I like this question. I’m surprised no one’s responded yet. It’s something I’m pretty conscious of. Generally speaking, the more goosebumps I get, the more I love the movie. A movie that doesn’t give me any goosebumps (which is the vast majority of what I see) is for the most part, a movie that I didn’t really care about.
Probably the one with the most goosebumps that I can remember is Oasis. This is probably my #1 favorite film as well. For me, it all comes down to: Do I care about the characters? Do I care what’s happening to them? The more that I care, the more goosebumps I get. Oasis is an extreme example of characters that I cared about getting yanked around in surprising, heartbreaking ways. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (especially the last 30 minutes) is probably second in line for most goosebumps.
Solaris = near the beginning when they discuss the child appearing on the ocean surface, that was creepy as heck, though i wasn’t completely satisfied with how they filmed the alien kids
A Clockwork Orange = the fight w/ billy boy in the beginning with !!!that music!!!
Throne of Blood = the ghost scenes
Films I get goosebumps just thinking about em rather than watching: Andrei Rublev, 2001 a space odyssey, the color of pomegranetes, stalker, satantango…………………………………………………………………………….
Great question, really hard answer…several of them are more recent, I think, since I can remember them better. Or they’re one of my favorite movies for the goosebumps I get every time I watch.
I guess I’ll divide into “wow” goosebumps and “super duper happy” goosebumps:
WOW
—Blue Valentine
—The Godfather Part II
—East of Eden (actually, almost anything by Kazan, to be perfectly honest)
—Toy Story 3
—The Red Shoes
SUPER DUPER HAPPY
—Chungking Express
—City Lights
—Hannah and Her Sisters
—Ordet
Sorry I gave so many!
Last Life in the Universe
Thanks for your responses, keep ‘em comin’! :)
SODR2, I’m entirely with you on 2001: Space Odyssey. The opening credits (that MUSIC!) are magnificent and do it for me every time.
Tarkovsky’s films are incredible as well, they’re just jam-packed with awe-inspiring scenes. The Mirror, Nostalghia, Stalker – all are great in this respect. I’ll single out a scene in Mirror when the woman (played by Terekhova) slowly looks up and stares into the camera, right AT YOU and simultaneously THROUGH YOU into another dimension. A chilling, transfixing moment.
Mulholland Drive by David Lynch is another no-brainer for me – quite a few amazing, thrilling scenes there.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane – scary goosebumps
Titanic – when they’re singing “Nearer My God To Thee” – sad goosebumps
A Few Good Men – Nicholson/Cruise courtroom scene – Gotcha! goosebumps
Shawshank Redemption – escape sequence – holy sh*t goosebumps
All of Me, Serial Mom – ROTFL goosebumps
The Breakfast Club
Gattaca
Up
LOTR
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Shinning
OBSESSION (mainly the ending)
COME AND SEE (horrific film)
THE SHINING
The Lion’s Den (Francisco Lombardi)
Subarnarekha (Ritwik Ghatak)
Benilde, or the Virgin Mother (Manoel de Oliveira)
Hangover Square,
Come And See is truly a nightmarish film. I remember seeing it as a kid and being completely destroyed. Those weren’t goosebumps by any means, it was something else…
Good thread, Freddie.
What I like about this thread is that we can get chicken skin (as we say in Hawai’i) for a variety reasons—not just fear. What I find interesting is the difference between these goosebump moments and really emotional moments from a film. They’re not always the same. What makes one cry or feel strong emotion, may not necessarily elicit the chicken skin feeling.
In any event, if I may be so bold, can I ask people to mention the specific moments/scenes in the film that gave them goosebumps?
Off the top of my head:
Blair Witch Project—(spoilers)
The shot of the guy standing in the corner (whooo, just got a wave of chicken skin thinking about that) and then the camera man getting hit over the head. Everything in the movie prior to that was just OK (and a little worse—as in motion sickness worse), but that ending packed a punch.
@Sarah
You mentioned Hannah and Her Sisters and I’m betting you’re talking about the ending. I just rewatched that—and I was surprised how much the ending really hit me.
ENTER THE VOID – Noè
VALHALLA RISING – Refn
DE OFRIVILLIGA – Östlund
I tend to experience this with most films that really impact me. It’s a central component in the state of complete immersion and entrancement that occurs with a powerful work.
I’ll single out Taxi Driver because I probably get goosebumps every time that main trumpet melody line of Hermann’s score comes in.
Re 2001: that last instance of Thus Sprach Zarathustra accompanying the star child in the final shots is utter heaven.
Twin peaks: fire walk with me
Dogville
Cannibal holocaust
Apocalypse now
Lessons of darkness
Jazzaloha,
Thanks for your kind words. It’s my first thread on here.
Yeah, I expected that there’d be a turn toward specific moments/scenes. It’s just that I noticed exactly the same thread floating around (concerning specific scenes), so there wasn’t any point in creating another redundant thread.
By the way, how are Woody Allen’s films, goosebump-wise?)))
I just never got to see his films properly.
Gummo
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Female Trouble
Freddie
You’re welcome to share your impressions and comments on which aspects of these films amazed you so.
Cheers!