@ Hanslucas – Not to be a pain, but that’s a bit of a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen Don’t Look Now. It’s a great scene, though, no doubt.
Children of Men, the scene in which the bus of fugees is brought into bexhill. it is beautifully shot and haunting. the one shot of the bus when it drives through the gate of the refugee camp, Gorgeous.
The opening credit sequence of Harold and Maude kills me every time. “…and do try and look a little more… vivacious.”
I agree with the Children on Men Bexkill scene – harrowing. The single-shot car chase scene is out of control, too.
The orgy scene in Eyes Wide Shut. Eek.
“double indemnity”. when edward g robinson gives his speech to mr. norton about the insurance business and the dietrichson case. it’s a brilliant monologue, and for some reason it moves me.
yeah, the ending of the film with macmurray and stanwyck shooting it out in the dark is classic. but robinson is the heart and soul of the film for me.
I absolutely agree with SEVEN COSTANZA on the Vincent Coccotti scene in True Romance.
SPOILER on Michael Haneke’s Caché:
A scene that really blew me away was the suicide scene in Michael Haneke’s Caché. It took me completely by surprise. The movie in general is relatively slow paced so that scene had a great impact. And the fact that Majid had Georges Laurent come so he would be forced to watch him kill himself is very cruel.
“Yojimbo” – when Toshiro Mifune’s character walks into the town and you see a dog walk past him… with a severed human hand in its mouth. What better way to let the audience to know what the hero is in for?
“Punch Drunk Love” – Adam Sandler’s character, teetering on the brink from his abrasive seven sister’s calling him ‘gay-boy’ at a party, lets go by punching the windows in his sister’s house. Symbolism anyone?
“Oldboy” – The corridor fight scene. Shows just how desperate for revenge Oh-Dae Su is.
“Reservoir Dogs” – Even though some may find it despicable, I think the torture scene is one scene that perfectly shows just how talented a director Tarantino is. The way he shifts from the absurb dancing of Mr Blonde to the heightened realism during the actual torture, the audience is putty in Tarantino’s hands.
for “reservoir dogs” i have to go with the opening pre-credit sequence. the knockout introduction to the tarantino style, with the hilarious dialogue on tipping. best dialogue he’s ever written.
i probably have to extend this and add the credit sequence too. the music and the slow-motion work wonderfully.
- The tool/rope making in ‘A Man Escaped’
- The resurrection in ‘Ordet’
- The final driving scene in ‘Taxi Driver’
- Laura’s death in ‘Fire Walk With Me’
- The hallucinations/dreams in ‘Los Olvidados’
- The scene in “Jules and Jim” where Jim visits Jules’ and his family, and then Jules rolls down the hill with Sabine.
- The end of “In the Mood for Love” is another favorite.
- I also love the beginning of “Last Life in the Universe,” right before the first opening credit title because it does a fine job in showing how depressed Kenji is.
- The part where that astronaut reaches Jupiter and starts seeing all that crazy stuff in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The audition scene in Mulholland Dr. or Veronique and Weronika meeting on vacation in the double life of Veronique.
Also the end of Nashville and the part in 3 Women where the neighbors make fun of and ridicule Millie (Shelly Duvall). The scene in The Long Goodbye where Elliott Gould asks if he can get anything at the store for his hippy/stoner/female neighbors.
The closing scene of The Third Man as the camera patiently watches Valli close in and then silently pass Holly, the greatest kiss off in movie history.
great call on the 3rd man. might be the single greatest ending in film history, period!!
The “Danny Boy” scene in Millers Crossing… Does it get any cooler than that?
Sorry for the spoilers: on Alex Cox’s “WALKER” Where I believe its ed Harris Eating someones Adrenaline glad. I couldn’t get that image out of my head.
Lars Von Trier’s “DANCER IN THE DARK”- Where selma (bjork) dances in the murdered husbands home. Something so disconnected about there dance at one point it was so bizarre.
Alex Cox’s- “REPO MAN”- most of the scenes where Emilio Estiveze is repo-ing a car. “A repo man life is always intense”!!!
Bergman’s THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, wehre Harriet Anderson’s character is recoiling and running away from a unforeseeable entity
while her family reacts by just watching her be terrorized by some violent force.
Trier’s- “THE ELEMENT OF CRIME”- I believe in joy!!!!!!!!!!! If you know what i mean then thumbs up.
the scene from godard’s une femme est une femme where belmondo presents karina with pictures of brialy’s affair while the charles aznavour song plays on the jukebox is just freaking perfect in the way that their eyes are so sad and they can’t seem to summon the strength to look at each other.
ana torrent’s eyes at any point in spirit of the beehive are also unbelievably sad and amazingly(for a child) all-knowing.
the scene in the 400 blows where the class systematically disperses while being led on a walk by their instructor is beautiful to watch
as is the first encounter with maud in ma nuit chez maud.
Uh oh… I don’t think I can choose just one. But I guess I have to, eh? I guess I’ll have to say the scene from “The Blair Witch Project” where Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams are in their tent, talking, and they suddenly hear this horrible faint screeching noise. Then they realise it’s getting closer, so they just run in to the woods screaming. The single most terrifying scene in film history, with the obvious exception of the final scene of the film – although I think they’re both equally as frightening. There are a few other scenes from other films I like just as much as this one, but this is the first one that popped in to my head.
1. Stalker’s dream from “Stalker”
2. Bjork’s singing in the end of “Dancer in the Dark”
3. Alma’s dream in “Persona” (and every other scene in Persona!)
4. First scene of “Un Chien Andalou”
6. The last ten minutes of “Russian Ark”
7. The scence from “Cries and Whispers” where Karin and Maria talk to each other but the sound is removed
8. The next to last scene in “Oldboy”
1. Stalker’s dream from “Stalker”
2. Bjork’s singing in the end of “Dancer in the Dark”
3. Alma’s dream in “Persona” (and every other scene in Persona!)
4. First scene of “Un Chien Andalou”
6. The last ten minutes of “Russian Ark”
7. The scence from “Cries and Whispers” where Karin and Maria talk to each other but the sound is removed
8. The next to last scene in “Oldboy”
The final ‘room’ in both 2001 and Stalker – what IS going on here???
The long tracking shot of Omar Sharif riding toward the watering hole in Lawrence of Arabia – breathtaking and dramatic on the big screen.
Jennifer Jones letting go of Joseph Cotten’s hand during the tidal wave in Portrait of Jennie – it broke my heart.
The farting/candle scene in Fanny & Alexander – added for its levity and ridiculous fun.
The whole party scene (with that other famous tracking shot) in Rope – glad I wasn’t at that party in any capacity – especially as a corpse!
baptism scene from The Godfather
mexican standoff scene at the end of Pulp Fiction
the final scenes when Malik is killed from Company
the angkor watt secret scene from In the Mood For Love
it’s hard to say all-time favorites, but these immediately come to mind
fight scene in Barry Lyndon- amazing camera work and interrupts “flow” of movie in best possible way
the end of Paris, Texas- the shot of travis in the parking lot is a favorite
riverboat sequence from Night of the Hunter-speaks for itself
The beginning of Toshiaki Toyoda’s “Blue Spring” with the school kids walking off the roof in slo-mo to that great music (Thee Michelle Gun Elephant).
The end of Ozu’s “Tokyo Story” where Chishu Ryu realizes how lonely he’ll be; very thought provoking.
Seeing the “homies” get blasted in Collateral. Mann says on the commentary that it’s five rounds in 1.4 seconds. Beautiful.
Two scenes from Kurosawa’s “Stray Dog” –
The beautiful scene where vet cop Shimura brought rookie Mifune to his home after a long day – so peaceful.
The whole chase scene, at the train station near the end, where Mifune finally cornered the man who stole his gun.
The scene where one-armed stranger Spencer Tracy kick the shit out of bully Ernest Borgnine inside a diner in “Bad Day at Black Rock”.
The scene at the beach in "La Dolce Vita’’ where the girl from the cafe was waving at Marcello
The first 9 minutes of C’était un rendez-vous.
Balthazar’s death scene at the end of Au Hasard Balthazar.
Spies Like Us (1985)
Ruskie: “Every minute you don’t tell us why you’re here, I cut off a finger.”
Fitz-Hume: “Mine or yours?”
Ruskie: “Yours.”
Sound clip: http://www.entertonement.com/clips/37072/Mine-or-yours
Technically: “Boogie Nights” – The opening shot.
Emotionally: “George Washington” – Buddy’s death in the bathroom.
Personally: “Gummo” – The chair wrestling scene.
Narratively: “8 1/2” – The conversation between Guido and the Writer at the water fountain.
Inexplicably: “A Clockwork Orange” – Alex hitting one of his droogs in the crotch, then kicking another one in the water. Slow mo perfection.
Recently: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – The shot of Benjamin riding his motorcycle. I know this is not really a scene, but I found it very powerful.
tomas.roges
The Jester sequence in Andrei Rublev.