# Greatest Movie Scenes



## Urien (Mar 16, 2010)

I was just reading this piece in the Guardian about the greatest movie scenes, the bits that lodge in your mind. I was wondering what our knowledgable community whould put forward for speculative fiction (horror, SF, fantasy, alternate etc). Or whatever scene takes your fancy.

Here's the Guardian article followed by a few of my choices... (If we've done this before then I couldn't find it on the search.)

The greatest film scenes ever shot | Feature | Film | The Observer


In no particular order:

The first battle scene in *LotR* on the slopes of Mount Doom; bettered by later scenes such as the charge of the Rohirrim, but the point at which I thought  "By Jove they've done it."

Deckard (*Blade Runner*) in the air car flying towards the fantastic fire venting pyramid. Wondrous.

The disastrous assault on the hive in *Aliens*. Pure adrenaline.

Neo fighting Morpheus in the *Matrix, *I'd never seen such a fast fight scene that looked plausible.

The little robots in *Silent Running* gardening away as the section spins off. Cried like a child... (I was).


That'll do for starters.


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## Ursa major (Mar 16, 2010)

I wouldn't describe it as the greatest scene, not even in a list I might generate, but I've always liked the moment in _The Flight of the Phoenix_ (the original, from 1965) when Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger) reveals what kind of aircraft he designs for a living.


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## Foxbat (Mar 16, 2010)

One of my favourite scenes is the end of  Ken Loach's *Land And Freedom.* The granddaughter stands at the graveside with her clenched fist raised. The camera pulls back and we see a group of old men with their clenched fists in the air. 

Others are: 

*Blade Runner *when Rutger Hauer's character dies.

Julie Taymor's choreographed Romans in the opening scene of *Titus*

The opening scene of *Star Wars *(original) when we see just how big that ship is.

*Dark Star - *arguing with a bomb.

There are just too many others to mention (I'd be typing for days).


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## Nesacat (Mar 16, 2010)

Equilibrium ... when John Preston (Christian Bale) is sitting across the table from Mary O'Brien (Emily Watson) after she has been arrested. He has a red satin ribbon in his hand. They both reach out and their fingers just, just touch.


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## GOLLUM (Mar 16, 2010)

You romantic you....

I'll have to put my thinking cap on for this......although I was oddly enough affected by the final scene from Dead Poet's Society where the boys inspired by Robin Williams' character stand up on their desks, whilst the others remain sitting, turned away from him. I was younger and more impressionable then..at least that's my excuse......


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## Winters_Sorrow (Mar 16, 2010)

Like many people, there are too many and I change my mind on an hourly basis but here are some I've enjoyed.

*The Straight Story* by David Lynch. As Alvin makes his decision to travel across 2 states on his lawnmower to reconcile with his dying brother, he sets off at a slow pace along the side of the road. The camera zooms out as he sets off, filming from behind, and the music swells as it pans upwards into the sky before panning back down and seeing that he's travelled about 20 yards.

*The Flight of the* *Navigator*'s (1986) opening sequence of a silvery disc-shaped object travelling slowly through a blue sky. The music builds tension before bursting into a pop melody as the "UFO" is revealed to be a silver frisbee and is caught by a leaping dog.

*Tron*'s light cycle chase. Just blew my mind watching it as a young child.

The Marseilles anthem sung in Rick's Cafe in *Casablanca*. Still chokes me up.


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## Urien (Mar 16, 2010)

Some great stuff up there; the light cycle chase I'd forgotten that. 

A couple more...

The "monster from the Id" trying to break through the atomic disrupters (?) in *Forbidden Planet* (surely due a decent remake). The look of it and the noise, fantastic.

When the Martians open fire in *War of the Worlds* (1950s version). The terrible noise and violence, definitely signalled the humans were in deep deep trouble.


Thank you for the Dark Star remimder, the bomb scene is a classic.


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## Ursa major (Mar 16, 2010)

Urien said:


> ...*Forbidden Planet* (surely due a decent remake).


Does Hollywood do decent remakes, though? 

(Yes, they'd add state-of-the-art special effects, but what else would they add? And what would they leave out?)


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## gully_foyle (Mar 16, 2010)

Seeing the Millenium Falcon go into hyperdrive for the first time.

Seeing ED-209 lose the plot.

And seeing Roy Batty's sililoquy.

Just off the top of my head, way too many to really think of.


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## HoopyFrood (Mar 16, 2010)

There are a couple from *Lord of the Rings* that I like. There's a very brief moment near the end, when Theoden is in battle and he turns to see the Witch King flying at him. The look on his face -- not fear, or surprise, just resignation. 

Also earlier just before the fight with the Wargs. Swelling music all before, but the moment the two sides clash, the music stops and there's just the raw sound of fighting.

The end scene to *The Ring*. You think it's all over and they've solved it all. Nuh uh. Out of the tv she comes!

*Inglorious Basterds* -- when Shosanna is hussled to a table of Nazis and all the way through she's calm and nonchalent, and then when everyone leaves she breaks down and you realise how hard she's been keeping herself together all that time. 

*Warrior King* -- I love daring bits of filming, and I especially love long continuous shots because you know that everyone had to be on top form to get it right. There's a part in this Tony Jaa film where he's making his way up a huge flight of stairs that curves around the side of the room up several floors and he's kicking the ass of so many bad guys as he goes and the entire thing is one long shot. He's looking a little bit worn out by the time he gets to the top, but it's awesome.

These are some of my favourites, anyway, don't know whether any of them would be considered great, but I love 'em.


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## poisonoustea (Mar 16, 2010)

In no particular order.

Most scenes in *Blade Runner* are stunning. My reaction to that movie never changes.

I loved the first *Matrix*. The Neo vs. Morpheus fight set the bar high for all action movies to come.

*2011 - A Space Odyssey*. _That_ cut had me catch my breath the first time I saw it. I could have never seen that coming.

_*π (Pi). *_The final scenes are visionary, out of this world.

*Sphere*. Well. Seeing the Sphere. The movie was so-so, but that scene promised great things.
*
Gattaca*. The impact with the environment was great; all the clean and white surfaces of the facility were almost disturbing to look at.

*Metropolis* by Fritz Lang. I can't pick a scene, the whole movie is simply beyond words.

The *Akira* anime movie introduction. The motorbike chase, the Matsuri chant (Rassera! Rassera!) keeping up the pace, the speed and the darkness of the metropolis. It is one of the most "sci-fi" scenes ever made.

And maybe 'cause I liked it when I was little, the final scene from *Terminator II*. I know, I know. It's not anything like the other movies, but that scene is always heart-wrenching to me.


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## Dave (Mar 16, 2010)

Are we restricted to scenes as a whole, or dialogue or cinematography?

There have been some good ones mentioned already:


Urien said:


> Neo fighting Morpheus in the *Matrix, *





Foxbat said:


> The opening scene of *Star Wars *(original)





Urien said:


> The "monster from the Id" trying to break through the atomic disrupters (?) in *Forbidden Planet*



I also like most of the Guardian examples:


> ...45-second shower-room murder in Hitchcock's Psycho...
> the protracted pursuit of Cary Grant by the crop-dusting plane in North by Northwest...



As others have said, too many to mention, but what about the scene in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ when Indiana doesn't use the whip and instead shoots the bad guy with his gun.


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## Tillane (Mar 16, 2010)

I'm with Winter's Sorrow on the light cycle chase from _*Tron*_.  Loved it then, love it now.

Others would include...

The scene in _*Strange Days*_ where Lenny wakes to find a SQUID recording and watches the killer breaking into his apartment and watching him asleep.  So creepy.

The end of _*Escape From New York*_, Snake walking off and unspooling Donald Pleasance's tape while "Bandstand Boogie" plays in the background.

And, while I could have picked half a dozen scenes from it, I'd have to go with the ending to *Brazil*, with Sam (Jonathan Pryce) retreating into his imaginary world.  Surreal, sad and very affecting.


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## Daisy-Boo (Mar 16, 2010)

Winters_Sorrow said:


> The Marseilles anthem sung in Rick's Cafe in *Casablanca*. Still chokes me up.


 
This is me, standing next to you, choking up too.


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## Daisy-Boo (Mar 16, 2010)

*Shadowlands*, with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger: the scene near the end where CS Lewis (Hopkins) finds Joy Gresham's (Winger) son sitting in the attic looking at The Wardrobe. (Joy has recently died of cancer.) 

They have a conversation that ends with the son in tears, sobbing that he misses his mother. Lewis breaks down, embraces the boy and sobs, "I miss her too". They cling to each other, crying their shared heart-break.

I've watched that film four or five times and I cry every single time. *sniff*


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## Mouse (Mar 16, 2010)

Nesacat said:


> Equilibrium ... when John Preston (Christian Bale) is sitting across the table from Mary O'Brien (Emily Watson) after she has been arrested. He has a red satin ribbon in his hand. They both reach out and their fingers just, just touch.



I preferred the scene where the guy got his face sliced off. 

I can't think of any scenes at the mo! Of course The Lord of the Rings is full of fantastic scenes!

I like the scene in the Wolverine Origins film when they introduced Gambit, but only cos I'd been waiting for _three_ bloody films to see Gambit! After that one scene, I spent the rest of the film ranting.

Ooh... How about the end scene in the Usual Suspects??!! Good'un.


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## Daisy-Boo (Mar 16, 2010)

*Hotel Rwanda*: the scene where Paul Rusesebagina (Don Cheadle) is driving along a misty road when his car starts bumping over unseen obstacles. He gets out and stumbles through thick mist, his every step accompanied by a loud, grisly crunching noise. The mist clears, he looks down...and discovers that the road is packed with corpses. 

The look of utter horror on his face, especially when he realises he has to walk back to his car over those same bodies...

I sat in the cinema with my hands clasped over my mouth to stifle my sobs, tears streaming down my face.


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## Vladd67 (Mar 16, 2010)

Corny but the pre title sequence to *The spy who loved me*. Bond skis down the slope goes over the edge of the cliff, the music stops there is silence apart from the faint sound of the wind. With a crump Bond's parachute opens, the horns of the Bond theme kick in and the parachute is revealed as the Union Jack.
The build up to the three way shoot out in *The Good The Bad and The Ugly*.
Gandalfs charge at Helm's Deep in T*he Two Towers* showing why you should never receive a charge at the bottom of a hill.
As already mentioned The Marseilles scene in *Casablanca* and Roy Batty's final scene in *Blade Runner*.


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## nj1 (Mar 16, 2010)

The opening 5 minutes of *SAVING PRIVATE RYAN*, amazing!
The arrival of the Zulu warriors on the mountain top above Rourke's Drift in *ZULU *obviously.
*GLADIATOR *when Russell Crowe makes short work of his opponents and shouts at the crowd 'Are you not entertained', one of my personal favs.
I'd also add* THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY *which I watched on channel 5 last night and kept me up till 12:45.

Those are just off the top of my head


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## Urien (Mar 16, 2010)

Good ones nj1. Also *Zulu* where the Zulu warriors begin singing and beating their shields.


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## Moonbat (Mar 16, 2010)

There are so many to choose from

*Scarface* - Tony Montana burying his head in a pile of cocaine

*The Deer hunter* - The early Russian roulette scene (when Christopher Walken suvives and hides his smile)

*Pulp Fiction* - When Vincent drives a syringe full of adrenalin through the breast bone of Mia

*Braveheart* - Screaming 'Freedom' as his guts lie on the floor next to him.

*Bond A view to a kill*- Grace jones jumping from the Eiffel Tower with a parachute

*Ong-Bak* - Tony Jaa flying knee first across a room into the face of some guy

*The Big Lebowski* - Jesus Quintana (John Turturro) licking his (bowling) ball

That's just a few, but I could go on and on and on and on and on


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## Interference (Mar 16, 2010)

The _Psycho_ Shower Scene lept unbidden to mind immediately without warning, so it must be lodged deep in the recesses of this erstwhile film student's noggin.

If I think, though, Rutger Hauer dying in _Bladerunner_ is one of the most moving scenes I can think of.

Bravest, longest, most successful sequence is in _The Good The Bad And The Ugly_ (thank you for the reminder, nj1) when they're drawing down on each other, matched at least in musical terms by the similar scene in _For A Few Dollars More_ with Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volontè.

Most attention-grabbing are all the scenes in _The Fantastic Four_ franchise where Sue Storm isn't invisible.


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## Rodders (Mar 16, 2010)

The Lightsaber fight between Luke and Vader in the Empire Strikes back was pretty cool.

Roy Batty's death in Blade Runner has to be one of the one of the best scenes in Cinema. 

The scene in Crash where the locksmith gets saved by his daughter's invisble cloak. 

Russell Crowe's revelation in Gladiator. 

The escape from the Shawshank Redemption. 

The autogun scene in Aliens was a great scene as it really added tension to the movie.


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## Starbeast (Mar 16, 2010)

*ALIENS* - When the xenomorphs suddenly attack the soldiers and Vasquez shouts "LET"S ROCK!" and her buddy Drake concurs "YEAH!"

*SUPERMAN* - When he discovers he is too late to save Lois and screams in pain and anger.

*RETURN of the JEDI - *When Vader saves his son Luke from the evil Sith lord.

*John Capenter's The THING - *When Kurt Russell is testing blood to find out who is infected.

*THEY LIVE - *The alley fight between Keith David and Roddy Piper.

*JAWS - *When the crew of the Orca chat inside the boat at night.

*POLTERGEIST - *When Criag T. Nelsen discovers the reason for the hauntings and screams "WHY?"

*INIDANA JONES and the LAST CRUSADE* - When Indy was young and felt deated because he lost an artifact, but was given a hat by a man who told him: "You lost today kid, but that doesn't mean you have to like it."


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## ktabic (Mar 16, 2010)

The opening scene of *Raiders of the Lost Ark*.
*300*, the first clash of the phalanxes as the Spartens and Persians first clash.
The Rohirrims arrival and charge at Pelennor Fields in *Return of the King*.
Pretty much the entirety of *Blade Runner *(but if I have to pick a single scene, Batty's death speech, even with the obvious continuity problem).


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## Culhwch (Mar 17, 2010)

HoopyFrood said:


> *Warrior King* -- I love daring bits of filming, and I especially love long continuous shots because you know that everyone had to be on top form to get it right. There's a part in this Tony Jaa film where he's making his way up a huge flight of stairs that curves around the side of the room up several floors and he's kicking the ass of so many bad guys as he goes and the entire thing is one long shot. He's looking a little bit worn out by the time he gets to the top, but it's awesome.


 
I've not seen this one but I love long takes as well. The one that immediately comes to mind is the Dunkirk scene in _Atonement_. I'm a bit of a nerd about cinematography - indeed, that scene was one of the main reasons I watched the movie...

I love a lot of the scenes already mentioned here - _LotR_, _Gladiator_, _Braveheart_, _Star Wars_. One that's always stayed with me is the closing scene of _The Constant Gardener_. There's no doubt hundreds more...


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## Teresa Edgerton (Mar 17, 2010)

I am handicapped by the fact that I don't see very many movies.  But here are some of my favorite scenes.

One near the beginning of _Henry V_ (the Laurence Olivier version), when he receives the "gift" from the French prince, and you can see a whole series of expressions pass over Olivier's face in the space of a second: from blandly courteous, to furious, to deadly, and back to a polite smile.

The balcony scene in Zeffirelli's _Romeo and Juliet_ with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, where the thought of how _young_ they were just pierced right through me.

I also like that scene in Casablanca -- the spontaneous defiance.

In LOTR:

Those first glimpses of the Shire, more green and peaceful than I could ever have pictured it in my mind.

Boromir's last fight.  (I am still convinced he could have killed _all_ those orcs if it hadn't been for that one with the bow.)

When the Ents march on Isengard, tear it to pieces, and then break the dam.

Where the people of Minas Tirith catapult* pieces of their broken city back at Sauron's forces.

And then back to another lovely pastoral scene when Sam returns home and Rosie and the children come out to meet him.



*Although they probably use a trebuchet, but I don't think that works as a verb.


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## Nesacat (Mar 17, 2010)

Mouse said:


> I preferred the scene where the guy got his face sliced off.



That was a good fight ... I liked the blood spraying across the white suit. It had several good scenes for me this movie. The first time Preston really hears the sound of rain and sees sunlight streaming in through the window. The woman waking up the stairs taking her glove off to touch the banister.


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## Teresa Edgerton (Mar 17, 2010)

Oh, gloves -- that reminds me!  A totally different sort of scene, very romantic.

In _Persuasion_ at the end, where he takes her hand.  They aren't even touching each other because of the glove, but the sight of his huge hand surrounding hers is extremely moving.  (In a repressed early 19th century sort of way.)


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## Interference (Mar 17, 2010)

I'm reminded of one of the finest pieces of film acting I've ever witnessed in a film that had precious little else going for it.

The Film: Raise the Titanic.
The Script: Woeful
Ther Performance: Alec Guinness recalling the night the ship sank.  The words gave him nothing to work with, so he made up for it with acting.  His face told a far more harrowing tale than the writer could wrench from his impoverished imagination (giant balloons, indeed ).


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## Culhwch (Mar 17, 2010)

'That's no iceberg, that's a space station.'

I'm sorry, but who could blame me.


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## Nesacat (Mar 17, 2010)

Teresa Edgerton said:


> Oh, gloves -- that reminds me!  A totally different sort of scene, very romantic.



And there's goves in another movie scene I'm fond off and this is romantic. It's from Age of Innocence. Archer and the countess are in a  horse-drawn carriage together. The countess has this sumptuous outfit on. Yards of material. It's like another barrier in an already difficult situation. I thought it was very sensual when he reached out and touched the fabric of the dress. Even the countess' gloves have buttons. When Archer  manages to expose the flesh of her wrist and rub it against his cheek,  the moment packs genuine sizzle.


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## Interference (Mar 17, 2010)

The glove scene in _On the Waterfront_ is surprisingly sexy.


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## Foxbat (Mar 17, 2010)

Vladd67 said:


> The build up to the three way shoot out in *The Good The Bad and The Ugly*.


 
Ah yes. I'd forotten about this one. If this scene were a wine, it would be an unaffordable vintage


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## Daisy-Boo (Mar 17, 2010)

Teresa Edgerton said:


> In LOTR:
> 
> Boromir's last fight. (I am still convinced he could have killed _all_ those orcs if it hadn't been for that one with the bow.)


 
Ooh! That was an amazing scene. It was about so much more than fighting - Boromir was redeeming himself, atoning for succumbing to the lure of the Ring. Sean Bean did a magnificent job.


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## HoopyFrood (Mar 17, 2010)

Teresa Edgerton said:


> When the Ents march on Isengard, tear it to pieces, and then break the dam.



How did I forget the March of the Ents? That's one of my favourite scenes of all. When Treebeard sees the chopped down trees and calls forth all the other Ents, and they start walking towards Isengard, and the music that goes along with it. Love it.


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## Nesacat (Mar 17, 2010)

The end of *Shadow of the Vampire* ... Max Schreck kills Greta Schroeder and the crew before being  exposed to sunlight and dying, while Murnau, who has now lost his mind,  finishes the film. I can't ever forget him not stopping but going on filming while everyone dies.


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## Tillane (Mar 17, 2010)

Completely forgot about the end of the original *Planet of the Apes*.

"You maniacs!  You blew it up!  Damn you!  God damn you all to hell!"

Corny, yes, but still classic.


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## Dave (Mar 17, 2010)

Tillane said:


> Completely forgot about the end of the original *Planet of the Apes*.
> 
> "You maniacs!  You blew it up!  Damn you!  God damn you all to hell!"
> 
> Corny, yes, but still classic.


Yes that needs to be in the top ten.

I've been thinking...(in no particular order)

The deadly quiet playground scene in *The Birds*
The dentists surgery scene in *Marathon Man*
When it changes from B&W to Colour in *The Wizard of Oz*
When the German guards discover 'Tom' in *The Great Escape*
The head-exploding scene in *Scanners*
The crowded-cabin scene in *Night at the Opera*
The beans-eating scene in *Blazing Saddles*
When George loses the money in *It's a Wonderful Life*
The chest-bursting dinner scene in *Alien*
Either, the getting-a-hotel-room scene, or the Wedding in *The Graduate*
Either, the VW starting-up first time, or identifying the photographs in *Sleeper*


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## Daisy-Boo (Mar 18, 2010)

Dave said:


> The deadly quiet playground scene in *The Birds*


 
Oh my goodness yes! That was an amazing scene. I got more and tense with each second that passed.


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## Quokka (Mar 18, 2010)

The jogging scene in _2001: A Space Odessy_, the first time I saw it I rewinded and watched it again just so impressed with how they set the scene up.

The next two wont make a top 10 list but two of my favourite sword fight scenes are both comedic and imo are among the highlights of their movies.

Danny Kaye and Basil Rathbone in _The Court Jester_ and
Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin in _The Princess Bride_


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## GrownUp (Mar 18, 2010)

There is a scene in Resident Evil 2 where Alice crashes through this main stained-glass window of a cathedral on a motorbike.

Oughtn't to be great, but it is.


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## Dave (Mar 18, 2010)

How could I forget "the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true"?
the vessel with the pestle

Did anyone mention yet, "Luke, I am your father!" from *The Empire Strikes Back*?

What about the leg-breaking scene in *Misery*?
Visiting Lecter in his cell in *Silence of the Lambs*
Supermarket scene in *28 Days Later*


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## Quokka (Mar 18, 2010)

For non SFF it's hard to go past the detective realising he's been had in _The Usual Suspects_.


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## Allegra (Mar 18, 2010)

Dave said:


> Visiting Lecter in his cell in *Silence of the Lambs*


 
That's one hell of a scene. 

*The Pianist* - Brody was playing Chopin's Ballad and the German officer was mesmerized. 

*The Legend of 1900* - waltz on the ship in a stormy sea: YouTube - Stormy Piano Player


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## Rodders (Mar 18, 2010)

The "You've got to be ******* kidding" and the dogs in the kennel scene in the Thing.


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## nj1 (Mar 18, 2010)

Hows about the 'escape' scene at the end of *ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO NEST*? or who could forget 'HERE"S JONNY' from *THE SHINING*?

I have to agree with Dave's suggestion from *The Marathon Man *but my fav scene from BLAZING SADDLES was the jail room scene with the Gene Wilder's 'quick draw' of the chess piece (followed by the 'this is my shooting hand' part,LOL)

and not for the squeemish (sp?) the ear cutting scene from *RESERVOIR DOGS*


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## The Ace (Mar 18, 2010)

My all-time favourite has to be the climax of, "The Battle of Britain," September 15th 1940.

With a handful of ageing aircraft and no CGI, the aerial combat scenes are incredible.


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## Foxbat (Mar 19, 2010)

Keeping to WW2 - I love the scene in *A Bridge Too Far *when the German soldier comes to discuss surrender terms with the beseiged Brits in Arnhem.

If I remember correctly -

"Sorry old chap," says the English officer. "We couldn't possibly take you all prisoner."

The German walks away totally confused.


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## reiver33 (Mar 19, 2010)

The scene in Manhunter where Will Graham (William Petersen) is going over and over and over the two home movies, and finally realises the killer knew details about the dead families gecause he too had watched these films. 

(From Wikipedia)
Because William Petersen's role was so emotionally exhausting, he did everything he could to rid himself of Will Graham after principal photography wrapped. Petersen shaved off his beard, cut his hair and dyed it blonde.

Oh, and the opening sequence in the original Star Wars - when the Imperial Star Destroyer fills the screen - just blew me away (where do I join up!).

Oh, oh - the bit in Titanic (yeah, the DeCaprio version) where they spot the iceberg and try and turn the ship. Even though I knew they fail I was sitting there muttering "Come on, come on!" under my breath...


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## tygersmovie (Jul 22, 2010)

How about the family reunion via solving the practical problems of necrophilia in VISITOR Q?


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