What is the Most Famous Movie Scene?

[mariab]

Errata,
Interesting story! Are you often in the Caribbean on holiday? Lucky you. I wish I could go! I've often eaten shark, but never fished it or been with people who were shark fishing. In Florida the small bull sharks are pretty aggressive, otherwise small reef sharks are not a nuisance. But in South Africa I was careful also about – shoot, I've forgotten their name, but they're small sharks with an asymmetric jaw and they're called “something-jaw sharks“, and they tend to bite too. Usually not worse than a dog, but there was a guy who got bit on his Achilles' tendon and due to infection somehow ended up with an amputated foot (not leg). Really rotten luck.
I've heard a lot about the infamous fire coral in the Caribbean...

[sleekviper]

Yes, I am sorry, the original Kong. Let me see...."First scene to be shot was the fires in Atlanta, filmed on 10 December 1938. If there was a major mistake during the filming, the entire film might have been scrapped. What they actually burned were a whole lot of old sets on the studio backlot, including the "Great Gate" from King Kong (1933). 113 minutes of footage were shot, the cost of the blaze coming to more than $25,000. The fire was so intense that the unwarned public of Culver City jammed the telephones lines, thinking MGM was burning down. Scarlett was doubled by Eileen Goodwin and Dorothy Fargo, while Rhett was doubled by Yakima Canutt and Jay Wilsey."
Oh dear, I closed the location where I found it. I hope that does not cause a problem with proper credit for source material.
Field museum is next door to Soldiers Field, and Shedd Aquarium on Lake Shore Dr.

[mariab]

Wow, interesting about the technical facts in Gone with the wind. Next time I watch it, I might check to see if the doubles show at all during the fire scenes.

sleekviper wrote:
Field museum is next door to Soldiers Field, and Shedd Aquarium on Lake Shore Dr.
Wow, I'm passing by Soldiers's Field at least once a week, when driving downtown, and I live not too far from Lakeshore Drive. There's an aquarium? But probably with no sharks? I spent hours at the Cape Town Aquarium, but they only had (big) reef sharks and these other something-jaw sharks I can't remember the name of. Most fascinating were the changing formations that the sardines engaged in. And it was weird to see the (well-fed) reef sharks swim through the sardines and totally ignore them.

[Errata]

Errata,
Interesting story! Are you often in the Caribbean on holiday? Lucky you. I wish I could go! I've often eaten shark, but never fished it or been with people who were shark fishing. In Florida the small bull sharks are pretty aggressive, otherwise small reef sharks are not a nuisance. But in South Africa I was careful also about – shoot, I've forgotten their name, but they're small sharks with an asymmetric jaw and they're called “something-jaw sharks“, and they tend to bite too. Usually not worse than a dog, but there was a guy who got bit on his Achilles' tendon and due to infection somehow ended up with an amputated foot (not leg). Really rotten luck.
I've heard a lot about the infamous fire coral in the Caribbean...

My mom lives there.
South Africa has great whites. screw the open-jaws.
and yeah, theres fire coral. hurts about like jellyfish, but the real problem is that it also scrapes and cuts skin, so the stinging cells get IN wounds, and you have to scrub the cells out or you get a wicked infection. you can usually see it to avoid it, or you hear someone shriek, or yell "son of a B*&%H!" and then you know that theres fire coral right under the yelling guy.

[sleekviper]

That would be unique to see Maria. It has been so many years that I can not remember what Shedd contains anymore. Museum of Science and Industry is another behemoth down on Lake Shore Drive.

[Sally]

This one, from Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back.

Darth Vader: There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you.

[pauses]

Darth Vader: Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.

Luke: I'll never join you!

Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke: He told me enough! He told me *you* killed him!

Darth Vader: No. *I* am your father.

Luke: No. No. That's not true. That's impossible!

Darth Vader: Search your feelings, you *know* it to be true!

Luke: [anguished] No! No!

Genius. Talk about a Reveal moment! The scene has been reproduced in other films, T.V. programmes etc. due to its legendary status - for example in the post-apocalyptic film Reign of Fire, where its presented as a half-remembered emblem of a lost culture (astonishingly, since the world has only been in the grip of Dragons for a couple of decades, but what the hell...)

[kensei]

Oh Sally, what a great scene! One of my favorites. And if everyone recalls, it ended with Vader extending his arm as he says, "Join me, it is the only way" and then lowering it again as Luke lets go and throws himself down the shaft to what he believes will be his suicidal death. Both are surprised at Luke's survival. When Vader is shown angrily marching away after the confrontation he snaps at one of his underlings, "Bring my shuttle" with just utter contempt in his voice, and I always wondered- why was he so extremely pissed off? It made me indulge in some speculation when the second round of movies came around, which of course were prequels to the first round. We knew that Luke and Leia's mother was going to die, so beautifully played by Natalie Portman. Before "Revenge of the Sith," I imagined a scene between Padme and Anakin that mirrored the one between Vader and Luke in "The Empire Strikes Back." I thought Padme would be standing at the edge of some precipice with Anakin extending his arm to her beckoning her to join him in his descent into the dark side, and that she would choose instead to fall to her death, explaining why Vader was so very angry 20 years later when his son Luke played out the very same scene in front of him again. That would have been epic. BUT- George Lucas did not share my thoughts, and the way that he chose to tell the story was still pretty darn cool.

[mariab]

I don't know if anyone here is interested in opera, but the scene with the revelation of Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker's father is a copycat from 19th century French and Italian opera, and I've read that George Lucas is a big fan of Italian opera. It was a trend started by librettist Eugčne Scribe in the 1820s/1830s in the operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer, overtaken by Verdi in most of his French operas (in the 1840s/1860s). The scene in Return of the Jeddi where Darth Vader dies in redemption is pure Verdi. I was talking about this with colleagues (well, with the younger ones, who go to Hollywood flicks), and they laughed and totally agreed.

[mariab]

Errata wrote:
South Africa has great whites. screw the open-jaws.
Cape Town has currently become THE world capital of great shark attacks in the world. (Worse than the “red triangle“ in North California.) It was extremely interesting to be there, but I'm not sure I want to ever be there again. Too stressful in the water. For the same reason I'm kinda relieved that a serious thing I was having with a South African ex is over. It would have been interesting, but again, too stressful to be surfing every year or every second year in South Africa. (Although he himself doesn't go there very often anymore either.)
When I got the invitation to that conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, this spring, my first reaction was “Oh sh*t.“ It took me 2 excruciating weeks to make up my mind to go, and I only decided to go because of curiosity and not wanting to be a weasel. Still, I believe that if life offers you an interesting/unusual opportunity, you should always go for it. For months before going I was sleeping with my legs tucked underneath me, thinking to myself “As long as I still have them.“

Errata wrote:
and yeah, theres fire coral. hurts about like jellyfish, but the real problem is that it also scrapes and cuts skin, so the stinging cells get IN wounds, and you have to scrub the cells out or you get a wicked infection. you can usually see it to avoid it, or you hear someone shriek, or yell "son of a B*&%H!" and then you know that theres fire coral right under the yelling guy.
Yes, that's precisely what I meant. I've never been in the water in the Pacific, so I've only dealt with rock or lava reef so far (at the Canaries, in South Africa, and in Greece). Rock/lava reef is smooth and gentle (unless you go surf shallow reef at low tide and eat it on the head, which is a situation pretty easy to avoid). Cuts from rock/lava reef do not get deep, they bleed profusely, but don't hurt at all. Which is kinda cool!
In J-Bay, South Africa, I got a disgusting toe infection not from the reef, but from my stupid nail, and when at some point I opened it all up in an improvised attempt at surgery, there were chunks of flesh, and chunks from the reef, and sand and pieces and parts from sea stars coming out. After that “surgery“ it healed in about 2 days, but in the meantime it stunk so much, I was afraid I was about to get a gangrene. I bet even the sharks would not care about eating me in this condition.

[The Good Michael]

Really didn't like Star Wars... er kinda like Empire Strikes Back, but Droids, Wookies, Jar Jar Binks, furry little teddy bears that live all tribal, and really bad acting turn me off.

There was one line that had me in stitches. It's when Chewbacca is brought before Jabba the Hutt and Jabba says, "Ji Zhah, bi jah waki Chewbacc, an ji android."

It just gets me every time. The acting in that scene was brilliant. Talking droids, Jabba, and Chewbacca's wounded elephant noises. Oscar, I'm tellin' ya.


Mike

[Rob Clack]

Here's some of my favourite scenes.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The unmasking of the Phantom.

King Kong (1933)
Kong on the Empire State Building.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Talos coming alive.

Night of the Demon (1958)
Practically the whole film.

Forbidden Planet (1956)
The monster from the Id

Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969)
Peter Cushing pulling his mask off to reveal his face.

The Brides of Dracula (1960)
Peter Cushing meeting Martita Hunt for the first time.

Rob

[mariab]

The only parts I found watchable in the Star Wars series was Luke's realization of who he was and the encounters with Darth Vader. (Who was waaay sexy, I thought. Played by 3 different actors, one for height, one for speech, and one for the uncovered close up in his death scene.) I found Carrie Fisher an execrable actrice. Even Harrison Ford is still a very weak actor in Star Wars. The robots were cute, but corny. I ADORED Spaceballs (the parody) though, and I have it somewhere on VCR tape. The actors in Spaceballs are all excellent, MUCH better than in the original. Which is interesting.

Wow Rob, from all the movies you're quoting, King Kong from 1933 is the only one I've seen. (But they sound like very interesting classics.) Obviously Rob Clack has a taste for movies at least 2 decades older than himself, and he's not wrong, regarding the decreasing quality of filmmaking nowadays. Still, there are good films being made today, even if rarely.

[Roy Corduroy]

The Brides of Dracula (1960)
Peter Cushing meeting Martita Hunt for the first time.

Yes she just got bit. But the good doctor promises there is "one release."

[sleekviper]

Wow Rob, that brought back memories. Night of the Demon was a surprise late night hit. Took me forever to find it since the name had been changed to Curse of the Demon. That scene where Dana Andrews is walking in the woods at night, and that that bright flash turns into the foot prints in the earth, that was killer. Jason and the Argonauts always reminded me of Ulysses with Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. That scene where the men run up to Kirk Douglas and announce that they found the foot prints of a giant, and Kirk looks at them and says, "Naw, just looks like a man with big feet", still gets a laugh.

[Errata]

ok. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
they are fleeing through the lab, and pass a watermelon in a vise. new jersey says "whats that watermelon doing there?" reno says "i'll explain later" and they pause for the briefest of moments staring at the watermelon, and then continue running.
as if the watermelon is important. as if there will come a time, maybe at the climax of the movie, that the significance of the watermelon will be revealed. As if the watermelon may in fact be the salvation of all mankind.

but no. the subject is never revisited.

and the genius of this scene is that at the end of movie, you turn to your friend and say "what WAS that watermelon doing there?" like maybe somehow you missed it.
brilliant.