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The best explosions/scenes of destruction in movie history

post #1 of 59
8/25/10 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
I love stuff that blows up. I can't help it. Something about taking the express lane to entropy makes the primal part of my brain grunt in slack-jawed delight. Blame the Thunderbirds.

Some of my faves:

Jabba's sail-barge
Klingon Bird of Prey - Star Trek 6/7
Nakatomi Tower
Dante's Peak pyroclastic cloud
ID4 - ESB
The Defiant Mark 1
Borg Cube - First Contact
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post #2 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:05am
The tanker exploding on the bridge at the end of The Long Kiss Goodnight is one of my favorites. It seems like a fireball of around three miles long.
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post #3 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:06am
"Lock on that explosion and fire!" from Undiscovered Country was always a favorite, more so for Sulu's unbridled enthusiasm than for the actual explosion itself.

As crappy as the movie was, Yellowstone cooking off in 2012 was pretty damn spectacular.
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post #4 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:11am
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post #5 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:15am
End of Days is a very bad movie. The train explosion in the third act is awesome. Lots of fire and physics in a confined space, done practically.
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post #6 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:17am
The ship from the end of Cutthroat Island.

The factory in Tremors 2.
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post #7 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:19am
I think Blown Away still holds the record for biggest explosion ever generated for a film.
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post #8 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by elsnakeo View Post
The ship from the end of Cutthroat Island.
Beat me to it. That's really the only reason to watch that movie.

Also-
'Aliens' - The explosion of the atmosphere processing plant.
'Alien' - The explosion of the Nostromo.
'True Lies' - The bridge.
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post #9 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:22am
As mentioned a couple times already, Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Actually, Renny Harlin movies usually have pretty good explosions. See also, airplanes blowing up on runways in Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
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post #10 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:29am
The Death Star. Mostly because bits of it hit the camera - and IT DOESN'T BREAK.

But seriously - the supermarket detonating in Grosse Pointe Blank is a personal favourite, both because it's splendid destruction, and also because of the line from the kid who worked there after bits rain down on him..."I'm hurt... I'm pissed... gotta find a new job!."
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post #11 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:38am
The fish tank/restaurant explosion in the first Mission:Impossible.
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post #12 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:40am
I don't know how much if it is the explosion itself or the score/sound design that goes with it, but:

Fellowship of the Ring: Sauron has the one ring chopped off
The Fountain: Xibulba goes nova

For your more typical explosions, though, there are several scenes in Predator that have me grinning ear to ear. The casual glance from Blaine at huge explosion 10' away from him before mowing down some fools (at the 43" mark) and, of course, the absurd wrist nuke of the Predator itself.
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post #13 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.smeg View Post
As mentioned a couple times already, Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Actually, Renny Harlin movies usually have pretty good explosions. See also, airplanes blowing up on runways in Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
Good point. Renny Harlin does blow shit up well.
The explosion in Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, when they carpet bomb the valley is pretty incredible too.

Good call on the Blown Away scene too.

I'm gonna risk being stoned to death and mention the laser weapon thingy explosion at the end of Howard The Duck was a pretty good model explosion.

The tripped up walker in ESB is a sentimental favourite.
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post #14 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:44am
The slow-motion, earth-rattling ka-booosh at the beginning of The Hurt Locker.
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post #15 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:58am
Louis Del Grade in Scanners.
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post #16 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:00pm
The sea mine explosion in Hot Fuzz, if only because it subverts the "outrunning a fireball" cliche since they don't have time to outrun it.
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post #17 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:04pm
Helicopter meets building. The Matrix.
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post #18 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:07pm
I've always loved the bridge explosion from Anna and the King - a suprisingly impressive pyrotechnic display for such a staid film - and the mine explosion at the end of The Mask of Zorro. That one's particularly good because you can see the camera shake from the shockwave and then there are thousands of pieces of debris landing all around.
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post #19 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:07pm
Jeff Daniels in 'Dumb and Dumber'.
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post #20 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:09pm
-The Ziggurat gets destroyed/falls to pieces at the end of "Metropolis" (anime).
-Corny as hell, but I love the underground Nuke detonation in "Broken Arrow"
-The Predator's final laugh in "Predator" will always be a favorite.
-Napalm in the morning, "Apocalypse Now"
-Frank clears a room full of thugs with just one grenade launcher shot in Punisher: War Zone
-Thermal plasma bombing in "The Rock"
-Meat Loaf gets turned into Meat Stew in "51 State"
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post #21 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:19pm
The bridge explosion in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Leone, Morricone and a big boom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q951qv7EbKs

Also, it's funny how Eli Wallach takes cover, with his arse facing the blast.
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post #22 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:22pm
I just thought of another one.

How humans/prawns explode in District 9.

Keep them coming!
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post #23 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:28pm
Lethal Weapon 3 opens with a pretty nasty explosion, but most awe inspiring is still Blown Away. I remember it actually came out around the time when cinema had a weird explosion fetish: The Specialist, Blown Away, Speed... they were always trying to outdo one another.
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post #24 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:35pm
The Russian space station in "Armageddon," with the two space shuttles barrel-rolling away at the last possible moment, AND the asteroid itself at the end of the film.

Lance Henricksen failing to defuse the grenade at the end of "Hard Target" -- whoop.

Butt-Head's father farting on the campfire in "Beavis & Butt-Head Do America."

The lab explosion that turns Peyton Westlake into Darkman.

The Terminator and John Connor motorcycling away from the truck explosion in the L.A. river in "T2."
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post #25 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:36pm
Congrats, Evi! Your 5,000th post was about movie explosions! How does it feel?

A couple more...
-Once they have the functioning van in Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and they get the fuck out of Dodge... the bridge getting blown apart behind them and raining vehicles on the neighborhood(including a tanker truck, of course!), is pretty impressive.
-LA getting nuked in T2's dream sequence.
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post #26 of 59
8/25/10 at 12:53pm
The flare gun meets gasoline barrels explosion at the end of From Russia With Love.

The ending of Bridge On The River Kwai (that's a real train!).

The charges in the Obi-Wan/asteroid field chase in AOTC.

Emil vs oncoming car in Robocop.
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post #27 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:06pm
I always enjoyed the practically shot model explosion for the Crysler Building in GODZILLA '98

The refueling tanker explosion in AFO is one of my all time favorite explosions too (it has subtle hints of blue and purple as well as the traditional orange and yellows)

The soda machine bomb from XF:FTF is quite an effect, and the wide shot of the floors collapsing in the building is done with a model and a matte painting if I'm not mistaken

Home Tree getting destroyed in AVATAR is an amazing sequence, but it's very sad so I don't ever want to watch it again

As for "Scenes of destruction", some of the collapsing building stuff (and a handful of other shots) from 2012 are really incredibly well done, even if the action scenes themselves are pretty boring and lifeless

PS I will include the hospital explosion from HARD BOILED because it includes what appears to be CYF nearly exploded by overly close charges
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post #28 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:15pm
Wait, no one's mentioned the end of Jaws yet? I don't know who I'm more disappointed in, you guys or myself.
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post #29 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:15pm
Opening shot/credits of "Casino."
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post #30 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:20pm
Akira, goddammit.
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post #31 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:29pm
The shack explosion in Hard Target, I love all the debris and planks of wood raining down around Lance Henriksen and his cronies.

The free-runners being disposed of by Frank in Punisher: War Zone

The bus exploding under the plane in Speed is still very impressive.
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post #32 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:31pm
Another favorite: John Cassevetes at the end of The Fury.
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post #33 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Akira, yes, but what's missing is the bit from the Manga when Tetsuo (spoiler: ) BLEW UP THE FUCKING MOON!. Also, wasn't the ballroom explosion in The Fifth Element the largest indoor explosion ever at one point?
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post #34 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:36pm
Yaphet Kotto in 'Live and Let Die'.
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post #35 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:53pm
There's lots of fun "diving out of a building as it explodes" type scenes in The Marine that I thought were done with the right ridiculousness factor.

ETA: Oh, and a diving out of car in slow motion as it's riddled with bullets and explodes scene, if I'm remembering correctly.
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post #36 of 59
8/25/10 at 1:54pm
Tony Montana introduces his little friend.
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post #37 of 59
8/25/10 at 7:18pm
Joker blows up hospital from The Dark Knight.
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post #38 of 59
8/25/10 at 7:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Art Decade View Post
The ending of Bridge On The River Kwai (that's a real train!).
See also Buster Keaton's The General. The fact that the locomotive makes it all the way onto the bridge before anything happens just gets me. And then, the wave of water when it hits below...
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post #39 of 59
8/25/10 at 7:50pm
The house explosion at the beginning of Phantasm II is impressive enough on its own pyrotechnical merits, but what makes the stunt so memorable is that the punch of the scene is wholly dependent on Angus Scrimm not breaking character and flinching in the foreground as an entire house explodes right behind him. It's one of those "One shot, one chance."-type of set-ups where both the actor and the technicians somehow managed to pull it off.
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post #40 of 59
8/25/10 at 10:34pm
Maxxx Orbison's mansion getting blown up by Choda Boy's cock-rocket in Orgazmo was cool/funny. On a more serious note, the gas station explosion in First Blood was pretty cool.
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post #41 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:23pm
The last assault in 'The Expendables', shit blows up real good in that movie.
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post #42 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:52pm
Gotta go with the train carriage in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid because it looks really visceral and everyone's damn close as bits of flaming splintering wood burst everywhere.

It's also followed by one of the great movie lines:

"Think you used enough dynamite there Butch?"
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post #43 of 59
8/25/10 at 11:55pm
Seconding "Bridge on the River Kwai". Full scale bridge, actual train, no slo mo, and if I recall correctly, shot from only two camera angles. Short, sweet and carries impact not just visually, but for every one of the main characters on an emotional level.
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post #44 of 59
8/26/10 at 12:02am
The saucer of the Enterprise D crash landing in Star Trek: Generations. Always felt like they sent the old girl off right.
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post #45 of 59
8/26/10 at 8:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bradito View Post
Opening shot/credits of "Casino."
That one's always been spoiled for me by a really obvious cut from De Niro to a dummy. But the credits sequence is still great.
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post #46 of 59
8/26/10 at 8:36am
I remember Michael Moore blowing up Mount Rushmore real nice in Team America and I'd swear the mine explosion in The Mask of Zorro has some panther roars in the sound effects. The explosions forming a skull shape at the end of Thomas Jane's Punisher must be the dumbest thing ever.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post
The refueling tanker explosion in AFO is one of my all time favorite explosions too
I give up, what is AFO? I'll give you points for including the Dallas explosion from The X-Files.

EDIT: Finally got my Princess Kate Acronym Decoder Ring working, I'm guessing AFO is Air Force One.
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post #47 of 59
8/26/10 at 8:54am
Punisher blowing up row after row of cars and just walking away
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post #48 of 59
8/26/10 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
I love the explosion in Aliens of the crashing drop ship because someone took the time to add the clattering iron bar/crowbar sound effect. Just gives it a touch a realism. Probably gets my vote for the best foley effect.

Also one of the prettiest explosions is the last tie fighter exploding at the end of the escape from the Death Star Ep IV. It's got that double beat thing going on.
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post #49 of 59
8/26/10 at 1:33pm
The petrol station explosion in Robocop
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post #50 of 59
8/26/10 at 1:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tundro View Post
I love the explosion in Aliens of the crashing drop ship because someone took the time to add the clattering iron bar/crowbar sound effect. Just gives it a touch a realism. Probably gets my vote for the best foley effect.
Awesome. Whenever i think of Aliens, that's one of the first things that pops into my head. I can still hear it perfectly in my mind. Terrific sound design and when the explosion happens, my focus always shifts to that damn bar.

I'd like to add the hospital explosion in The Dark Knight. Nolan blew the hell outta that place. And no CG, which is somewhat rare in explosions that big nowadays.
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