Most Memorable Movie Scene

There are lots, but the one that stands out for me
is the scene in Jaws, where Robert Shaw gives the
monologue on the boat, about what happened on
the USS Indianapolis. If you weren't around in 1975,
you have no idea of the massive hit Jaws was. It was
the first of its kind, there had never been another movie
like it. We were mesmerized, applying a death grip on
the arm rests of our seats during the shark scenes.
The theatre was one of the old ones, it was huge,
and it was standing room only. When Shaw was talking
in the scene, you could literally here a pin drop.
Nobody was making a sound, it was like being alone.
I'll never forget that, its never happened since.

A older friend of mine says the shower scene from
Psycho was his most memorable. He took only baths
for years afterward. That did nothing for me, I was
a little kid at the time. But I was afraid of sharks for
decades, still am.

Psycho shower scene wasn't all that bad at all.
Jaws had impact but it was, I think, due to the press releases and other hype. I never thought it was scary.

Some scenes have impact for different reasons.
In The Birds there was supposed to be impact resistant glass in a phone booth. It wasn't. An opthalmic surgeon had to pick glass shards out of the actresses eyes. Those who know this see a scene differently. In a sit-com a scene where a man opens a bathroom door just as a woman is getting out of the tub is easily done with good camera work and timing cues but one actor's facial expressions and eye travel were just perfect because the actress insisted on the scene being shot when the actor was indeed suddenly being treated to some unexpected full frontal nudity. Audiences who know these details see things differently. One low budget noir film shot only 15 seconds of a man behind the door scene, the final movie lengthened this by running the film in both directions as a re-shoot was impossible since the actor had died in the interim. Audiences react differently.

I recently saw Bad Day at Black Rock. Ernest Borgnine going out that cafe doorway is not all that impressive a fight scene but to those who know it was a mistake that resulted in injury its different. Same as a chase scene in a movie where a stunt driver missed his mark. Or when a bunch of crooks run out of a bank and the startled passers by on the street react. Its a different scene to those who happen to know that it was real, those were actual passersby and none of them could have known it was a movie since the director was filming after his permit had been denied. Or a film such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which had a good number of bloopers but in the final cut much of blooper footage remained because the actors expressions as another actor flubbed his lines was so great. Many car chase scenes are actually filmed at 15 mph, its the quick cuts that create the excitement and the spliced in shots of a speedometer that make audiences think the speeds are real. Even the No Country For Old Men scene where a man opens a satchel and first sees a great amount of money... that quiet "hmmm" was the only ad-libbed line allowed in the entire movie and its perceived differently by those who know that as opposed to those who don't.

Most movies are shot Day For Night but low budget noir flicks are often shot Night For Night and audiences really do see differences. Some low budget movies can't afford good theatrical blood nor the services of a good F/X guy. You would be surprized what some of those low budget movies actually involve.

Memorable scenes? Its often memorable only because of the studio hucksters.

Quote: FleaStiff

Jaws had impact but it was, I think, due to the press releases and other hype..

You do realize that Shaw was telling a story of what really
happened, right? 1196 men went into the water, and
316 survived. What do 'press releases' have to do
with this scene. He related it in a gripping and realistic
way. How is this even arguable.

Quote: EvenBob

When Shaw was talking in the scene, you could literally here a pin drop. Nobody was making a sound, it was like being alone. I'll never forget that, its never happened since.

It is one of the most celebrated scenes in all of cinema, but still one of the best. The almost eight minutes in North by Northwest where just about nothing happening on screen as Cary Grant waits in an open field for someone to arrive for his meeting as the tension builds. A random car approaches, passes Grant as he stands at the side of the road, then recedes into the distance. Such an inconsequential event, yet it builds the tension. Finally the crop dusting plane arrives to try and kill him. The extremely long, almost dull period, is necessary to give the viewer time to identify with the character, so that when the terror happens, its as if he is being attacked.

Now film directors have the CGI technology to show levels of near constant fluid action that cannot begin to exist in real life. Yet the scene 50 years ago of a bored man standing by the side of a road eventually chased by a crop dusting plane can enthrall people like very few films.

Quote: pacomartin

It is one of the most celebrated scenes in all of cinema, but still one of the best. The almost eight minutes in North by Northwest where just about nothing happening on screen as Cary Grant waits in an open field for someone to arrive for his meeting as the tension builds.

That entire movie is a delight. I watch it at least twice
a year. Every scene in burned into memory, but it still
entertains. Partly its the late 50's era, the train, the cars.
But mostly its just so damn well done, I bet I've seen it
20 times. James Mason is a treat, he makes the movie.

Quote: EvenBob

You do realize that Shaw was telling a story of what really happened, right?

The non-arrival was routine. There probably was a distress call. The men in the water for days had not much choice and I'm sure it was a harrowing experience. The worst part was the court martial ordered by King just before he retired as a way of settling an old score from his academy days.

I meant my remarks about the Jaws movie and hype as general to the movie, not to the particular scene which quite frankly wasn't all that impressive to me.

Quote: FleaStiff

The men in the water for days had not much choice and I'm sure it was a harrowing experience.

800 men survived the crash, 316 were
rescued. Most of the rest were eaten by sharks.
And you're 'sure' it was a harrowing experience?

Wow.....

The "original" Godzilla bursting through the power lines while destroying Tokyo.

One of the best movie scenes of all time is when Han Solo confronts Agent K at the mouth of a dam spillway and says "I didn't kill my wife" :P

I'm going to name some scenes from recent years that I believe will eventually be remembered:


The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds, where Shoshanna is invited to sit and have dessert with Landa. Inglourious Basterds is terribly underrated. It is one of the best films of its decade.

The scene in A History of Violence, when Tom and Richie meet again.

"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?" -- No Country for Old Men"

"Is this gonna be our time?" -- Winter's Bone.

for some reason I can't forget the scene in Becket where Richard Burton is run through by swords.

Quote: Mosca

The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds, where Shoshanna is invited to sit and have dessert with Landa. Inglourious Basterds is terribly underrated. It is one of the best films of its decade.

I think many scenes in Tarantino's films get a bit long-winded and boring (like the restaurant scene at start of Reservoir Dogs discussing the tipping, or the three girls discussing, well, anything, in Death Proof), but by golly he finally got it right in Inglourious Basterds. Every scene was spot on, especially those with Landa, like the one in beginning asking the farmer about the Jews and drinking milk, smoothly speaking German and English in a long suspenseful scene. Great flick.

The scene in Walt Disney's "Dumbo" where the mother sings to him from inside the cage still gets me everytime:



One of the most memorable scenes for me is the bank shootout in Michael Mann's "Heat". Robert DeNiro, Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore, even Val Kilmer and Al Pacino. I skip through a lot of that movie just to watch that sequence over and over.

Quote: zippyboy

Quote: Mosca

The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds, where Shoshanna is invited to sit and have dessert with Landa. Inglourious Basterds is terribly underrated. It is one of the best films of its decade.

I think many scenes in Tarantino's films get a bit long-winded and boring (like the restaurant scene at start of Reservoir Dogs discussing the tipping, or the three girls discussing, well, anything, in Death Proof), but by golly he finally got it right in Inglourious Basterds. Every scene was spot on, especially those with Landa, like the one in beginning asking the farmer about the Jews and drinking milk, smoothly speaking German and English in a long suspenseful scene. Great flick.

I could have picked a few different scenes from that movie; the one you picked, the one in the basement tavern, the one where Landa kills von Hammersmark.... Landa is one of the best literary villains ever. The one in the restaurant was the one I thought of first, so I went with it because of the title of the topic. You're right, there's really not a wasted word, not a wasted second, not a wasted photon of light anywhere in the film. Every second of non-action is used to build tension.

How about when Hatfield the gambler , with the last bullet in his gun, is about to shoot Mrs. Mallory in Stagecoach. Ah John Carradine.
What an actor !!! And his dying words later in that movie : Tell Judge Greenfield that his son ...................................

Quote: Ayecarumba

One of the most memorable scenes for me is the bank shootout in Michael Mann's "Heat". Robert DeNiro, Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore, even Val Kilmer and Al Pacino. I skip through a lot of that movie just to watch that sequence over and over.

Great scene. I'll second this one. Very powerful.

>The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds,
Sorry. I figure if they can't spell it correctly, it must be a dumb movie so I won't watch it.

>"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?" -- No Country for Old Men"
I liked the novel and the movie but that coin toss scene is weird as is that "I can't give you no information about our guests" routine.

Quote: FleaStiff

>The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds,
Sorry. I figure if they can't spell it correctly, it must be a dumb movie so I won't watch it.

Hope you're joking. You're missing out. Big time.

Quote: FleaStiff

>"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?" -- No Country for Old Men"
I liked the novel and the movie but that coin toss scene is weird as is that "I can't give you no information about our guests" routine.

I thought the most haunting line of that movie was near the end when Anton Chigurh's in the bedroom about to kill the wife, and she begs him for her life, and offers money if she had any, and she says she can't die now because she has to plan the funeral for her mother. He calmly says "I wouldn't worry about it." How heartless. Isn't it the truth though, don't worry about unfinished tasks if you're gonna die in 5 seconds. It's over now.

Heartless?
Try practical, rational. Chigurth is dedicated and principled and task-oriented.
And he makes sure that simple Texas girl whose only passion in life was her husband died knowing that her husband could have saved her life but didn't.

Quote: Mosca

The restaurant scene in Inglourious Basterds, where Shoshanna is invited to sit and have dessert with Landa. Inglourious Basterds is terribly underrated. It is one of the best films of its decade.

I would have picked the opening of the movie - that initial house visit.

edit: oh you are referring to the original?

I would give my vote to the "Greed is Good" scene in "Wall Street."

Gekko summed up in 90 seconds what it took Adeam Smith 1,000 pages to write. That greed, for anything, is what drives innovation and is what propels great countries. You can cry that you do not like the word "greed" but in fact greed is a good thing. A company is not there to "provide jobs" or to "help the shareholder" but it is there to maximize the wealth of the shareholders. All else comes after that.

If I ran an institution of higher learning, every student would have to watch this scene and have that explained to them the first week of class. Then I would explain that "greed" was why they were sitting there. Both that someone's "greed" built the school and THEIR "greeed" is why they chose to show up.