Great moments of movie magic

[Bob Aberton]

Apolcalypse Now - The whole sequence of the airborne Cavalry division taking the beach, from the helicopters "charging" to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries to the Colonel's absolutely priceless lines - "I took this beach so you could go surfing" and of the course the famous "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

Apolcalypse Now - Martin Sheen emerges from the water, machete in hand, giving off those "absolute badass" vibes, to go kill Kurtz. Not an archetypally "heroic" moment, but you can see by the look in his eyes that Kurtz is a dead man.

Apocalypse Now - And similarly to the above, any scene with Marlon Brando. That guy had some serious presence, you could really tell that Kurtz was a scary guy.

 

[Storminator]

Well, not quite true. IIRC film reels of the time didn't hold enough film for it to be done in one continuous take. But they edit it so that it looks fairly seemless.

True, I was rounding off.

I've heard both 7 and 4 cuts thruout the film, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where they are...

PS

 

[Mister Underhill]

Being a big Eastwood fan, I have to mention one glaringly overlooked film: The Outlaw Josey Wales:

Wales: You a bounty hunter?
Bounty Hunter: Man's got to make a livin' somehow.
Wales: Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy.

TOJW is one of the most quotable movies around.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Being a big Eastwood fan, I have to mention one glaringly overlooked film: The Outlaw Josey Wales:

Wales: You a bounty hunter?
Bounty Hunter: Man's got to make a livin' somehow.
Wales: Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy.

TOJW is one of the most quotable movies around.

"Josey, you can't get 'em all!"
"That's a fact."
"Why are you doing this Josey?"
"I ain't got nothing better to do."

Josey on attacking an army unit by himself.

 

[Old One]

A few favorites...

Patton: Opening Monologue

Saving Private Ryan: Opening sequence at Omaha Beach...the closest most moviegoers will, thankfully, every come to the chaos of real combat (IMO).

Last of the Mohicans: The initial fight when Magua betrays the English and Hawkeye, et al, come to the rescue; the betrayal of the English column promised safe passage; the final battle on the cliffside.

Resevior Dogs: Last shootout...I had to play it in slo-mo about 10 times to figure out who shot who.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones gunning down the huge, great scimitar wielding Arab.

Gladiator: Opening battle with the German tribes and "Recreation of the Battle of Zama".

Three/Four Musketeers (1973/74 versions with Richard Chamberlin, Michael York and Oliver Reed): The first battle with the Cardinal's guards; Defense of the Reboubt at La Rochelle; Final battle at the Convent.

Lethal Weapon II: End of film in ship's hold with Knockin on Heaven's Door playing...

Platoon: Death of Elias to Adagio in Strings...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "Bueller...anyone...anyone?"; "When Cameron was in Egypt's land...let my Cameron go..."; Whole scene when Mr. Rooney thinks he is talking to Ferris and Ferris calls in on the other line..."Pucker up, Buttercup."

~ Old One

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Support Your Local Sheriff, where the younger brother is put in the jail cell. The best jail cell within 100 miles. Sturdy brick walls, built by the combined work of the entire town. Only trouble is, there are no bars. Due next week or two.

Tremors 2, when the gun nut pulls up in the army two-ton truck, and lists all his armament. The disbelief and incredulity of the geologist, as it slowly dawns on her that Burt, rather than being overprepared, may just be undergunned...

***************

Frostmarrow, what's this from:

When the hero that survived an entire night in a cottage assaulted by the returning dead welcomes the dawn by looking out the window. He spots a posse of well armed humans and he waves to them.

Cut to the humans: "There's one"...

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Blazing Saddles: "'Scuse me while I whip this out."

Or the whole scene when Hedley Lamarr is interviewing for bandits, and Bart's dressed up as a Klansman.


Bart:: Stampeding cattle.
Hedley Lamarr: That's not much of a crime.
Bart: Through the Vatican?
Lamarr: Kinky! Sign here.

 

[Wehtam]

Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure: The scene with Napoleon bowling. I never think of Napoleon the same way again.

Back to the Future: Doc hanging off the Clock Tower.

Empire Strikes Back: The Lightsaber Battle in the cave in Dagobah when he cuts off Vader's head to reveal his own face.

Return of the Jedi: The whole scene with the Emperor shocking Luke with the lightning. Made me cry when I was a kid.

Return of the Jedi: The unmasking of Vader. That scene is permenantly etched into my mind.

The Two Towers: The Urk-Hai standing at the walls of Helms Deep thumping their weapons in unison. An intensely psychological scene that shows how much doo-doo our heroes were really in.

Fellowship of the Ring: The entire scene with Arwen carrying Frodo away from the Ringwraths.

Fellowship of the Ring: The "You Cannnot PASS!" scene with Gandolf and the Balrog.

A New Hope: Luke standing and looking at the duel sunsets with that music playing. It makes you wonder if he's ever going to get off that rock.

A New Hope: Lukes trench run.

Robocop: When we first see him as Robocop.

Pulp Fiction: The "Do they speak English in What?" It shows us howmuch of a badass Jules really is.

Pulp Fiction: The entire last scene in the Diner with the robbery and how Jules handles it.

I'm sure I can think of more, but that's all for right now.

 

[Tanager]

I've heard both 7 and 4 cuts thruout the film, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where they are...

According to my GF there's 10 cuts (11 shots). I have a repressed memory of her sitting with the DVD remote and watching the entire movie almost frame by frame, so I'll take her word on it.

As for another magical movie moment...

Parker Posey singing "Teacher's Pet" in Waiting for Guffman.

Actually pretty much anything with Parker Posey in it is good with me.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

True, I was rounding off.

I've heard both 7 and 4 cuts thruout the film, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where they are...

PS

Why not? I haven't seen Rope in years, but it's usually pretty obvious: the camera suddenly zooming in on someone's back, moving past a piece of furniture which blocks the view, or a character suddenly stepping in front of the camera. Some of them are quite well done, but I eventually found them distracting--there's just too many of them not to get tiresome.

There are also some more traditional "cuts" in the movie--three or four of them. They are discussed on the IMDB message board and on an archived alt.movies.hitchcock post.