Those physical, tingley moments that remind you why you love the movies - Page 2

Just to completely splooge my man-crush on Clooney over three threads: the scene where Michael has an existential moment with the horses in Michael Clayton. Plus when he reiterates Wilkinson's line about Shiva to Tilda Swinton in the end. "You are so fucked."

Despite the mess that the sequel was, I still enjoy the first Transformers film. There are two moments in that movie that make me grin from ear to ear everytime, and they both involve the same character:

During the final battle, when Starscream transforms from jet to robot and vice versa. I think in both cases we see the simplest transformation sequences possible and I think those are better than any of the others in the whole film. But the part that puts it over the top for me is especially when Starscream jumps up, seamlessly transforms into jet mode and just takes off. That moment just looks so badass to me. I grin every time.

Without fail, this scene reduces me to a big fat mess, every time. It's a brilliant scene in the movie itself, but what always gets to me about it is realizing how many of those actors, and how many people behind the camera, were refugees from the Nazis themselves. I saw this special about the making of the movie once, and a talking head (I think it was Tina) pointed out that those refugees may have escaped, but many of them had relatives and loved ones in Europe, and so the singing of the Marseillaise is as defiant for them as it is for the character in the film itself.

The whole sequence in The Return Of The King starting with the Rohirrim arriving and Theoden's speech and ending with him dying in Eowyn's arms. Especially him saying how he would no longer feel ashamed to sit among his ancestors. Always gets me.

The reveal of the new Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Spaceship porn at its finest. One of the most iconic designs ever gets the superstar treatment. And Goldsmith's score fucking kills me.

The Star Destroyer flying over seemingly forever in Star Wars. I can't think of many other scenes demonstrating so well exactly what makes cinema such a unique medium.

Omar Shariff's first appearance in Lawrence Of Arabia. I said it before, but that scene made me a film lover instead of someone who just watches a lot of movies.

Citizen Kane's opening scene. Especially the way Welles cuts from an exterior to an interior shot. Genius.

Coppola going wild with operatic grandeur in the baptism sequence of The Godfather. Possibly my favorite part of any movie ever.

Of those already mentioned:
The final image of Chaplin in City Lights
The mirror sequence in Duck Soup (okay, it doesn't exactly induce tingles, but it's the funniest fucking thing ever.)

Also:
Le Danse Macabre- The Seventh Seal
2001: The jump cut.
Aguirre on the raft with the monkeys- Aguirre: The Wrath of God
John sees Laura on the boat- Don't Look Now
Cindy Williams singing "when the red red robin goes bob bob bobbing along"- The Conversation
Opening- Apocalypse Now
"It is accomplished"- The Last Temptation of Christ
"Yeah."- Unforgiven
Bill coming up to the mansion in the daylight and receiving the letter from the creepy old man with his name on it- Eye Wide Shut
Leonard burning his wife's things- Memento

Paul LeMat walking through the junk car graveyard with Mackenzie Astin, talking about the guys who have died and the slow realization that John knows this is how he's going to end up and that he's already living on borrowed time.

Richard Dreyfuss, in the dark radio station, turning back to see Wolfman Jack be Wolfman Jack.

The very last scene of Casino Royale combined with the trademark music kicking in is such a pure cinematic joy as well. Pretty much the perfect beat to end the movie on.

Two great ones from Graffiti, Rath. That whole scene in the radio station is greatness.

I could have posted that whole sequence (that monologue is amazing), but the older I get, the more I like the quieter moments in that movie. Dreyfuss walking through the school while the music echoes is another fantastic one.

Barbara Harris singing "It Don't Worry Me" at the end of Nashville.

SUPERMAN: Marlon Brando as Kal-El looks at his son while explaining his powers on Earth.

And of course, the tiny white speck of the T-bird driving down the highway, letting Kurt know he made the right choice in leaving.

I saw this thread, and I had a hard time thinking of moments, because the ones that Rain Dog seems to be describing, I get a lot. But there are a few rare moments where a film or a scene hits me so much, it feels like I have a pseudo-out of body experience, like I'm watching myself watch the movie. It's transcendesent.

That moment is one of them. The ends of "All That Jazz" and "The Red Shoes" are others.

The end of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, when the ball is in the air and he's smiling.

Also most of the FNL TV series. Especially the news about Matt Saracen's dad.

"I know you want to walk again, but guess what? Never gonna happen. Fact."

"Every man, at some point in his life, is going to lose a battle. He's going to fight, and he's going to lose. But what makes him a man is in the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. This game is not over. This battle is not over."

"Come here. You listen to me, you little idiot. You are not gonna wuss out on this. You're gonna go to college and you're gonna get a degree. And I don't care if it takes you 7 years, all right? And when you start thinking it's too hard or that you can't handle it, I want you to remember one thing. I want you to think about the kids that you don't have yet. And I want you to think about my kids. Me and Mindy's kids that we don't have yet. And you're gonna get the job done so that one of these days I can tell them that they don't have to settle for second best. That they can be whoever the hell they want to be because their uncle Timmy went to college. And God bless our mom and dad, wherever the hell they are."

motorcycle jump + defiant return of the cooler king - The Great Escape

the slow walk towards death--The Wild Bunch

the stagecoach attack---Stagecoach

the backwards car chase--To Live and Sie In L.A.

Debra Winger on a mechanical bull--Urban Cowboy

at the movies--Public Enemies

Ezekiel 25:17--Pulp Fiction

I know I'm alone on this one, but the ending to Silent Hill. That second you realize Rose didn't really get home in one piece, and you realize she's probably going to be waiting to see her husband for all eternity. Chills.

Tombstone and I may be quoting it slightly wrong,

"I have a lot of friends, I wouldn't go through this for any of them"

Doc: "I don't"

I actually thought the big finale of the film was great too. Just some really great visual moments and the rise of ‘Alessa’ in her bed with her barb wired tendrils would have been iconic if it had occurred in an overall better room.

I remember feeling genuinely giddy after the studio performance of ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ in Once as well.

And the final moments of A Single Man made me realise how much I still loved cinema. It sort of reignited something this year which had been lacking last year.

Yeah. The score alone produces all sorts of reactions. Part of me would argue that this, and the best-known part of the Raiders theme, are the best pieces of music written for movies ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRVht...eature=related

Spock straightening his jacket when he stands up in the radiation booth

The last 10 minutes of LOCAL HERO

Honsou burying the statues in GLADIATOR

The vocal duel between the Zulu war chant and "Men of Harlech" in Zulu. Chills every damn time.

This. This. This. This. This. Every *single* time. It's like a emotion-drug that never loses efficacy.

I had known my girlfriend (who is now my wife) for all of about three weeks when we went to see this, and I'm relatively certain that watching me try to keep it together and be cool when he said that word was what tipped the scales from "has potential" to "keeper" for her. If I ever need to cry on cue, that's the scene I would use.

Many of the greats have already been mentioned. I'll add:

The end of "Starman." Bridges is so fucking good. Combine the performances, photography, and editing with the epic "Starman Leaves" music swelling til I can't take it anymore. Turns me into a mess every time.

The duet in "Whisper of the Heart."

"My Neighbor Totoro.". The whole fucking thing.

Roberto Benigni kills a priest by telling him about pumpkin fucking in "Night on Earth."

Lawrence of Arabia: "It's for HIM!"

The last 10 minutes of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Altered States: The trip in the desert, the first transformation sequence and rampage

A lot of good ones have been mentioned, but I'll toss a few in:

Raising Arizona - that amazing foot chase

Used Cars - the third act "cattle drive" finale

The opening of The Thing with the helicopter chasing the dog.

The first attack on the trawler in the ONLY version of The Fog.

The whole spike chamber sequence from Temple of Doom.

The finale of Fearless where we finally experience the plane crash. Kills me every time.

This is an awesome one that I didn't even think of until you mentioned it and I got a chill. Thanks. Lots of these scenes are great, but my litmus test is the hairs on the back of my neck, or having to think of the Ronin car chase so I can butch the fuck up and not well up with tears.

Rocky's training montage. No other montage in the series comes close to capturing that scrappy, blue collar charm that made Rocky such an enduring icon.

The last half hour of This Is England. I can't really pinpoint an exact moment from that film, but it grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until the credits were done. I don't usually sit through the entire credits but I just had to sit for a while, take it all in, and let the soothing sounds of Ludovico Einaudi calm me down.

A few from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford -

- The train robbery scene, the light & shadow dancing over the masked bandits in the trees. Beautiful sequence.

- The assassination of Jesse James & the final sequence leading to the death of Robert Ford, each moment has a perfect build up, the performances are all spot on and that gorgeous score just caps the whole thing off. I left the theater haunted by the entire thing. Amazing movie.

A few performances that gave me that same feeling:
Michael Caine in Get Carter. Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory. Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment. Gary Odman in True Romance. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. Tommy Wiseau in The Room. Ok, not so much there.

For me, I always go back to this. A perfect sequence.

If it's been said already, fuck it. I was trying to find the pictures to match, but I can't, so...

"Marcel. Burn it down."

"Oui, Shoshanna."

The cigarette flies and arches through the air. Flames.

The Revenge of The Giant Face.

So many to mention (many that come to mind already have been), so I'll add one of my faves:


Exterior. Swamp. Day.
In a long helicopter shot, we discover Kermit the Frog... playin' his banjo and singin'.


After experiencing these puppets in just a "contained" (as if you can contain the Muppets) theater environment, seeing Kermit so small and isolated in the great outdoors gets me every time. And knowing that Jim is in scuba gear under that log brings a smile to my face. That's friggin film-making dedication. What the shot conjures? I always feel a little "small fish in a big pond" myself, especially when certain goals and dreams have yet to be realized. And then the hardships, frustration, and guilt of it all rises to the surface during the campfire scene.

No matter how old I get (man-child alert!), it's still one of my favorite films. It just resonates with me on a personal and creative level so much.

I am loving this thread.

The Royal Tenenbaums- Besides what Jeremy already mentioned (That whole sequence really moves me) the moment where Margot steps off the bus and there is that brief moment of absolute silence before Nico kicks in . . . That moment is perfect, to me. It never ceases to give me chills.

There Will be Blood- The oil fire scene, of course, which is pure cinematic brilliance. As well there is the final ten minutes where DDL's ferocity is completely unleashed. And for some reason that shot of him in the chair hobbled over and shooting at the junk pile always affected me.

Magnolia- The climax is stupendous, but what really makes it work for me is the final montage with Ricky Jay's narration and Jon Brion's score.

Rath already mentioned the ending of All That Jazz which is phenomenal.

Jules et Jim- The footrace across the bridge.

And there is so much Scorsese I could list here that it would clog up the thread forever.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
- When Leatherface snatches that kid up, drags him through the doorway and slams that sliding door shut.

SPIDEY 2
- The whole train sequence (hell, the whole movie), but the line "He's...he's just a kid."

M
- The whole tribunal scene.

THE THIRD MAN
- Harry Lime's big reveal. GODDAMN. One of the most iconic shots in cinema.

Yes yes yes yes yes yes YES! I saw it at the Music Box in Chicago last month and to see that on the big screen was even more chill-inducing. What a fantastic moment in a wonderful film.

Another one: The ending of Diabolique. I haven't seen it for a while, so I don't know how it holds up, but seeing it for the first time and watching it build to that moment . . . Jeez it's nearly perfect.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: Doris Day's scream at the crescendo. Not to mention the entire agonizing build to that moment.

The Bridge on the River Kwai: The meeting where they discuss building the bridge, where Nicholson not only manages to get all his officers a hot meal, not only gets Saito to build the bridge the way Nicholson wants, but gets him to use Japanese troops as workers. All under the guise of doing what the Japanese want. Wonderfully done by Guinness.

The Quiet Earth: That final scene. Oh man, that final scene.

Gonna try my best to not have any repeats.

"Fuck it. Let's go to court." and everything that follows till the deposition.
-The Insider-

BLINDING HERO SHOT of THE FALCON. "You're all clear kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!" TARKIN BOOM. One in a million.
-Duh-

"Remember that night... when we watched Burns and Stickleton? That night, something just... clicked." and everything that follows till the explosive finishing line of enlightenment.
-Speed Racer-

"I don't know what any of it means!!!!" and the ending of the Lighthouse sequence.
-Battle Royale-

The Ricky Jay narrated prologue leading into Aimee Mann's rendition of One.
-Magnolia-

"What was it you said to the boy? It isn't about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Keep moving forward." CUT TO BLACK. CUE CONTI. CUE CROWD CHANTING HIS NAME.
-Rocky Balboa-

The smiling freeze-frames of close-ups of Chow Yun Fat and Danny Lee.
-The Killer-

Closing the door on Kay.
-The Godfather Part I-

Final shot of Michael Corleone.
-The Godfather Part II-

Shoshanna's gorgeous death.
-Inglourious Basterds-

And epilogue/cliffhanger set to Zamfir and the wisdom of Hattori Hanzo. Daughter still alive!?
-Kill Bill Vol. 1-

The rise of VOL.2 with Morricone's score wailing like nobody's business.
-Kill Bill Vol. 2-

"Negative. Five crew members."
"Icarus... who is the fifth crew member?"
"Unknown."
-Sunshine-

"By Grabthar's hammer..." with conviction!
-Galaxy Quest-

"Well, that's the thing. I just don't know how to finish that sentence anymore. So I'm leaving with the kids to help Springfield, and we're never coming back. And to prove to myself that this is the end... I taped this over our wedding video. Good-bye, Homie." Probably THE moment that surprised me the most from a largely forgettable movie and reminds me of how much I love these characters despite not having actively watched the show for a decade.
-The Simpsons Movie-

I hear this so often but I really don't understand it. I know that with these kinds of moments it's difficult to pinpoint exactly why they provoke such a positive reaction but is there any particular reason for you?

"Get that weak shit off my track!"

This one just completely flat for me. The whole "Marge questions her love for Homer" sub-plot has been mined a few too many times for me to really get emotionally invested.

Sunshine- when tenanga sacrifices him self

100% of Toy Story

Makes sense. I think in my case, I literally hadn't watched the show for such a long time, that your point wasn't an issue for me. And something in Julie Kavner's performance made it really feel like a movie for the first time. She did something I don't think she'd done in the show before.

Tons of mine have already been said, so I'll try and just mention some new moments:

Speed Racer - "Reboot"

The New World - the final moments with Rebecca Rolfe (nee Matoaka) and her family in England

Monster's Inc - Sully at the end - "Boo?"

The Insider - Jeffrey Wigand watching his daughters watch his 60 Minutes interview

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - for me, the exact moment where Joel decides he wants to keep his particular memory (of he and Clem playing in bed) and it's subsequent removal

Man on Fire -
Pita: I love you, Creasy. And you love me too, don't you?
Creasy: Yes, I do. With all my heart, Pita. Go.

The Constant Gardener - when Kioko brings the card to Tessa's funeral

King Kong - T-Rex Fight - the entire sequence was overload, but the big moment for me was when Kong chomped off the last dino's tongue and then broke its jaw.


Of those mentioned, I'll always love the end of Titanic, Chingachgook racing towards Magua in grief (one of Mann's best shots, and that is saying something), and Spidey 2's "Viking funeral" on the train.

This is what the movies are all about.

So glad someone posted that amazing shot in Punch Drunk Love. So perfect and so lovely.

Oh, yeah. And just love the movie itself.

Ha ha. What's funny is I had originally written more describing why I loved it but then I thought "No one wants to hear me pontificate on why I love this moment," and so I erased it.

For me it's first of all contained within the energy of the scene. It carries this ebullient joy that to me translates as the joy of cinema, or of making film. There is the cut to the tight shot of Jeanne Moreau as the bridge flashes behind her and the camera seems to have to keep up with her. This to me is an explosion of that energy. The fact that the camera seems as if its playing along just as much as everyone else in the scene only heightens that joyful feeling for me. That effusive energy and feeling is completely immersive to me as a cinematic experience. It immerses me far more than, say, Avatar's immersive and realistic 3D, because this envelops me in my own real emotion.

If that makes any sense to you, that is my answer.

Speaking of PDL...

"I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."

and...

"Here we go."