# Scenes in movies that 'make it' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922 "2009-04-03T23:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/41 "2009-04-05T18:40:47Z")
**Rules of Attraction** has [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDkAQ7d1D90&feature=related&fmt=18) gem of a scene. The scene just before is also funny. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/42 "2009-04-05T22:40:04Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I can watch the final showdown of **The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly** over and over again. Not only is the soundtrack perfect for the scene, but the three-way tension building up slowly is awesome. Makes the film. Except that it goes on way, way too long. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/43 "2009-04-05T22:54:27Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > You can say this with all the conviction and authority you can muster but that does not make you right. I think that shot is one of the best shots in film history, famous with good cause, and if it “makes it” for someone there is absolutely no need to be dismissive of their opinion. I have spoken. I wasn’t pretending to speak with anything more than all the conviction and authority I could muster. 😉 But I do think that reducing _Touch of Evil_ to just a single shot underrates the film. There’s much, much more to enjoy in the film than its opening. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/44 "2009-04-05T22:58:41Z")
The Russian Roulette scene from Deer Hunter. The rest of the movie (and Michael Cimino’s career) is a joke compared to that scene. And from the TV show The Shield, there are two scenes that make the series. The first is when Vick confesses all his sins. The moment before he actually tells people what he has done is the best. The second is when Claudette confronts Vick in the last episode. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/45 "2009-04-06T00:23:47Z")
A few for me are, In **Heat** , the running gun battle through the streets after the bank robbery. **Matrix** , for me its the lobby scene, and even more specifically the poor security guards reaction as Neo opens his coat to reveal enough hardware to arm a small African nation. In **Dead Poet’s Society** , the end scene, _Captain, My Captain_, I happened to flick past the last 5 minutes of the movie on cable over the weekend and even without watching the whole movie it got to me just a little. That’s a couple just off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/46 "2009-04-06T01:59:13Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Love actually, the wedding “orchestra”. I do love that scene, but for me, it’s the scene where Emma Thompson realizes that Alan Rickman is cheating on her, while they are opening Xmas presents with their children (the present she saw unwrapped by mistake the week before & thought was for her has actually gone to the mistress). She excuses herself, goes into the bedroom, has a quiet, total, insane 30 second breakdown, then pulls her shit back together and whisks the family off to the school Xmas pageant without anyone the wiser. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/47 "2009-04-06T02:36:20Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > _Glory_, when Col. Shaw volunteers his men to lead the assault on the Confederate fort. They’re marching in formation and the other Union troops exhort them to “Give 'em hell, 54!” > > Goosebump city. Same movie, but for me its the scene when Denzel Washington gets whipped for attempting to desert the Union Army. He acts real tough through the first few lashes, staring right at Matthew Broderick, but then gradually loses it. That tear won him his first Academy Award. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nyq4JDNVQQk/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/nyq4JDNVQQk?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Star_to_the_Right)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/48 "2009-04-06T03:01:59Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > In [Miracle on 34th Street](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039628/) when the little Dutch war orphan girl meets her Sinter Klaas. Gets me every time. That’s a really sweet scene. The one that makes it for me is the courtroom scene towards the end when they dump the bags and bags of mail addressed to Santa Claus on the judge’s stand. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/49 "2009-04-06T07:58:17Z")
**Holy Grail** : I’m torn between Knights of the Round Table and the raid on Swamp Castle. Both are “steamrollers”: you’re so insensible with laughter, it’s like a steamroller has run right over you. **The Boys in the Band** : Emory tells about his high school crush. **Gettysburg** : “Gen’l Lee, suh…I have no division!” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/50 "2009-04-06T08:59:53Z")
OK, one scene that “made it” for me emotionally although it was a very small, ordinary scene in cinematic terms. By the time I finally got around to seeing **Brokeback Mountain** , I had heard and read a lot about what a remarkable movie it was, and it just didn’t seem to be doing much for me. Maybe I was having a hard time relating to gay sheepherders of the '60s and '70s, or maybe I didn’t care for the way they treated other people at times, or maybe I’d heard to many “I wish I knew how to quit you jokes,” but something was making it tough for me to emphasize with them. Then Ennis found his shirt. It was like somebody flipped on my empathy switch, not just for that moment but for all the moments leading up to it. I don’t recall having that experience before of not really caring for most of a movie and then having it all mean so much that close to the end. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/51 "2009-04-06T09:39:23Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > The perfect example of this for me is the scene near the end of Apollo 13 – the four minutes during which the capsule is out of radio contact, and the increasing tension in everyone glued to the TV or a monitor, waiting, waiting … and then the explosion of emotion that follows. > > I must have seen that scene at least 10 times, and I still find my chest clenching up with tension every single time. The bit in Apollo 13 that does it for me is one line. The character of senile Mrs Lovell (played by Ron Howard’s Mom) is established with lines like: **Marilyn Lovell:** Blanche, Blanche, these nice young men are going to watch the television with you. This is Neil Armstrong, and this is Buzz… Aldrin. **Neil Armstrong:** Hi. **Blanche Lovell:** Are you boys in the space program too? But what gets me everytime is her moment of clarity: Don’t you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/52 "2009-04-06T09:46:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The bit in Apollo 13 that does it for me is one line. The character of senile Mrs Lovell (played by Ron Howard’s Mom) is established with lines like: > > **Marilyn Lovell:** Blanche, Blanche, these nice young men are going to watch the television with you. This is Neil Armstrong, and this is Buzz… Aldrin. > **Neil Armstrong:** Hi. > **Blanche Lovell:** Are you boys in the space program too? > > But what gets me everytime is her moment of clarity: > > Don’t you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it. The director got a good performance out of her. They’ve worked together before. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/53 "2009-04-06T14:24:05Z")
From the movie _Poolhall Junkies_, the single moment that makes the whole movie is during the climactic pool game, with Joe trying to pressure the hero into loosing his cool during the game by making an 80 thousand dollar bet. Christopher Walken looks at Joe and declares “I’m a fucking _millionaire_!” He then proceeds to demand that Joe place everything he has on the table, his cash, his car, the ring on his finger, with Walken’s character throwing down cash to cover all of it without even emptying his briefcase. I use that as the example of one of my favorite scenes in storytelling: The moment where some character (preferably a bad guy) realizes just how deep in over his head he has gotten himself, exactly two moments too late to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/54 "2009-04-06T14:27:59Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The director got a good performance out of her. They’ve worked together before. From what I remember she still had to audition. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/55 "2009-04-06T14:33:03Z")
_Jaws_ - “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” _The Natural_ - “Pick me out a winner Bobby.” _Casablanca_ - “Shocked! I am shocked there is gambling in Rick’s Cafe!” “Your winnings, sir.” “Thank you.” ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/56 "2009-04-06T14:55:45Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > _Casablanca_ - “Shocked! I am shocked there is gambling in Rick’s Cafe!” “Your winnings, sir.” “Thank you.” A great line, indeed, but I figured the bit where they are singing _La Marseillaise_ would be the bit to make the movie. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/57 "2009-04-06T15:31:45Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > _Glory_, when Col. Shaw volunteers his men to lead the assault on the Confederate fort. They’re marching in formation and the other Union troops exhort them to “Give 'em hell, 54!” > > Goosebump city. Yep … and if I’m not mistaken, the soldier who first yells “Give 'em hell!” was the one who fought with Denzel Washington earlier in the film, and who was insubordinate to Morgan Freeman when he stopped the scuffle. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/58 "2009-04-06T15:39:42Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Roughly half of those brought a WTF? Which one? > > Nevermind, saw it on youtube. That guy is smooth. Which one, and why can’t you mention it here? All the lines came off as dumb on the quote page. Spoiler or PM if needed. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/59 "2009-04-06T15:54:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The bit in Apollo 13 that does it for me is one line. The character of senile Mrs Lovell (played by Ron Howard’s Mom) is established with lines like: > > **Marilyn Lovell:** Blanche, Blanche, these nice young men are going to watch the television with you. This is Neil Armstrong, and this is Buzz… Aldrin. > **Neil Armstrong:** Hi. > **Blanche Lovell:** Are you boys in the space program too? > > But what gets me everytime is her moment of clarity: > > Don’t you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it. Yeah, that’s a GREAT one, not the least of which is: She reminded me of my own grandmother. 😛 But I’d admit, there was something in my eye when she said that. And kind of a melancholy when Lovell placed his thumb over the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/60 "2009-04-06T17:26:23Z")
**The Last of the Mohicans** Just before Alice jumps off the cliff after Uncas. There are no words, but the scene is amazing. **Steel Magnolias** Sally Field in the cemetary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922.md?page=4)