.

But the second night in a row I saw it back in 1990, I started wondering why. Every character is just awful. Violent, greedy, remorseless. I searched for the good guy, and all I could come up with was Jerry Vale.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 10:46 AM  

The last scene in City Lights, when the flower girl recognizes the tramp by the touch of his hands.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 11:16 AM  

A couple more:

Shawshank Redemption--Maybe too obvious. The scene where the warden discovers Andy's escape route, and the following scene showing his actual escape.

Truman Show--The scene where J Carrey is sitting in his car, parked in his driveway, and sees the same girl on the bike riding by--he realizes that there is some sort of cartoon-esque loop of extras going on around him.

By  Anonymous, at 11:32 AM  

The cemetary scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

...and it was Eli Wallach.

By  Joey de Vivre, at 10:46 PM  

This is my very first posting to a blog, but the conversation was so good, I had to join in.

The Graduate - "Mrs. Robinson you're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"

In the Heat of the Night - The scene in Rod Stieger's living room where he tells Potier not to pitty him. "Oh no don't you pity me boy, don't you ever do that." And the scene in the rich white guys green house greenhouse when Potier hits him and Stieger doesn't know what to do.

Sophie's Choice - when she chooses (I sure wish I had never seen that scene, it just stays with me).

Apocolypse Now - Kilgore on the beach.

Gone with the Wind - The scene at the railway yard in Atlanta where the camera keeps pulling further and further back and the dying and injured fill the screen.

Body Heat - When Kathleen Turner gives William Hurt the hat and then rolls up the window so that at it goes up it obscures hers and becomes a mirror for him.

Thomas Crown Affair (recent release) - their 1st sex scene.

And b/c Christopher walken has come up - True Romance the scene between he and Dennis Hopper where the discuss the nature of the Sicillians.

I could go on, but will stop now.

By  Anonymous, at 3:02 PM  

More good ones I had not thought of. How much of a geek am I that two of the scenes in the last post also made me think of the Simpsons? "Mrs. Crabapple, you're trying to seduce me" and the time the Simpsons buy a trampoline and the camera pulls back to slowly reveal the yard littered with injured kids. Maybe that is the very definition of a classic scene--one that has been used by the Simpsons. Another great example being Maggie with the hammer/Psycho shower scene.

I'm surprised that no has yet mentioned one of the scenes I was originally thinking of with Warren Beatty--the death of Bonnie and Clyde. A great scene that must have been even more shocking to an audience less jaded than modern viewers.

By  Jambo, at 3:50 PM  

Time to get all maudlin on you...

The run-on-the-bank scene in It's a Wonderful Life where George and Mary give up their honeymoon money to the depositors of the Building and Loan. The first guy in line insisted on all of his money; the next two wanted $20 each. The next woman in line asked for $17.50, and George planted a kiss on her.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 4:20 PM  

I LOOOOOVE the classic "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn..." scene in Gone With the Wind. I also love from that "As God is my witness I'll never go hungry again..." delivered by Scarlett.

There's got to be room for Casablanca's "Play it, Sam" scene.

Surely something from the Wizard of Oz...mine would be the tearful good-byes at the end...gets me every time!

"If you build it they will come..." and the ghost baseball players from Field of Dreams

Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle (aka Robert D.)..."You talkin' to me?"

Jaws: the naked swimmer on top of the water at night.

Come on...I was damaged for life after Psycho's shower scene!

Godfather...the horse head (too obvious?)

A Christmas Story when he finally shot his eye out

On the Waterfront's "I coulda been a contender..." scene

I'd be remiss as a dancer if I didnt' include ANY dance scene in West Side Story or the singing in the rain scene in, you guessed it, Singing in the Rain.

By  Anonymous, at 6:06 PM  

The YEE-HAW! montage in Red River.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 11:01 PM  

The "God is Trying to Tell You Something" song from The Color Purple.

The "all I need is..." scene from The Jerk.

The up close, bright lights werewolf transformation from An American Werewolf in London.

When Jon Favreau whirls Heather Graham around the dance floor in Swingers.

The Kevin Spacey reveal at the end of The Usual Suspects.

By  Anonymous, at 3:45 PM  

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By  Joey de Vivre, at 10:08 PM  

The Kevin Spacey reveal at the end of The Usual Suspects.

Oh, thanks a lot! [Scratches movie off of Netflix list...]

By  Joey de Vivre, at 6:34 AM  

Joey, The Usual Suspects is 10 years old! And still worth watching, no matter what.

By  Anonymous, at 8:59 AM  

Just kidding. I saw (and loved) The Usual Suspects when it first came out, and I don't even use Netflix.

Anyway, some more:

The beginning of Star Wars, when that enormous destroyer comes onto the screen. It was breathtaking in 1977, and it's still pretty cool.

The twist at the end of Sixth Sense.

The baby carriage scene in Potemkin.

Alec Guiness's revelation at the end of The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Nearly any random scene in Do the Right Thing. How about the stream of racial epithets. Sad, yet funny.

Nearly any random scene in Pulp Fiction. I'll pick one: the Travolta and Jackson conversation about Quarter Pounders with Cheese and foot massages.

Opening sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

By  Joey de Vivre, at 9:52 AM  

No animation yet? How about Pink Elephants On Parade from Dumbo?

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 9:49 PM  

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: the tank scene
Star Wars A New Hope: cantina scene
ROTK: Coronation scene ("my friends, you bow to no one")
ROTK: Battle of Pellanor Fields/death of Théoden ("I know your face" breaks my heart every time)
FOTR: The Black Rider and the Hobbits under the tree
FOTR: Fight in the Mines of Moria ("They have a cave troll)
FOTR: Aragorn vs. Lurtz/Death of Boromir
TT: The battle against the Wargs (the Elf mounting a running horse)
TT: Treebeard meets Merry & Pippin
The Godfather: the baptism/wiping out the heads of the five families
The Godfather: the Movie Producer wakes up with someone in his bed
Amadeus: Mozart meets the Emperor
Caddyshack: The caddies in the pool/Baby Ruth bar
Beetlejuice: The Day-O scene (I once read that Beetlejuice tapes were regularly replaced at video stores because customers always wore out the tapes replaying that scene again and again)
Dirty Harry: Opening robbery (Did I fire five shots or six)
Saving Private Ryan: D-Day
Reservoir Dogs: The diner scene
Pirates of the Caribbean: Captain Jack Sparrow's entrance
Pulp Fiction: Your father wanted me to give you this watch
Shawshank Redemption: the final scene as Red escapes to Mexico and reunites with Andy
When Harry Met Sally: Sally demonstrates how to fake an orgasm

By  Anonymous, at 11:28 AM  

The closing scene (or next to closing scene) in both "No Way Out" and "Presumed Innocent" - you can't beat either for the twist.

"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zisson" - both scenes where Bill Murray runs down the crew's albino dolphins. On the floor laughing.

By  Anonymous, at 6:46 PM  

Stripe: Basic Training Graduation
Young Frankenstein: Charades (sedagive!)
Blazing Saddles: Lily von Schtup's stage performance, and then her seduction of the sherrif

And another favorite Walken scene
True Romance: the confrontation between Walken and Dennis Hopper.

By  Anonymous, at 10:36 AM  

Alien: The breakfast scene
Dr. Strangelove: No fighting in the war room
Fight Club: Tyler explains the rules of Fight Club
Taxi Driver: You talkin' to me Monty Python's Meaning of Life: One thin mint
The Life of Brian: Biggus Dickus Blade Runner: Roy Batty's death scene

By  Anonymous, at 10:48 AM  

Why even have a contest? The clear answer is the pool scene from Boogie Nights. John C. Reilly shines like the star he is.

By  Hammer, at 11:19 AM  

We're getting towards the end of the nomination period so I will post my remaining picks tho there is still time time to make a few more suggestions if any one wants to.

Wizard of Oz when the house falls on Katherine Kersten
Death of Boromir in LotR
Someone else mentioned it but the opening scene over the planet in Star Wars can still make me fell like I'm a 12 year old geek
The last scene of Warren Beatty in the snow and Julie Christie in the opium haze in McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Splashing in Tivoli fountain in La Dolce Vita (Sofia Coppola has Bill Murray and Scarlott Johansson watching this scene in Lost in Translation)
I know I included it in my prop list too, but the ape throwing the bone in 2001 is classic
The swinging door in Hitchcock's Rope
The nose cut in Chinatown, ouch!
Sunset Strip, "I'm ready for my close-up now"
Blue Velvet, Frank Booth, "Baby wants to fuck!"
Russian roulette in The Deerhunter
Slim Pickens rides the bomb in Dr Strangelove and his slow death in Pat Garret and Billy the Kid
Hard Day's Night "Can't Buy Me Love"
Network "I'm mad as hell"
Midnight Cowboy, the final bus trip
"But this goes to 11"

A few others that I am quite fond of but would hesitate to claim as "best ever":

Almost Famous, Tiny Dancer song and "What kind of beer?" Kate Hudson got her supporting actress nomination mostly for that scene I bet.
Lost in Translation, lip syncing to Roxy Music and later the foot touch
Out of Africa, flying over the flamingos
Two scenes in Boogie Nights just because they are cool film making and done with multiple characters in one long continuous take: the opening where we meet almost every major character in the movie and the later scene that shifts to all kinds of different people before the camera follows the woman underwater to the tune of Spill the Wine. Go back and watch those two again if you have forgotten them.
Bank robbery in Raising Arizona, "Well, what's it gonna be young fella?"
there should be at least one scene from Roshomon but people always seem to have different recollections of what that scene is

By  Jambo, at 11:39 AM  

How about the "whisper" at the end of Lost in Translation? Simple, emotional, effective.

Best In Show: Eugene Levy's walk around the floor with his dog--two left feet.

By  Anonymous, at 11:47 AM  

Some of my favorites have been offered up already - shower scene in psycho, star wars, jaws. I would add a few more:

The Godfather- the baptism scene (do you renounce satan... bang)
North by Northwest- the chase over the faces of Mt. Rushmore. Maybe not as gripping as the shower scene in psycho but pretty damn good. Also from N by NW when Cary Grant gets chased by the crop duster. So many good Hithcock movies and scenes Vertigo, the Birds, Rear Window, Notorious (Grace Kelly!!)
King Kong- Kong standing on top of the Empire State building
Animal House- Bluto in the lunch line at Faber College ending with I'm a zit.
The Exorcist- Reagan's head does a 360.

By  Anonymous, at 12:09 PM  

double secret probation... lunch at chez paul with Jake and Elwood-"wrong glass, sir"... guess what I am now- a zit. Get it?
or how about dueling someone left handed- just to be fair?

By  Anonymous, at 9:09 PM  

The owl scene in Song of the Prairie Wind, where it says "I can't believe I ate the whooooole thing!"

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 12:07 AM  

Animal House: Larry's date passes out, the devil and an angel appear
Animal House: the horse in Dean Wormer's office
Princess Bride: the poison exchange/"inconceivable"
Princess Bride: "Hello, my name is Iago Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die"

By  Anonymous, at 7:51 AM  

Empire Strikes Back--right before Han is lowered into the carbonite chamber:

Leia: "I love you"

Han: "I know"

By  Anonymous, at 8:00 AM  

My wife, Carjo, has suggested these:

Resurrection: Ellen Burstyn cures the little cancer patient when he meets her in the desert. And on a similar note...
The Green Mile: Michael Clarke Duncan's healing on Tom Hanks and Patricia Clarkson
Shawshank Redemption: Andy puts on the Marriage of Figaro and locks the door.
Pitch Black: The "it looks clear" scene.

By  Anonymous, at 8:07 AM  

1- The opening shot of "A Touch of Evil". The single greatest opening shot in the history of cinema. The coordination is incredible.

2- The Ferris Wheel scene in "The Third Man"...to include Orson Welles' "cukoo clock" speech at the end.

I see Joseph has already added the Harry Lime entrance....that is pretty good too.

If you are feeling depressed, the ghetto scene from Schindler's List is amazing. The one with the pink dress. Spielberg has a couple of very underrated continuous shots in Minority Report. The scene in the apartment complex is worth the price of admission.

cp

By  Anonymous, at 8:20 AM  

Final scene in Planet of the Apes

One more from It's a Wonderful Life: the Building & Loan board of directors outvotes Mr. Potter and keeps the business going, on the condition that George stays on. You can see Jimmy Stewart's resignation to his fate in that wordless closeup at the end of the scene.

Jambo: I assume you meant Sunset Boulevard. I looked it up in IMDB -- I had forgotten Billy Wilder directed that one. Man, that guy put out some great movies.

By  Joseph Thvedt, at 8:50 AM  

I'm a sucker for making fun of speech impediments- who isn't? So I love the scene in Life of Brian where they release one person from the crucifixion- especially thampthon the thuithide thtrangler.
Brilliant- at least for the Brittish.

By  Anonymous, at 9:03 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home