Wow, some really awesome choices so far. I haven't even seen a lot of the movies people are talking about
I think one of my all time favourites would have to be in The Neverending Story, when Arlax drowns in the mud, despite Atryu's best efforts to save him. Makes me cry, every time.
There are quite a lot and I'll probably post more as time goes
The opening sequence of Black Swan
The castration scene in Hard Candy
The "rube" scene in The Silence of the Lambs
The finale of Se7en
The bleeding chickens in Eraserhead
The first one that came to mind was the opening montage of "Lord of War", followed by the opening monologue. They both so perfectly set up the movie.
Léon (aka The Professional). Pretty much every scene in that movie is awesome.
For A Few Dollars More, where Manco is just leaning up against a verandah post and a bunch of thugs come to intimidate the inn-keeper and all he does is shift his weight so he moves forward into a standing position and all the thugs back off, scared witless. Just brilliant.
Terminator 2, when he asks to be terminated at the end. When you can cry over a robot, you know it's a powerful scene
When Harry Met Sally, the end scene where he runs to the NYE ball to profess his love always chokes me up.
Gran Torino when he's standing out front of the gang-banger's place at the end.
Million Dollar Baby, when he comes back to kill her.
Say Anything... if I have to point out which scene, then you people aren't movie buffs
Well, certainly not the best scene of all time, but I am currently infatuated with the opening of Gangs of New York, as Priest assembles his army and prepares for battle.
First off, nice thread. Lots of great scenes mentioned so far. Nate North -- nice list. Lemme take a crack at this. Just off the top of my head, no way this will be anything near comprehensive.
Million Dollar Baby -- "'Mo Cuishle' means '
My darling, my blood
.'"
Forrest Gump -- "Sometimes, there's just not enough rocks."
Avatar -- Jake gets his legs back, and has to run!
Team America -- "You've given up on life, haven't ya?"
Matrix -- Neo
finally realizes that he's The One, and stands his ground against Agent Smith, in the subway station
.
Ratatouille -- Remy frantically tries to escape the kitchen,
but just can't resist adding seasoning to save the fouled soup.
Wall-E -- Wall-E and E.V.E. dance in space
Indy and the Last Crusade -- Indy saves Henry Jones, Sr. from the bowels of the Nazi tank.
Spiderman 2 -- Spidey saves the passengers of an el-train,
and then they save him
.
Empire Strikes Back -- the AT-AT battle on Hoth
Star Wars -- garbage compactor
Jurrasic Park -- raptors in the kitchen
Dark Knight -- Joker robs a bank
Little Miss Sunshine -- most inappropriate children's pageant talent competition EVER!
Half Baked -- Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, fuck you, I'm out!
Shawshank -- Red and Andy
reunite on the beach
Terminator 2 -- initial confrontation of terminators starts in shopping mall, ending in LA river
Whale Rider -- Grandpa laments that the lawnmower chain is broken,
Paikea fixes it (that's symbology, yo)
.
Billy Eliot -- frustrated with his problems at home, Billy vents through dance
Me, Myself, & Irene -- Hank loses his shit, and finally explodes in anger at all the people who've abused him, in town -- "wrong answer, fuck-face!"
Children of Men -- pick any of the three AMAZING long tracking shots
Pulp Fiction -- "Nah, man, I'm pretty fucking far from OK."
Swingers -- "You're like a big bear, man. You got these giant claws, and you don't know how to get the bunny?"
28 Days Later -- Can we count a 30-minute-long climactic finale as one scene?
Signs -- Mel confronts a demon in his closet, and then chops off it's fingers! (more symbology, yo!)
The Bourne Identity -- escape from the US embassy
Old School -- "It tastes so sweet when it touches your lips!"
School of Rock -- the triumphant, climactic performance at the music fest
King Kong (2005) -- Kong and Darrow share a dance on an impromptu skating rink
Fellowship of the Ring: "You! Shall Not! Pass!!!"
Gladiator -- Marcus and friends spoil the re-enactment of the battle of Carthage
Okay, but I have to narrow it down to one? That's just not possible! But if forced to, I have to pick the scene that had the biggest impact on my life, personally. The scene that is most responsible for me falling in love with cinema. The first scene that would get me returning to the same theater, over and over, because I just needed a repeat viewing of the awesomeness!
In "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom",
Indy is forced to use his feet as brake-pads, to stop the out-of-control mine-cart he, Willie and Short-Round are riding. Feet burning, he screams for water. In classic Spielbergian style, he soon gets more than enough water! Shortly after, Short-Round delivers one of my all-time favorite lines, in the midst of a tense standoff --
Holy Grail: Suppose it was an African swallow...
The final jump scene in Hot Rod
Last battle in Saving Private Ryan
The Joker's "magic trick" in The Dark Knight
"They're eating her, and then they're going to eat me....OH MY GAAAAAAWWWWWWWDDDDD" From Troll 2, for the pure cheese.
Battle between stormtroopers and rebel soldiers on the ship at the beginning of the original Star Wars.
Hoth battle in Empire Strikes Back
The village attack in Blood Diamond
The near silent segment of Black Hawk Down where all the helicopters approach the city
The "dance scene" and Rex Kwon Do from Napoleon Dynamite
"Don't worry about that...made of wood, real sturdy." From Happy Gilmore
Sniper scene in Full Metal Jacket
and last but certainly not least "The sh*tter was full" From National Lampoons Christmas vacation.
Troll 2, start to finish! Can't go wrong with the "erotic" scene with an ear of corn (if you haven't seen it, it's not what you're thinking. No matter what you are thinking). Or "you can't piss on hospitality"...meant literally.
