# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/61 "2009-04-06T17:34:38Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > 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. I took it to be the first one: > [@](#): > > Cataline Stone: [sigh] I’m exhausted. > Ben Carpenter: Yeah, me too. But you know I’m really wired. What do you say I… take you home and eat your pussy. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/62 "2009-04-06T17:52:20Z")
When Aresenio Hall falls to his doom in Amazon Women on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/63 "2009-04-06T18:18:38Z")
I have always thought the Mickey’s(Burgess Meredeth) big break down talking and yelling at Rocky though Rocky’s door is one of the best(and most underappreciated) emotional sceens in movies in the past 40 years. And He did the whole thing with no-one to interact with but a big dumb emotionless hunk of wood, (and the door was in the way too ;)) I think that should get a lot more credit for making Rocky a well-reviewed oscar nominated movie.(And probably the blame for the rest of Stallone’s career we have had to endure) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/64 "2009-04-06T18:20:35Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > 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: Yes- with Joni Mitchell playing in the background. For me, _Glengarry Glen Ross_. The final showdown between Shelly “The Machine” Levine (Jack Lemmon) and John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), from the moment Pacino closes the office door behind him, to the moment he comes back out. First Levine is ripping Williamson a new one, then Williamson’s realization, then the tables turn. Jack Lemmon is spectacular in this scene. This scene should be shown in acting classes as an example of the pinnacle of performance, what the students should shoot for. It makes the movie- which is really saying something, considering the cast and the wonderful performances from all of them. _Sideways_, the scene between Miles and Maya, at Stephanie’s house. Maya asks him why he loves pinot. Spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/65 "2009-04-06T18:21:25Z")
Michael telling Sonny, Tom et al that he volunteers to kill the cop and Solozzo. It’s the scene the entire movie turns on, and it’s the point of no return for Michael (which is ultimately the core of the story). Many other memorable scenes (Tom goes to visit Woltz, Michael confronts Fredo’s weakness in Vegas, the tollbooth, etc.)… while _cinematically_ they’re awesome, if they were summarized rather than actually shown the movie wouldn’t lose as much of its impact as if you were to somehow take out this scene. Hell, you can take out the baptism scenes entirely, because Michael subsequently tells Carlo what has just happened. But you can’t take out Michael deliberately forsaking his innocence. ---
**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, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/66 "2009-04-06T18:36:00Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Michael telling Sonny, Tom et al that he volunteers to kill the cop and Solozzo. It’s the scene the entire movie turns on, and it’s the point of no return for Michael (which is ultimately the core of the story). > > Many other memorable scenes (Tom goes to visit Woltz, Michael confronts Fredo’s weakness in Vegas, the tollbooth, etc.)… while _cinematically_ they’re awesome, if they were summarized rather than actually shown the movie wouldn’t lose as much of its impact as if you were to somehow take out this scene. > > Hell, you can take out the baptism scenes entirely, because Michael subsequently tells Carlo what has just happened. But you can’t take out Michael deliberately forsaking his innocence. Good call. As a moment of acting I like the Michael/Carlo scene better but that scene really is the big moment. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/67 "2009-04-06T18:58:42Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Except that [the buildup to the gunfight in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly] goes on way, way too long. But that’s what makes it for _me_. The tension keeps increasing little by little, though we know that bullets will fly. ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/68 "2009-04-06T19:33:10Z")
What, no one remembers “Say Anything”—the scene with Lloyd where he stood with the boom box playing over his head and she hears him through the window? Or the other great John Cusack moment (rather, one of many great moments in Grosse Pointe Blank) “I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How’ve youve been?” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/69 "2009-04-06T20:13:03Z")
> [@wonder9](#): > > rather, one of many great moments in Grosse Pointe Blank Amen. “You’re a handsome devil. What’s your name?” “This is me breathing.” “I’ll just put these in some rubbing alcohol.” ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/70 "2009-04-06T22:47:42Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > 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. Ugh. Hated that movie. But that scene… That scene. Amazing. Definately one of Walken’s most under-rated performances. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/71 "2009-04-07T01:20:16Z")
> [@wonder9](#): > > What, no one remembers “Say Anything”—the scene with Lloyd where he stood with the boom box playing over his head and she hears him through the window? Oh, I remember it- we danced to that song at our wedding… “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. ---
**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 7, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/72 "2009-04-07T04:02:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I took it to be the first one: You’re kidding me. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/73 "2009-04-07T04:29:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It was pretty exciting when it actually happened. Uh, yeah. Some tears for the movie version, but only because of the bucketload for the real thing. The rest of you, imagine an entire nation transfixed as we waited for a radio message from a quarter-million miles away that the odds said we might not hear it. There is no comparison with fiction. Then again, Shakespeare’s _Henry V_ could’ve ended after the St Crispin’s Day speech and the Battle of Agincourt with no ill effects. Dude just had no clue, ending the dramatic tension a third through the play. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/74 "2009-04-07T08:46:51Z")
I think the scene in which Steve Buscemi hangs out with the unknowing little girl makes **Con Air**. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/75 "2009-04-07T09:10:47Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > For me, _Glengarry Glen Ross_. The final showdown between Shelly “The Machine” Levine (Jack Lemmon) and John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), from the moment Pacino closes the office door behind him, to the moment he comes back out. First Levine is ripping Williamson a new one, then Williamson’s realization, then the tables turn. Jack Lemmon is spectacular in this scene. This scene should be shown in acting classes as an example of the pinnacle of performance, what the students should shoot for. It makes the movie- which is really saying something, considering the cast and the wonderful performances from all of them. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. I came in here to say JUST THAT. It is pure acting genius. Every bit of it, every inflection, every facial expression, everything. I have seen that movie over 30 times and I NEVER tire of watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/76 "2009-04-07T09:42:41Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > This is surely the most quotable scene in _The Third Man_, but it doesn’t “make” the film, does it? Sequences like Welles’s entrance, the sewer chase or the shot of Alida Valli doing the long walk at the end are surely almost just as iconic. Never mind the zither theme. It’d still be one of the finest films ever made even if Holly never went anywhere near the damn Ferris wheel. > > . I agree - the entrance of Harry Lime was spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/77 "2009-04-07T12:36:48Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > You’re kidding me. Dude, I’m on the downstream side of this, too. 🙂 I didn’t write it or propose it for this thread. I was just suggesting which line I thought was being suggested. I still don’t know why the first person to mention it felt like it needed to be veiled in such secrecy. ---
**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 7, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/78 "2009-04-07T12:39:19Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Dude, I’m on the downstream side of this, too. 🙂 > > I didn’t write it or propose it for this thread. I was just suggesting which line I thought was being suggested. I still don’t know why the first person to mention it felt like it needed to be veiled in such secrecy. Sorry, that came off nastier than intended. I wasn’t snapping at you and appreciate the response. I was just hoping for something more awesome. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/79 "2009-04-07T12:49:00Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > **The Last of the Mohicans** Just before Alice jumps off the cliff after Uncas. There are no words, but the scene is amazing. Yes! I love the slow-motion close up on Alice’s face just before she jumps. And the music is what really makes the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922/80 "2009-04-07T13:13:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There is one incredibly horrible movie **Shark Attack 3: Megalodon** that is a complete mess. But it has one line that makes it all worthwhile. > > It’s known as “THE LINE.” It brings an automatic WTF??? to anyone watching the movie unaware. > > I can’t repeat it here, but it’s in the IMDB Quotes section for the film. You’ll know what it is. I looked; still have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. Why on Earth do you think you can’t repeat the line here? Is it: “You’re extinct, fucker!”? None of the lines are much good, although maybe they seem better within the emotional context of the piece. (And, it’s about time somebody made a movie about a Megalodon.) _To Live and Die in LA_ has a lot of good scenes, but the one that really distills the whole movie for me is near the end, when Chance (William Petersen’s character) is ingloriously killed with a shotgun blast to the face. He’s a maverick cop who plays by his own rules – and that’s what happens. He gets an FBI agent killed unnecessarily, and then he eats a load of buckshot, because he played by his own rules and didn’t have backup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scenes-in-movies-that-make-it/491922.md?page=5)