You're Making a Collection of Your Favorite Movie Scenes-List Five You Would Include

[minlokwat]

I had (and I imagine still have somewhere) a VCR tape that I had made which included favorite movie scenes from a variety of films.

We don't use the VCR any more and I need to get around to making a similar copy on DVD.

The scenes I chose are what I considered fun to watch and I won't list them in any particular order (they're not necessarily my top five) and I'm going with five just for brevity's sake.

1. The wake-up scene from Rocky and then the triumphant work-out montage a bit later. First the one where he gets up at the butt crack of dawn, chgs five raw eggs and can barely finish his run. That followed by the pumped up workout and ascent up the steps of the Philly Museum of Art with Gonna Fly Now playing in the background.

2. Kevin Kline from In and Out where he is listening to a cassette of how to be a manly man. He resists breaking out into dance for as long as he can but then erupts into a glorious sequence anyway.

3. A splice of the light saber duel between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn / Obi-Wan from The Phantom Menace. Though everything else about the film may have stunk (not my opinion though) this one still remains the best fight of the entire anthology.

4. The poker scene from The Sting where Newman turns the table on Robert Shaw's character.

5. From An Officer and a Gentleman, the line-up scene where Foley, the D.I. lets the new recruits have it in a little get-to-know-you session. This followed immediately (I know this is more than five) with the same scene from Full Metal Jacket which provides a nice contrast with both drill instructors using identical lines in certain instances.

Anyone else?

[CalMeacham]

1.) Sir Thomas More's Trial (especially his closing speech) in a Man for All Seasons (the 1967 Paul Scofield film, of course). Lots of great scenes in that movie, but that's the best.

2.) The Krel Laboratory in Forbidden Planet, when we first see it. The "Sense of Wonder" scene in a science fiction movie.

3.) The flight sequences in 2001: A Space Odyssey

4.) The singing of "le Marseilles" in Casablanca

5.) When the plane lifts off at the end of the Flight of the Phoenix (the otiginal Jimmy Stewart/Richard Attenborough version, of course)

[Zeldar]

The Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper scene in True Romance

Rutger Hauer's death scene in Blade Runner

Brando clearing the table in A Streetcar Named Desire

The shower sequence in Psycho

Although it's an obscure movie, I'd have to include the ending scene in Wanted: Dead or Alive where Rutger Hauer (again!) pulls the pin on the grenade he had stuffed in Gene Simmons's mouth and says "Fuck the bonus." This is so fine on so many levels!

[AuntiePam]

4.) The singing of "le Marseilles" in Casablanca


Oh yes. I don't know how to do numbered lists. For some reason, my favorite scenes are tear-jerkers.

Roy Batty's final scene in Blade Runner

The courtroom scene in To Kill A Mockingbird, especially the end, when Atticus is leaving the room

John Wayne's arrival at the ranch house at the beginning of The Searchers -- they're all together, everything's fine, but everything's about to change

Charles Bronson in The Magnificent Seven, when he tells the kids that their fathers are the real heroes

[Dante]

As a horror/thriller fan, I'm going to go with, in no particular order:

1. The resuscitation scene in The Thing.

2. The night vision scene in Silence of the Lambs.

3. Sloth, in Se7en.

4. The night-vision-through-the-camera scene in The Descent.

5. The final shot of The Blair Witch Project.

[TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]

1. The dance scene in Band of Outsiders.
2. The very end of Even Dwarfs Started Small with the laughing.
3. The "universe" scene in Werckmeister Harmonies.
4. "The Order" portion of Cremaster 3.
5. The milk scene in Visitor Q.


[film snob]Sorry none of these were "the rain scene in The Shawshank Redemption" :p [/film snob]

[control-z]

The mental institution escape in Terminator 2.
The Hoth battle in The Empire Strikes Back.
The killer rabbit scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
And, it has to be said, the D-Day beach invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

[Zeldar]

And, it has to be said, the D-Day beach invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

Agree 100%, and it should replace the Psycho scene on my list. If ever there was an anti-war statement reduced to non-verbal terms, this is about as close as it gets for me. There are uglier scenes, more brutal scenes, more senseless scenes, in other movies (such as Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, and even some of those movies made during WWII) but Spielberg deserves some special commendation for the genius in this sequence.

[Push You Down]

1. The escape from the Pit of Carkoon scene in Return of the Jedi.

2. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room!" from Dr. Strangelove.

3. The Danny Boy scene in Miller's Crossing.

4. "Shine on, shine on harvest moon" song and dance number from Laurel and Hardy's The Flying Deuces.

5. The three way duel from "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly"

[JohnT]

My wife and I had a "movie scene" party where everybody brought a DVD/tape of a favored movie scene (limited to 10 minutes) with a short explanation as to why they chose it.

It was a huge hit, everybody loved it.

My selection (since I had 10 minutes I squeezed several scenes in) was the sequence in Moulin Rouge! from the point where Christian becomes involved in Spectacular Spectacular, through the absinthe trip, ending with the Teen Spirit/Lady Marmalade medley.

Other inclusions would be the Belle sequence from Beauty and the Beast, the very final shot in Titanic where Rose returns to the staircase, the final scene in Chinatown... and I'll think about my last one for a minute. ;)

[Autumn Almanac]

The Searchers: Martha lovingly handles Ethan's coat as the Rev. Clayton looks on

Akira: Capsules vs. Clowns motorcycle duel

Kiki's Delivery Service: Kiki rescures Tombo from the falling blimp

Jurassic Park: Grant sees the dinosaurs for the first time

Citizen Kane: Uh, basically any scene

ETA: If I can cheat and add another: The opening sequence in Serenity, from the initial shot of transport ships leaving Earth, to the Operative stopping the hologram playback

[Xema]

All I got is the chariot race in Ben Hur - best action sequence on film (and done without special effects, which hadn't really been invented yet).

[Gangster Octopus]

In no particular order

1) Jon Voigt giving Eric Roberts a lesson in life and existentialism in Runaway Train

2) "Ride of the Valkyries" Cavalry Raid in Apocalypse Now

3) The Sedagive/Abby Normal scene from Young Frankenstein

4) Tom Cruise questioning Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men

5) "I coulda been a contenda..." scene from On the Waterfront

[silenus]

Phoebe Cates and the red bikini scene from Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

The Wild Bunch deciding enough was enough - The Wild Bunch

The cliff scene from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

The cliff scene from The Princess Bride

"Yeehaw!" Han saves Luke's ass in Star Wars.

[Zeldar]

The Wild Bunch deciding enough was enough - The Wild Bunch

The cliff scene from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

"Yeehaw!" Han saves Luke's ass in Star Wars.

Good ones! The last one reminds me that not far from the top of the list should be Slim Pickens riding the bomb (what a phallic symbol!) in Dr. Strangelove.

[RealityChuck]

Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain.

"You're taking the fall" just before the police arrive for the Falcon.

The crop duster dusting where there ain't no crops.

"Saint Crispin's Day!" with Branagh

"Why a duck?"

[Annie-Xmas]

The television scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

The scene where Dianne Keaton meets Warren Beatty at the train station in "Reds".

The singing scene in "Casablanca."

The porch scene between Atticus Finch and Sheriff Heck Tate in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

The final scene in "Rosemary's Baby" (He has His Father's eyes)

[D_Odds]

The dinner feast from Big Night.
From A Fish Called Wanda, where Wanda chastises Otto for his stupidity ("Apes don't read philosophy." "Yes they do, they just don't understand it.")
The car chase in The Blues Brothers
"Your gonna need a bigger boat" - Jaws
Michael Corleone kills McCluskey and Sollozzo in The Godfather

[tdn]

The dinner feast from Big Night.
Nope. The omelette scene at the end. Just absolutely brilliant.

Almost any scene from My Cousin Vinny, but let's go with the one where Vinny tries to collect the debt from JT.

Ocean's 11, when the whole crew (minus Danny) sits outside the casino while we hear the strains of Claire de la Lune.

The Red Violin, when we find out...

Love, Actually. Wisconsin. 'Nuff said. Either that, or the scene in the department store.

[robby]

My top five:


The launch sequence in Apollo 13.
The "ship destruct" sequence in Alien.
The opening scene of Full Metal Jacket.
Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in The Right Stuff.
The F-14 Tomcats vs. Japanese Zeros scene in The Final Countdown.

[D_Odds]

Nope. The omelette scene at the end. Just absolutely brilliant.
It is. I was debating those two scenes and the opening, with the couple who wants risotto with a side of spaghetti (and let's not even discuss the waste of cheese). In the end, I chose the dinner party, because there was so much happiness in the group, and I loved the food.

[Zakalwe]

The "you must atone" speech from Network.

The launch sequence from Apollo 13. (on review - also mentioned above)

The final shootout from The Shootist.

The gundown in the street from Road to Perdition.

The card game from The Sting (mentioned above).

[teela brown]

Nora Desmond's descent down the staircase at the end of Sunset Boulevard

The saloon scene in Unforgiven, when William Munny massacres all the deputies and the sheriff. I especially love the shot when his menacing rifle barrel slowly rises into view over the montage of celebrating guys in the bar. It makes me gasp every time.

"Daphne" describing his evening out with Cosmo, and his engagement, in between bars of tango music, in Some Like It Hot.

The scene in the farmhouse when the Martians explore it with an extended robotic "eye" in War of the Worlds (1950s version). It scared the holy bejesus out of me when I was a kid and it's still chilling today.

In Godfather II, the young Don Corleone stalking the small-time boss during the festa, by following him along the rooftops, the boss's assassination, and then Don Corleone returning serenely to the bosom of his family.

[cruel butterfly]

The transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London

Sally Field's scene in the cemetery in Steel Magnolias

The "first contact" scene in Starman

The Abby McDeere/Avery Tolar rendezvous-in-the-Caymans scene in The Firm

The kitchen attack scene in A Perfect Murder

[tdn]

It is. I was debating those two scenes and the opening, with the couple who wants risotto with a side of spaghetti
I was thinking of that scene too! It's one of those movies where there's not a bum scene in the lot.

A few more deserve mention:

Rounders, at the end when he decides to head to Vegas to play Jonny Chan(?).

Shakespeare in Love, about a 20 minute sequence of scenes starting when Viola first gets naked. It's just so dreamlike and ethereal.

Dazed and Confused, just about every scene when Mitch does something cool, then seruptitiously checks the reactions of the older boys to make sure that it was, in fact, cool.

Duets, the whole first scene.

[tdn]

The Abby McDeere/Avery Tolar rendezvous-in-the-Caymans scene in The Firm
I would have said the scene where Mitch tells the mobsters about their right to confidentiality.

[Caprese]

Soldier of Orange the nightclub tango scene with Rutger Hauer, in black tie, and the German soldier, in uniform


Local Hero Finale: Mac leaves Scotland to return to his dreary apartment in Texas, Mark Knopfler's "Goin' Home" soaring in the background


Dazed and Confused tossup between the opening parking lot scene (with Sweet Emotion playing) or Adam Goldberg's fight at the kegger


Witness When Lukas Haas communicates, with his eyes, the identity of the murderer to Harrison Ford

Dumbo When he visits his mom in solitary :(

[longhair75]

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday walking into the clearing and telling Johnny Ringo "I'm your huckleberry."

Tony's death in West Side Story

Forrest Gump asking Jenny: "Is he......smart?"

[gigi]

Mel Gibson's run through the end of Gallipoli.

Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin over the end credits of The Big Easy.

OJ Simpson's pratfalls through the ship in Naked Gun.

[Scupper]

The "Superman" scene from The Iron Giant

The "Behind this mask is an idea, and ideas are bullet-proof." scene from V for Vendetta

The escape from the apartment building (ending with "This is from Mathilda") from Leon (aka The Professional)

The "I am a leaf on the wind," scene from Serenity.

Vermithrax rising from the lake of fire behind Galen in Dragonslayer.

[Ronald C. Semone]

Spoilers, of course

#3 The next to last scene in Sometimes A Great Notion when Paul Newman tries to save his brother from drowning.

#2 The scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's where Audrey Hepburn's boyfriend confronts the old man who has been stalking her and tells him "I don't care if you are her father, you aren't going to take her back to the farm" and the old man says "I'm not her father. I'm her husband."

#1 The scene in Shane where Alan Ladd has ridden onto a small ranch and is talking to the husband and wife who own it and their ten-year old kid comes up behind Shane with a broken rifle and accidently makes a rifle kind of noise. Shane draws his gun and whirls around to face whoever has snuck up on him. At that point the expressions on the four faces are priceless: Shane is embarrassed because he has drawn his gun on a little boy. The mother looks like she is about to wet her pants because a gunfighter has drawn a gun on her little boy. The father looks uncertain; he knows he should do something but can not figure out what. And the little boy is excited and proud because at age ten he has already come close to a gun fight.

[Hung Mung]

I've left out a couple that have already been mentioned. I'm glad someone brought up the last scene from The Blair Witch Project. I think it's one of the sickest, most nauseatingly intense and jaw-droppingly frightening things I've ever experienced.

Luke Skywalker dueling Darth Vader for the last time in Return of the Jedi. The shot selection, the music and the pacing were damn near perfect.

The final scene of The Godfather. "This one time I'll let you ask me about my business." God, that still gives me chills.

Basically anything from Last of the Mohicans, one of the most gorgeous movies I've ever seen.

From Gladiator, the sequence in which the gladiators fight the gilded chariots. The opening battle sequence is also outstanding. If the music from that bit doesn't raise your blood pressure, you're already dead.

The ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast.

[MaxTheVool]

1. (Seconding) The superman scene from The Iron Giant
2. From Titanic, Nearer My God To Thee
3. From Return of the Jedi, the final confrontation between Luke and the Emperor
4. From Wayne's World, from "I think we'll go with a little Bohemian Rhapsody, gentlemen", up through "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon"
5. (This may be the best of all) From Amadeus, Mozart dictating the individual parts of the requiem to Salieri

Honorable mentions (since how can I restrict myself to just 5?):
1. The chase through the door factory from Monsters Inc.
2. Climactic fight and death of Boromir from The Fellowship of the Ring
3. The left-handed sword fight from The Princess Bride
4. Sparky Palastri, from Bring It On
5. "God gave rock and roll to you", from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
6. Carrying the baby past all the soldiers, from Children of Men
7. The scene in the museum, from the Joker improving the paintings through "Where does he get those wonderful toys?", from Batman
8. Listening to opera, from The Shawshank Redemption
9. More opera, and ass kicking, from The Fifth Element
10. "Hi... I'm a nerd", from Revenge of the Nerds

And if we are talking about super-short scenes (ie, less than 30 seconds):
1. Indy vs. the master swordsman, from Raiders of the Lost Ark


(By the way, a "movie scenes" party is a brilliant idea.)

[Baker]

1.) Sir Thomas More's Trial (especially his closing speech) in a Man for All Seasons (the 1967 Paul Scofield film, of course). Lots of great scenes in that movie, but that's the best.

That is one of my favorite scenes as well, in a movie that's on my top 5 list of movies, any genre. When More finally gets to speak his mind, after being convicted. "It is because I would not bend to the marriage!"

The courtroom scene in To Kill A Mockingbird, especially the end, when Atticus is leaving the room

That's another one of my top five! "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing."

The look of resignation on Randy Quaid's face, in Independence Day, when he realizes he has to die.

"Do me a favor. Tell my children that I love them very much." I wonder sometimes if I could die for someone else.

Then there's the movie I like that's filled with favortie scenes, The African Queen. If I had to pick one I think I'd settle on the wedding/execution scene.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution."

Finally, the scene in E.T., when the kids show their mother the alien. She's terrified, and backs out of the room making them come with her. And poor E.T. is being abandoned, while dying a long way from home. That squawk he makes as he raises his arm(in appeal?) makes me tear up every time.

[tdn]

Mel Gibson's run through the end of Gallipoli.
A stupid, boring movie that I couldn't care less about. The final scene of which had my jaw on the floor. :eek:

Life is Beautiful, when Joshua won the tank.

The Verdict, when we find out who James Mason is giving the scotch to.

Jesus Christ Superstar 2000 -- Gethsemene. This guy could be on American Idol, and Simon might not even say he was terrible.

Amadeus when Salieri throws the crucifix on the fire and swears emnity towards God.

The sirens in O God Where Art Thou.

[DanBlather]

Casablanca: Scene at the plane
5 Easy Pieces: "Hold it between your knees"

[FordPrefect]

Unforgiven: Duck I says...
The Thirteenth Warrior: The "Lo, there do I see my father..." scene as hell is about to unleash.
Aliens: I say we waste this rat fuck (a lot of great lines in that scene)
Matrix: I know Kung Fu
Casablanca: Pretty much the whole movie.

[WorkInProgress]

I am gonna kick myself every five minutes for the other 150 scenes I couldn't think of.

Ghostbusters - In the Mayor's office with Peck.
MP and the Holy Grail - Holy Handgrenade/Rabbit
Matrix Reloaded - Freeway Scene
Pulp Fiction - Cafe Holdup
The Usual Suspects - The whole film

[JohnT]

My fifth scene will be the one my wife used at the party, in Amadeus where Mozart improves Salieri's march of welcome.

[tdn]

My fifth scene will be the one my wife used at the party, in Amadeus where Mozart improves Salieri's march of welcome.
Hijack...

Years ago I was the music director for an opera. We sometimes had real trouble getting rehearsal pianists. We got Mike when we could, because he was pretty good. Couldn't read for crap, but he could play by ear really well. Sometimes our lead tenor, Stuart, would play, though. He was good too.

We were always looking for more vocal warmups. Stuart had one called Piccolo Mini. It had a fairly complex piano accompaniment. Only Stuart could play it. He didn't have the patience to teach it to anyone else.

One day, Mike was playing. We decided to warm up with Piccolo Mini. As Stuart approached the piano, Mike said no, he though he could do it. Not only did he play it, but he added all sorts of frills and trills and embellishments.

Stuart whispered to me. "Oh man, I feel like crap. You ever see that movie Amadeus?"

[AuntiePam]

The television scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."


Oh yes, and the scene where Will Sampson tears the sink off the wall.

Anyone else making a list? I haven't seen a lot of the movies mentioned here.

[gigi]

A stupid, boring movie that I couldn't care less about. The final scene of which had my jaw on the floor. :eek:I show that movie to everyone I can, and I am stunned every time. I'm stunned thinking about it now.

Oh, and the scene of all the kisses in Cinema Paradiso.

[Annie-Xmas]

Jesus Christ Superstar 2000 -- Gethsemene. This guy could be on American Idol, and Simon might not even say he was terrible.



I'd go with the Simon Zealot scene in the video. That guy could sing.

The country bar scene in "Blues Brothers." Rolling, rolling, rolling.

[tdn]

I'd go with the Simon Zealot scene in the video. That guy could sing.
Agreed. In fact, that was an A cast all around. Judas had a kind of funny voice, but I liked it. Another great scene was the Superstar scene at the end. Bloody Jesus carrying the cross in a setting like a game show, with sexy angel backup singers. Weird, man, weird!

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

I've got lots. First that spring to mind:

"Zorba, teach me to dance" (just got chills again!) - Zorba the Greek

The 'Shall We Dance' scene with Yul Brenner in The King and I (yes, there is a theme here)

Pretty much all of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, but I love the song and scenery 'On This Lovely Day' - tied with the "We are so concerned with original sin, that we sometimes forget about original innocence" scene.

There are tons of films that have had impressive, poignant, meaningful scenes which I've also liked a lot, but my favourites are the ones that leave me feeling thrilled and joyful.

[Terminus Est]

1. Opening crawl/Chase and capture of the Tantive IV in Star Wars.

2. Master swordsman Kyuzo confronts a challenger in Seven Samurai.

3. A chestbusting Alien unexpectedly arrives during dinner.

4. Trinity is chased by agents in The Matrix.

Not a movie but a good scene nonetheless:

5. From the Earth to the Moon: The crew of Apollo 8 sees the first ever Earthrise (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/GPN-2001-000009.jpg) over the Moon.

[Kizarvexius]

Some of my favorites have already been mentioned:
- The chariot race in Ben-Hur. The best 15 minutes ever put on film, IMHO.
- Fuck the odds, let's kick some ass. Also known as "Upon St. Crispian's Day" from Henry V.
- "Superman" from The Iron Giant. Damn, what a scene.
- Mozart does in a stretch in The Shawshank Redemption. Beautiful.

Okay, here's my list of scenes that haven't been mentioned (at last refresh, anyway):
- The last five minutes of The Dark Crystal.
- The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm from The Fellowship of the Ring.
- The charge of the Rohirrem from The Return of the King.
- The aftermath of the final battle in Master and Commander.
- The long-awaited fight scene in The Quiet Man.
- A game of questions in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, as well as...okay, the whole damned movie.
- "Puh ah da Riiiiiitz" from Young Frankenstein.
- "And now, a word from our sponsor" in Flushed Away.
- "Gee, Officer Krupke" from West Side Story.
- Opening night from A Midwinter's Tale.
- "Dear Mr. Adams" from 1776.

I'd better quit while I'm ahead.

[lissener]

Lots of good ones already, so I'll cheat and repeat them instead of using them for my own:

5.) When the plane lifts off at the end of the Flight of the Phoenix (the otiginal Jimmy Stewart/Richard Attenborough version, of course)

John Wayne's arrival at the ranch house at the beginning of The Searchers -- they're all together, everything's fine, but everything's about to change

2. The very end of Even Dwarfs Started Small with the laughing.
. . . . .
5. The milk scene in Visitor Q.

4. "Shine on, shine on harvest moon" song and dance number from Laurel and Hardy's The Flying Deuces.

The Searchers: Martha lovingly handles Ethan's coat as the Rev. Clayton looks on

To which I'd add:

1. The church scene in Sullivan's Travels: all the way from the beginning, when the poor black congregation opens its doors to the prisoners, to Sullivan's revelation as he watches the most miserable wretches in the world finding a moment's escape in laughter.

2. Near the end of Ugetsu, when Genjurô comes home to what seems to be an empty house, turns slowly, and discovers his wife kneeling before a blazing fire.

3. When Charles Laughton, an Englishman, is the only person in the American saloon who knows the Gettysburg Address in Ruggles of Red Gap.

4. When Irene Dunne pretends to be Cary Grant's trashy sister in The Awful Truth. (Now THAT'S a hard movie to choose a favorite scene from.)

5. The final courtroom scene in Judge Priest, when Will Rogers signals to Stepin Fetchit to begin playing "Dixie," to accompany his final argument to the all-Confederate-veteran jury.


. . . and man, a million others . . .

[lissener]

. . . when Gene Tierney lets Darryl Hickman drown in Leave her to Heaven . . .

. . . the children floating down the river in Night of the Hunter, as the evil preacher's shadow follows them, singing, through the night . . .

[Ghanima]

1. In Moonstruck, when Nicholas Cage suddenly stands up, throws the kitchen table aside, then cooly and calmly smoothes down his hair before grabbing Cher and carrying her to the bedroom - and her reaction, of course.

2. In Cinema Paradiso, the scene where the protagonist is lying back, smoking a cigarette and cursing the summer because his girlfriend will not return until the fall, and suddenly the rain falls gently on his face, and she's there, and kisses him.

3. Also from Cinema Paradiso, the scene at the end when he watches the reel that the old man left for him and it is all the passionate kisses and moments of the films that he was forced to censor out - it brings tears to my eyes.

4. Aliens. "Get away from her, you BITCH!"

5. Gone With the Wind "As god is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" That scene kills me because it is where Scarlett falls - she has lost her innocence and resolves to do whatever it takes to survive and suffers for it ever after.

and to cheat:
6. 12 Monkeys - basically every scene in the insane asylum with Brad Pitt.

7. Delicatessen - the infamous scene where the entire apartment building is moving in time to the rhythm of a couple making love.

[Ghanima]

Spoilers, of course
#2 The scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's where Audrey Hepburn's boyfriend confronts the old man who has been stalking her and tells him "I don't care if you are her father, you aren't going to take her back to the farm" and the old man says "I'm not her father. I'm her husband."
I think you are mistaken. I'm 100% sure this scene does not exist.

[DfrntBreign]

To add some not mentioned

The "36 blowjobs" conversation in Clerks

The metal detector scene (among others) in Spinal Tap

Maybe it's just me, but the song Easy To Be Hard from Hair always sends chills up my spine.

I thought about the game of questions, too, but would have to go with a montage of the scenes in Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead where scientific epiphanies are denied.

There has to be a scene from Almost Famous, but I can't decide which one.

[Ghanima]

Oh, forgot one. In Last of the Mohicans, in the first battle, when Nathaniel spots Mogwa (sp?) aiming his rifle at one of the Munro girls, brings up his own gun in one smooth motion, never taking his eyes off his target. Mogwa sees this and immediately swings around, aims at Nathaniel and fires; Nathaniel drops to one knee to avoid the bullet and waits just a moment for the smoke to clear so he can get a good shot - and Mogwa has disappeared. Just great gunplay - two experienced fighters, both doing everything just right. You know that Mogwa is seriously dangerous after that scene.

[Stranger On A Train]

There have been some excellent ones listed, but here's my pick:


The opening sequence to Blade Runner, going from the darkened, polluted exterior of Los Angeles, A.D. 2019, through the Tyrell Building, and into the eye of Holden. (The killing of Zora and the dead of Roy Batty are also runner ups.)
The opening sequence to Raiders of the Lost Ark, which just edges out the shooting of the Cairo swordsman and the fight for the truck. ("Truck? What truck?")
The Mexican Standoff scene in Mapache's compound in The Wild Bunch, edging out blowing the bridge and the opening shootout in the town.
The "Lisa in Thorwald's Apartment" scene in Rear Window.
The final interrogation scene in Brazil.


Some also-rans
Welles' entry in The Third Man (just over the chase through the sewers, the ferris wheel, and the depressing final shot.)
The extended single shot opening sequence in Touch of Evil.
The post-bank heist shootout scene in Heat.
The final scene in Roman Holiday
Alec Baldwin's monologue in Glengarry Glen Ross
The fight between Bond and Oddjob in the vault at Ft. Knox in Goldfinger.
The "machete fight down the stairs" sequence in Casino Royale, along with the post-credit freerunning sequence.
The opening shot of the accounting floor in The Apartment.
The pentultimate chase scene in Some Like It Hot, culimating in escape via boat.
The Nice car interception in Ronin.
The Copacabana Club kitchen entrance, and the virtuoso "finding dead bodies all over New Jersey" sequence in Goodfellas, the latter set to the strains of Derek Allman's extended coda on Layla.
The bookending "I couda been a condender" speech in Raging Bull.
Dave Bowman's entry and his lobotomy of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Sermon on Temple Mount, "Romans go home" grammar lesson, and "You are all individuals" from Monty Python's The Life of Brian


Stranger

[Der Trihs]

Some of mine :

The Balrog scenes in FOTR. From it scaring off the goblins, it's pursuit of the Fellowship, and of course Gandalf at the bridge. "You cannot pass !"

The final gunfight in Unforgiven, where Clint kills everyone.

Smaug's boasting speech in The Hobbit; "I am strong, strong, STRONG ! My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”

The scene in Dark Crystal, where the girl gelfling catches the male, and he says "Wings ?! I don't have wings ?!", and she replies in perfect female-superior tones, "Of course not; you're a boy."

The "Get away from her you bitch !" scene in Aliens.

The "Welcome to Earth !" < punch > scene in Independence Day.

The scene in The War of the Worlds ( classic version ), when the Martians rise out of the pit and open fire.

Saruman's speech to the Uruk-Hai; "You do not know pain you do not know fear . . . you shall taste Man-flesh ! !"

From Ruthless People, the fake torture phone call with the sizzling tofu; "They made me say that !"

[Shodan]

Limiting myself to movies not yet mentioned (darn you, Stranger on a Train! I swear vengeance!)
The revelation scene in Tootsie
"When I think of the number of years she is going to have to live with the memory of this moment of savagery....I just go BERSERK!" from Billy Jack
The closing scene of Psycho
War, in Duck Soup
The entire cartoon Duck Amuck, for its perfect depiction of existentialism

Regards,
Shodan

[threnodyangelfire]

The swordfight between Wesley and Inigo in The Princess Bride
The scene where Will Ferrell's character brings Maggie's character "Flours" in Stranger than Fiction
The final scene of Army of Darkness where Ash kills the Zombie in the store.
Where the UrUu sing in The Dark Crystal
Kermit the frog singing "Rainbow Connection" in The Muppet Movie

[Ass For A Hat]

Like most of the later comers to the thread, many of mine have already been mentioned. A few that weren't:

The Sister Christian scene from Boogie Nights.
The last scene in Aguirre: The Wrath of God, with Kinski on the raft with the monkeys.
From Apocalypse Now, I'll take Duvall's last scene as he storms around the beach.
Because I'm a complete loser, I'll admit that I still love the final scene in It's A Wonderful Life.

There has to be a scene from Almost Famous, but I can't decide which one.How about the Tiny Dancer scene?

[zamboniracer]

Lots of great ones listed already.

1. True Grit when Rooster Cogburn goes one on four with Ned Pepper and his cronies on the canyon floor:

Ned Pepper: What's your intention? Do you think one on four is a dogfall?
Rooster Cogburn: I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which'll it be?
Ned Pepper: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.
Rooster Cogburn: Fill your hands, you son of a bitch.


2. The pitcher's mound conference from "Bull Durham":


Coach: Excuse me, but what the hell's going on out here?
Crash Davis: Well, Nuke's scared because his eyelids are jammed and his old man's here. We need a live... is it a live rooster?
[Jose nods]
Crash Davis: . We need a live rooster to take the curse off Jose's glove and nobody seems to know what to get Millie or Jimmy for their wedding present.
[to the players]
Crash Davis: Is that about right?
[the players nod]
Crash Davis: We're dealing with a lot of shit.
Coach: Okay, well, uh... candlesticks always make a nice gift, and uh, maybe you could find out where she's registered and maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern. Okay, let's get two! Go get 'em.

3. From Monty Python's the Life of Brian the graffiti scene:

Centurion: What's this, then? "Romanes eunt domus"? People called Romanes, they go, the house?
Brian: It says, "Romans go home. "
Centurion: No it doesn't ! What's the latin for "Roman"? Come on, come on!
Brian: Er, "Romanus" !
Centurion: Vocative plural of "Romanus" is?
Brian: Er, er, "Romani" !
Centurion: [Writes "Romani" over Brian's graffiti] "Eunt"? What is "eunt"? Conjugate the verb, "to go" !
Brian: Er, "Ire". Er, "eo", "is", "it", "imus", "itis", "eunt".
Centurion: So, "eunt" is...?
Brian: Third person plural present indicative, "they go".
Centurion: But, "Romans, go home" is an order. So you must use...?
[He twists Brian's ear harshly]
Brian: Aaagh ! The imperative !
Centurion: Which is...?
Brian: Aaaagh ! Er, er, "i" !
Centurion: How many Romans?
Brian: Aaaaagh ! Plural, plural, er, "ite" !
Centurion: [Writes "ite"] "Domus"? Nominative? "Go home" is motion towards, isn't it?
Brian: Dative !
[the Centurion holds a sword to his throat]
Brian: Aaagh ! Not the dative, not the dative ! Er, er, accusative, "Domum" !
Centurion: But "Domus" takes the locative, which is...?
Brian: Er, "Domum" !
Centurion: [Writes "Domum"] Understand? Now, write it out a hundred times.
Brian: Yes sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar, sir.
Centurion: Hail Caesar ! And if it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off.


4. From The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad the opening scene when Frank Dreben takes on every enemy leader, "America is a paper tiger."

[Septima]

The scene where Louis finds the charred remains of Claudia, Interview with the Vampire

The courtroom summary scene from A Time to Kill

The ending of Shrek

The bit where Evey is in prison and reading the secret letter in V for Vendetta

The music montage from the end of Donnie Darko

[El_Kabong]

Some great stuff here. I'm loving this thread; I'll try to mention some that haven't gotten a nod yet.

The scene in the airport control tower early in Close Encounters of the Third Kind: in a movie filled with visual spectacle, perhaps the most spooky and effective scene of all consists simply of an air traffic controller calmly exchanging radio transmissions with an increasing jittery commercial pilot describing the UFO buzzing his plane.

Kelly's Heroes: the cat-and-mouse sequence where Kelly's platoon sneaks Oddball's Sherman into a tiny village without alerting the unit of Tiger tanks assigned to defend it.

Marathon Man: the scene just prior to the infamous "Is it safe?" sequence; Dustin Hoffman's character, having just seen his brother die on his apartment floor, and having been warned that someone may be after him as well, is taking a bath when he suddenly hears whispering in the parlor outside. Then the lights start going out...

The Train: the gang of resistance fighters led by LaBiche (Burt Lancaster) immobilize the train of stolen art by first derailing a locomotive in front of it, crashing the train into the derailed locomotive, then smashing a third locomotive into the passenger carriage containing the German guards at the back of the train. All done for real, and absolutely jaw-dropping.

Dark City: the moment when John Murdoch and Detective Bumstead bash down the brick wall with hammers and discover that Shell Beach is decidedly not what's behind it.

[glee]

1. 'To kill a mockingbird' - "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing."

Already mentioned at least twice. Sums up the film, even though the hero is unaware what's happening.

2. 'Ferris Bueller's day off' - Ferris sings 'Danke Schoen' and 'Twist and Shout' from the parade float.

Sheer surprise, impudence and joy!

3. 'Lord of the Rings' - when Arwen visualises Aragorn's eventual death.

A poignant sequence, where Arwen faces losing her love after losing all her family.

4. '2001' - the ape battle / bone throw / spaceship montage.

A difficult film to follow, but this showed in a few seconds how the monolith affected Earth over millions of years.

5. 'The Great Escape' - closing credits.

Steve McQueen + the cooler guard have a silent interaction, then 'this film is dedicated to the 50'.

[Ronald C. Semone]

I think you are mistaken. I'm 100% sure this scene does not exist.

It has been more than 40 years since I saw the picture, but the scene was certainly in the picture when I saw it. Audrey's boyfriend then goes to her and she explains that she was a child bride forced by her family to marry a much older man. She says that she eventually ran away, moved to New York, and got a divorce, but her ex-husband refuses to accept it.

[Hung Mung]

Denzel Washington being whipped in Glory.

The man is one of the top two or three best in Hollywood right now.

[lissener]

It has been more than 40 years since I saw the picture, but the scene was certainly in the picture when I saw it. Audrey's boyfriend then goes to her and she explains that she was a child bride forced by her family to marry a much older man. She says that she eventually ran away, moved to New York, and got a divorce, but her ex-husband refuses to accept it.
Any chance you're confusing the novel with the movie? I mean, 40 years . . .

[drm]

1. The scene in Fargo right after Marge arrests Gaear. The two are sitting in the police car and Marge gives her little speech about how it's only money.

2. The last scene in Fargo when Marge is in bed with her husband. This scene is exactly why it is my favorite movie.

3. The scene in Sense and Sensibility where Elinor and Marianne are laying in bed. Marianne has just found out that Edward is engaged to someone else and that Elinor knew all along.

4. The scene in Millions with Damian and his mother.

5. The scene in Before Sunset where Celine sings the song to Jesse.

[awldune]

Aguirre, Wrath of God -- Opening scene with the soldiers trekking through the Andes

Last of the Mohicans -- Alice's demise at the cliff

Godfather Part II -- The whole sequence where young Vito deals with Fanucci. Among other things, Deniro's outfit here is just mind-blowingly cool.

Dead Man -- Surreal procession through the indian village near the end. Totem poles, whale bones, and sewing machines.

Mullholland Dr. -- Best love scene ever?

Something these scenes have in common is GREAT music.

[Lakai]

The copy machine beat down scene in Office Space.

The lesbian make out scene in Fucking Amal.

The end of the court room scene in To Kill a Mockingbird.

The "Stuck in The Middle With You" scene in Reservoir Dogs.

The final scene in Unforgiven.

Honorable mentions:

The lesbian make out scene in Mulholland Dr.

The lesbian make out scene in Wild Things.

[MerryMagdalen]

I don't have five that other people haven't already mentioned. One scene that sticks with me is from Titus when the camera pulls in from a great distance on the recently raped and mutilated Lavinia. I've only ever seen the movie once, but I can still see that scene.

[Marlitharn]

The "wah-wah" scene from The Miracle Worker. The Ann Bancroft/Patty Duke version.

"It's all in the family." Bogie on the tennis court with Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina.

"Nobody leaves a star. That's what makes one a star." Norma Desmond going 'round the bend in Sunset Boulevard.

"New York, New York" - the production number in Gremlins 2. All the little gremlins cheerfully screeching, "Da da dadada, da da dadada!" cracks me up every time.

Frith's blessing of El-ahrairah in Watership Down. "If they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you..."

[Ronald C. Semone]

Any chance you're confusing the novel with the movie? I mean, 40 years . . .
The part of her husband was played by Buddy Ebson (yes, the Buddy Ebson who starred in The Berverly Hillbillies). Both the Wikipedia article on the film and the Wikipedia article on Ebson mention his playing Audrey's husband in the movie.

[Grossbottom]

1) The downtown gunfight in Heat.
2) Ringo's last gunfight in Tombstone.
3) The Dude being attacked by the male pornstars at the opening of The Big Lebowski.
4) Moxica and his horse meeting the Caribe villagers in 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
4) The ending scenes of Wind.

Honorable mention for the final scene and roll into the credits in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

[WorkInProgress]

I know I've already had my turn, but...

The Great Escape - the entire movie
Quiz Show - the entire movie, but especially the scenes with John Turturro
Weird Science - Anthony Michael Hall in the blue's bar
Fletch Lives - Ben Dover scene

Ben Dover: Take your pants off.
Fletch: I don't even know your name.
Ben Dover: Bend over.
Fletch: Ben? Nice to meet you, Victor Hugo.

[bouv]

Honorable mentions:

The lesbian make out scene in Mulholland Dr.

The lesbian make out scene in Wild Things.

I would say pretty much every lesbian make out scene in any movie should qualify for this list. Which, if you think about it, would make "Strap On Sisters 7" the best movie ever made. :D

[mamboman]

1. The "Lux Aeterna" scene in 2001

2. The execution scene in "Paths of Glory"

3. The laser scene in "Goldfinger" (which narrowly beats out the pre-title sequence in the same film)

4. An odd one - there's a scene inthe dreadful remake of the Manchurian Cantidate where Merryl Streep is talking to Denzel Washington and she has a mouthful of ice from her drink - I can't explain it, there's something about the shape of Streep's mouth and the way her words come out all muffled and scrambled, it is unaccountably sexy. And I had never seem Merryl Streep as sexy before.

5. Michael and Fredo's confrontation in "The Godfather 2"

and not so much as scene as a shot, but the tracking shot of LeeLee Sobierksi in her skimpies backing away from Tom Cruise in "Eyes Wide Shut". Magnificent.


mm

[valleyofthedolls]

In no particular order.

1. The barn building dance sequence from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
2. The final scene in Some Like It Hot
3. What Donald Sutherland discovers in Don't Look Now
4. Traveling over the rope bridge in Sorcerer
5. When Robert Mitchum goes after the children in Night of the Hunter

[STEVEHOLT!!!]

I saw it earlier but Baldwin's speech in Glengarry Glen Ross

Pacino's "Peace with Inches" speech from Any Given Sunday

The Aimee Mann "Wise Up" sing along scene of Magnolia

The first 10 min of Reservoir Dogs about Madonna and tipping

The Hinckley Cold Storage scene from Bottle Rocket

[gigi]

I would say pretty much every lesbian make out scene in any movie should qualify for this list. Which, if you think about it, would make "Strap On Sisters 7" the best movie ever made. :D
The lesbian vampire make-out scene in The Hunger

[Dante]

The lesbian french kiss in Cruel Intentions. (Sarah Michelle Gellar & Selma Blair)

The lesbian make out scene in Higher Learning. (Jennifer Connelly & Kristy Swanson)

The lesbian make out scene in Bound. (Gina Gershon & Jennifer Tilly)

[jackelope]

Many, many great entries here. Here are three that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet:


The execution scene in Paths of Glory.
The opening few minutes of Shadow of a Doubt, with Joseph Cotten lying in his room in the boarding house as two scary-looking dudes stand across the street, staring at his window. So tense, but so low-key.
Near the end of The Scent of Green Papaya, there's about a twenty-minute sequence with no dialogue at all as the girl and the guy chase each other around the house during a pounding rainstorm. It's slightly edgy, and kinda fun, and incredibly romantic all at once. And the film's closing scene, directly afterward, closes the story perfectly.

[UncleRojelio]

I only have one favorite scene.

When Butch makes Etta strip at gunpoint.

[Drunky Smurf]

Clerks 2 -Jay bouncing his ass off the window at Mooby's. I was laughing for about 5 more minutes after everyone else in the theater had stopped laughing.

Team America -The puppet sex scene. And the opening scene of the puppet putting on a puppet show.

LotR RotK -At the end when Aragorn says, "My friends you bow to know one." gets me all teary-eyed.

Star Wars RotS -At the end when Anakin gets burned by the lava and then made into Vader.

[ACC_Expat]

I'm going to try and list five that haven't made it yet:

My pick from Amadeus is the Don Giovanni sequence.

The burning of the girl in The Seventh Seal.

For sentimental reasons, I'll take our first shot of Aragorn from Fellowship of the Ring (where the embers in his pipe light up his eyes)--I had gone into those films with a lot of skepticism, and that was the scene where I realized that things were going to be okay.

Mr. Crocker-Harris overcome with emotion after receiving a gift in The Browning Version (1951 w/Michael Redgrave)

From The Lion in Winter:

"You're still a marvel of a man"
"And you're my lady."

(If I had to go strict top five: Don Giovanni sequence, La Marseillaise sequence, Luke-Vader-Emperor duel from ROTJ, the charge of the Rohirrim at dawn from ROTK, the burning of the girl.)

[MonkeyMensch]

So many good ones.

Field of Dreams: James Earl Jones' soliloquy. "People will come, Ray..."

Glory: When Matthew Broderick's character lets his horse run free before the climactic battle.

Lawrence of Arabia, in the officer's club in Cairo:
Lawrence: We've taken Aqaba.
Brighton: Taken Aqaba? Who has?
Lawrence: We have. Our side in this war has. The wogs have. We have...

The Conversation: The sequence where Gene Hackman suspects his apartment is bugged.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
Clementine: Meet me in Montauk.

[koeeoaddi]

Rebecca - the denouement I hated her!
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - Mrs. Muir meets the ghost in the kitchen.
Woodstock - Port-o-san (also, the whole setup sequence).
Jaws - "Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into her side, Chief."
Annie Hall - the Marshall McLuhan movie line scene.


and from TV mini-series


Pride and Prejudice - Lady Catherine De Burgh confronts Lizzie.
Smiley's People - Karla walks over the bridge.
QBVII - Sir Adam Kelno on the stand: "Jew!"
Smiley's People (again) - Connie Sachs remembers for George Smiley
To Play the King - the final scene where Francis Urquhart dismisses His Majesty.

[Ghanima]

The part of her husband was played by Buddy Ebson (yes, the Buddy Ebson who starred in The Berverly Hillbillies). Both the Wikipedia article on the film and the Wikipedia article on Ebson mention his playing Audrey's husband in the movie.
This is all true, but the way it goes down in the film is like this:
Paul's lover/meal ticket notices a man watching the apartment building. Paul walks out into what I believe is Central Park, getting the guy to follow him. He sits down, the guy sits down next to him, and Paul asks him what he wants. Buddy Epson says "I need a friend" and shows Paul the picture. He talks Paul into helping him see Holly (since she apparently spooks whenever he shows up). Paul knocks on Holly's door, calls her Lula May, and then leaves as the two have their reunion.

Paul never confronts her ex-husband about Holly. I own the movie and have watched it many times. I have not read the book, so I don't know if the scene is different in the book.

[Gordon Urquhart]

The Empire Strikes Back: the battle scene on Hoth (mentioned upthread already).

Boogie Nights: the tracking shot in which Dirk Diggler (then Eddie Adams), after leaving an abusive situation at home, meets Reed Rothchild and others at Jack Horner's house (with Mama Told Me Not To Come playing in the background).

Almost Famous: the Tiny Dancer sequence (mentioned upthread already).

Raising Arizona: the sequence of events that follows after H.I. determines that Nathan needs Huggies.

The Haunting (1963): the scene in which Eleanor and Theodora are alarmed to find Some Thing wanting to enter their room.

[Ol'Gaffer]

This is a great thread. A few that haven't been mentioned...

Mommie Dearest. Joan Crawford in the Pepsi boardroom - "Don't fuck with me boys. This ain't my first time at the rodeo." Doesn't need anymore explanation.

Glory. Already mentioned but I love the scene of the battalion marching through the lined up Union soldiers. It is total silence until the one white soldier yells out "Give 'em hell 54th!" and the rest of the white soldiers start cheering. Gives me chills.

Gettysburg. During the battle for Little Round Top when the Confederates are massing for a final charge, after having been turned back twice already, and Colonel Chamberlin, knowing how crucial it is that he holds the flank, gets word that the Union soldiers are essentially out of ammunition and then gives the order to "Fix bayonets." Gives me double chills.

The Changeling. The scene with the ball on the stairs.

Bubba Ho-Tep. Elvis' satisfied smirk after finally getting an erection while the nurse applied his medicine. "It'd been two presidential elections since I'd had a boner like that."

[HubZilla]

Lethal Weapon 4: Mel Gibson and Danny Glover vs Jet Li, after the whole movie set up what a badass Jet Li was.
"How did he take my gun apart?"
"Yep, let's go ask him"

LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring: Entry of the Balrog. The book didn't really describe the Balrog in detail (does it have wings, anyone?). So I was really excited about seeing it. All you get is silence, a roar, then orange light among the pillars. I was almost giggling with anticipation.

Another LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring: Seeing Barad-Dur for the first time. A large tower over looking Mt. Doom. Then the camera moves and you realize that tower was merely a battlement for the massive (yet uncompleted) Dark Tower.

To Kill a Mockingbird: When the judge hears the verdict and slams the door on his way out. Even in the racist South, the judge was very disappointed in the jury.



And a funny one, from when I was little
Empire Strikes Back: Vader cutting off Luke's hand. This was more shocking than Vader's revelation for me back then. I mean, come on, Luke the hero was beaten so bad that his hand was cut off. The father thing? Vader was lying.

[Scarlett67]

"Shine on, shine on harvest moon" song and dance number from Laurel and Hardy's The Flying Deuces.Excellent choice. A favorite in Casa Scarlett. (Mr. S and I always say that we think the Bertie Wooster version of Hugh Laurie could play a passable Stan Laurel.)

Nope. The omelette scene at the end. Just absolutely brilliant.Another favorite in a movie chock full of excellent scenes.

Here are mine; I know they're more than five, and I'm probably missing some, but still. These are the ones that I always have to stop and watch closely.

Shawshank Redemption: The big payoff scene. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen it; if you have, you know the one I'm talking about. Brilliant!

Tootsie: Actually three scenes: (1) Michael in his agent's office: "They can't all be idiots, Michael. You argue with EVERYBODY!" After an exasperating night at my last Real Job, I would often come home, pop in the tape, and fast forward to this scene just to remind myself that I wasn't alone. (2) Dorothy's "audition": "Not threatening enough? How's this? You take your hands off me, or I'll knee your balls through the roof of your mouth! (sweet smile) Is that enough of a threat?" (3) Dorothy explodes during rehearsal: "My name is Dorothy! It's not Tootsie, or Toots, or sweetie, or honey, or doll." Ron: "Oh Christ." Dorothy: "No, just Dorothy. Now Alan is always Alan, Tom is always Tom, and John is always John, well I have a name too, it's Dorothy, capital D-o-r-o-t-h-y. Dorothy!" Good for her!

About a Boy: The "Kids Rock" scene where Will comes out with a borrowed guitar and throws himself on the grenade for Marcus. Another excellent movie all around.

Apollo 13: Two scenes: (1) All the stuff thrown on the table in front of the engineers: "We gotta make this fit into this, using nothing but that." Revenge of the nerds at its finest! (2) Others have voted for the launch scene; I'll put in a vote for splashdown. We all know how it ends, and yet we're on the edge of our seats and then cheering at the happy ending. Props also to Gene Kranz finally collapsing into his chair and dabbing briefly at his eyes.

Stripes: The "Uncle Hulka" scene: "You don't call me sir, I work for a living!" and "I'm gonna teach you to walk, talk, eat, sleep, shoot, shit, like a United States soldier!" Loved Warren Oates all around in that movie. The way he reverently set his hat on the sink before putting Bill Murray on the floor without wrinkling his shirt.

Waking Ned Devine: Lizzy Quinn in the phone booth. Like Shawshank, I'm not gonna spoil it, but if you've seen it, you know the scene.

[valleyofthedolls]

I wanted to add one more:

When Det. Arbogast meets Mother in Psycho. The shower scene is much more famous but this one makes me jump every time.

[STEVEHOLT!!!]

I already picked mine but three long tracking shots that could definately make the cut:

The scene entering the Copa in Goodfellas (someone must have said this by now)

The opening tracking shot in The Player

The tracking shot walking through the studio in Magnolia

[Der Trihs]

Raising Arizona: the sequence of events that follows after H.I. determines that Nathan needs Huggies.Ohhhh, yes ! And the burst-from-the-mud-and-scream scene, and the Lone Motercycle Rider of the Apocalypse.

[Annie-Xmas]

The street dance scene in The Blues Brothers. Ray Charles voice and Twalya Twarp's choreography are perfect.

[NoCoolUserName]

I won't be able to pick 5 that others have not already mentioned (but I'll think of them later, I'm sure) but here are a couple:

In the Heat of the Night early on when they're questioning Virgil at the station, culminating in "They call me MISTER TIBBS!"
In the Heat of the Night the goodby at the train station.
In the Heat of the Night just about every darned second of the movie.

Several people have already chosen the courtroom scene from A Man for All Seasons but I'll have to say that my favorite is when his family visits him in his room in the Tower. Especially Wendy Hiller (as his wife) who can't understand why her famous and brilliant husband must remain locked up.

Another "every scene is a top 5 scene" movie.

[Fir na tine]

From Absence of Malice Wilford Brimley as James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General trying to clean up a real mess:

Now we'll talk all day if you want to. But, come sundown, there's gonna be two things true that ain't true now. One is that the United States Department of Justice is goin' to know what in the good Christ - e'scuse me, Angie - is goin' on around here. And the other's I'm gonna have somebody's ass in muh briefcase.

[HelloKitty]

What a great thread!! Here's a few that I don't think are repeats:

Hoosiers - The sequence of the championship game...and the timeout where Jimmy Chitwood says, "I'll make it".

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan - Spock's death scene

This movie is full of them:

The Color Purple - Dinner scene where Celie tells Mister she is leaving

The Color Purple - "God is Trying To Tell You Somethin'"

The Color Purple - Of course the ending when Celie is reunited with Nettie ::sob::

[kelly5078]

Sirens: The fairies

Crouching Tiger: Sword fight in the bamboo (common enough thing to do, apparently, but this is the best)

A Clockwork Orange: Ultraviolence to "Singin' in the Rain."

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones shoots the guy with the sword

Life of Brian: Biggus Dickus

[MaxTheVool]

I thought of another one:

Rhapsody in Blue from the very underrated and underappreciated Fantasia 2000

[Infovore]

1. The second-to-last scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when Charlie and Grandpa Joe confront Wonka in his office. "You LOSE. You get NOTHING. Good DAY, sir!" and "So shines a good deed in a weary world..." Gets me every time.

2. The whole first appearance of the tyrannosaurus on the rainy road in Jurassic Park. The first time I saw that it scared the you-know-what out of me. I think sometimes people forget how cutting-edge the CGI in that film was in 1993.

3. The first meeting between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

4. The discussion between Bethany Sloane and the Metatron in Dogma, where the Metatron describes Jesus's reaction to finding out what he would need to do.

5. The ending scene in The Sixth Sense, where Bruce Willis finally realizes the truth. Maybe I'm thick, but the first time I saw that movie back when it was still in theaters, I didn't see it coming, which made it all the cooler for me.

And a couple of animated honorable mentions: Jessie's song in Toy Story II (the one that makes me cry every damn time I see the movie, despite my best efforts) and the scene about the way Radiator Springs used to be in Cars (ditto)

[gigi]

Crouching Tiger: Sword fight in the bamboo (common enough thing to do, apparently, but this is the best)Good one.

[STEVEHOLT!!!]

Another crazy asian fight scene (completely different genre and nation of origin) was the hallway scene in Oldboy

[mamboman]

Many, many great entries here. Here are three that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet:


The execution scene in Paths of Glory.

Check post #75!

mm

[Liberal]

The scene near the end of Overboard.

Johanna Staten had just returned from her amnesiatic sojourn as Annie, married to an uncivilized lout, and with whom she had fallen in love. Previously a spoiled rich bitch, she had learned to see life from a whole new perspective. The character, played brilliantly by Goldie Hawn, was now facing her lifelong Butler, toward whom she had always been brutally abusive and massively condescending. As he reminded her of one of the many ding-headed demands she had made of him, her face became awash with sincere regret.

"I've behaved so badly," she said to him. "I don't know how you put up with me for so long. You've done so many wonderful things for me, and I never even once said thank you. I'm sorry."

Roddy McDowell, playing the Butler, tenderly accepted her apology, and the relationship was healed. I'm a sucker for scenes like that.

===============================

Speaking of scenes like that, I love the scene near the end of Joshua, when Father Tardone (the great F. Murray Abraham) accepts Joshua's love. Abraham manages to convey the release of guilt and the cleansing warmth of absolute love. It's wonderful.

[The Scrivener]

1) Luke Skywalker wistfully staring off into the double sunset, with his motif swelling in the soundtrack. The quintessence of movie magic, in just a few seconds of pure cinema with no [Lucas] dialogue. :D

2) The LSD meltdown/frenzied getaway scene in Flirting With Disaster. ("All right! I'm sorry that I put Windowpane in your quail, and I'm sorry that you ate it," the cast-iron pan, Alan Alda's hissy fit, the white Ford Tauruses getting mixed up, and so forth.)

3) Having a civilized sherry at Uncle Monty's, in Withnail & I. That screenplay was genius.

4) The horse prank in Dean Wormer's office in Animal House, including its disposal the following morning, with the chainsaw. "Just blanks, right?" "Riiight."

5) The advance of the Imperial Walkers towards the rebel base, in Ep. V. Not even the full battle sequence, with the unconvincing tow-cable bit... just the deadly, inexorable advance of those freakily tall tanks across the ice, ever closer....

[LVBoPeep]

Ok..

I'm a bit of a wanker when it comes to Trainspotting which is, IMHO, the best movie..ever..made.

So.. to pick one scene out of that movie is a tough one but it has to be the scene in the bar.. Begbie has just picked a fight with some doofus that innocently spilled beer on him. After a bloody fight in which his best mate Spud ends up with a cut up hand and Begbie ends up totally obliterating the poor guy that bumped into him- Begbie demands that Renton bring him a cigarette. He's either too keyed up or too superior to light it himself so Renton lights it for him. Begbie inhales and then exhales right into Renton's face. In the book, there was a lot about how his mates just tried to ride the tight line between being Begbie's mate and Begbie's victim and this scene basically summed up that tense relationship between them all.

In Godfather, I love the scene where the Don asks Tom Hagen what's so bad that he has to have a drink first before telling the news to his Don. Alot of that may be that I'm fascinated with Tom Hagen's character (and Robert Duvall of course)

In Empire Strikes Back almost every scene with Han Solo and Princess Leia. They are pretty much the stars of the trilogy (ok Alec Guinness is a reluctant tie with them). Any scene with tall, shiny helmet Vadar pacing and brooding over plans to take over the galaxy and/or Emporer will do as well.

In Sense & Sensibility, the one with Emma Thompson- I agree with the scene where Marianne has just learned of Elinor's knowledge of Edward & Lucy's engagement and would second also that the scene when Edward visits Elinor and is faced with both his current love and Lucy, his "how do I get rid of her" fiancee,

In Pride & Prejudice... Mr. Collins, Mr.Collins and then give me some Lady Catherine De Bourgh (sp?) Every thing that comes out either person's mouth is hilarious, pathetic and wonderful.

Ok.. so I have five but I need to add two Lonesome Dove scenes-

In Lonesome Dove when Gus gives a bartender a lesson in manners.

In Dead Man's Walk when BigFoot Wallace meets his fate in a New Mexico leper colony with a musical eulogy.

[Love Rhombus]

Rocketeer: When our hero has landed and is preparing to hand over the jetpack to Evil Timothy Dalton. Just the look on his face and the way the guys step out of his way, you know he's become a hero at last. Damn I love that movie.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: When Harry has just discovered the corpse in his shower, just the little grunt he make is hilarious.

Magnificent Seven: Charles Bronson's speech to the kids.

Ghostbusters: The Arrival of Gozer the Gozarian.

Phantom of the Opera: His song at the Ball Masque.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

Top 5 scenes I loved

5) In Kung Fu hustle, where the two musician-killers were hailed by the landlady, and when they attempt to investigate (they did that little jump thing that) and the landlord suddenly appears grabbing them by the shoulder. It's very typical and very cliche of wuxia shows, and I just love this sort of homeage.

4) There's this part in the Undiscovered Country, after the Enterprise fires the homing plasma topredo at the cloaked Klingon ship where the lead bad says "To be...or not to be"

3) Neo rescuing Morpheus, The Matrix

I think the scene sticks in my mind because it was the first time I saw the "slow-mo-bullet-time-while-camera-pans-360-degrees" and also because you can see all sort of details, like the bullet striking the pools of water and the shattering glasses.

2) The Bride vs. Oren Iishi, Kill Bill

Damn cool battle-scene, not too over-top, good choice of music. Something which I will always re-watch again and again

1) Amon Hen. , Fellowship of the Ring

Yes, there were other more impressive battles in Lord of the Rings, but Amon Hen was the most human and intense. The build up to it was perfect. There were many moments of coolness that are way in character and not too "un-tolkenish" (Legolas riding the shield as a surfboard was cool, but seems so out of the story)

[Shodan]

Tootsie: Michael in his agent's office: "They can't all be idiots, Michael. You argue with EVERYBODY!" After an exasperating night at my last Real Job, I would often come home, pop in the tape, and fast forward to this scene just to remind myself that I wasn't alone. "YOU WERE A TOMATO! A tomato doesn't have LOGIC!"

Or Bill Murray's perfectly dead pan - "Don't play hard to get".

Regards,
Shodan

[Mapache]

1. All the scenes of Gelsomina waving goodbye from the back of Zampano's motorcycle/shack in La Strada.
2. Harpo running amok, tearing off the gypsy girls skirt, and sliding down the backdrop in Night at the Opera
3.Rupert Pupkin trying to kidnap Jerry Langford and chasing the plastic gun he's dropped in The King of Comedy
4. Henry Hill's cocaine paranoia with the helicopter in Goodfellas
5. The surviving samurai walking wearily off to nowhere in particular while the villagers sing as they plant the rice in Seven Samurai

[Hung Mung]

I've also always been partial to the dancing scene from The Breakfast Club.

[Revedge]

2001 The Blue Danube sequence.

Singing in the Rain Make them Laugh.

Apollo 13 Some good choices so far, but the actual ''Houston we have a problem" sequence is excellent. And Clint Howard (as geeky mssion control guy) suggesting turning off the fuel cells, the shock that silences everyone, and the anguish as he says: "From my seat here, the Odessy is dying."
(This movie is special to me. My father was the one who thought of using the Lunar Module as a lifeboat and to provide thrust and guidence in an emergency. Though unlike the film, he wrote it up as a possible emergency plan a full year before the mission. NASA does think ahead occasionally.)

Apocalypse Now In the original release, the end credits of the village where Kurtz was leader being napalmed in the night. I don't understand why this was cut in later releases.

All That Jazz The auditions to "Broadway."

[lissener]

The second rhinoceros hunt in Hatari.

[lissener]

Another crazy asian fight scene (completely different genre and nation of origin) was the hallway scene in Oldboy
No, the octopus sushi scene in Oldboy!

[lissener]

In the Heat of the Night early on when they're questioning Virgil at the station, culminating in "They call me MISTER TIBBS!"
In the Heat of the Night the goodby at the train station.
In the Heat of the Night just about every darned second of the movie.The Slap is one of the single greatest moments in all of world cinema.

[Ranchoth]

('Hope I don't duplicate anything—I haven't had time to read the whole thing)

I thought I'd go for a few "Dark Horse" nominations (I figure Return of the King and Star Wars are getting all the other nods.)

In no particular order...

1. The first attack of the "Tar Man," in Return of the Living Dead.
2. The helicopter gunship attack in Red Dawn (Wolveriiiiines!)
3. Mrs. Brisby in the birdcage, The Secret of NIMH. (Rrrowr...)
4. Any of the nuclear strikes in The Day After
5. Q's final exit, The World is Not Enough ("Always have an escape plan...")

Runners up: Spock's Funeral, The Finale to Nightmare Before Christmas; the aerial chase in Capricorn One, and the final shot in The Shawshank Redemption.

[Ins&Outs&What-have-yous]

My answers are stupid, but here goes...

The Graduate: Ben (Dustin Hoffman) swings a crucifix at the mob of angry people rushing to the front of the church, and then he and Elaine hop onto a bus.

The Big Lebowski: The scene involving Donnie's cremated ashes in a Folger's can urn on a breezy cliff.

Mallrats: the gameshow scene.

The Godfather: At the end when Michael's sister, Connie, confronts him about killing her husband, and then Michael's girlfiend Kay inquires. The response: "Don't ask me about my business, Kay" <door shuts>.

Half Baked: The scene where Bob Saget says to Thurgood (Dave Chappelle), "Marijuana is not a drug. I used to suck dick for coke. That an addiction, man. You ever sucked dick for some marijuana?"

[jsc1953]

To briefly list the ones of mine already listed:

1. Marseillaise scene from Casablanca
2. Charge of the Rohirrim from LOTR:ROTK
3. Opening "On Broadway" number from All That Jazz
4. First view of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
5. T-Rex sequence from Jurassic Park
6. Mozart dictating the Requiem to Salieri in Amadeus.
And my additions...

6. "Everything Old is New Again" number from All That Jazz
7. Opening "Wilkommen" number from Cabaret
8. Steve McQueen jumping the fence in The Great Escape
9. Explosive climax of The Guns of Navarone (an explanation...not just because the actual explosion, and the guns toppling slowly into the sea, is cool, especially for 1960 special effects - it's the brief moment of silence, followed by all the ships in the British convoy blowing their sirens, and the distant cheers of hundreds of sailors. Love that scene.
10. Exploring the alien derelict ship in Alien.

[silenus]

The second rhinoceros hunt in Hatari.

Or the Monkey Rocket™.

[Fuzzy Wombats]

Steering clear of those already mentioned:

1. When Ellie meets the her father / the alien from Contact.

2. The opening speech of Patton

3. Introduction to Jack Sparrow and his sinking boat in Pirates of the Caribbean

4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade “We named the dog Indiana.”

5. I.Q.: When Ed tells Catherine about making Einstein go “Wahoo” on his motorcycle.

[Der Trihs]

The barfight scene in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark when Indy and one of the bad guys are fighting over a gun. The Evil Guy in Black says "Shoot them. Shoot them both." Indy and the other guy look at him, glance at each other and shoot the gunman without either letting go of the gun.

Also in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, the scene where the Nazi salutes and says "Heil Hitler !"; the monkey imitates the salute with a "squeak SQUEAK !", and the Nazi gives the monkey a startled glance and return's the monkey's salute with another "Heil Hitler !"

The scene where the Evil Guy in Black approaches the captured girl, pulls out this nasty looking rod, extending it with a snap < cue ominous music > . . . then folds it into a triangle and hangs his coat on it.

The scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the bad guy drinks from the wrong Grail, withers and dies gruesomely, and the Grail's guardian says, "He chose . . . poorly."

[archmichael]

I cant rank them in my mind, but here are five that came to mind

1) Whenever Salieri is describing Mozart's music. F. Murray Abraham is just great. Salieri: On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse - bassoons and basset horns - like a rusty squeezebox. Then suddenly - high above it - an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing a voice of God.

2) Ash telling Ripley how much he admires the alien

3) In Apocalypse Now, when Kilgore does his napalm speech. A lot of people focus on the "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", but my favorite part is "Someday, this war is going to end...". Robert Duvall just nails it. The soul tearing sadness Kilgore feels. That he cant believe he lives in a world where God would take a beautiful thing like war away from him.

4) The end of Dangerous Liaison. Madam de Tourvel is booed away from the opera. She's looking in the mirror removing her makeup.

5) Azumi. The final test before they become true assassins.

[Annie-Xmas]

The scene in Ghost where the bad guy realizes he is dead and gets dragged to hell.

[chowder]

Mr Jingles resurrection ..... The Green Mile
Kerr/Lancaster rolling in the surf...From here to Eternity
Keano Reeves shooting himself...The Devils Advocate
The real guy turning up.......Finders Fee
Indiana Jones shoots guy with sword
Newman kick guy in nuts.....Butch C & TSK

Loads more

[Annie-Xmas]

Alan Arkin's leap in "Wait Until Dark."

[jsc1953]

9. Explosive climax of The Guns of Navarone (an explanation...not just because the actual explosion, and the guns toppling slowly into the sea, is cool, especially for 1960 special effects - it's the brief moment of silence, followed by all the ships in the British convoy blowing their sirens, and the distant cheers of hundreds of sailors. Love that scene.


Just one more thing...the build-up to the scene involves much use of cross-cutting between the Guns (and G. Peck, D. Niven) and the convoy. And every shot of the convoy is accompanied on the soundtrack by a few bars of "Rule Brittania". It's movie soundtrack cliche rule #1 -- any shot of a British naval vessel must be accompanied by Rule Brittania.

[Rilchiam]

Life is Sweet: Nicola and Natalie in the sitting room. "All men are bastards!" "What?!"

Leningrad Cowboys Go America: The first time the band plays hrock and hroll.

My Best Friend's Wedding: Cameron Diaz saying to Julia Roberts what everyone always says they would say if they had to take what rivals for the hero/ine of a romcom generally have to take.

Menace II Society: The interrogation scene. "Boy, you done fucked up. You know that, don't you? You know you done fucked up." Bill Duke, man.

The English Patient: Yeah, I know, but it was all worth it for the scene with Naveen Andrews showing the murals to Juliette Binoche. Actually, it was worth it for all the scenes they were in. And Willem Dafoe's. If I could make my own cut of EP, it would be about twenty minutes, but it would be a glorious twenty minutes.

[Dob]

"I want my father back you son-of-a-bitch" scene from Princess Bride. Always gives me the chills.

Bridge scene in Fellowship of the Ring. One of the few scenes in the movie that lived up to my own imagnation of what I thought of when I read that part. perfect.

First 15 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. that is what movie making magic is all about!

The "All I want for Christmas" musical number from Love Actually. Always puts me in a holiday mood, even in July.

have to think on some others..

[TV time]

Some wonderful ones and some I might have included in my list, but that being said....

Red River with John Wayne, Montgomery Cliff and Walter Brennen. The Yeehaw scene at the beginning of the cattle drive.

The Party with Peter Sellers. The bathroom scene. I am smiling just thinking about it.

Fantasia The dancing hippos. I'm really smiling now.

Arsnic and Old Lace with Cary Grant. Grant's reaction to finding the first body.

My Darling Clementine with Henry Fonda, Walter Brennen, Ward Bond, Victor Mature and Tim Holt. The scene where Mature as Doc Holiday finishes the frightened actor's Hamlet soliquoy then goes into a coughing fit.

[Camelot]

Contact - the discovery of the signal.

Apollo 13 - the "was it the door?" scene between Mrs. Lovell and her son. Also, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sit at the TV with Lovell's mother. "Are you boys in the space program, too?"

Life is Beautiful - the scene where Guido rides in on the vandalized horse.

Good Will Hunting - "My wife used to fart in her sleep" and the entire scene that follows.

As Good As It Gets - the restaurant sequence in Baltimore.

[corkboard]

Glengarry Glen Ross- the scene between Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey, when Spacey has his realization after Lemmon says... you know the one.

Leon, the Professional- when Stansfield is hearing Beethoven while they're tossing the apartment. (" I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven. Can you hear it? It's like when you put your head to the grass and you can hear the growin' and you can hear the insects. Do you like Beethoven?")

Sideways- the scene between Miles and Maya, starting in the kitchen, and ending out on the back porch when they each describe why they like pinot. It's perfect.

Mr. Holland's Opus- walking into the auditorium at the end, and the symphony.

I'll think of more...

[Camelot]

Ooh, I want to add a 6th.

Mr. Holland's Opus - the Rowena/bus stop scene

[freekalette]

5. The Ring, when samara crawls OUT OF THE TV!!! *shudder*
4. Dumb and Dumber, when Harry uses Mary's broken toilet.
3. American Beauty, the plastic bag.
2. Final Fantasy Unlimited (technically a series, but *shrug*) when the opening scene's TRUE meaning is revealed.

And my #1 pick, from my favorite anime......
Metropolis, the Ray Charles sequence.


Great lists, everyone!! Keep 'em coming!! Oh, and another vote for the first look at the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. That's actually the most powerful movie moment I've ever experienced.

[Scupper]

I didn't see it, but I assume it's in here someplace.

The Indianapolis scene from Jaws.

[teemingONE]

Man, I am bookmarking this thread and I am going to watch all these movies when I get the chance. (again and some for the first time)

Good thread!

[nivlac]

-- Blind man (Gene Hackman) and Monster - Young Frankenstein
-- Cellar climax -- Psycho
-- Mt. Rushmore scene -- North by Northwest
-- Final shootout -- Magnificent Seven
-- Horse head -- The Godfather

[jackdavinci]

in no particular order...

1) Rescuers Down Under or perhaps Harry Potter & the POA - kis flying with aid of giant eagle / Harry flying with the aid of hippogriff

2) Color Purple: Ceely sees her sister return, they run to each other and embrace

3) Home at the End of the World: hard to choose.. kid and his brother in cemetary little kid floats into the air, adult Bobby and Jonathan dance on the roof

4) Serenity - either River runs to find the reapers, or the firefly and reaper ships bursting through the static cloud towards the alliance ships

5) The Big Blue - diver boy dreams of his room filling with water and swims away with the dolphins

[divemaster]

One of my favorite scenes, not mentioned yet, is the "invention of the hula hoop" montage set to the Khachaturian music in The Hudsucker Proxy.

I also love the whole baseball game scene from The Naked Gun ("Look! It's Enrico Palazzo!")

Hospital shootout from Hard-Boiled (basically the last 40 minutes of the film)

The tofu shop scene from Wing Chun

Any of Jet Li's fight scenes in Fist of Legend

The paparazzi / John Woo send-up from Men Suddenly in Black

"So you think I'm funny?" scene from Goodfellas

Many more (Mexican standoff in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; cave scene from Raiders, etc.)

[Little Nemo]

Ten great scenes that I don't think have been mentioned yet

Cleavon Little taking himself hostage in Blazing Saddles
Harrison Ford bringing a gun to a knifefight in Raiders of the Lost Arc
The "I Will Go Sailing No More" scene in Toy Story
Cary Grant dealing with Leslie Caron's snakebite in Father Goose
Lupus catching the ball in The Bad News Bears
The assault on Casanova Frankenstein's mansion in Mystery Men
Tom Hanks meeting the Thai druglord in Volunteers
James Spader giving his victum "one minute" in 2 Days in the Valley
The bank robbery shootout in The Long Riders
Neve Campbell and Denise Richards drop by Matt Dillon's place in Wild Things

[anamnesis]

The problem with mine is that I love virtually all the scenes from these films, making it hard to pick just one scene from each. Equally difficult, as others have said, is to pick just five films, but these are some scenes which move me emotionally.

Scent Of A Woman - Colonel Slade's speech before the Baird student body and disciplinary committee determining Charlie's fate. I knew there was something about this scene, but the genuine message about being a person of character took several viewings for me to truly appreciate. Really, any scene by Pacino in this film works. It is my favorite performance by any actor, in any film, ever. The tango scene is obviously also a nominee. Pacino is the movie.

Aliens - So many great, tightly executed and technically incredible scenes to choose from here, but I'll go with Ripley and Newt emerging onto the landing platform of the atmosphere processor only to discover Bishop is not there while the entire complex is becoming the depths of hell. The Queen emerges from the dark shadows of the elevator as Ripley, now essentially Newt's surrogate mother, tells Newt to close her eyes. Much excitement ensues, with some of the best traditionally produced scenes (by that I mean non-CGI) ever put to film.

Big Fish - Ed Bloom's son Will, a reluctant pragmatist who resents his father's outlandish autobiographical tales, creates his own outlandish tale at his father's side as he lays on his death bed, incorporating all of the characters from his father's life in a wild romp of fantasy, imagination and heart.

The Iron Giant - The titular character discovering (upon falling off a cliff while fleeing from an unprovoked attack by a paranoid Cold War era U.S. military) that he can fly, just like Superman could in the comics he'd read. This scene always makes me cry, as does the final scene where he stops a nuclear missile in orbit at the apex of its launch trajectory ... just like Superman would have done.

The Wrath of Khan - The battle in the Mutara Nebula, all the way through to Kirk's speech at Spock's ceremony. The most recent film, Nemesis, also paralleled this, wherein Data's endeavor to become human comes full circle in his personal sacrifice for for the greater good. This also happens in Terminator 2 to an extent, and even though Ahnult was programmed to protect, the message at the end of an artificial being learning the value of life is essentially the same.

Clearly, I have some kind of thing for non-human characters achieving their endeavor to become human by personally sacrificing themselves. I suppose Bishop counts too, right? :)

[thirdwarning]

Apollo 13: At the military school, after the time for re-establishing contact has gone by. Watching the boy trying to be brave, and his classmates not knowing whether to look at him or not, just tears me up.
(Also, "If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it."

[ArrMatey!]

The Iron Giant - The titular character discovering (upon falling off a cliff while fleeing from an unprovoked attack by a paranoid Cold War era U.S. military) that he can fly, just like Superman could in the comics he'd read. This scene always makes me cry, as does the final scene where he stops a nuclear missile in orbit at the apex of its launch trajectory ... just like Superman would have done.


The thing that makes the scene so poignant is that, moments before, the Giant was doing what he was 'built' to do: Destroy. But he's taken Hogarth's lesson to heart: You can be whatever you choose to be. And at that moment... He choses to be Superman.

Scene chokes me up. Every time.

[MaxTheVool]

The thing that makes the scene so poignant is that, moments before, the Giant was doing what he was 'built' to do: Destroy. But he's taken Hogarth's lesson to heart: You can be whatever you choose to be. And at that moment... He choses to be Superman.

Scene chokes me up. Every time.

"I go. You stay. No following."

What a great movie.

[corkboard]

I thought of a fifth one:

In 8 Mile, at the end during the freestyle rap competition when Rabbit totally schools Papa Doc. I love it when the beat ends and he just keeps going, and the Papa Doc can't even say a word in response.

[Ranchoth]

•Michael York's 1971 flik Zeppelin—the German raid. It's just so...steampunk. :D
•The Quick and the Dead—Russell Crowe and Sharon Stone's standoff. (What really makes it is Crowe's dialogue. "Kill me, Ellen. Kill me! KILL ME!" Yow.)

[gonzomax]

(In the original The Thing the party discovers an object under the ice. They each stand at what they see as an edge and hold hands to determine the shape. They are holding hands in a circle. That is when they know they have found a flying saucer and everything changes.

[oft wears hats]

The scene in Hot Shots! when Washout inadvertently lands his jet in Las Vegas, complete with Tom Jones music. Loved it!

Going to have to second the Luke vs. Darth Vader fight in Return of the Jedi. That whole part from "If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will." and Luke going crazy all over Vader's hand. The music, direction, and choreography was perfect. Absolutely haunting.

Also, same movie, shortly thereafter when Emperor Palpatine is giving his monologue and lighting up Luke's life. "Young fool, only now, at the end, do you understand. You feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side. You shall pay the price for your lack of vision. Now, young Skywalker, you will die." I know Luke was unarmed, but it really impressed upon you how powerful the Emperor was, as he's zapping Luke and telling him how he never stood a chance.

Pulp Fiction, when Butch is singing along to the radio and runs into Marsellus at the intersection. That look on Butch's face when Marsellus identifies him. "Well, motherfucker."

Fight Club. The ending, when the buildings are blowing up to Where Is My Mind. Probably my favorite ending of any movie I've ever seen.

[WarmNPrickly]

Can't be bothered to read the rest of this thread so I don't know if it's been mentioned.

Untouchables - Baby rolling down the stairs mid-shootout. Slo-mo was just right. Best shoot-out ever.

[Lucky 13]

Here are some of my favorites. A few of these may already have been mentioned, sorry about that.

Pride and Prejudice , the latest remake. The party scene, which is done in one long contnuous shot, if I recall correctly. I specifically enjoy Miss Bingley's remark, along the lines of "Next they'll take out a piglet and ask us to chase it."

Big Night. The omelet scene at the end.

Shrek. The montage of Shrek pining for Fiona, as Fiona prepares to marry Farquaad. To me, what makes the scene work is the song "Hallelujah", one of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs.

And Now My Love. The opening montage showing the female protagonist's grandparents in black and white, then, in color, her parents meeting on the train home from
a concentration camp, then later conceiving her as a parade passes under their window, and finally her mother dying as she gives birth to her.

Napoleon Dynamite. The whole election day scene, not just Napoleon dancing. Pedro's speech, "If you vote for me, I will make all your dreams come true", and how everything changes as Napoleon walks home from school.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The trio runs into Draco as he attempts to photograph the hippogriff being killed, and confront him. Hermione has finally had enough of Draco and his putdowns, and punches him in the face, causing him and his buddies to run off like a bunch of cowards. Afterward, Hermione says, "That felt good!" Ron says, "Not good. Brilliant!" The expression on her face says it all.

[WarmNPrickly]

I have skimmed the thread and I can agree with The Unforgiven - Last shootout scene. That was good.

[SnakesCatLady]

Finding Nemo; the seagulls. "mine, mine, MINE...!"

Miracle; when the winning goal is scored. Yes, I knew what was going to happen and I cheered anyway.

ST: The Voyage Home; when they'll letting Spock out in the park. "Are you sure you won't change your mind?" "Is there something wrong with the one I have?"

Ghostbusters; too many scenes to count, but the one when they first look at the firehouse is a standout. I love Harold Ramis in that part.

Airplane!; where all the passengers are lining up to "slap" the hysterical woman.

[MadTheSwine]

Tombstone- Wyatt lets Johnny Tyler know he is sitting in his chair.

Just Cause-Ed Harris calls Sean Connery a liar three times.

Freeway-Reese Witherspoon pistol whips Keifer Sutherland three times.

Spinal Tap-The band discusses the deaths of their drummers.

The Sound of Music-Puppet show.

And as others have said, the end of Unforgiven,specially when Clint says "Alright,I'm comin out...." and the ending of The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly starting with the part that has Eli Wallach running around the cemetery.

[El Perro Fumando]

Forgive me if I repeat one already said:

1. Miracle Max's from The Princess Bride
2. "I'll have what she's having" from When Harry Met Sally
3. The final courtroom scene in Legally Blonde (guilty pleasure - substitute the final courtroom scene in My Cousin Vinny if this one makes you feel too dirty.)
4. The 15 Commandments from History of the World, Part 1
5. "You still alive, baby?" from Mr. and Mrs. Smith

[Watcher of the Skies]

In no particular order:

School of Rock - The encore through to the end of the credits ("It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock & roll").

Local Hero - Any scene really, but I'll single out the scene where the two guys wake up in the car which they parked in the middle of the road in the dense fog at night. When daybreak comes they discover themselves in the middle of the gorgeous Scottish countryside, with the aforementioned Mark Knopfler score soaring in the background.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The first look at the mothership, through to the first communication by musical notes ultimately shattering the glass of the control booth.

Casablanca - The whole movie really, but I'll specify the final scene on the airstrip, with the singing of "As Time Goes By" a close second.

2001: A Space Odyssey - The Blue Danube sequence as the ship docks to the space station, product placement notwithstanding.

Honorable Mention:
Quick Change - The mention of Randy Quaid above reminded me of the classic scene where Bill Murray and Randy Quaid have robbed a bank and can't get out of nyc, and Quaid gets down on his knees on the sidewalk and begs for a cab, "just one f***ing cab!".

[The Lovely Margo Lane]

How about some musical scenes (not necessarily from musicals)- A few already mentioned- Night of the Hunter "leaning, leaning...." so creepy! and the barn raising dance from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and "Play the Marseillaise!" from Casablanca (tears!) definitely make my list, but here are 5 that I think haven't been mentioned...

1. The final scene from Paths of Glory, with Susanne Christian (later Christiane Kubrick) singing "The Faithful Hussar" to/with the troops (tears!)

2. "Lonesome Polecat" from 7B for 7B - I love the reckless way they swing those axes, and the lines "A man can't sleep, when he sleeps with shee-eep (woo-oo-oo-ooooh, wooo-oo-oo-oo-oooooo) Can't make no vows/ to a herd of co-ows" I went through a period of watching this movie at least twice a month for about 2 semesters. I didn't have cable, and I just kept alternating between Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Rosemary's Baby, and a few others.

3. Paul Newman singing "Plastic Jesus" in Cool Hand Luke (tears! plus bonus Harry Dean Stanton singing action)

4. Elisha Cook, Jr playing drums at Ella Raines in Phantom Lady (foreplay... to murder! I love him in anything, and this scene is just incredibly intense.)

5. Susan Tyrell singing "Witch's Egg" from The Forbiddden Zone (certainly no tears here!)

I actually got to take a class last semester that was essentially 5 hours a week of this- it was a studio class with open homework, the only requirement was that we had to do a project the related to the cinema in some way. Each week the teacher would bring in tapes and tapes and show clips on a variety of themes, techniques, motifs etc. Truly an awesome class, and we did learn a lot and some of us actually did good work too! I got to show the Forbidden Zone clip in that class, and almost showed the Paths of Glory clip in my lit class during a presentation about the battlefield horrors of the Great War as reflected in the work of Yeats, Joyce and Woolf. The class got crunched for time though, so I just showed the "take the anthill!" scene from the same film.

*** I'm sure I missed a mention of at least one of these, I keep having to stop reading the thread to actually do my job (gasp!), and trying to reformat my list as I read through the thread got [whiny voice] tooooo harrrrrd! [/whiny voice] but let's just say I'm going for a theme here, not originality.

[Watcher of the Skies]

Sirens: A Clockwork Orange: Ultraviolence to "Singin' in the Rain."This scene permanently ruined "Singin' in the Rain" for Mrs. Watcher.

Using the Walter (Wendy) Carlos renditions of Beethoven in this movie were but one manifestation of Kubrick's genius.