10 memorable movie scenes
December 5th, 2007OK. This post is for movie buffs.
These are my top ten memorable scenes. These scenes went deep into my psyche for some reason or another and stayed there.
01. Dr. Strangelove - Major Kong rides the nuclear bomb like a rodeo cowboy. One of the more surreal moments in film history.
02. The City of Lost Children - “The Octopus,” two evil Siamese twins, are smoking. One inhales the smoke and the other exhales it. If you saw it, very bizarre and almost spooky, as was the entire movie. Terry Gilliam loved this flick, and yours truly’s a big fan of Gilliam, as you probably already know.
03. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch has a way of getting deep inside my psyche. I don’t know if it’s just me, but of all the scary movies I’ve seen, besides Ju-on 2, I find Lynch movies the scariest. I watched this one in the theatre and the dumpster scene made my heart skip a beat.
04. Lost Highway - David Lynch again. Fred Madison is in bed with his wife explaining a recurring nightmare. He says in the nightmare, he’s in bed with his wife and it’s her, but it’s not her. Suddenly, he looks over at her and it’s not her. If you saw the movie, you’ll remember what I’m referring to.
05. Pulp Fiction - Tarantino’s best moment by far. I don’t care what wannabe pretentious film buffs say. This movie’s head and shoulders above Resevoir Dogs. The fact that that dumb movie Forrest Gump won best picture above Pulp Fiction made me lose all respect for the morons who decide who gets Academy Awards. Anyways, I digress. Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace made one of the cutest screen couples ever, and I’ll never forget “Don’t be a Square.”
06. The Producers - “Your hats. Your jackets. Your swastikas.” I saw both versions and enjoyed the musical even more than the original. And I absolutely loathe musicals, so that’s really saying something. I laughed harder at that scene than any other in that movie.
07. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - The three-way shoot out. The best scene of perhaps the greatest American Western ever (even though it was an Italian movie shot in Spain).
08. Clerks - I don’t ever think I’ve laughed so hard in a movie when Dante and Randall are arguing about the morality of blowing up the Death Star, for there were every day workers on it. Imagine, you have to feed your family so you get offered a job on the Death Star to work on the plumbing. Do you deserve to die? The way they answer that question is classic.
09. Once Were Warriors - Grace’s suicide. Yeah, movie suicides are often melodramatic and almost stupid, but this one hit me.
10. Blue Velvet - David Lynch is not my favorite director. He’s just the guy who gets inside my psyche. I love Isabella Rosselini, but the scene I remember the most from this movie was without her. It was when Ben sings Roy Orbison and Frank listens, going from melancholy to rage halfway through the song.
Any film scene buried deep inside your psyche that pops out every now and then but you’ll remember it until the day you die? These are ten of mine.
i have to admit of your list i have only seen ‘the producers’ and ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly.’
memorable scenes for me. very first movie i ever saw in a theater…bambi’s mother getting shot. they nearly had to take me out of the theater i became so upset.
It is very difficult for me to explain to people whey Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie of all time. They look at me like I am insane. I also loved Mulholland Drive.
Lime - If I remember correctly, they don’t actually show her being shot, right? I think you just heard the shot and knew what happened.
Granny - You have good taste in film. Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies ever.
I havent seen all of these but a few I have. Like The Good The Bad and The Ugly. LOL. But have heard of the rest. Just havent gotten around to seeing them yet.
yep, all implicit but that was enough!
Most memorable scene? Once Upon a Time in the West…15 minutes of watching a fly crawl around on Jack Elam’s face. That scene is forever etched in my brain because it was soooo STUPID!
The whole Dr. Strangelove movie was chilling for me. George C. Scott’s character has far too many similarities to a few bozos in Washington right now. But anyway you got to love Slim Pickens.
Loved this post!
Once Were Warriors - what a film! and what brought me to your blog in the first place.
I might do my own version of this post someday
Miladysa - Please do! I’d love to see your 10 scenes.
Beach - Loved Slim Pickens character. And yeah, it kind of hits home, even though it was made for the 50s. I guess we haven’t come very far.
Tshsmom - Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be sure not to see it.
Lime - ‘Twas. the thing is, of all the Disney movies, I didn’t see that until I was a teen.
Tweety - Well, they’re not necessarily my favorite movies. They’re just stuck in my head.
Ah, City of Lost Children. I was just talking about how much I love that movie. The theatre that showed Control had it that weekend as the midnight show. I so wanted to go, but I’m so not good with midnight movies (I fall asleep).
That’s the scene of Dr. Strangelove that always stuck with me, too. Still haven’t seen any David Lynch movies. Not sure I really want to, either.
I haven’t seen Once Were Warriors since it was in the theatres and all I really remember is being worried that I had brought my clinically depressed suicidal brother to that movie. And what the bloody fuck was I thinking. Great movie, though.
Oh wait, I didn’t answer the question.
At the end of Breakfast at Tiffany’s where she throws the cat out of the car, I almost cried, being an insane cat lover.
Ooh, The Sting when Dana Elcar comes in to bust Robert Shaw and tells Robert Redford he can go and then Paul Newman shoots Robert Redford. I screamed. I might have been 10.
My very first movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and I remember being scared, but I don’t remember a specific scene.
The part in “The Passion” where they beat up Jesus.
Kathleen - The old Disney movies were kind of dark and Gothic. Disney got away from that, and it’s a shame because I liked those old ones.
Looks like you really know your film. You have to see a David Lynch movie just to see one. They’re quite, um, different.
Skeletorsambora - Wasn’t that the whole movie?
I’m with you on Pulp Fiction, clearly superior to Forrest Gump. Better than Reservoir Dogs too, but not by a large clip. Both were brilliant, and his best work to date.
But my favorite scene in Pulp Fiction, and one that replays in my head, is where Jules is building up intensity and shoots Brad. The intimidation was well played, the way he ate the Big Kahuna burger with those stone-cold eyes that promised death. Mesmerizing.
The foot massage discussion, too. Or when Bruce Willis picks a weapon; the Walken cameo–priceless.
But my favorite scene of all time, though racy and I know you are black (so no offense intended), is from True Romance. Again the Walken cameo. Italian mafiosos are notoriously prejudiced, and Dennis Hopper rubs Walken’s face in it. It was, simply put, the last act of defiance.
Scott - True Romance was brilliant. No offense taken. It was a well-written movie. That scene was hard to watch though because I really liked his character. I was more under the impression that he wanted to be shot fast rather than tortured so they didn’t get any information about his son’s whereabouts, thus the insult.
That’s what I mean about last act of defiance. He knew he was dead no matter what, and he wasn’t going to give up his son’s whereabouts. He basically gave Walken the middle finger like the mouse in that old tee-shirt to the swooping eagle. He prefered it quick, without all the dancing back and forth.
Scott - Ah, gotcha.
In that case, agreed.
If I were to see one David Lynch film - and let’s say one that would make me want to see more - which one would you recommend?
Kathleen - Probably Lost Highway. His movies are so weird they’re hard to follow. This one is still weird, but not as weird.