Best single scene in film

[yovargas]

Ratatouille, another Pixar gem, is my favorite from them. It is underrated IMO. Anyway, one of my favorite movie scenes ever is when the critic takes his first bite of the ratatouille...

[axordil]

That one makes me misty every time too.

Pixar is really trying to find the cinematic Holy Grail here: films that work for literally all ages, well enough to bear repeated viewings. Even their missteps are worth examining.

Best fight scene not involving weaponry: The Quiet Man?

[sauronsfinger]

THE QUIET MAN. Yes.

love that music and the best John Wayne film ever.

[Nin]

I had thought of "Up" and also thought it was rather a sequence. It makes me cry every time.

[MithLuin]

A fun scene from the Karate Kid:

Show me 'Sand the Floor'

Part of me thought I only appreciated the 'underdog wins the game/fight/tournament' in this movie because I hadn't seen the whole slew of kids sport movies that came after it. But, this was never about winning the tournament, so even though the showdown has the underdog almost losing but really winning as an important component...the story had a lot more going on than that.

I mean, they brought in Japanese internment camps in the US during WWII, a fatherless boy, Reseda, high school bullies, a girl who isn't (entirely) a shallow afterthought, all sorts of stuff. Mr. Miyagi is kinda like Yoda, certainly just as fun/quirky.

And he gives some of the same advice.

Luke: Alright, I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no 'try.' (scene)

Mr. Miyagi: So, ready?
Daniel: Yeah, I guess so.
Mr. Miyagi: Daniel-san, must talk. Walk on road - walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, soon or later *squish* just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do "yes" or karate do "no". You karate do "guess so" *squish* just like grape. Understand?
Daniel: Yeah, I understand.
Mr. Miyagi: Now, ready?
Daniel: Yeah, I'm ready (scene)

[Alatar]

Thanks for reminding me Mith. Here's the headcutting scene from "Crossroads".

A little backstory. Eugene is a classically trained guitarist who wants to play Blues. He finds out that Willie Brown, the bluesman featured in Robert Johnsons "Crossroads" is in an old folks home, albeit one for criminals. He wants to make it as a blues player so he breaks Willie out of the home and they hobo it down south. Robert Johnson recorded 29 out of 30 songs in his career, and Willie tells Eugene he knows the legendary missing song. Of course, the whole story of how Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads comes out, and Willie admits that he did the same. Eventually, Eugene is forced to play a headcutting duel to save Willie's soul, by putting his own soul on the line.

Interestingly, his opponent is played by virtuoso Steve Vai, who also recorded Eugene's final pieces (apart from the blues ones played by Ry Cooder). Macchio makes a very good job of looking like he's playing though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0BkhXAmM3U

[sauronsfinger]

from Padme

The Best Year of Our Lives - Wilma's love for Homer
The Color Purple - when the sisters are reunited

oooohhhh ... those are really good.

that scene in BEST YEARS where Wilma helps Homer out of his prosthetic arms is simply amazing.

celie's line in PURPLE "he beat me for not being you" is sheer power.

On a much lighter note.....how about DUCK SOUP with the big Fredonia's Going To War scene which spoofs the big MGM musicals? I can watch that over and over and over.

Richard Harris as Arthur saying "run boy run" always tears me up.

[Frelga]

The Beacons is truly magnificent...but also the wonderful scene with Billy Boyd singing as Denethor tucks into his supper, juxtaposed with Faramir's "suicide mission"...just superb.

I must be the only person in the world who can't stand either of those scenes.

For my money, one of the most brilliant scenes in LOTR was Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit. The acting was flawless, the emotional subtext conveyed beautifully - the weary Frodo, Sméagol freshly rid of Gollum and eager to please, Sam suspicious and protective. And then flowing very nicely into the oliphantus sequence, and Faramir's speech over the fallen Southron, and... And then we get Farfromthebookamir, but that a different forum.

For a shorter scene, I'd nominate the hobbit vs. Boromir tussle in FOTR, which managed to compress dozens of pages into a couple minutes, with hardly any dialog.

Also, this thread forced me to go back and rewatch Dog in the Manger, a 70s Soviet movie based on Lopes de Vega's play. It is perfect, start to finish.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The Beacons is truly magnificent...but also the wonderful scene with Billy Boyd singing as Denethor tucks into his supper, juxtaposed with Faramir's "suicide mission"...just superb.

I must be the only person in the world who can't stand either of those scenes.

The Beacons scene is generally well-liked, but I've seen plenty of criticism of it, particularly in regards to the believability of beacon-wardens living up in the mountains like that. And some film afficianados seem to think the cinematography is pedestrian, and the music bombastic.

As for the scene with Boyd singing, there has been decidedly mixed reactions to that scene. Some, like Elen (and myself) love it and think it is extremely powerful, but many others point to it as one of the main examples of the excess in the portrayal of Denethor.

So fear not, you are certainly not alone!

[Elentári]

Yes, V - I love the Denethor scene as a powerful and emotional piece of cinematography, even if I agree with comments about the portrayal of Denethor.

Same with the Beacons...if you can suspend believability for an instant and let yourself be carried away in the grandeur and spirit of the moment!

[Frelga]

Not to sidetrack the discussion, but the problem I have with the Boyd scene is not the portrayal of Denethor - he is already established as a crazy bad guy and it's best to forget about the book character. It's Faramir. In the book, he set out to hold the fords, a dangerous but not unreasonable undertaking. Here, he is taking what apparently is most of Gondorian cavalry on a suicide mission just because Daddy doesn't love him. And we are supposed to feel sorry for him.

[yovargas]

To be fair, it wasn't "just" because Daddy doesn't love him but also because his Daddy was the ruler and he told him to.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yes, V - I love the Denethor scene as a powerful and emotional piece of cinematography, even if I agree with comments about the portrayal of Denethor.

Same with the Beacons...if you can suspend believability for an instant and let yourself be carried away in the grandeur and spirit of the moment!

Back in the day, someone came up with a term to describe this type of point of view, and to bypass the old Purist v. Revisionist wars: "transendentalistist."

[Frelga]

To be fair, it wasn't "just" because Daddy doesn't love him but also because his Daddy was the ruler and he told him to.

Yeah, I thought that would come up. And that's a good argument, given that crazy bad guy rulers have sent many good soldiers to senseless death over the centuries.

However, in the movie, Faramir is a) supposedly a heroic (if flawed, grrr, PJ) good guy and b) he practically volunteers to go, without even attempting to reason with Denethor (as his Captains do in the book about the much more reasonable ford-holding expedition). The effect, to me, is to make Faramir a lot less sympathetic. YMMV.

[River]

He doesn't volunteer, he "volunteers". Denethor asks "Is there a Captain here willing to do his lord's will?" and Faramir is the only Captain in the room. So either he takes the suicide mission or he's hung up on a treason charge and dead anyway.

Tough call.

On the bright side, going to Osgiliath would get the whole thing over faster. And he might come back. With some of his men. Maybe.

His relationship with his father was very difficult in the books as well, and he ended up receiving undue scorn on paper, and did ask his father to think better of him if he came back and Denethor did give him the same brush-off. It was more subtle in the book, yes, but there are some subtleties that don't paste onto film very well. And Denethor was already coming undone, finally falling apart later.

I've got issues with the film characterization of Faramir, but that bit didn't bother me. Amon Hen, and the decision to haul Sam and Frodo to Gondor against their will...that was annoying.

Anyway, a favorite scene in film...

The beacons going up in ROTK. That comes to mind.

So does the standing on the desks at the end of Dead Poet's Society.

Also, for some reason, that scene in The Empire Strikes Back, after Luke's been rescued and he staggers up to the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon and there's that father-son moment. You just know, in that moment, that everything is completely different and the entire nature of the war has changed. Not just for Luke but, ultimately, for everyone around him.

And, of course, when Yoda raises Luke's x-wing. Not the "do or do not" moment, but the "that is why you fail" bit.

There's something else I'm forgetting right now, but it'll come.

[Primula Baggins]

In My Favorite Year, where aging (and decaying) movie star Peter O'Toole is having drinks at a night club, and an older couple at another table obviously recognizes him and the lady is clearly thrilled. So O'Toole becomes the suave star he used to be—asks her to dance, focuses all his charm on her, and at the end guides her back to her husband with courtly grace. Two minutes of kindness and he gives her a memory she'll treasure. I don't know why, but it gets me every time.

[MithLuin]

I was recently reminded of this scene:

The pirate wedding from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The first movie, overall, was better, but this scene needs to be nominated for something - it's awesome!

[vison]

The Beacons is truly magnificent...but also the wonderful scene with Billy Boyd singing as Denethor tucks into his supper, juxtaposed with Faramir's "suicide mission"...just superb.

I must be the only person in the world who can't stand either of those scenes.

For my money, one of the most brilliant scenes in LOTR was Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit. The acting was flawless, the emotional subtext conveyed beautifully - the weary Frodo, Sméagol freshly rid of Gollum and eager to please, Sam suspicious and protective. And then flowing very nicely into the oliphantus sequence, and Faramir's speech over the fallen Southron, and... And then we get Farfromthebookamir, but that a different forum.

For a shorter scene, I'd nominate the hobbit vs. Boromir tussle in FOTR, which managed to compress dozens of pages into a couple minutes, with hardly any dialog.

Also, this thread forced me to go back and rewatch Dog in the Manger, a 70s Soviet movie based on Lopes de Vega's play. It is perfect, start to finish.

No, you're not. I'm with you.

The beacon scene was beautiful, but so impossible that my inner skeptic leapt to the front of my mind.

As for Boyd singing for Denethor, that almost had me storming out of the theatre. I don't think PJ understood ONE subtle thing. Big bashing orcs and lotsa arrows, yes. He gets that. But the mind of a great man going mad? No. Not a chance. Juice dripping like blood down Denethor's chin? Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh . . . . . how . . . . cinematic!

Argh.

[N.E. Brigand]

Best fight scene not involving weaponry: The Quiet Man?

Maybe the scene in Red Beard, previously mentioned. Or the duel on the heath in Kurosawa's first film, Sanshiro Sugata.

[yovargas]

Just thought of a good one I don't see mentioned: near the end of Children of Men, when Clive Owen and the mother walk down the stairs in the midst of the battle.