Key scenes

Every classic film has its defining moments. Here’s some that come to my mind. Which moments do it for you?



Kiss Me Deadly - where the bad, bad, girl opens the box and the world goes up in smoke - ‘Whoever opens this box will be turned into brimstone and ashes.’

The Third Man - where Joseph Cotton waits for Valli and she walks past him looking straight ahead.

Vertigo – Jimmy and Kimmy kissing on the turntable. 'If I let you change me, will that do it? If I do what you tell me, will you love me?'

2001 – the jump cut when the ape’s tool turns into a spaceship turning somersaults.

Solaris - The scene where Kris murders Hari, but she just can't help coming back for more.

Assault on Precinct 13 - the machine gun attack on the police station.

C'era una volta il West – Jill arrives at the railway station and the camera dollys up and over the rooftop to reveal the new world beyond.

Belle de Jour – where tart Séverine looks inside client Iska Khan’s box. (Also see Kiss Me Deadly. Well, is there a better tale than Pandora's Box?)

Lawrence of Arabia - where Omar rides out of the sun. (If you’ve only seen this on DVD, you won’t know what I’m on about.)

Quatermass and the Pit - where the devil rears up over London town.

Unearthly Stranger - where the children in the playground back away from Julie and she cries tears of sulphuric acid.

Alien – the crew are just settling down to dinner when they find they have an unexpected guest.

To be continued...

THE FURY: John Cassavetes blows up.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: Roy (read: Kng) has his Road to Damascus moment on the highway.

THE WICKER MAN: Britt Ekland dances butt naked against Edward Woodward's wall.

LAST TANGO IN PARIS: Pass the butter.

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI: Shootout in the Magic Mirror Maze.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD: Terence Stamp wields his sword for Julie Christie.

LE BOUCHER: Popaul slowly bleeds to death.

KES: Billy goes home to find Kes murdered by his brother, after not placing his bet on a horse that's just won, as his brother requested.

PATTON: George S. Patton slaps a shell shocked soldier.

Sharky wrote:

George S. Patton slaps a shell shocked soldier.

Easy enough to write, but can you say it?

Good to see a nod to De Palma elsewhere on your list. I completely forgot about him. He continues to be verboten in the politically correct world of film studies.

Breathless: Belmondo's character is shot and the camera follows him running down the street.

Repulsion: The hands emerging from the walls on Deneuve's side.

Dr. Strangelove: Any scene that takes place within Ripper's office. "Mandrake, have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?"

Obsession: The airport sequence. The cuts between Robertson running down the corridor, and Bujold being wheeled out. Mixed with Herrmann's score. And then, the final arc shot. Spine-tingling.

Taxi Driver: The overhead shot covering the mess that Travis made near the end of the film.

The Soft Skin: Lachenay's wife confronts him in the cafe... with a shotgun.

Twin Peaks- Fire Walk With Me: Laura Palmer in the "Pink Room". She really isn't a good girl, after all.

TWINE: Instead of immediately alerting authorities Bond acts like a total t*** and jeopardizes his mission by trying to pull "caught you!" on Elektra.

From what I call the "Janet Leigh in Peril Trilogy".

Touch of Evil - Opening shot.

Psycho - The shower scene.

The Manchurian Candidate - The ladies garden party.

Okay, she's not really in peril in TMC, but I just like to say "Janet Leigh in Peril". It's fun to say. And fun to think about.

The Wild Bunch - The closing shootout.

North By Northwest - Cropduster attack.

Blade Runner - "I've seen things..."

The Wizard of Oz - Dorothy steps out into Technicolor.

Casablanca - "Get on the plane, bitch."

Offbeat choice: The Big Combo, a trashy noir flick from 1955 has a brilliant scene where Brian Donlevy gets shot. They yank out his hearing aide and the gunfire is silent. I like the idea more than the.. ahem, execution. I'm surprised Tarantino hasn't stolen it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKdWq6ATgGQ#t=6m3s

Makeshift Python wrote:

TWINE:

This is non-Bond, oh Snake. :!:

Perhaps, I did jump the gun. I always find an opportunity, however appropriate to S*** on that flick.

I'll list some genuine defining moments later. I'm off to the salt mines.

Mr. Brown wrote:

Twin Peaks- Fire Walk With Me: Laura Palmer in the "Pink Room". She really isn't a good girl, after all.

The nightclub scene is great. I love the way the dialogue is inaudible because of the booming soundtrack. Lynch is one of a select bunch of filmmakers who gets sound as well as vision.

The Bridge On The River Kwa (1957) - "What have I done?"

Rear Window (1954) - Lisa enters the murderers' room, only for him to return...

The Great Escape (1963) - McQueen's motorcycle jump may be iconic, but it's the murder of Donald Pleasence's blind man that sticks with you forever.

On The Waterfront (1954) - "I coulda been a contender..." seems an obvious choice

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) - Lots to choose from but I'll go with the courtroom scene - immensely powerful.

I was thinking about WATERFRONT.

As for REAR WINDOW, for me it's Grace's entrance.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

As for REAR WINDOW, for me it's Grace's entrance.

Her rear entrance?

ambler wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

As for REAR WINDOW, for me it's Grace's entrance.

Her rear entrance?

It's very soft, and beautifully shot.

I think Hitch used Vaseline.

I've always enoyed Ambler's penetrating take on cinema.

Speaking of Hitch. NOTORIOUS had a number of key scenes.

G section wrote:

On The Waterfront (1954) - "I coulda been a contender..." seems an obvious choice

Personally I find the scenes with Malden, the scene when the boy who idolizes Brando kills all their pigeons, and especially the moment when Cobb tells Brando "you just signed your own death warrant", just as big. Though the big 'uns the death of Charley. For me, anyhow. But then again, the whole film's just so god damn excellent.

SHANE's got plenty of key scenes. Whether its Ladd and Heflin beating up 6 men in the saloon, Palance shooting Elisha Cook, the look on Ladd's face after he realizes what he's done by showing Joey how the shoot and many more... I could pick out a dozen.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES - When Harold Russell reveals his severed arms to Cathy O'Donnell. It makes me cry its that moving.

colly wrote:

G section wrote:

On The Waterfront (1954) - "I coulda been a contender..." seems an obvious choice

Personally I find the scenes with Malden, the scene when the boy who idolizes Brando kills all their pigeons, and especially the moment when Cobb tells Brando "you just signed your own death warrant", just as big. Though the big 'uns the death of Charley. For me, anyhow. But then again, the whole film's just so god damn excellent.

In my opinion, this is the most important scene in the film

The scene with Eva Marie Saint and the glove is one that stands out for me in that movie.

On The Waterfront is a film that does nothing for me. I prefer the classics such as Moulin Rouge.

The 'Scene d' Amour' from Vertigo is the definition of "Key Scene" for me. I'll never forget the grandeur of seeing on the big screen, there wasn't a dry eye in the cinema.

First one that comes to mind anyway.

ambler wrote:

On The Waterfront is a film that does nothing for me. I prefer the classics such as Moulin Rouge.

Not bourgeois enough, eh? ;)

Rear Window - Grace Kelly is trapped in the killer's apartment and there's very little for Jimmy Stewart to do anything but watch in horror.

Always got me.

I always thought the final confrontation in Rear Window was more effective, definitely a key scene there. For me it's like the entire movie is building up to that one scene, where the tension becomes almost unbearable. Fantastic stuff.

Yup, although the killer was an idiot for never keeping his eyes shut. "OH! You blinded me. Oh! You blinded me again, I'll get you- shit, not again!"

I try and forget that

If anything, it's really the editing style that comes through here. No score, only ambient effects (and screams), it feels so real. Apart from that hiccup.