Today’s Five is dedicated to Chuck Klosterman. His attempt to re-work the question “What kind of music do you like?” so as to more accurately reflect the kind of person he is, intrigued me.
It was a pretzel logic. He ended up assembling bits he loved from songs he liked, trying to establish the “why?” behind the “what?”
Still with me?
So this list is dedicated to the bits we love from the movies we adore, or at least, don’t abhor.
So we can give a cleaner definition of why we like what we do. And how we are, who we be.
5. from The Last of the Mohicans(1992) Daniel Day-Lewis bids farewell to Madeleine Stowe, passionately ordering her to “Stay alive! no matter what occurs! I will find you!” I weep, I sigh, I pine; I swear allegiance.
4. from Braveheart (1995) Answering the plea of Robert the Bruce, Hamish flings Wallace’s broadsword into the air; it flips and soars and sails, all to the blare of the pipes.
3. from Casablanca (1942) Renault and Rick watch as the French officer argues with the Italian one. Renault notes, “If he gets a word in edgewise, it’ll be a major Italian victory!”, prompting a genuine smile from Bogie. Surprising! and unbelievably charming.
2. from To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Atticus Finch blows the hinges off his screen door — “Scout! Scout!” — running to embrace the daughter he feared he’d lost.
1. from His Girl Friday (1940) The boys go one way, Hildy goes the other; following her sterling reporter’s instincts towards the story, and away from her “happily ever after”. It takes her less than a second to decide which way her life should go. ’Twas the flying tackle, set me free!
(P.S.: If certain people would bother to read their emails, they would know how grateful certain other people are for certain substitute-blogging and certain autographing-hounding.)
(Just sayin’.)
SEVEN SAMURAI – The first funeral. Everybody is downtrodden, beginning to lose hope — then Toshiro Mifune darts away from the graveyard, runs to retrieve the flag, climbs up on the roof and unfurls it.
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE – The confusing dream sequences. Hallucinatory paranoia at its finest — Hitchcock couldn’t have done it better. Speaking of whom…
NORTH BY NORTHWEST – A flub that Hitchcock caught and left in because it cracked him up. Right before Cary Grant gets shot, an eight-year-old extra in the background puts his fingers in his ears… he obviously learned his lesson from a previous take.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST – “Keep your loving brother happy.” We’re told next to nothing about Charles Bronson’s character for the entire film — and then, in one horrific flashback, we learn all we need to know. The ensuing faceoff is almost anticlimactic.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST – “Jesus Christ, that’s Henry Fonda!!”
1. THE SAND PEBBLES… When Steve McQueen’s Jake shoots his steam room helper and friend Po-Han as he’s being tortured on shore by Chinese commies… heartbreaking, courageous and captures perfectly that life is sometimes filled with impossible choices that still must be made.
2. STAR WARS… I know it’s cliche, but the opening sequence with the Imperial Destroyer rumbling over head — takes me back.
3. DUMB AND DUMBER… Jeff Daniels in the broken bathroom busts me up every time — so I’m 12? Sue me.
4. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION — when Tim Robbins’ Andy locks himself in the Warden’s office and plays the Mozart opera duet from The Marriage of Figaro… the music is perfect, Morgan Freeman’s voiceover is perfect — music can take you away.
5. THE INCREDIBLES — Elasti-Girl’s speech to her children on the island about their powers and how bad guys will really hurt them… from imdb:
Helen: … And if anything goes wrong, use your powers.
Violet: But you said never to use…
Helen: I know what I said!
[sighing]
Helen: Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys aren’t like those guys. They won’t exercise restraint because you are children. They *will* kill you if they get the chance. Do *not* give them that chance.
We need more reality parenting from parents. Not necessarily to scare the bejeezus out of children, but to prepare them for the Va. Techs and Ft. Hoods of life — and the lesser moments.
Fun idea –
Leaving aside the too easy ones (ridge line climax of Last of the Mohicans, La Marseillaise in Casablanca, shootout in Heat, last few minutes of the Usual Suspects, THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!…)
The asylum escape in TERMINATOR 2 – Sarah Connor kicking ass all over town, Dr. Silberman’s realization that it was all terribly true, the Sarah suddenly reduced to a quivering, babbling mass of terror at the sight of the enemy she thought destroyed, culminating with Arnie towering over her, echoing her lost lover’s message of salvation: “Come with me if you want to live.”
The train station shootout in THE UNTOUCHABLES – kinda feel this belongs in the “too easy” category above – but still, an unbelievably awesome climax to a great movie.
To steal from Jake above – the opening massacre at McBain’s farm in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. Absolutely chilling.
Basically everything from Newt in ALIENS, but particularly the exchange with Ripley:
Newt: My mother always said there were no monsters – no real ones – but there are.
Ripley: Yes, there are, aren’t there?
Newt: Why do they tell little kids that?
Ripley: Most of the time it’s true.
Sums up the nightmare premise of the movie perfectly, and shows Ripley her motivation, to protect this girl, no matter what the cost.
And, for a change of pace, Christopher Plummer singing “Edelweiss” in SOUND OF MUSIC.
Joe vs. the Volcano: Joe, adrift on a raft in the Pacific, dehydrated, hallucinating, looks up at a blazing full moon that fills the whole sky and croaks, “Dear God, whose name I do not know, thank you for my life!”
The Outlaw Josey Wales: As they ride away from a shootout in a town, Lone Watie asks Josey, who’s just blown away four Yankee soldiers, how he knew who to shoot first. Josey explains how he analyzed each man by the look in his eyes. “What about the one on the right?” asks Watie. “I didn’t pay him no mind. You were there.”
The Three Musketeers (Richard Lester’s version): The opening practice fight between D’Artagnan (Michael York) and his father (the great Joss Ackland).
Scrooge: Alistair Sim’s Christmas morning conversion romp.
Algiers: Charles Boyer, in handcuffs, watches the departing steam ship, and catches just a glimpse of Hedy Lamar, stepping out on deck. He screams her name, but a ship’s horn drowns his voice out. That bit just goes through my heart like an arrow.
Curses, Lars – knew I forgot something – thanks for reminding me – love, love, love the scene in Josey Wales when the bounty hunter comes into the desolate saloon.
“Dying ain’t much of a livin’, boy.”
Great Moments in Cinema:
1. THE SEARCHERS Most of the film, of course, but Ward Bond drinking his coffee with his back carefully turned so Ethan can say goodbye to his brother’s wife always gets to me.
2. APOCALYPSE NOW “Ride of the Valkyries.”
3. OUTLAW JOSEY WALES “I come here to live with you, or die with you.”
4. Either version of HENRY V Different takes on the St. Crispin’s Day speech, but both Kenneth Branagh and Sir Larry nail it.
5. THE WILD BUNCH “Let’s go get Angel.” “All right!”
Dozens more will occur to me throughout the day, hope I get to share them.
1: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indiana shooting the sword wielding dude in black. He just pulls out his pistol and bang and the crowd cheers.
2: The Hunt for Red October, Alec Baldwin searching for the KGB infiltrator in the reactor area of the sub…”Its a G-D Cook!”
3: 300, THIS IS SPARTA!
4: Gladiator, when Maxmimus and Quintus are conversing about the Germans and Quintus says, “People should know when they are conquered.” and Maxmius replies, “Would you Quintus, would I?”
5: TOP GUN when Maverick and Goose tell Charlie who they were greeting the Soviet Mig….You know the bird?” “Yes Goose I know about the bird.”
The Opening Scene of LORD OF THE RINGS: From that moment, I was stuck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr_i2w0W-ZM
I’ll get more later.
1. The very best: in Giant, where Jett is pacing off his land.
2. Friday Night Lights: the last scene, where the q-back throws the ball to some kids and has an impossibly beautiful and contented expression.
3. Night of the Hunter: where the camera follows the fisherman’s line into the lake and below the waterline.
4. Life is Beautiful: the scene in the prison camp where the father is translating the guard’s directions.
5. Singing in the Rain: Donald O’Connor’s “Make ‘em Laugh” number.
And a minor nod to Rebecca: wherever you are in the movie when you realize that you have never heard the wife’s name.
(Excellent topic!!)
Every once in a while a movie would come out that I would repeatedly watch, because it would give me inspiration during a certain point in my life when I needed to either keep or change a perspective. Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Conan the Barbarian, Saving Private Ryan…
For this thread I’ll just pick one movie:
1. Saving Private Ryan- On Omaha beach, with bullets impacting all around (especially in surround sound) a soldier asks where is the rallying point. Tom Hanks says “Anywhere but here.” Reminds me of a particular incident during the old SWAT days. I guess I’ll never have PTSD. Too much of an adrenalin junkie. I suspect a certain helicopter pilot can identify…
2. Saving Private Ryan- The scene where Tom Hank explains how gripes go up, not down. Reminds me of my admin days. The movie is a great leadership role model. A certain POTUS should memorize it, except he’d probably pick all the wrong parts.
3. Saving Private Ryan- the talk Tom Hanks has with Tom Sizemore about the Army taking away his command and giving him a squad. Pretty much happened to me at one point in my career.
4. Saving Private Ryan- The scene with the German sniper in the tower. It reflects an actual situation that Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock (my real life hero, RIP) had in Viet Nam.
5. Saving Private Ryan- The scene where the P-51 bombs the German tank. Just because I’ve always like P-51s.
PATRIOT GAMES — Harrison Ford wheeling on Richard Harris and uttering not one word, just the (non-middle) finger says it all.
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK — Staying with the man, when he used to be the man, the scene with C-3PO after the droid interrupts Han and Leia about to, as Mr. Gaye would say, get it on.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK — last one with Harrison, I swear. Indy galloping the horse after the Nazi convoy (“I’m just making this up as I go.”
GOODFELLAS — The zoom and close-up on Henry’s face while coking out.
NIGHT SHIFT — “Hey, kid, you like music? DUHN-DUHN, DA-NUH-NA…”
Persistence, frustration, improvisation, manic, the tunes.
Vertigo: Judy walks out of the bathroom in her hotel room, completely transformed into Madeleine.
Goodfellas: “Funny how?”
North By Northwest: Surely nothing dangerous could happen in a wide open field…is that a plane?
Kill Bill: The bride takes on scores of masked bad guys in a terrifically gory and stylized sword fight.
The Sweet Smell of Success: “Match me, Sidney.”
You have great taste, Blackhawk! The Sweet Smell of Success is one of my favorites. Great music in that one, too.
That scene you mention from Vertigo when Judy walks out of the bathroom gives me chills. That movie is all about that scene…the creepy look on Stewart’s face, the eerie green light and the music swells as they embrace. I know Vertigo is the subject of a lot of debate among Hitch enthusiasts. I like it but it does have it’s faults. My husband gets hung up on Judy’s eyebrows but I can take it for the power of that one scene.
Thanks. Vertigo is not only my favorite Hitch film, it’s my favorite movie of all time.
I can’t decide which is the greatest director of all time, Hitchcock or Akira Kurosawa. I think my top ten list would feature only their movies if I ever got around to writing it.
Another five for my list:
IKIRU – Takashi Shimura is out having coffee with his secretary, telling her for the first time that he has cancer and his days are numbered. They’re mulling over whether he has something to live for still… and suddenly the look of inspiration comes into his eyes, and he leaps joyfully from the table and rushes for the exit — as another table full of people begins singing “Happy Birthday”.
YOJIMBO – Toshiro Mifune conducting a middle-of-the-night raid all by himself, and then making an even bigger mess to make it look like it was a whole gang that came through instead of just one guy.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY – “If you’re gonna shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.”
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE – “Turn it off! Turn it off! Turn it off!”
KILL BILL VOLUME TWO – The truth-serum sequence, including David Carradine’s Superman rant. (I put this here because this list frankly needs David Carradine.)
More:
REAR WINDOW – Grace Kelly is investigating the apartment, and suddenly Raymond Burr appears on the other side.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST – “Funny… That plane’s dusting crops where there ain’t no crops.”
SHADOW OF A DOUBT – Joe Cotten’s rant, where you find out just how twisted he really is. “The world’s a hell! What does it matter what happens in it?”
DIAL M FOR MURDER – John Williams deliberately taking the wrong raincoat. One of the best “oh shit, I think he’s got him” moments in cinema history.
“Payback”…Mel Gibson shoots a hole through James Coburn’s alligator suitcase:”Now that was just mean!”
1. Aguirre, The Wrath of God – the ending scene. A mad conquistador, floating down the Amazon on a raft, surrounded by the dead bodies of his comrades and hundreds of chattering little Howler monkeys. He’s still obsessed with his plans for conquest, but he has no one to talk to about them, so he picks up one of the monkeys and starts telling it about the empire he will build. Pure insane brilliance, and I’ve never been able to get the scene out of my head.
2. Spaceballs – “how many Assholes we got on this ship, anyhow?” “Yo!” Funniest. Scene. Ever.
3. Evil Dead 2 – Ash battling with his own possessed hand, Three Stooges-style.
4. The Trigger Effect – a well-made but overlooked thriller about how a massive blackout causes civilization to break down in a small town. It’s not a perfect movie, but there is one perfect moment: after a looter has been shot in a suburban neighborhood (thus signalling that the chaos has started to spill into the neighborhood), a homeowner asks a cop, “is it bad out there?” and the cop replies, “out where?”
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark – “I hate snakes, Jock!” Indy has just survived poison darts, tarantulas, double-crossing partners, gigantic boulders, cliffs and bone-crushing stone doors, only do reveal that he is as freaked out by snakes as the rest of us. An unexpected way to show his humanity, and a brilliant way to end the film’s roller-coaster opening scenes.
Aguirre, The Wrath of God – excellent film! Have you seen Herzog’s “My Best Fiend” about Klaus Kinski?
Not yet, TCW. And I should check it out one of these days; it’s probably the only Herzog film I haven’t seen. The man is a freaking genius.
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE
The helicopter scene where clark rescues Lois Lane. And every scene Marlon Brando has. “You are my
son.”
LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS
When Aragorn, Theoden, and others “ride out and meet them” and then Gandalf, Theomer, and the
Riders of Rohan come to the rescue. Woo-Hoo!
5. Pickup on South Street (1953) – Richard Widmark lives in a shack on stilts above the Hudson or East River. There’s this scene where he pulls up this crate out of the river on a rope to hide microfilm he stole and pulls a beer out of the crate. He used it as a refrigerator.
4. Rope (1948) – There one continuous shot of the maid who just went through the swinging kitchen door, dropping the piece of rope into a drawer. The thing is that it was timed perfectly where the door swings open after she goes through it, and you see her holding the string up above an open kitchen drawer and then the door swings shut for a second, and as it swings the opposite way, you see her drop it in the drawer. You’d have to see it to really appreciate it.
3. Some Came Running (1958) – The end scene where Dean Martin’s character, Bama Dillert, takes off his hat at Shirley MacLaine’s funeral, when he made a big thing throughout the movie that he never takes off his lucky hat.
2. Stagecoach (1939) – The introductory shot of The Duke was the best of its kind, where the camera zooms up to him in the coach’s path.
1. Planet of the Apes (1968) – When the apes first come on screen in the movie, on horseback in the corn field … that was the pinnacle of my childhood. In the 70s, my brother and I had no knowledge of TV programming, we just thought if we were lucky when we turned on the TV in the basement, Planet of the Apes would be on. Whether it was the movies or TV show, it didn’t matter. When we lucked out and it was on it just reinforced our belief that the TV was some sort of Planet of the Ape Slot Machine.
That piece of business from Rope was brilliant — as I recall, Hitch had one of the grips lying on the floor to make sure the door swung properly. But it wasn’t the maid involved in the scene — it was one of the villains, I think.
Matt,
This: “my brother and I had no knowledge of TV programming, we just thought if we were lucky when we turned on the TV in the basement, Planet of the Apes would be on. Whether it was the movies or TV show, it didn’t matter. When we lucked out and it was on it just reinforced our belief that the TV was some sort of Planet of the Ape Slot Machine.”
is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time!
JWH, you’re right. Now that I think of it, it was John Dall that dropped the rope in the kitchen drawer.
I forgot…”LA Confidential”.Russell Crowe is giving the DA a swirly…when he yanks his head out of the toilet,the DA screams,”Get him off me,Exley!”.Guy Peerse(Exley) deadpans,”I don’t know how.”
In no particular order:
From “Miller’s Crossing,” as Gabriel Byrne looks cooly down the barrel of his pistol and asks, with a voice straight from the grave, “What heart?”
From “The Iron Giant,” as the Iron Giant flies into the sky, tilts back his head, closes his eyes, and chooses to be Superman.
From “Casablanca,” during the singing of La Marseillaise, but not the singing, only Yvonne, who moments before had been flirting with the enemy, and now, with this song, is reminded of all she has lost.
From “Gladiator,” Maximus as he turns to introduce himself: “Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to eht rue emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife…”
From “Hero,” where Jet Li chooses to let the emperor live and, without hesitation, turns and leaves to face his fate.
Monty Pytho and The Holy Grail: The whole movie itself is in another category!
5. Forrest Gump: “I never thanked you for saving my life”…
4. The Incredibles: “Mayday, mayday, India-Golf-Niner-Niner is buddy spiked! Abort, abort, there are children aboard, say again, there are children aboard this plane!”
3. The Best Years of Our Lives: [after Peggy tells her parents that they never had any trouble in their relationship]
Milly Stephenson: “We never had any trouble.” How many times have I told you I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times have you said you were sick and tired of me; that we were all washed up? How many times have we had to fall in love all over again?
2. Rocky Balboa: That speech.
1. The Dark Knight: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”