Posted February 06, 2013
Was just watching the famous "nearing high noon" sequence. There are minutes, in cinematography, that are strikingly well crafted, and are often an inspiration for the "guess the movie" forum game. I know this forum is crowded with acute cinephiles. I ask, what are your favorite sequences in cinema ? Insztants that stand out with their quality, how well made they are, how they convey what they convey - in terms of cinematography, acting, narration, or how they are articulated together ?
I would have liked not to mention Leone as it feels like cheating (every minute fabricated by that guy was sublime), but I adore :
- The cup sequence in "Once upon a time in America", where Max and the gang await noodle's reaction, and he remains silent, with no background music, just the sound of the spoon in his cup.
- The famous flashback-free indianapolis story in "Jaws", direct narration, pure actor prowess, yet more evocative than any CGI video they would have slapped on it nowadays.
- The matchbox scene in "North by Northwest", in my eyes the peak of hitchcockian tension.
- The reveal and last dialogue between De Niro and Rourke in "Angel Heart". I love the acting, the pace, the gramophone music, the flashback cuts, all these cogs in place. It's a scene I keep re-watching on youtube. But no link, because it solves all the movie's mystery. "Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise..."
- The Harvey Keitel scene in "Pulp Fiction", of course. Speaking of Tarantino, the whole tavern scene in "Inglourious Basterds" was the best of the film.
- The dream sequence in "Zazie in the subway". Best rendered dream feel ever, especially the awakening instant.
- The blind shooting game, near the beginning of "Rhum Boulevard". A very different tone from the rest of the (delicious) movie, yet it had marked me as a kid.
- The whole beginning of "Goldfinger", from the pre-title sequence, duck on head, mirror eye, electric bath, door slammed, title song, and miami hotel music.
- The south american getaway ellipse, in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" - there's four movies worth crammed in that one, with Bacharach's insanely marvellous musical perfection.
- The last scene involving Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell in "LA Confidential". If you know the characters from the books, you see it coming, but still, the delivery makes you believe the actors were really surprised by the turn of event.
- The anti-revolutionary speech of Rod Steiger in "Once upon a time the revolution", already intense enough as it is, Morricone's soundtrack is almost overkill there.
- The confrontation between Terence Hill and Henry Fonda in the cemetery, in "My name is nobody" - as an option, followed by the wild bunch's walkyrian charge.
And, okay, my list is already three times as long as what I aimed for. Let's be more selective. Any fil sequence you always wait for when rewatching a movie, or sometimes seek on youtube, or remember more precisely than all the rest ?
I would have liked not to mention Leone as it feels like cheating (every minute fabricated by that guy was sublime), but I adore :
- The cup sequence in "Once upon a time in America", where Max and the gang await noodle's reaction, and he remains silent, with no background music, just the sound of the spoon in his cup.
- The famous flashback-free indianapolis story in "Jaws", direct narration, pure actor prowess, yet more evocative than any CGI video they would have slapped on it nowadays.
- The matchbox scene in "North by Northwest", in my eyes the peak of hitchcockian tension.
- The reveal and last dialogue between De Niro and Rourke in "Angel Heart". I love the acting, the pace, the gramophone music, the flashback cuts, all these cogs in place. It's a scene I keep re-watching on youtube. But no link, because it solves all the movie's mystery. "Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise..."
- The Harvey Keitel scene in "Pulp Fiction", of course. Speaking of Tarantino, the whole tavern scene in "Inglourious Basterds" was the best of the film.
- The dream sequence in "Zazie in the subway". Best rendered dream feel ever, especially the awakening instant.
- The blind shooting game, near the beginning of "Rhum Boulevard". A very different tone from the rest of the (delicious) movie, yet it had marked me as a kid.
- The whole beginning of "Goldfinger", from the pre-title sequence, duck on head, mirror eye, electric bath, door slammed, title song, and miami hotel music.
- The south american getaway ellipse, in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" - there's four movies worth crammed in that one, with Bacharach's insanely marvellous musical perfection.
- The last scene involving Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell in "LA Confidential". If you know the characters from the books, you see it coming, but still, the delivery makes you believe the actors were really surprised by the turn of event.
- The anti-revolutionary speech of Rod Steiger in "Once upon a time the revolution", already intense enough as it is, Morricone's soundtrack is almost overkill there.
- The confrontation between Terence Hill and Henry Fonda in the cemetery, in "My name is nobody" - as an option, followed by the wild bunch's walkyrian charge.
And, okay, my list is already three times as long as what I aimed for. Let's be more selective. Any fil sequence you always wait for when rewatching a movie, or sometimes seek on youtube, or remember more precisely than all the rest ?
