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binary sunset--Star Wars

Luke defeats Darth Vader--Return of the Jedi

Earth Angel dance--Back to the Future

truck chase scene--Raiders of the Lost Ark

"The quest for the Grail is not archaeology..."--Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Neo vs. Smith--The Matrix

Neo defeats Smith--Matrix Revolutions

Frodo and Sam start towards Mordor--Fellowship of the Ring

Gandalf and the Rohirrim ride towards Helm's Deep--The Two Towers

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!"--Return of the King

the Chief escapes--One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Bride vs. O-Ren--Kill Bill

finding the Statue of Liberty--Planet of the Apes

Noodles and Deborah have dinner--Once Upon a Time in America

Le chaim--Fiddler on the Roof

Chavela's song--Fiddler on the Roof

ending--Fiddler on the Roof

ending--Braveheart

"I was not going to watch another Marine die, just to live by those fucking rules!"--Rules of Engagement

ending--Officer and a Gentleman

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius..."--Gladiator

Maximus defeats Commodus--Gladiator

ending--Heat

"You can't handle the truth!"--A Few Good Men

ending--Silence of the Lambs

Edited by Moose
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One of my favorite all time scenes is Drummond's closing speech in the movie "Inherit the Wind" as acted by Spencer Tracy (who by the way gives a great performance). Here's a snippet... go to this link to see all of it... or better yet go see the movie it's one of my favorites.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeec...ritthewind.html

Brady: On what grounds?! Is is possible that something is holy to the celebrated agnostic?

Drummond: Yes. The individual human mind. In a child's power to master the multiplication table, there is more sanctity than in all your shouted "amens" and "holy holies" and "hosannas." An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral. And the advance of man's knowledge is a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes or the parting of the waters. But, now, are we to forgo all this progress because Mr. Brady now frightens us with a fable?! Gentlemen, progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it. Sometimes I think there's a man who sits behind a counter and says, "Alright, you can have a telephone, but you lose privacy and the charm of distance."

"Madam, you may vote, but at a price. You lose the right to retreat behind the powder-puff or your petticoat." "Mr., you may conquer the air, but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline." Darwin took us forward to a hilltop from where we could look back and see the way from which we came, but for this insight, and for this knowledge, we must abandon our faith in the pleasant poetry of Genesis.

Brady: We must not abandon faith! Faith is the most important thing!

Drummond: Then why did God plaint us with the power to think?! Mr. Brady, why do you deny the one faculty of man [that] raises him above the other creatures of the earth: the power of his brain to reason? What other merit have we? The elephant is larger; the horse is swifter and stronger; the butterfly is far more beautiful; the mosquito is more prolific. Even the simple sponge is more durable. Or does a sponge think?

Brady: I don't know. I am a man, not a sponge.

Drummond: Well, do ya think a sponge thinks?

Brady: If the Lord wishes a sponge to think, it thinks!

Drummond: Do you think a man should have the same privilege as a sponge?

Brady: Of course!

Drummond: This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge! He wishes to think!!

post-435-1124694871_thumb.jpg

Edited by Dagny
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Of the many ...

From Gattaca, the scene where the brothers race each other to a buoy in the ocean. The natural-born brother with a heart condition ends up dragging his older, genetically-modified brother back to shore. The "superior" one asks his brother how he always wins, to which the brother answers "I never saved anything for the swim back."

In Contact, the scene where Ellie first hears the alien signal and races back to the SETI control room, barking cordinates to her colleagues, who are frantically re-patching and aligning the equipment.

The coffee shop scene from Heat, where the two rivals face each other in a civil conversation when so much is at stake. It's fun to watch the chemistry between Pacino and DeNiro.

In The Incredibles, when the family is being chased through the forest on the island, their son Dash is super-speeding along when he suddenly notices he's running across the surface of a lake, and lets out the most delightfully happy giggle. :)

The scene in The Last Samurai when Tom Cruise's character (unarmed at first) gracefully dispatches six Ronin in the streets of Tokyo in less than a minute.

The teleportation and exam scene from Galaxy Quest.

The climactic duel at the end of Rob Roy.

The stake-out sequence from Ronin where DeNiro and McElhone gather intel on the "man with the case", and almost any scene from Spy Game.

The scene in Sneakers where the team of hackers discovers that the chip they've stolen can decrypt every known security code.

The knife duel between Muad'Dib and Piter de Vries in Jon Harrison's Dune.

In the Battestar: Galactica miniseries, the scene where Sec. Laura Roslin - 37th in the line of succession - is sworn in as President of the Twelve Colonies.

The scene in X-Men 2, where the united mutants are aboard the plane, and Magneto seduces Pyro (who can manipulate fire) to the "dark side" with one evil sentence: "You are a god among insects."

Any scene that involves a light saber. :P

Edited by synthlord
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The coffee shop scene from Heat, where the two rivals face each other in a civil conversation when so much is at stake. It's fun to watch the chemistry between Pacino and DeNiro.

Also a good choice.

I think that scene I mentioned from RotK (when Sam picks up Frodo) has officially become my all-time favorite movie scene. I came to that conclusion after watching it again yesterday. I think it's because, after watching 12 hours of LotR, you feel like I feel like I've gone the whole way with them. I've never cried in a movie before, but that scene has brought me closer than any other. I also think that Sam is the true hero of the story. I don't know if Tolkien meant it that way, but that's what I think.

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From, Glengarry Glen Ross

Ricky Roma: All train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don't mind it. That's the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die you're going to regret the things you don't do. You think you're queer? I'm going to tell you something: we're all queer. You think you're a thief? So what? You get befuddled by a middle-class morality? Get shut of it. Shut it out. You cheat on your wife? You did it, live with it. You fuck little girls, so be it. There's an absolute morality? Maybe. And then what? If you think there is, go ahead, be that thing. Bad people go to hell? I don't think so. If you think that, act that way. A hell exists on earth? Yes. I won't live in it. That's me.

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what an awe inspiring scene, Dagny! I am going to my library to see if they have "inherint the Wind" as soon as I finish typing this!

favorite movie scenes?

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - The final lightsaber duel between Luke and Darth Vader

As if 6 movies worth of build up wasn't enough?! Star Wars, despite minor discrepencies, is a fantastic movie with an objective good and evil. And what makes the movies even more majestic is that pivotal scene where good triumphs over evil. Here is Luke Skywalker, a barely trained Jedi, standing against the two greatest Sith Lords in history. They are trying to make him evil, but Luke resists the temptations of these two juggernauts of evil. In that final scene, there is Luke, alone, against Darth Vader, who right now is at the apex of his power. Though Luke is successful in the duel, that is not the true victory. The Emperor wispers in Luke's ear to compromise that which is good in him, to use the dark side to strike down Darth Vader. Luke's defiant "No!" as he tosses his lightsaber shows a hero who is uncompromising in his values. His showing of valor inspires Darth Vader to forsake evil and save the life of his son from the epitome of evil; a Sith Lord. Very few movies any more have this kind of huge confrontation between good and evil.

The Player's Club: The climax fight scene between Diamond and Ronnie

Ok, it's a black movie directed by Ice Cube which is centered on an L.A strip club? don't laugh, because despite it's mature setting, the philosophy of this movie is fantastic. The protagonist is Diamond, a talented young girl who must strip in order to pay for college. Along the way she is joined by Ebony, her cousin, who I can only describe as a black female Peter Keating. She becomes a stripper because she craves the attention. The antagonist of this movie is Ronnie; who prior to the settings of the movie sexually assaults Diamond, and continues to try to destroy her. If Ellsworth Toohey was a black female stripper, he'd be Ronnie. Ronnie has it all; great body, awesome car, and is popular and loved by everyone. And Ronnie sees Diamond, who is talented and making something of herself, and sets out to destroy her. When Diamond resists, Ronnie tries to destroy Diamond by destroying her cousin, Ebony. Along the way Diamond's parents are introduced, who are traditionalist Christians who view Diamond's means to an end as debaunched, thus degrade her and try to persuade her to stop without giving an alternative. Same situation with Diamond's boyfriend; Larry. Diamond is alone in a world which mocks her as a slut, when she is only trying to make something of herself.

The final fight scene occurs after Ronnie hurts Ebony badly (I won't spoil it, as I encourage everyone to see this movie) and Diamond realizes that Ronnie is out to destroy her, and she confronts Ronnie in a fistfight, in which Diamond breaks with her troubled past. It is a beautifullu put together scene, in which Diamond, in retribution for everything Ronnie has done to destroy her, ruins Ronnie's face, and thus the only thing she had going for her. It was well put together, well built up to, and it was a sweet taste of justice. In the end, Diamond becomes a success story, Ronnie goes to prison, and Ebony learns her lesson, albiet difficultly. Perfectly Objectivist values, despite the mature theme.

Aliens: Ripley vs the Queen

Alien is a fantastic horror movie, as the common motif of Aliens is rape: the idea that these creatures forcefully use you for sexual acts, whereupon you give birth to an unwanted monster. However, in the second one, James Cameron demonstrated a mastery of directing by adding a measure of depth unseen in horror movies. One of the motifs in the second movie was maternal love: Ripley lost her daughter (see the extended version) and Newt lost her parents, the two find each other and complete the emotional gaps. This bond is demonstrated strongly when Ripley, with only 24 minutes till nuclear meltdown, descends into the darkest depths of the hive to rescue Newt. The queen followed them to the dropship and attacked them while they were on the spaceship. The queen shreds Bishop and Ripley pushes Newt aside, drawing the queens attention, but apparently stranding Newt with the queen in the hangar bay. Just as the Queen corners Newt and is about to move in for the kill, one of the most perfectly orchestrated scenes in movie history happens. The grinding of the door, the bright lights, the shadow of the walker, standing there in a "bring it on stance" Ripley with a resolve of a mother defending her daughter from a rapist, everything comes together with the single greatest one-liner in movie history; Ripley takes a few steps foward, the camera focuses on her, and she utters "Get away from her, you BITCH!"

Apollo 13: the rescue

Not much to say about this movie; it's a straight foward celebration of the human spirit. I can't help but think about how the Russians, when faced with a hopeless situation (forget which flight it was) told it's cosmonaut farewell and left him to his fate. But this movie was a brilliant retelling of the greatest struggle in aerospace history. There was no faith, nothing mystical or wishy-washy, it was straight science and the power of the mind, saving the lives of three astronauts. Their final descent into the atmosphere was so well built up, one couldn't help but feel the palpable emotion of the Lovett household as they waited for a response from the capsule as it plummetted to Earth, nor could one deny the glory of man's spirit when a response was finally recorded, and the outburst of emotion, both at the Lovett household, and the Houston Space center. One of the few scenes that can drive me to near tears. I dearly love this movie.

These are all I can think of right now. If I can come up with more, I'll be sure to post them.

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Once Upon a Time in America - scene with Deborah reading from the Bible to Noodles

- scene with Max and his throne

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly - final duel between Goldie, Tuco, and ...Lee Van Cleef's character (I'm a huge Leone fan :dough: )

The Matrix - lobby gunfight

Kung Fu Hustle - just about any scene!!!

Sin City - Jackie Boy solicits in Old Towne

Kill Bill - battle between the Bride and Elle

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Once Upon a Time in America - scene with Deborah reading from the Bible to Noodles

                                            - scene with Max and his throne

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly - final duel between Goldie, Tuco, and ...Lee Van Cleef's character (I'm a huge Leone fan :dough: )

The Matrix - lobby gunfight

Kung Fu Hustle - just about any scene!!!

Sin City - Jackie Boy solicits in Old Towne

Kill Bill - battle between the Bride and Elle

Once Upon a Time in America is a fantastic movie. My favorite scene from it is the scene where Deborah and Noodles have dinner by the sea...you know, the one right before he, quite graphically, rapes her in the car.

My favorite Kill Bill scene is the battle between the Bride and O'Ren.

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"Wait Until Dark" - Audrey Hepburn's blind character, armed with a knife, is fighting a murderous Alan Arkin in a dark apartment. They stumble into a bedroom, off camera. The screen is dark; all you hear are sounds of the fight. Then Hepburn stumbles out of the room holding the knife, which is dripping blood. She's exhausted and emotionally drained (a lot has led up to that fight), but everyone breaths a sigh of relief that she's all right. Then Arkin comes flying out of the room, right at her. I literally jumped out of my seat the first time I saw that scene.

"Count of Monte Cristo", the Richard Chamberlain version - Edmund Dantes, having escaped from prison and found hidden treasure, solemnly but emphatically intones the names of those on whom he will take revenge: "Danglars! Catarousse! Mondego! de Villefort!" You have no doubt that they are the walking dead.

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The knife duel between Muad'Dib and Piter de Vries in Jon Harrison's Dune.

Well, that's different from the book! I've meant to check out the Dune movies; now I definitely want to.

Once Upon a Time in America is a fantastic movie.  My favorite scene from it is the scene where Deborah and Noodles have dinner by the sea...you know, the one right before he, quite graphically, rapes her in the car.

I love OUATIA. If that movie were made as it should have been (blanks filled in, vaguenesses explained, Leone hadn't had to make scandalous cuts to the movie) it would be widely regarded as one of the greatest IMO. It has a lot of good scenes.

I particularly like that Bible scene because Deborah seemed so serene and self-confident (especially for a child!) Too bad Noodles lost so much of the way. Jennifer Connelly was obviously on her way to great things!

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Just a quick note about the above references to the Star Wars series. I'd recommend http://www.the-undercurrent.com/index.php?p=/000039.html for an Objectivist perspective that I particularily enjoyed :confused:

As for favourite scenes I'd have to say-

Once upon a time in the west-setting the scene for final showdown by blending all three main characters' music.

Gladiator-"Are you not ENTERTAINED?!"

Troy-first(and quickest) fight scene.

Zatoichi(by Takeshi Kitano)-introductory scene as gang tries to disarm Zatoichi.

Aliens-Male to Female, "Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" Female's reply,"No;have you?"

Pulp fiction-too many examples of dialogue to put in :worry:

(And from my childhood)Transformers:the movie-Death of Optimus Prime :thumbsup:

Other than these some are already mentioned in above posts (definitely agree about Sam in RotK)

Finally, just about any scene with Christopher Walken, Chow Yun Fat, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington or Anthony Hopkins. :rolleyes:

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  • 1 month later...

End of the Two Towers from when Gandalf saves the day through Sam's amazing monologue and even the music during the credits, still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The very first scene in Kill Bill: "Bill, its your bab-"

Ending monologue in Pulp Fiction by Jules

Ending of Resivoir Dogs <-- One of two times my jaw physicaly dropped involuntarily.

The one scene in Alien3 where the creature attacks them in the medical ward... (this whole movie is like 10x better if you watch the 3 hour director's cut, except this particular scene, which is ruined)

The Good the Bad and the Ugly - ending (Once Upon a Time in the West is great for the same reasons)

and by extension:

The entire scene "Elle and I" in Kill Bill vol. 2 Irony overload! Even the name of the chapter is ironic! Ennio Maricone music and Leone-style finale where also great.

May - the scene with the blind kids and the doll. Most disturbing thing I've ever seen.

Hero - scene in the forest with the falling leaves.

Star Wars Ep. III - The genocide of the jedi montage was the best directing Lucas has done in a while.

(by the way, I disagree on a fundamental level with the philosophies presented in both Hero and Episode III, but appreciate their asthetic values anyway...)

Edited by Apollo
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Hero - scene in the forest with the falling leaves.

Star Wars Ep. III - The genocide of the jedi montage was the best directing Lucas has done in a while.

I like most of the scenes you said, and I think I'll check out some of those that I haven't seen.

I forgot about Hero. Yeah, that movie had some beautiful scenes!

Ep. 3 made me mad for a lot of reasons, but there were a lot of scenes I liked there. I wish they'd portrayed Anakin hunting/fighting other Jedi more!

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I have to think more about some of my most favorite scenes of all time. However, most recently, I have to say one of my favorite scenes comes from Batman Begins;

"I'm not going to kill you, but I don't have to save you!"

Also, from Serenity;

"Screw this, I'm going to live!" - Kaylee

From Braveheart, the "Sons of Scotland" speech about fighting as free men, and how one would regret letting the opportunity pass even if they lived.

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I liked a lot of the other scenes that were mentioned. Thinking about this thread has made me realise how many terrible movies I have put myself through. Here are some of my favorite scenes:

Batman Begins

Bad guy: "... I swear to God!"

Batman: "Swear to Me!"

I also like the scene when Batman turns the fear gas on Scarecrow. This is Batman at his most terrifying.

The Boondock Saints: Finale.

The Shawshank Redemption Finale.

What Dreams May Come Finale. Lots of emotion in this movie.

Equilibrium Two Grammaton Clerics fighting with hand-to-hand gun katas.

Reign of Fire Try not to laugh at this one. The movie was bad, but the two coolest death leaps ever occur in this movie. One is during the skydiving hunting scene, the other is at the end with the axe leap to the dragon's mouth... Don't let me get your hopes up on that second death leap, though.

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You all have really great taste in movies. A few of my favorites are:

The Truman Show- The whole movie was hilarous but starting from the part where he was sailing I that was pretty good.

Unforgiven- everything after Clint Eastwood found out they killed his friend. I think his acting was great. You pretty much knew what he was thinking and you kenw exactly what the hell he was gonna do.

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what an awe inspiring scene, Dagny! I am going to my library to see if they have "inherint the Wind" as soon as I finish typing this!

Sorry I never replied to this...must have missed it and I don't post as often. Anyhow, glad you liked the scene...I'm going to go rent the Player's Club this weekend to watch it. I think when you have the right principles in life you tend to see things in movies others might miss. I listened to a lot of rap songs when I was younger and they were not all about killing or having money and ho's. Some rappers were just trying to make in the music business and get out of the "hood". One of my favorites is Tupac's "Dear Mama".

Anyhow, I know I"m off the subject so...I'd like to add to favorite scenes from the movie "Fight Club" the scene when they are in the airplane seats and Brad Pitt (Tyler) is going to get up and pass by Edward Norton (Jack).

TYLER

Now a question of etiquette: As I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?

Tyler moves to the aisle, his ass toward Jack, walks away... In his way there's an ATTENDANT. He moves, his "crotch" toward the ATTENDANT'S butt. Tyler goes to the curtain dividing First Class, slaps the curtain aside and sits in an empty seat. Jack watches.

I thought this was hillarious as everyone at some point or another has had to deal with that.

;)

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SPOILER WARNING: Mr. & Mrs. Smith***********

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Jane Smith: There's this huge space between us, and it just keeps filling up with everything that we *don't* say to each other. What's that called?

Marriage Counselor: Marriage.

Marriage Counselor: How often do you have sex?

Jane Smith: I don't understand the question.

[about the new curtains Jane bought]

Jane Smith: If you don't like them we can take them back.

John Smith: All right, I don't like them.

Jane Smith: [pause] You'll get used to them.

Eddie: This broad is not your wife, she's the enemy.

John Smith: She tried to kill me.

Eddie: They all try to kill you. Slowly, painfully, cripplingly, and then wham. They hurt you. How you going to handle it?

John Smith: [grabs assault rifle] I'm going to borrow this.

Eddie: I like where your head's at, man.

Jane Smith: Any last words?

John Smith: The new curtains are hideous.

I personally LOVED this movie. Probably because I've been through a bad marriage, so I know how accurate this movie gets it. Everything from the power struggle, the space filling up, and no sex. This movie makes light of it all and it's funny cause it's true! I was laughing hard throughout the entire thing. ;)

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I like most of the scenes you said, and I think I'll check out some of those that I haven't seen.

I forgot about Hero. Yeah, that movie had some beautiful scenes!

Totally. I could watch that movie over and over, excluding the last 20 min or so, which make me want to vomit.

Ep. 3 made me mad for a lot of reasons, but there were a lot of scenes I liked there. I wish they'd portrayed Anakin hunting/fighting other Jedi more!

Anakin got to kill children though. That's a plus ;)

The entire trilogy left a very disapointed taste in my mouth. I liked III way more than then other two though, (Episode I ranks among my least favorite movies) but it was certainly far from perfect. Even the montage was not a good as I might have wanted. The first jedi killed fought back, which which was great but after that they are all like "oh I guess I'm dead now.". How does a jedi who has a slight precience ability get shot in the back anyway? The music was good and well utilized though and the scenery epic... the weakling jedi are forgivable.

To stay on topic:

The Diva's performance in The Fifth Element

The scenes in the flower field or bamboo forest in House of Flying Daggers was excellent for the same reasons as any of the scenes in Hero.

Any wide shot in any LOTR movie that has a landscape are all perfect desktop backgrounds.

Hmmm, maybe someone should start a "favorite shots in movies" thread...

Edited by Apollo
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Just a quick note about the above references to the Star Wars series. I'd recommend http://www.the-undercurrent.com/index.php?p=/000039.html for an Objectivist perspective that I particularily enjoyed :)

Funny. I gave the same review of star wars directly while driving back home after having seen the movie. I said that it was perfectly right to be willing to save his wife and that it was wrong of Yoda not to allow Anakin to have one. It was completely stupid that Anakin killed the Padawans. I blamed it on Yoda for teaching Anakin such a stupid philosophy. This movie made the error in the altruism/egoism split that is commonly believed so damn obvious. I even explained it to everyone in the car and everyone agreed - slightly astoninshed, though, since they are all no objectivists.

It's nice to find a common thinker.

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