Reply
Sun 9 Feb, 2003 04:05 pm
Over the years, I have seen many films. Some brilliant. Some average. Some forgettable. Some that I'm still trying to forget.
While it's hard to remember everything in every film, every line, event, plot twist, character or scene, some things will always remain in the dark corners of my mind. The witty one liners that I will quote. The great soundtracks that I will hum. Or the great scenes that will be stored and rerun over and over in my mental projection room.....or on my DVD!!
Even average, or sometimes awful films can have a few great scenes. It doesn't have to be an Oscar winning classic movie, to contain a minute or two of excellance. A scene that will provoke an emotional response, not just when you see it for the first time, but everytime you discuss or visualize it.
For example....
Goodfellas - The scene in which Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and their mafia friends are at a table in a resturant. Pesci tells them a story. The group laugh at the story. Ray Liotta calls him a 'funny guy', which provokes a hostile reaction from Pesci, in one of the most menacing scenes that I can remember in a film. Every time I watch it, I'm hypnotised.
The Third Man - Orsen Welles (Harry Lime) standing in a dark doorway. Joseph Cotten calling out 'Come out come out, whoever you are'. A light goes on in nearby building, illuminating the face of a supposedly dead, Harry Lime. Our first glimpse of one of cinema's most charismatic rogues. An iconic image, in a film full of great scenes, and visual treats.
I could go on and on. But I won't.
There are thousands of films, and thousands of classic or memorable scenes. Perhaps the scene, is reason enough to sit through the entire film. Whatever the reason, how about sharing some recommendations for films with scenes that need to be seen.
Remember, the scene can be from a classic movie, or from a complete turkey. It doesn't matter. We're just interested in great scenes. It doesn't have to be from a great movie.
Stinger,ALL of Goodfellas is hypnotic.But that IS a great scene.
I´m very fond of the montage sequence at the beginning of
"Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls" where the girl band and their manager talk about moving to L.A. to visit Aunt Susan.Meyer sure could splice ´em together.
John Malkovic being catapulted into his own unconscious!
High Noon - I remember quite a few scenes (saw this film more than just a couple of times).
Remembering just now this scene:
"Noon train on time?
Station master: Yes, sir."
Donald Sutherland And Elliott Gould as Hawkeye and Trapper in MASH.
They have just returned to the MASH unit, after performing an operation in Japan. Both alight from a helicopter. They are dressed in brightly coloured golfing clothes, rather than army green. The 'pros from Dover', have returned to the Korean frontline. It's just visual, but makes me chuckle.
MASH - The Pros From Dover
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/8200/mpros.jpg
Peter O'Toole in 'Lawrence Of Arabia'. Geeeeezzzz. Where do I start!! Everything?!
Love your avatar Stinger - and your scene!
Dr Strangelove - Major Kong rides the bomb to it's target
http://wso.williams.edu/~mhacker/Strangelove/kongdrop.jpg
Thanks dlowan....and G'day my little Aussie bunnie.
(Pulls blood soaked covers off to reveal horse's head) "Ahhhhhhh Ahhhhhhh"
"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."
"Can you get me off the hook, Tom? For old times' sake?"
"Can't do it, Sally."
All great scenes, not just great lines. There are so many in Godfather and G2.
Hi Stinger: Great thread.
I'm inclined to get my scenes of more recent movies mixed up and usually revert to the Oldies. (And I like way too many of them to post here
). But a scene that really impressed me was in
Spartacus, on the large screen, when the slaves waited for the Roman Legion to attack. At first we see one line, and then two, and then the whole screen is filled to bursting with row upon row of Roman soldiers. And then a slow advance, one row at a time, toward the pathetic army of slaves. I believe all we heard were drum beats, although I'm not positive, but that's what I remember, and I still get chills thinking about it.
The brilliant "Odessa Steps Sequence" of Sergi Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin.
I must correct my spelling error, above. The director's first name is correctly spelled "Sergei."
Misspellings may actually be typing errors and should be corrected when a person's name is involved.
Stinger, You stole my thunder, the appearance of the long-waited for Harry Lime in "The Third Man." Nit-pcking, I don't think a light comes on. I think he staps into the light and we see what is like a face mask for a few seconds and then he gives an ever so slight smirk of a smile. (I just bought the DVD of the movie. It's great. It has comments by Peter Bogdanovich. He talks about the value of black and white vs. color film. He says that, outside of auteur movies, it may be the best film ever made.
Stinger - great scene: Harry Lime's cuckoo clock speech.
When Harry Met Sally: "I'll have what she has."
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon walking down the train platform in Some Like It Hot, not saying a word - the look on Curtis' face is priceless, and Lemmon's walk too. Then of course Marilyn walks by and gets some steam in the butt.
The scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when Sundance says he doen't want to jump because he can't swim, Butch looks at him and says are you crazy the fall is going to kill you.
Larry
The Godfather Trilogy is great....well, the first two anyway! One of the few occasions when a sequel was as good (Maybe better) than the first film. I saw the Godfather when I was a kid, and the horse's head in the bed, made an impression on me! Or the ice-pick into the hand, pinning the mobsters hand to the wooden bar, then he's strangled by a second mobster.
So many memorable (Some toe curlingly chilling) scenes in these two movies. It's hard to select.
Raggedyaggie
Spartacus. A great movie, directed by the Very great Stanley Kubrick. How about the famous scene towards the end, when the Romans ask for Spartacus to step forward from the group of slaves - in order to be crucified, and thereby spare the rest. Kirk Douglas steps forward, 'I'm Spartacus,' and then the others do likewise.
WilliamHenry
A famous scene from a famous film. Have you ever seen the film 'The Untouchables'? They 'borrowed' the idea of a pram rolling down the steps, during a shootout.
Billy Falcon
You're right, but it was just lazy writing on my part! I think the lady in an upstairs room was looking out to see who was making the noise(Joseph Cotton shouting), and the light was from her apartment. It's been a few months since I saw it, so I can't remember for sure about how he is finally illuminated. Good to hear that you have the DVD. I have it as well. A prized possession in my collection.
Welles wrote the cuckoo speech himself. Some people are too talented for their own good!
Larry
Some Like It Hot - another in my small but growing DVD collection. A classic. Some of the expressions on faces, especially Jack Lemmon, say more than words.
Curtis doing Carry Grant!
Joanne
Butch And Sundance!! Are you guys looking at my DVD collection!!!
What's going on!! A classic western in my opinion. Maybe not a typical western. Certainly one that had a modern feel to it. But it's still extremely enjoyable. A good feel to it. Redford and Newman were a very likeable team - and again in 'The Sting'.
How about the scene when Butch and Sundance first arrive at the 'Hole In The Wall Gang' hideout. The very large Harvey, with the very big knife challanges Butch to a fight, to see who will lead the gang. Butch, thinking fast in order to save his skin, brings up the subject of rules. Harvey is surprised. "Rules! There are no rules in a knife fight"
Since there are no rules...
BANG!! Harvey goes down....in agony. Clutching his groin.
Butch is still the gang's leader.
Stinger, One more scene from "TheThird Man".
The shot of Harry Lime's fingers reaching through t he grate. Actually, Orson Well had f inished the movie and left for another project. The fingers we see belong to the director Carol Reedl
Who would have thought the Mexican in the Treasure of Sierra Madre"
would achieve such imitative recognitIon.
I'm talking about his line after he says he is a Federale, a lawman. I think Bogart's character asks him to show his badge and he replies "Badges? We don"t need no stinkin' badges."
Premier just published a special issue with their selections of the 100 Greatest Movie Moments. It has virtually all the scenes I still have indelibly stamped in my memory.
1. The freeze frame of after zooming in on Antoine's face as he faces the future on his own in Truffaut's "The 400 Blows."
2. The final blackout scene of "Some Like It Hot" with a very famous line uttered by Joe E. Brown (or Marilyn slinking down past the train when a gust of steam shoots out).
3. The Rosebud scene in "Citizen Kane."
4. Margo on the stairs in "All About Eve"
5. The two astronauts in the pod while Hal the computer is lip reading their plans to disconnect him in "2001" (so many in that film and the most famous is the primate tossing the bone into the air where it becomes a space ship).
6. The alien baby pops out of John Hurt's stomach in "Alien" (and I thought Ridley couldn't top the creature penetrating the helmet and attaching itself to his face!)
7. John Wayne, alone in sillouette through a doorway in "The Searchers" (one of John Ford's most striking images).
8. The quiet room, looking out at a star filled night sky in "The Night of the Shooting Stars."
9. The group shot on the island after the dissapearance in "L'Aventura" (and the black train pulling through the stark white buildings of the empty town).
10. Jack Nicholson's confrontation with the waitress in "Five Easy Pieces."
11. The mirror scene at the climas of "The Lady from Shanghai"
12. The moon standing alone in the sky through palm trees and the tinkling of wind chimes in "The Letter."
13. The "match" scene in "Lawrence of Arabia"
14. Mrs. Robinsons seducing Benjamin in: "The Graduate"
15. Madeleine reborn emerges from a green mist in "Vertigo" (and, of course, the murder scene at the top of the mission tower).
So many.
Ah -- Ivan's profile in the window of the stone castle with the view out the window and the approaching procession of Russian people.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
