The first one that comes to mind is the last scene of RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY when Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea stand up and walk out to meet the Hammond brothers. It always brings tears to my eyes.
The final scene in Chaplin's masterpiece 'City Lights', when the blind flower girl with her sight restored, realises it was The Tramp who was her benefactor. The look they give each other makes it a perfectly acted and directed scene. I think its one of the most poignant moments in cinema.
If I can choose only one, it would be the chariot race from Ben-Hur. I just watched the film again Sunday night in anticipation of getting the FSM release and I think that sequence is still unmatched to this day.
Yeah, if you love movies you have hundreds of 'em: The death of Dracula in The Horror Of Dracula - Talos coming to life in Jason & The argonauts - The seige of Troy in Helen Of Troy - The Phantom composing the song in Phantom Of The Paradise - The hunchback rescuing Esmeralda in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ('39) - The attack on the train in Lawrence Of Arabia - The ecstasy of gold sequence from The Good The Bad & The Ugly. I think I could go on forever, but I need to pop out to the shops, it's a lovely sunny day in London.
It's gross, but I think everyone in the cinema laughed at the "off camera" gag where the Nazi soldier is run over by the truck.
"Oh, that had to hurt!"
"That's gonna leave a mark!"
Just the arms and legs in the air was perfect.
Oh yeah, I know what you mean. Being that he's a Nazi, I think we were supposed to be laughing. Like you said, the arms and legs in the air, plus the way the trunk bounces and his yell, simply creates a funny-looking image.
It's funny, a couple of the scenes already mentioned are ones that I think aren't special at all or outright bad.
The final scene from RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY has been mentioned, but it's not the walking out to meet the brothers together, it's the last minute or so, when that incredible cue comes in as the two former friends are now, finally, friends again, and our hero looks to the mountain and enters his kingdom justified, sinking to the bottom of the screen.
That scene has a power that's never been equaled in movies for me.
But Chickenhearted has to know there is no one answer for this question for some of us. And since someone already kinda sorta took mine already, I allow myself another pick:
John Barrymore's meltdown on hearing "Lilly Garland" has left him in TWENTIETH CENTURY.
Look at his FACE when he's reacting to "Max Jacobs'" telling him his plays are 'tripe.' Quoted imperfectly from memory, but pretty close--I've lost count of how many times I've watched it:
"You amoeba... Owen, take this creature, who came to me as an office boy, as Max MAN-DEL-BAUM, and now for some mysterious reason is known as Max JACOBS, and throw him into the street! By the scruff of the neck! OUT!!!! I close the iron door on you."
Let me second JSWalsh’s last minute scene from Ride The High Country. It showed friendship, heroism, and final justification all backed by Bassman’s wonderful theme. I always cry in that scene as in a few others. I think Hank’s scene in Forest Gump where he tries to ask his son’s mother is the son is sstteewwwpid is heartbreaking and perfectly acted. Another heartbreaker is when Debra Winger gives her final look to Shirley MacLaine in Terms Of Endearment. It is the look of complete adoration to her mother, a kind of final thank you. I love the scene where Carey Grant slumps against the door when he sees Kerr’s portrait on the wall in An Affair To Remember. Now he knows why she never came to him, and the music is sublime. “Ouch” from E.T opens the floodgates and is memorable.
On the lighter side, I love the scene where Paul Newman gets all of the men to tar the road quickly, a kind of thrashing of the establishment in Cool Hand Luke. I laugh the most when the kid puts the spider on the thief’s face in Home Alone. I love the shock and wonder on the faces of the leads when they first see real dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. I guess I’d have to name too many scenes in The Magnificent Seven.
Finally, I'll add the final scene when he opens the book in The Lives Of Others. Everyone should see this movie.
The pre-credit ski chase in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was a scene that actually changed the James Bond series, strongly influencing the Bonds that followed. I don't think I've ever loved a scene more in any movie. The term "opening stunt" entered our vocabularies with this film.
Great thread, thanks! Can’t narrow it down to just one, but one of my top 5 would have to be from Jaws. It occurs when the fishermen have caught the tiger shark. Mrs. Kintner slaps Chief Brody and accuses him of letting people swim after knowing of the danger then leaves. Mayor Vaughn tells Brody “I’m sorry, Martin, she’s wrong.” Brody says “No she’s not” and walks away. The look on Hooper’s face is priceless. Thru his eyes we see who Brody really is. He’s not just some burned-out big-city cop moved to the small town to wind down with the family. Brody is burdened with the safety of the town and he feels responsible for what has happened. In the next scene when Hooper visits with the Brody’s and asks, “How was your day?” Brody responds “Swell.” And they both share a gallows-humor laugh of resignation that inwardly they realize they’re the only ones up to the coming task. Two men who had just met suddenly have a new-found respect for each other and have become fast friends in a way that this type of situation can create. I was amazed that Mr. Spielberg was so able to convey this at such a young age (then) for a director. This scene and the one in which Quint tells the “Indianapolis story” added a level of depth and humanity that made Jaws much more than an action movie. Worked for me, anyway.
