Great work @jei. When @sickc0d3r and I were plotting a Burt week we were 100% on Hooper and Sharky's Machine. I think Gator was our third and we didn't have a fourth.
I'm not going to pretend that, just because he's dead now, I've always been a huge Burt Reynolds fan. But, even though I was never a proper fan of the man, I did always like him. Honestly, my favorite role of his was the guest spot that he did on the criminally underrated show Burn Notice. That show often utilized the doppelgänger trope (and to brilliant effect) and Reynolds played a doppelgänger for the protagonist, this ultra bad ass legend of the spy trade who has faded with age and who is hardly living in the lap of luxury in his unceremonious and anonymous retirement. Great show, great character, and great performance from Reynolds.
And the first time that I ever saw Burt Reynolds in a movie was as the General in Bean
As for the top theme, I agree with europe and @MusterX that it's hard to condense the history of cinema down to individual scenes to say nothing of how hard it is to decide by what criteria to select any list. That said, based on jei's emphasis not on "best" or "favorite" but memorable, scenes that are forever etched in your memory and that you can easily call to mind (for better or worse), this is my list:
1) The post-robbery shootout in Heat. Quite possibly my favorite stretch of cinema.
2) The Russian Roulette scene in The Deer Hunter. I first saw this movie when I was 9 or 10 with my dad. He stopped the movie after that scene because I was so freaked out and he had to convince me that I wasn't going to get drafted, sent to Vietnam, and forced to play Russian Roulette the next day. But then I felt like a pussy so the next morning I finished the movie. To this day one of my favorite, one of the best, and one of the most traumatic movies that I've ever seen.
3) The Mako scene in The Sand Pebbles (europe knows the one I mean). No spoilers, but damn.
4) The ending of Inception. Not the crazy set-pieces, not the big dream confrontations with Mal. I'm all about those last couple of minutes from the plane to the airport and back home.
5) The initial eruption sequence in Volcano. I've loved this movie ever since I saw it as a kid and still absolutely adore it to this day, and my favorite part is the stretch from when Tommy Lee Jones is in the car with his daughter right before the eruption to when he puts her in the doctor's car and sends her away after the eruption. That's another one of my favorite stretches of cinema.
I sincerely hope that "DM" doesn't stand for "Dishonorable Mention." Because if it does, if you're shitting on the opening of the glorious Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, then we're finished.
BTW, are you aware that Mr. Reynolds has his own Power Rangers connection? He and Amy Jo Johnson actually did a Hallmark original movie together in 2003 called Hard Ground.
My crush on Amy Jo Johnson goes back a long time now, and I can seriously recall eagerly awaiting the premiere of that movie and then taping it on a VHS tape on its premiere broadcast
2) The Russian Roulette scene in The Deer Hunter. I first saw this movie when I was 9 or 10 with my dad. He stopped the movie after that scene because I was so freaked out and he had to convince me that I wasn't going to get drafted, sent to Vietnam, and forced to play Russian Roulette the next day. But then I felt like a pussy so the next morning I finished the movie. To this day one of my favorite, one of the best, and one of the most traumatic movies that I've ever seen.
I'm glad you guys got the core of my top five question. I don't care about your top five scenes in all of cinema, that's a ridiculously difficult question. I want the ones that stuck out to you for whatever reason. Doesn't have to be a great movie, but it's a scene that is memorable to you personally. It clicks. It stands out. It traumatized you. It made you ask questions. Whatever it was, it had an impact on you and you can still remember it clearly to this day.
That's what I'm driving at. It will make you think, and you don't have to show off your film trivia or knowledge to anyone.
Also, @europe1 and @jei: I would like to take the opportunity to re-pose something that I originally posed when it occurred to me in the old Persona thread: Would it be possible, in addition to pointing out who selected the picks in each week's poll thread, to have a kind of order/tally thing in each OP showing the entire order of the club so that we can all see who's gone this round, who's still to go, when each individual member's next turn is, etc.? It could be something as simple as rearranging the @ blasts in each OP so that the names are listed in the order in which members get to select picks to something as complex as a jei-style spreadsheet.
Also, @europe1 and @jei: I would like to take the opportunity to re-pose something that I originally posed when it occurred to me in the old Persona thread: Would it be possible, in addition to pointing out who selected the picks in each week's poll thread, to have a kind of order/tally thing in each OP showing the entire order of the club so that we can all see who's gone this round, who's still to go, when each individual member's next turn is, etc.? It could be something as simple as rearranging the @ blasts in each OP so that the names are listed in the order in which members get to select picks to something as complex as a jei-style spreadsheet.
The order of selection should be the same as the Members list on the bottom of every post. Yotsuya went last week and I'm up this week, and I think next week is LHWBelt. There was a little finagling because of people jumping in, but when this phase ends, we'll normalize everything and get it set up. I could even tell everyone when their week is to prepare, but I like that it's not simply assigned cold like that and we have room in case things change.
This theme is just unfair. Jei you Sultan of Madness! You Architect of Mind-Bubbling Incongruity! How the hell is this supposed to be accomplished!?
Okay... some process of elimination.
First of all, we're talking "scenes" here, not "moments". It has to be an entire segment of a story. Some of the ideas that came to my head we're split-second affairs, pure in the moment happenstances. It's basically a question of "do I remember this as a sequence or an image?" Like...
The kiss in This Gun For Hire (yes I'm sentimental)
Jesus in God Told Me To (one of the biggest WTF moments in my cinematic-life. It works better on VHS though since the brightness of DVD makes it waaay to clear what you're watching, while the murkiness of VHS is fittingly obscure)
The Death of Frank in Once Upon A Time in the West. The scene itself is Great. But that one moment is just burnt-in.
The Night-googles segment in Silence of the Lambs. I count this as a moment rather than a scene since in my mind, I just remember the split-second first horror of it, not the drawn-out process itself. Also when she first encounters Lecter.
This image from Andrei Rublev
Sylvia Sidney watching the cinema-screen in Sabotage.
The Last image of Last Hurrah for Chivalry (can't find picture)
And a whole bunch of shit from Fritz Lang films...
Also, one-scene per film. I noticed that many films came up repeatedly. Army of Shadows has like 5 different nominations for the Top 10 (yes, I'm doing Top 10, you cannot stop me!)
And this is by no means a definitive list. Just shooting the shit here.
EDIT: I hate this list. Every second I remember other scenes that should be on it. This is not fair. Why would Jei do this to me? Let's just call this a "stream-of-consciousness" version of the list. If I think any more about it I fear that it will explode into a Top 100 or something. I haven't even included Full Metal Jacket, Sword of Doom, Get Carter, Chinatown... dear lord.
The Ending of Shane -- Though when Stonewall gets killed also qualifies
Ending of In A Loney Place.
But just In A Lonely Place in general. The Bogart-Grahame story in that is just so impactful and heartfelt.
Army of Shadows -- Assassination of Mathilde
As well as Mathilda infiltrating the Nazi prison-quarters. Philipe escaping in the beginning and sacrificing the Communist. Philipe escaping (part 2) and his resulting trauma in the car, etc. Easily the film with the most GOAT-quality memorable scenes alongside Once Upon A Time in the West.
The Final Duel in Barry Lyndon
The Ending of Sanjuro
Once Upon A Time in the West -- Opening
Jeremiah Johnsson -- When he finds his family dead. Can't find images.
The Blood of Heroes -- The First Round of the Final Match
1) ”The walk” from Samuel Fuller’s Forty Guns. Few years back when I had my hands full at work I used to go through this scene often in my mind while walking the last few blocks to the store. I was imagining how most of the stuff I needed to get done would just flee at the sight of me and then I’d just pistolwhip the rest and be done with it. Helped me a lot to get started every day actually.
2) Execution scene from Jud Süß. Maybe the scariest scene/ending in the history of cinema.
3) Nat Turner sequence from Goodbye Uncle Tom. Maybe the most provocative ending for a movie ever. The combined impact of one of Riz Ortolani’s best tracks, Jacopetti’s cinematic genius and priest’s intense reading of Nat Turner’s story is stunning.
4) Opening monogolue from Lawrence Olivier’s Richard III. I never finished the movie, but I just love the opening scene. Masterful in every way.
5) Midget laughing at the limping camel for 10 minutes straight in Werner Herzog’s Even Dwarves Started Small. That was fucked up.
Some bubbling under comedy numbers I love to watch over and over: Outfox the Fox number in Danny Kaye’s Court Jester. Jerry Lewis’ typewriter routine in Who’s Minding the Store. Fatty Arbuckle trying to light a cigarette while standing drunk in rain in Good Night Nurse.
1) Entire sequence from Aliens when Ripley goes into the nest to save Newt, Bishop gets torn in half, "Get away from her you, bitch!", and fights the Queen with a walking forklift. Most bad ass thing ever put to film.
2) Entirety of Rocky.
3) ED-209 shredding that office dork into pieces.
4) When Marty is in the future. I'm still waiting for this reality with pizza.
5) Jurassic Park when the T-Rex is first escaping the fence.
I came close to adding this to my list, but didn't because on the whole, I have some problems with Deer Hunter. But there's no denying that this is a great scene. So I guess it's an honorable mention for me. Kudos on your other picks.
This one came to mind for me as well. I very strongly considered a Jerry Lewis week but we lost Burt Reynolds so it was clear what had to happen. We lost Jerry Lewis like a week after my "Worst Movies Ever" picks came up so the moment was lost.
This one came to mind for me as well. I very strongly considered a Jerry Lewis week but we lost Burt Reynolds so it was clear what had to happen. We lost Jerry Lewis like a week after my "Worst Movies Ever" picks came up so the moment was lost.
I haven’t seen any other Lewis movies as an adult than Who’s Minding the Store, but I’ve watched the typewriter scene at least two dozen times, so I should really try something else too. Any idea which title could be a good followup?
I haven’t seen any other Lewis movies as an adult than Who’s Minding the Store, but I’ve watched the typewriter scene at least two dozen times, so I should really try something else too. Any idea which title could be a good followup?
Cinderfella, The Nutty Professor, Family Jewels, Bellboy, or the Errand Boy are good starters. And if you want a different side of him, The King of Comedy is surprising when you contrast it with many of his classic "Jerry Lewis" films. And you can't go wrong with his teamups with Dean Martin.
Cinderfella, The Nutty Professor, Family Jewels, Bellboy, or the Errand Boy are good starters. And if you want a different side of him, The King of Comedy is surprising when you contrast it with many of his classic "Jerry Lewis" films. And you can't go wrong with his teamups with Dean Martin.
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