Great scenes

[Melville]

My brother challenged me to come up with a better scene than the bathhouse fight in Eastern Promises (which he, unlike myself, really liked). I responded on my family's website, but I thought I might as well copy my post here. (Note that my choices were dictated by what I could find images for):

Aguirre, the Wrath of God, plans his world conquest, which seemingly involves an army of tiny monkeys:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/aguirrecut.jpg

A chicken dances, thereby symbolizing the absurdity of existence:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/stroszek.jpg

George Bailey despairs at his fate in the factical world of the they:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/wonderful400.jpg

Dean Stockwell lip-synchs to the tune of the candy colored clown; the nature of Being-with and the social simulacrum are revealed:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/velvet28-1.jpg

Bill Murray sings "More Than This" to his fleeting love, suggesting that, indeed, there is nothing more than this:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/murraylostke3.jpg

The power of faith is revealed as the dead walk the Earth; Bill Murray's claim is called into question:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff317/FaulknerFan/ordet1.jpg

Edited to make slightly more sense.

[Russ]

Arguably, the five greatest scenes of the five greatest comedy legends:

Harold Lloyd, Safety Last! - Death-defying stunt or cleverly photographed illusion? Doesn't matter. Audiences gasped as much then as now as Lloyd's physical feats harken back to a time when comedic skill was balanced with real danger (and much nervous laughter).

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5806/resizedlloyd1uy3.jpg

Charlie Chaplin, The Gold Rush - Chaplin at his most endearing as his character improvises a dance with dinner rolls in a scene so famous that, on some original screenings, projectionists actually stopped the film and replayed the scene.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1549/chaplin1g.jpg

Buster Keaton, Steamboat Bill, Jr. - Buster finds himself in the middle of a hurricane in another scene of incredible danger to the performer. A full weight actual building frame fell with such precision that if he had not stood on the precise mark, Keaton's career would have abruptly ended with this film.

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9985/resizedkeaton1gl9.jpg

The Marx Brothers, Duck Soup - Groucho meets his match in the famous scene with Harpo as his mirrored doppelganger. A box-office failure, this film claims the mirror sequence as probably the most iconic scene in comedy history.

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/2893/resizedmarx1pa7.jpg

W.C. Fields, It's A Gift - A personal favorite, and Field's finest moment as a tired, henpecked husband who wants nothing more than to get a bit of rest on his porch, having been driven from his own bedroom. After struggling through an extended torture of traveling salesmen (I'm looking for Carl LaFong...), playfully murderous tykes, noisy milkmen, and a suspicious wife, Fields delivers the ultimate redress to a the mother-daughter tag-team who are seemingly intent on driving him insane with the following dialogue (delivered in overbearingly obnoxious sing-song voices):

Mother: Nettie, hurry up now!
Daughter: All right, I'll hurry.
Mother: Don't forget the ipecac.
Daughter: I thought you said syrup of squills.
Mother: I can't hear you. Talk louder.
Daughter: I thought you said syrup of squills.
Mother: All right, syrup of squills, I don't care.
Daughter: I don't care either. I'll get ipecac if you want me to.
Mother: Well, ipecac or syrup of squills. I don't care which.
Daughter: I don't care either. Tell me what to get and I'll get it.
Mother: Get whichever you want. I don't care. Whatever they have handy.
Daughter: It's just the same to me.
Mother: Well, it's just the same to me too. I hate 'em both.
Daughter: Where will I go? To Jone's?
Mother: Use your own judgment.
Daughter: No, you tell me where to go.
W.C. Fields: I'd like to tell you both where to go...


http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8440/resizedfields1nr6.jpg

[Duncan]

Final scene of The Passenger.

http://www.thissavageart.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/1antonionipassengerjacknichols ondvdreviewpdvd_013.jpg

[monolith94]

The masked ball scene from Labyrinth:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v446/monolith94/labyrinthbanner2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v446/monolith94/labyrinthmasks.jpg

[monolith94]

True story: one night when they were still doing vaudeville, Harpo and Groucho actually switched places for the performance, or something like that.

[Eleven]

Good comedy picks there; W.C. needs to make a comeback big time and take his rightful place among screen comedy's absolute great. Lloyd and Chaplin scenes right on the mark, and the Keaton moment is a wonder to behold, even when you know it's coming. For the Marxes, it's a personal toss-up between the mirror and the stateroom.

[chrisnu]

Here's one:

Last Tango in Paris - Paul's Eulogy (http://youtube.com/watch?v=OtuV3Fgmo2c)

[Benny Profane]

George Bailey despairs at his fate in the factical world of the they:


Dean Stockwell lip-synchs to the tune of the candy colored clown; the nature of Being-with and the social simulacrum are revealed:



http://adweek.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/caveman_3.jpg

Um, yeah, I have a response to that.

[Melville]

Charlie Chaplin, The Gold Rush - Chaplin at his most endearing as his character improvises a dance with dinner rolls in a scene so famous that, on some original screenings, projectionists actually stopped the film and replayed the scene.

The Marx Brothers, Duck Soup - Groucho meets his match in the famous scene with Harpo as his mirrored doppelganger. A box-office failure, this film claims the mirror sequence as probably the most iconic scene in comedy history.
Great choices. I was surprised by how sad Chaplin's scene was, given its fame as a comedic scene. The mirror scene might be the funniest, most impressive bit of comedy I've ever seen.


Final scene of The Passenger.

I didn't really care for the rest of the film, but that final scene was pretty great.



Um, yeah, I have a response to that.
I found it amusing to describe those scenes in philosophy jargon, kind of parodying the trend of writing little jokes as captions. Maybe my sense of humor is on the fritz.

[Rowland]

The Marx Brothers, Duck Soup - Groucho meets his match in the famous scene with Harpo as his mirrored doppelganger. A box-office failure, this film claims the mirror sequence as probably the most iconic scene in comedy history.
I was disappointed by this scene in retrospect. I had no idea of its iconic status at the time, so to me it was just a cute idea that was funny for the first 10 seconds or so, before it dragged on for another minute and change, or so it felt like. After awhile I was studying their movements for slight mistakes to pass the time.

[dreamdead]

Without ruining my unrevealed films in the top 50...

Mulholland Dr.

Club Silencio sequence

http://limelight-382.static.dailymotion.com/dyn/preview/160x120/1465382.jpg

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Crumbling house sequence

http://ventnorblog.com/copy_images/eternalsunshine.jpg

All that Jazz

Everything leading up to the finale... magical.

http://www.rushprnews.com/press/wp-content/allthatjazz.jpg

[Melville]

I was disappointed by this scene in retrospect. I had no idea of its iconic status at the time, so to me it was just a cute idea that was funny for the first 10 seconds or so, before it dragged on for another minute and change, or so it felt like. After awhile I was studying their movements for slight mistakes to pass the time.
But the whole thing that makes it so funny is how their movements gradually become out of synch. I also had never heard about the scene when I first saw it, and over the course of the scene I gradually went from impressed by the actors' skills to laughing hysterically.

[Rowland]

But the whole thing that makes it so funny is how their movements gradually become out of synch. I also had never heard about the scene when I first saw it, and over the course of the scene I gradually went from impressed by the actors' skills to laughing hysterically.Yeah, I got the joke, but I didn't think it was very funny. Maybe if I saw it 75 years ago before the endless variations on the idea that have followed. The ending battle sequence is a much more impressive and funny bit of sustained humor. They are better when they move at a rapid clip than when they linger.

[rocus]

Yeah, I got the joke, but I didn't think it was very funny. Maybe if I saw it 75 years ago before the endless variations on the idea that have followed.
This is a problem for a lot of older movies. So many original ideas have been turned into cliches, that's it's impossible to watch them with a fresh state of mind.

[DSNT]

I can't find an image for it, but the deep focus, long hallway take in La Regle de Jeu / Rules of the Game deserves mention here.

[Melville]

Yeah, I got the joke, but I didn't think it was very funny. Maybe if I saw it 75 years ago before the endless variations on the idea that have followed. The ending battle sequence is a much more impressive and funny bit of sustained humor. They are better when they move at a rapid clip than when they linger.
Ah, I thought that when you said you were looking for mistakes to pass the time, you were implying that the scene was disappointing before the deliberate mistakes started, so I wanted to point out that the deliberate mistakes are when the hilarity begins. Oh, well. Maybe I just haven't seen enough memorable imitations of the gag to be tired of it.

[Biff Justice]

http://www.mulholland-drive.net/screencaps/suit_vertigo.jpg

When Scottie "creates" his perfect woman in Vertigo

http://www.thegline.com/dvd-of-the-week/images/2003/ran-009.jpg

Just about any of the castle siege's in Ran

So many great scenes in just Hitchcock and Kurosawa alone.

[number8]

Welcome to the Takeshi Kitano educational system.

http://www.cineasie.com/Cinema%20asiatique/KinjiFukasaku/battleroyale3.jpg

[Scar]

I was getting worried until I got to number8's post....

The bookends of this movie:

http://www.cinemastrikesback.com/news/films/hard%20boiled/hb01.jpg

[rocus]

Grace Kelly goes through the suspected murderer's apartment in Rear Window. The one time being on the edge of my seat was not just a figure of speech.

[chrisnu]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9193/lh040wt7.jpg

[Melville]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9193/lh040wt7.jpg
Indeed.

[MadMan]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this scene:

http://students.fct.unl.pt/~lcc14556/Blog/The%20Good%20The%20Bad%20and%2 0the%20Ugly%20(Mexican%20Stand off).JPG
The cementary duel is one of the greatest duels of all time. Scored to Morricone's brilliant piece "The Trio." Amazing.

[Rowland]

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/373/suspiriacu1.jpg

[megladon8]

The scene in Batman Begins where Bruce Wayne returns to the cave for the first time, and stands up, allowing the bats to surround and completely engulf him.

That's a very cathartic scene.

[jenniferofthejungle]

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/4608/spockge4qi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I saw it last night and thought it was wonderfully done. I love it when he stands up and adjusts his uniform before turning to face Kirk. Great stuff.

The director's commentary is one of the best I've ever heard.

[megladon8]

That's such an awesome choice, Jen.

You've made me really want to listen to that commentary :D

[chrisnu]

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6900/icb4rp4.jpg

And of course,

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b344/chrisnu/PDVD_001-1.jpg

[Philosophe_rouge]

I think Godard's films have a lot of great scenes, one of my favourites is without a doubt Nana's dance in Vivre Sa Vie.

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/courses/Jbutler/T577/VsV052bNanasDance.JPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlBS3PmPfaI

Another scene in that film is the watching of La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc. ALWAYS gets me.

Mmmm... Karina.

[megladon8]

From Blade Runner. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcUS4chhc4)

[MadMan]

http://www.extrememortman.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Young%20Frankenstein.jpg
My favorite scene in the entire film, one that makes me laugh every time. I think its the expression on Marty's face.

http://grumpasaurus.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_dr_strangelove.01.jpg
A true blue classic that even casual movie fans recognize. Slim Pickens was really an awesome bit actor.

http://www.montrealfilmjournal.com/dat/pic/M0000337.jpg
The Garden Party brainwashing sequence isn't even done justice by this pic. Chilling, eerie and strange it is a brilliant scene indeed.

[Biff Justice]

I need to work on my post count so I can give you rep points for The Manchurian Candidate pick. One of the greatest scenes ever indeed, though I'd have to say that there is one scene in the same film that outdoes it for me.

http://celluloidheroreviews.com/images/manchurian-candidate.jpg

[MadMan]

Wahoo, another fan of the flick. Are you refering to the scenes between Raymond and his mother? Oh yeah those are utterly fantastic as well. Angela Landsburry comes off as such a controling evil bitch in a performance that was expertly matched by Meryl Streep in the almost as great remake.

[SpaceOddity]

From Blade Runner. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcUS4chhc4)

*hearts*

[Biff Justice]

Are you refering to the scenes between Raymond and his mother?

Specifically her "I will crush them for what they did to you." speech followed by "the kiss." Lansbury is absolutely amazing in this film, but that particular scene never fails to send a shiver down my spine no matter how many times I see the film.

I'm not particularly a fan of the remake, though that's more due to directorial choices than any performances.

[chrisnu]

Don't want to let the thread die...

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4904/03529ffr1nh7.jpg

[balmakboor]

http://www.jonathancrocker.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/performance.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.scifisquad.com/media/2010/03/manwhofell7.jpg

I've been watching a number of Roeg films lately and he was definitely something of a groundbreaker in the proto-music video arena. "Memo from Turner" from Performance and "Hello Mary Lou" from The Man Who Fell to Earth are both dazzling and inventive and fun.

[Sven]

Memo from Turner is so badass it hurts. Ry Cooder... sheeeee-it.

[megladon8]

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6113/phoebecatesfasttimesi.jpg

[Heidi]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i33/shannymaldonado/MADE5.jpg

[balmakboor]

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6113/phoebecatesfasttimesi.jpg

I like how your avatar looks like it's reacting to Phoebe Cates.

[Milky Joe]

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTI2MDM5MjQ1N15BMl5BanBnXk FtZTYwMDc3NjU2._V1._SX450_SY31 3_.jpg

http://deeperintomovies.net/journal/image08/misterlonely4.jpg

[chrisnu]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b344/chrisnu/carl.jpg

[MadMan]

Don't want to let the thread die...

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4904/03529ffr1nh7.jpgYes. I'm now thinking of taking the monlogue from that scene and throwing into my sig next month. A prime example of how great an actor Bogart truly was. "Squeeze harder..."

[Ivan Drago]

Don't want to let the thread die...

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4904/03529ffr1nh7.jpg

What's this still from?

[chrisnu]

It's from In a Lonely Place.

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.garnersclassics.com/pics/burbs/sardine.jpg

[MadMan]

Hah Duke, that scene is great. I love The 'Burbs-it reminds me that I still am hoping for Tom Hanks to do comedies again.

[bac0n]

The scene from Swingers where Mikey leaves the voice mails.

[endingcredits]

http://i.cnn.net/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i53/hestonmoses_041420071208.jpg
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/47/47_images/stabs1visitorq.jpg

[Dukefrukem]

Hah Duke, that scene is great. I love The 'Burbs-it reminds me that I still am hoping for Tom Hanks to do comedies again.

So good. This movie is really something else. Every time I flip by it on TV i have to stop and watch the rest of it.

[SirNewt]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Madison_dance.jpg

dancing the Madison

http://www.genjipress.com/img/dvd/2006/B0009WIE2A-38.jpg

with a stick of fucking bamboo

http://users.design.ucla.edu/~thisisthat/Johanna/images/thirdman.jpg

the girl walks on by

[Yxklyx]

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/lk/l/w/9e405ecef81ef5186151b310bb4e67 9a/2798450.jpg

[endingcredits]

http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/f9d/93d/f9d93dcc-616e-4576-adbc-11ce5f52c6ed

[Ivan Drago]

^ Holy crap. What's that still from?

[number8]

Somehow I missed that necrophilia scene from Visitor Q being posted. That is indeed a great scene.

[Wryan]

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1256.jpg

[Qrazy]

^ Holy crap. What's that still from?

Stalker, one of the best films of all time.

[Ivan Drago]

Stalker, one of the best films of all time.

Sweet. It's on my Instant Queue so I better get to it.

[Ezee E]

Sweet. It's on my Instant Queue so I better get to it.
It's a Tarkovsky that I certainly respect in afterthought then I did enjoy while watching.

If that makes sense.

[Wryan]

I like The Mirror and Nostalghia an awful lot. For some reason, Stalker not quite as highly. Time for a rewatch.

[B-side]

I like The Mirror and Nostalghia an awful lot. For some reason, Stalker not quite as highly. Time for a rewatch.

I'm the same way. Not convinced a rewatch will change it, though. Pretty sure both of those are just better films.

[endingcredits]

Andrei Rublev has some spectacular scenes.

http://takaakiokada.net/film_shots/andrei_rublev/andrei_rublev_02.jpg

http://takaakiokada.net/film_shots/andrei_rublev/andrei_rublev_63.jpg

http://takaakiokada.net/film_shots/andrei_rublev/andrei_rublev_76.jpg

[Qrazy]

I'm the same way. Not convinced a rewatch will change it, though. Pretty sure both of those are just better films.

Nope.

[MacGuffin]

I love Stalker and don't see how anyone couldn't. It's like a journey into the unknown.

[B-side]

I love Stalker and don't see how anyone couldn't. It's like a journey into the unknown.

It's great stuff, but Mirror and Nostalghia are just better.

[MacGuffin]

It's great stuff, but Mirror and Nostalghia are just better.

I will agree Nostalghia is way better, but for me personally, I couldn't emotionally invest in Mirror past the scene with the fire.

[endingcredits]

I will agree Nostalghia is way better, but for me personally, I couldn't emotionally invest in Mirror past the scene with the fire.

Really?
The Mirror's distributed chronology and lack of narrative accentuated the emotional aspects of the film for me. I also loved the Bach chorales.

[MacGuffin]

Really?
The Mirror's distributed chronology and lack of narrative accentuated the emotional aspects of the film for me. I also loved the Bach chorales.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the movie overall, but I'm not as attached to it as a lot of other people are.

[megladon8]

I've just not been able to love Tarkovsky the way others do. He has an astounding ability to capture great images, but his films feel bloated to me. As pedestrian as it may sound, they are just...boring.

Solaris, Andrei Rublev and Stalker are what I've seen, and while I enjoyed them all as contemplative art pieces, I really don't have much desire to rewatch any of them.

I'll take Soderbergh's Solaris any day of the week.

[MacGuffin]

Unfortunate, but perhaps the slow burning style isn't for you. I find moments in Stalker and almost the entirety of Nostalghia borderline painfully beautiful. Sure, the movies are absolutely excruciating and when they're over I want to curl up in a ball (I saw Mirror and Nostalghia back to back on the big screen—best endurance test ever), but I can't imagine them paced any different, nor can I imagine the films any other way, as I believe Tarkovsky is considered a "master" because he's found the optimal way to approach material in his own distinctive way.

[Qrazy]

I've just not been able to love Tarkovsky the way others do. He has an astounding ability to capture great images, but his films feel bloated to me. As pedestrian as it may sound, they are just...boring.

Solaris, Andrei Rublev and Stalker are what I've seen, and while I enjoyed them all as contemplative art pieces, I really don't have much desire to rewatch any of them.

I'll take Soderbergh's Solaris any day of the week.

You'll probably find Ivan's Childhood the least boring. I'm quite fond of it myself.

[Bosco B Thug]

Unfortunate, but perhaps the slow burning style isn't for you. I find moments in Stalker and almost the entirety of Nostalghia borderline painfully beautiful. Sure, the movies are absolutely excruciating and when they're over I want to curl up in a ball (I saw Mirror and Nostalghia back to back on the big screen—best endurance test ever), but I can't imagine them paced any different, nor can I imagine the films any other way, as I believe Tarkovsky is considered a "master" because he's found the optimal way to approach material in his own distinctive way. Good way to put it. If the idea of "critic proof" were ever a good thing, it would be in this case, and it's less being critic proof as it is filmmaking making criticism beside the point. For most cinema, critique is the great, fun part. For Tarkovsky films, it's effectively moot, which is why there's hardly ever need for animus when people both are transfixed by his work and others indifferent towards it.

[megladon8]

Unfortunate, but perhaps the slow burning style isn't for you. I find moments in Stalker and almost the entirety of Nostalghia borderline painfully beautiful. Sure, the movies are absolutely excruciating and when they're over I want to curl up in a ball (I saw Mirror and Nostalghia back to back on the big screen—best endurance test ever), but I can't imagine them paced any different, nor can I imagine the films any other way, as I believe Tarkovsky is considered a "master" because he's found the optimal way to approach material in his own distinctive way.


Perhaps I didn't really communicate well in my message that I did enjoy them. I just, as I said, don't have an enormous desire to rewatch them.

Though even that's a lie now because this conversation is making me want to rewatch Stalker quite a lot.

[B-side]

I second Qrazy's Ivan's Childhood recommendation. It's only an hour and a half, and it's much quicker paced than the ones you've seen.

[Spinal]

Tarkovsky doesn't speak to me at all. Neither artistically nor philosophically. He has the ability to capture a striking image from time to time, but I find it too much to wade through for what he ultimately gives back.

[MacGuffin]

Tarkovsky doesn't speak to me at all. Neither artistically nor philosophically. He has the ability to capture a striking image from time to time, but I find it too much to wade through for what he ultimately gives back.

I feel the exact way about Breillat.

sorry gotta keep the tark torch alit in this thread

[Boner M]

I feel the exact way about Breillat.
I feel the same way about Greenaway, von Trier, Haneke, Bergman, and everyone that Spinal likes.

sorry gotta make spinal feel like a crazy as always

[Spinal]

That's fine. Stick up for your guy. Just didn't want meg to feel like a philistine.

[B-side]

I'm not a big fan of Renoir, Ozu, Bresson, Mizoguchi, Naruse, etc.

There, now nobody has to feel like a philistine. Except me, of course, but that's to be expected.

[Spinal]

I'm not a big fan of Renoir, Ozu, Bresson, Mizoguchi, Naruse, etc.


Still not sure what to make of Bresson. Seen a couple I thought were excellent. Seen a couple I thought were risible not so good.

[Boner M]

Still not sure what to make of Bresson. Seen a couple I thought were excellent. Seen a couple I thought were risible not so good.
I'd recommend Mouchette as your next stop, esp. if you were frustrated with Lilya 4-Ever (Bergman likes it too, and doesn't like Balthazar, which should encourage you).

[B-side]

Still not sure what to make of Bresson. Seen a couple I thought were excellent. Seen a couple I thought were risible not so good.

I haven't had the pleasure of seeing an excellent Bresson film, and I've seen these (ranked?):

L'argent
A Gentle Woman
A Man Escaped
Pickpocket
Au Hasard Balthazar
Lancelot du Lac

Don't dislike any of them, but I also don't see anything particularly great about them.

[Spinal]

A Man Escaped
Pickpocket
Au Hasard Balthazar
Lancelot du Lac



These are the ones I've seen, in order of preference.

[B-side]

These are the ones I've seen, in order of preference.

Strange how that worked out.:P

Even stranger is that Lancelot contains the only scenes Bresson has filmed that I'd consider truly great, namely the jousting tournament and probably the finale.

[Spinal]

the jousting tournament

Oh man, I HATED those scenes.

[B-side]

Oh man, I HATED those scenes.

Was there anything you liked about that film?

[Spinal]

Was there anything you liked about that film?

Not really. I thought it was dreadful.

[B-side]

Not really. I thought it was dreadful.

Heh. I think it's his most interesting from a formal standpoint, but the "dramatics" are almost completely flat. It's almost just as often inspired as it is kinda silly.