Top 12 Scenes in Film

Before I begin let me just say that this is obviously a very biased set of 12 scenes.  I made this list on my own, and I have not seen every film before.  Also, I have my own tastes that are factored into these decisions as well.  If I wanted I could have probably chose all 12 from a certain movie on the list.  However, I have done my best to deliver what in my opinion are the best 12 scenes in the history of cinema.  Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the 12 scenes.   !Spoiler Alert!

1) If you have not experienced some older films then this scene may not strike you as iconic.  However, this is probably one of the most epic scenes in any film.  It is from the original Planet of the Apes.  Starring Charlton Heston, and gracing the big screen in 1968, this film truly showed how far the imagination in the field of science fiction had gone.  It was one extreme to show an alternate universe in which humans are the animals and apes are the civilized beings.  However, once the main character reaches this iconic structure at the end of the film the truth is revealed.  It is actually the statue of liberty...and it proves that he has been on earth the entire time...just years in the future.  How frightening, daring and ingenious. 


2) One of my favorite things to hear someone say is "Fight Club is the best movie I have ever seen!"  I begin to laugh every time.  I usually counter it with "Why?" or "It is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen" and the people always think I have no taste.  It's funny because 90% of people that say Fight Club is the best movie have never seen Edward Norton's other film with a similar concept.  The film came out years earlier and unfortunately this is a major spoiler so stop reading if you wish, but he also has a "split personality".  Primal Fear was the title of the film, and it was released 1996, just three years before Fight Club.  Richard Gear, plays Norton's attorney who not only has to protect him from the death penalty but from himself as well.  You see while on the outside, Norton's character seems to be a very sweet and gentle child, there is something deep and dark within him just aching to break free.  There is much more to the film, and I actually didn't see it as a fantastic movie until the final 15 minutes (the time during which the scene I am referring to takes place).  Only then did I see the complete picture and realize that this film truly was terrific and ingenious all along.  My mouth dropped and I realized what had actually transpired...and I will never be the same again after seeing that film. 


3) If you have read the rest of my blog then you already know how I feel about American Beauty.  Such an amazing film, but I truly realized it when I saw this scene.  Sam Mendes is just an amazing Director, and this film proved that.  Basically by this time in the film, Kevin Spacey's character (Lester Burnham) has already quit his job, and has begun a self destructive path to self satisfaction.  He finally realizes that to find his own happiness he cannot let everyone else talk down to him, but here he actually put his family in their place as well.  For years of them treating him like a pathetic loser, and him having no control over his life at home...he finally speaks out.  Now, I have heard that him throwing the plate of asparagus was improv, and that everyone was truly shocked.  I am not sure how much of that I believe, but what I can tell you...is this was the climax of the film for me.  However, most people will say it is the scene in which Lester is "murdered".  I completely disagree...but to each his/her own.


4)  Wes Anderson and his masterpiece, The Royal Tenenbaums, has always stuck in my mind as one of the best films I have ever seen.  It is funny, interesting, and such a thought provoking film.  Many people have told me that they didn't think the film was that great.  Honestly, they may be right...but to me it was simply amazing.  My favorite character, and in my opinion the character with the most depth was Richie Tenenbaum, portrayed by Luke Wilson.  The best scene clearly has to be the tennis scene of the film.  While it may seem a slightly perverse, Richie has fallen in love with his adopted sister.  Unfortunately, she was recently married and her and her husband are actually attending Richie's professional tennis match.  A once amazing player, he begins to have an emotional breakdown filled with tears and dramatically removing his shoes.  Ironically, the character seems to be able to forgive everyone and see the best in them, but he cannot seem to see the best in himself.  To me, this scene was the focus on everyone else catching up to him...which also happens at another moment in the film, but that is for another time.


5)  If you know me at all, then you knew this was coming eventually.  I love Star Wars.  I think George Lucas is a genius, and he will be remembered as such.  He had ideas, imagination, passion, and he put it all together to create Star Wars!  My favorite of all 6 films (technically 7 if you count clone wars) is Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back.  Now, many people don't realize that Lucas didn't actually direct or even write the screenplay for his second Star Wars film.  Regardless, he did write the story and the characters are credited to him.  I mean who does not associate Lucas with Star Wars?  Before I get off track any further, I want to talk about this scene...let's call it the Carbon Freezing scene.  After nearly three hours of actual screen time we finally see Han begin to realize he is in love with the Princess.  While at first she denies it earlier in the film the truth comes out when they are all facing an uncertain death.  The kiss they share sealed this scene in my heart for all eternity.  When she finally tells him she loves him...and he follows with the response "I know..." it just simply took me away.  As he is lowered to be frozen in carbonite, and Chewbacca lets out a resonating howl, we see our second greatest protagonist of the film disappear until the sixth film released three years later!  

The last thing to say about this film is that the iconic Star Wars scene "I am your father!"  is an obvious runner up to the Carbon Freezing scene.  The reason I did not choose it though is simply because everyone has seen it and it has been played to death.  I still love that scene as well, but I want to give people a taste for a part of the film they may have overlooked or may have never scene...seen lol.  I hate homophones...

6)  As I move to the halfway point of these top 12 scenes I figured that this blog was about due for a video.  I couldn't think of a more fitting scene to post the video for than my favorite scene from Forrest Gump.  The movie mad me laugh, cry, and think deeply about the world we live in.  The final scene of the movie, when Forrest finds out he has a son, was simply the best scene for me.  Haley Joel Osment and Tom Hanks were just an amazing father and son pair onscreen.  I loved how they placed them in front of the television watching Sesame Street, such a popular show for the time they were trying to display (Early 80's).  The most heartwarming part of Forrest's reaction is when he finds out about his son's intelligence.  Truly a masterpiece.  I guess the only thing left to say about this film is that it was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get...but at least it will captivate you every step of the way.

7) Have you ever enjoyed a movie and wanted to watch it over and over again?  We have all felt that way at one point or another, but doesn't it get a little boring after a while?  Of course it does.  I used to watch the first Back to the Future all the time and I loved every moment of it.  The idea of traveling back through time was simply fascinating.  After many years of watching the first film an old friend bought me the entire BTTF Collection.  I had never actually sat down before that moment and watched Part 2 of the trilogy.  From the first scene I was completely enthralled by the concept.  The movie shows different realities and the main characters even run into their time traveling selves in the past which makes for the possibility of so many different paradoxes it is just mind boggling.  As you can probably tell by now, it is the ending of a film which really sells it for me.  This film had one of the greatest endings of all time.  I can remember after watching Part 2 getting right up and switching the DVD to Part 3 right away because I simply had to figure out what happened to Doc Brown.  The scene I am referring to as the greatest scene from the movie is right at the end, when Doc has just sent Marty back into the future with a lighting bolt and a DeLorean lacking the necessary 1.21 Gigawatts of electricity for time travel.  At that very moment, right in the middle of the Docs rejoicing, the current Marty, the one we have been watching the entire film comes running down the path led by the flaming tires and grabs hold of the Doc shocking him by telling him "I'm Back...I'm Back from the future".  It is one of my favorite lines of all time and I say it all the time, even when it makes no sense to say it.  Ironically, when I realized the predicament our main characters were in at the films close, I shouted out "Great Scott!" and fainted as well. 

8)  Now we reach arguably the greatest film of all time, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.  Let me just start by saying this is the film I was referring to when I said I could probably have chosen all twelve scenes to be from one of the films on the list.  Don Corleone's attempted murder, Sonny's murder, the wedding, and the baptism are all unforgettable scenes.  However, in my opinion none of them compare to what I will call The Hospital Scene.  Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, decides he wants to visit his father who was shot and recovering in the hospital.  He decides to go alone and upon getting there he realizes that the police have been paid off to drop their guard over his father.  Some quick thinking leads him to move his father to a secluded area and wait for the incoming footsteps of what is seemingly another attempt upon his life.  Once he finds out it is a familiar face both go out to stand guard and pretend to be some underlings watching over the Don.  If you aren't paying attention though you could easily miss the biggest turning point of the film.  Michael tells his father that "He is with him".  While you could interpret it simply that he is there for him right now, the Don knows much better.  He smiles because he knows that his son, the one he trusts the most has finally become a member of the real Corleone family, and he sees his family's future as more secure than it would have ever been under his other sons, Fredo or Sonny.  Someday, and that day may never come, I hope to put an actual review of the whole film on here. 

9)  We are moving right along to number 9 here, and damn have I saved the best for last or what!  I hope and pray that everyone has seen this film.  The Departed, quite possibly the best film of 2006, and while not Scorsese's greatest work it definitely ranks in high among my top films and will never be taken down from that title.  While the film was a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong flick, Infernal Affairs, it brought something new to the table that individualized and Americanized it at the same time.  This is a huge spoiler but the best scene of the film is the drastic turn of events when Leonardo DiCaprio is shot in the head and killed in the elevator while attempting to bring Matt Damon's character to justice.  While both men are undercover, one is bad and pretending to be good, and the other is good pretending to be bad.  The reason why this scene just blew me away is because of how sure the audience is during this scene that we will see a "happy ending".  Just at that moment our hero is blown away.  While I was thrilled with the ending of the film, this scene set me back a few paces that is for sure.  An unforgettable movie and scene for sure...

10)  I hope that most of you have heard of one of the world's greatest novelist, John Grisham.  Much of his work has been adapted to film, however today most of these movies are unknown to to majority of moviegoers.  Films such as The Firm, Runaway Jury and The Pelican Brief, are among the most famous adaptations.  However, it is A Time to Kill which in my opinion is the best.  The story tells of the African American father (Samuel Jackson) of a young girl who is raped and his vigilante act of killing the criminals involved.  To make matters worse, his chances of finding a fair and unbiased trial in the south is nearly impossible.  There isn't a moment of the film which the audience doesn't feel like they are jurors in the case, watching closely and wondering how we would react if we were actually involved in said case.  Matthew McConaughey is the Defense Attorney and it is his closing argument that steals the show as one of the most remarkable moments of a film.  As he makes the jurors close their eyes and visualize the events of the rape, one cannot help but shed tears.  It is a shame that this film isn't as popular today as it should be.  Sure it was released close to 15 years ago now, but it is still one of the best films and displays one of the most taboo topics in America today; that is the topic of racism.  

11)  Have you ever seen a movie that bored you to death until it just literally exploded in your face and changed everything!  That is exactly how I felt when I watched Ridley Scott's Alien.  The film is simply not interesting until you reach the Dinner Scene.  The character portrayed by John Hurt, who most people recognize as the "Wand Guy" from the Harry Potter series, is attacked by some sort of foreign creature which latches onto his face very early in the film.  There are a few tense moments but after a short time, the man awakes and is seemingly completely fine.  It is only during dinner that we see what has actually transpired.  The creature has actually produced some sort of offspring/parasite which escapes by bursting through the chest of our poor Executive Officer Kane.  The creature shrieks and runs off.  However, this small creature soon grows into a much more deadly "alien" and begins to pick off members of the ship one by one.  It's only after the film is almost over that we realize that Sigourney Weaver is the main character, simply because she is the only one left.  It must be noted that this scene is amazing for so many reasons...not only was it both shocking and scary, but the special effects of the film had not really been seen before in film.  It truly looked real, and no one can contest that.  Even by today's standards this scene has stood the test of time.


12)  With 20 minutes left before midnight I have made it finally to my last scene.  I originally wanted to make the very clever connection with the top 12 scenes being posted on the 12th of October, but if I do not pick of the pace I will lose that!  Let me start by saying that Quentin Tarantino is a genius.  Every film he has Written/Directed has been amazing.  However my favorite of his films is Kill Bill (Released in 2003).  While both parts were stellar, it is Part 1 that was my favorite.  The entire revenge theme just captivated me.  I always felt myself really rooting for "The Bride", played by Uma Thurman, to get her revenge and to "kill bill".  However, after all the blood, all the killing, and the epic soundtrack playing in the background the movie was about to come to a close.  I was not happy.  I loved the movie so much that I did not want to see it end...not like this at least.  She hadn't even killed bill yet!  Was I going to have to watch another whole movie to see this!  As the final battle with O-Ren Ishii, portrayed by Lucy Liu, came to an end and "The Bride"  takes a plane ride back home, I began to get up and get ready to go to sleep.  Then all of a sudden...Bill appears to be talking to the last tortured victim of "The Bride".  As we begin to figure out that she has given away all of the secrets to of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, Bill asks one final question.  "Is she aware her daughter is still alive?"  That right there...that, those eight words left me on the edge of my seat.  I literally ran and told my mom that I have to go right now to rent the next film...because of course I was not allowed to see it in theaters when it was released!  I will never forget that feeling...ever.  It was so epic, and it made me realize what a good sequel should have...anticipation.  I love a good cliffhanger!

Ah, so here I am with a few minutes to spare...I truly hope if you read this all that you enjoyed it.  Please...please post comments, follow me, let me know what some of your favorite film scenes are because I would love to hear them!