# Your favorite movie countdowns **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217 "2015-12-23T21:45:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/1 "2015-12-23T21:45:53Z")
Whether it’s a clock ticking, a timer running out, or a verbal “three…two…”, what are your favorite cinematic countdowns? It can be to suspenseful, horrific, or humorous effect. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/2 "2015-12-23T22:19:47Z")
I’ll just jump in first with **Goldfinger**. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/3 "2015-12-23T23:50:17Z")
This isnt really a countdown but I think it kinda fits…Lee marvin from Point Blank… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5im5K7M0yLo/hqdefault.jpg ""Point Blank" (1967): Walker Walking") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5im5K7M0yLo) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/4 "2015-12-24T00:02:52Z")
[Lost in Space, Season 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp1bEpmmGMs) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/5 "2015-12-24T00:29:09Z")
Aliens ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/6 "2015-12-24T00:33:07Z")
I must say, I’m always a fan of the scene where someone (good guy or bad - whatever, he’s _ **cool** _ does this: Cool Hand: ‘You got 30 seconds to get off my ship (out of my house, give me the money, etc)’ Victim: 'You can’t do that! ‘I have perfectly reasonable explanations for my actions. Violence would not be appropriate! I’ll get the money tomorrow!’. etc Cool Hand: (pause) ‘20’. When done well, cracks me up every time. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/7 "2015-12-24T00:49:34Z")
The first thing I thought of was the bomb countdown in Galaxy Quest. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/8 "2015-12-24T01:11:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The first thing I thought of was the bomb countdown in Galaxy Quest. There was a good one in Goldfinger as well. Most of them are cheesy as Hell. But so what? What can you expect from a movie made in 1963? Another topic that you might like to start are those so-called “explanations” the bad guy gives to the hero before killing them and the time it takes to deliver that explanation results in the hero finding a way to escape their fate. Goldfinger contains another excellent example. I just love that film. It was so well done for a film made in 1963. “My name is Bond … James Bond.” “I’d like a vodka martini - shaken - not stirred.” ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/9 "2015-12-24T01:11:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The first thing I thought of was the bomb countdown in Galaxy Quest. Damn, I thought I would be first with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/10 "2015-12-24T02:10:34Z")
[The last minute,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJPhCBH27E0) from UHF ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/11 "2015-12-24T02:17:10Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > There was a good one in Goldfinger as well. Already mentioned in Post #2. > [@](#): > > Most of them are cheesy as Hell. But so what? What can you expect from a movie made in 1963? I didn’t know most movies featuring countdown scenes were made in 1963 - that’s interesting, can you name some more? > [@](#): > > Another topic that you might like to start are those so-called “explanations” the bad guy gives to the hero before killing them and the time it takes to deliver that explanation results in the hero finding a way to escape their fate. HA! OMG that is so true. You should start a thread on it! > [@](#): > > Goldfinger contains another excellent example. I just love that film. It was so well done for a film made in 1963. > > “My name is Bond … James Bond.” > > “I’d like a vodka martini - shaken - not stirred.” Oh man I’d forgotten those lines - awesome! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/12 "2015-12-24T02:33:02Z")
“The Towering Inferno” Big ticking clock wired up to the charges coupled with John Williams’s score keeping time with the second hand. Super cool! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/13 "2015-12-24T02:39:36Z")
Missed the edit window. [Try this](https://youtu.be/cPzuk95LQts?t=505): (And turn it up!) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/14 "2015-12-24T04:50:57Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Damn, I thought I would be first with this one. You could’ve been, if you used the Omega 13. ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/15 "2015-12-24T05:12:28Z")
The nuclear self-destruct sequence in **The Andromeda Strain** (1971). “There are five minutes to self destruct…” And you can get replicas of the [Wildfire self-destruct keys](https://www.yourprops.com/Self-Destruct-Keys-replica-movie-prop-The-Andromeda-Strain-1971-YP38823.html) at this site. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/16 "2015-12-24T06:25:28Z")
The Simpsons, when [Homer saves the plant from nuclear meltdown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5MOatu5-DE) “Crisis has been averted. Everything is super!” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/17 "2015-12-24T06:47:23Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The Simpsons, when [Homer saves the plant from nuclear meltdown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5MOatu5-DE) > > “Crisis has been averted. Everything is super!” Related, from the episode [_The Vast Waistband_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O74sT4I0Yk0), a grossly obese Homer (well, more grossly obese than usual) must rush to the plant to prevent a poison gas leak. On first viewing, I didn’t even realize Burns’ “Iroquois twists” _were_ a countdown. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/18 "2015-12-24T08:00:12Z")
Not sure if it’s true but I’ve read the countdown at NASA was originally a movie device to add drama. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/19 "2015-12-24T08:18:24Z")
In Lethal Weapon 2, when Murtaugh is sitting on the toilet that has a bomb under it, and Riggs is going to pull him into the bathtub to shield him from the blast. They decide to go on a count of three, but then have a quick discussion about whether it’s 1-2-go, or 1-2-3-go. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-movie-countdowns/741217/20 "2015-12-24T10:14:11Z")
No love for _High Noon_? But my favourite has got to be the intro to _Thunderbirds_.