looking for pure genius moments in movies that don’t relate to the plot but just happen to be thrown in. Things you look for when you see a movie for the hundreth time.
for example:
El Dorado - Robert Mitchem shoots the bar and warns the bartender “elmer I told you to get a way from than gun”. but when he shot the bar, the splinters flew up and stuck in the bartenders hand. The bartender jumps back and looks at his hand with the splinters in it.
Dusk till Dawn
The gecko brothers shoot up a huge stock of liquor bottles behind a hidden cashier holding a gun. After suffeciently coating the guy, Seth casually tosses a match over and torches him.
Swordfish
The hostages in the bank are strapped with c-4, ball bearings, and proximity sensors designed to explode if the people are pulled out of the bank area. Basically they are made living pipe bombs that will not try to flee.
In the movie adaption of “In Cold Blood”,
Robert Blake is recalling to somebody off-camera
about how really rotten his childhood was.
He’s inside, facing a window during a rainstorm.
The rain streaking down the window pane creates a reflection on his face which makes him appear to be crying.
In The Manchurian Candidate, the first take in the scene where Frank Sinatra “deprograms” Laurence Harvey was accidentally shot out of focus by the assistant cameraman.
Sinatra was a “first take” kind of guy, who had trouble recreating his spontaneity in subsequent takes. Eventually, director Frankenheimer went with the blurred take and (supposedly) made sure that the cameraman who screwed it up never worked in the business again.
The shot works perfectly, and eventually became one of the most celebrated parts of the film.
The purest genius of film making is in Remains Of The Day when Emma Thompson is trying to get the book out of Anthony Hopkin’s hand.
I nearly fall out of my chair every time I see it. The silent intensity of sexual tension is like nothing I’ll ever see again.
jarbaby
I always love the scene in Shawshank Redemption when they are tossing Andy’s cell and warden Norton almost leaves with Andy’s bible. The Warden then turns back to Andy and hands him the bible through the bars and says “Remember, salvation lies within!” during a close-up of the book. If you remember what the deal is with Andy’s bible you’ll see why I get goose pimples when I see this.
“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the Universe.” - Carl Sagan