Moments

still image from "In the Heat of the Night"

In celebration of the Oscars this weekend, an approximate “Top Ten list” of my favorite movie moments; it should be noted, we’re not talking favorite films necessarily – although some on my Top Ten list are represented here – rather those singular moments. In some cases the moments are scenes, in others just a single shot.
[Note: when I originally wrote this post, I had links to almost every item listed here; apparently most of these have been taken down (damn copyright laws); I’ve tried to find suitable replacements, but I presume many of these will eventually be taken down; your mileage (and bandwidth) may vary…]

1) In the Heat of the Night
Sidney Pontier, Larry Gates, Rod Steiger – “the slap”; powerful for its time, and probably one of the first instances of a person of color showing strength, resolve, and dignity that I can recall seeing in popular culture. Directed by Norman Jewison.

2) Big Night
Stanley Tucci, Tony Shaloub, Marc Anthony – the final kitchen scene, all one take; I wish more American films would embrace the power of simply rolling camera and pointing it at a group of actors so immersed in their characters that we will sit spellbound watching them eat breakfast (understanding that there is subtext – a reconciliation happening just below the surface). Directed by Campbell Scott.

3) The Verdict

Paul Newman, the summation (“today you are the law”); written by David Mamet. Directed by Sidney Lumet.

(not great quality, but full speech; if you want to see HD, follow this, but it truncates the first chunk of the speech: https://youtu.be/qjYP7J3oP9Q)

4) Network
William Holden and Faye Dunaway – when Diana breaks up with Max (“why is it that a woman always thinks that the most savage thing she can say to a man is to impugn his cocksmanship?”) written by Paddy Chayefsky; Directed by Sidney Lumet.

5) tie: 2001 A Space Odyssey
ape to space transition and blue danube sequence:

& Bowman re-entering the Discovery sequence; Directed by Stanley Kubrick

https://youtube.com/watch?v=t2jibvQfTK0

6) Local Hero
Peter Riegert walking over the hill carrying his shoes, then cut to his watch being over-taken by the waves on the rock where he left it with the alarm going off… 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e96Uv7P8Sq0&feature=related [taken offline?!!]

as a back-up: the final scenes – Riegert saying goodbye to folks in the village and his return to “normalcy”; note the great sound design here – not just Mark Knopfler’s great soundtrack, but the sound designers’ subtle use of environmental sound that counter-points Riegert’s return to big American city life…

7) 13 Conversations About One Thing
Alan Arkin and Matthew McConaughey in the bar, “show me a happy man” (ok, basically Alan Arkin’s whole performance); Directed by Jill Sprecher

8) Raiders of the Lost Ark
the opening sequence (and yes the whole film still stands as my favorite action-adventure film of all time); directed by Steven Spielberg

10) RAN
the final shot, where a blind Kyoami walks along the cliff, near to the edge, and his stick drops off, allowing him to catch his balance just before doom and then he turns around and continues on his way (this image captures the whole movie we’ve just watched into a single moment: the human race comes close to its own destruction, but somehow manages to recover and avoid complete annihilation); Directed by Akira Kurosawa

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