Great Moments in Film (Warning: SPOILERS!!!)
Movies with some of the best sequences, shots, or moments that just drive a point home, shock or scare you, or make you gasp or think. Moments that make you feel all tingly about what you're watching, from shock, awe, empathy, sorrow, delight, or realization.
List activity
498 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
25 titles
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.Both the fantastic twists at the end, where you realize that what you have been watching has been totally a scam, and then you realize that that is a scam, too.
The best part of this moment: Tie between the shots from earlier in the movie showing you what you didn't see before and the voiceovers of Kevin Spacey crying and Chazz Palminteri yelling. - DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsUlrich MüheMartina GedeckSebastian KochIn 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.The moment at the very end where the man sees the book dedicated to him years after the whole ordeal. It is really touching and beautiful.
The best part of this moment: the look on the man's face of shock and gratitude is priceless. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.When the big criminal on the boat tells the guard to give him the detonator and that he'll do "what you should have done a long time ago" and throws it out the window.
The best part of this moment: There are so many great things about this moment, but the two best are the inherent suspicion Nolan brings out of you that this man is bad and will pull the trigger, and also the moments following where the Joker realizes man is not entirely evil. - DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.The scene where Valentin finds Peppy's room full of his old possessions, and it is revealed she was the one buying all of his old things and supporting him.
The best part of this moment: Valentin ripping off the sheet covering the huge portrait of himself staring down at him. The music, cinematography, and timing of this scene are impeccable. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.The very final shot (SPOILER) as Michael is looking solemnly down at the lake while his own brother Fredo is being shot per his request.
The best part of this moment: The realization of the contrast between Vito (ruling through love) and Michael (ruling through fear) and how much of a monster Michael has made himself into. - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.The moment where the woman therapist looks at the photo from WWI and sees Cole and screams no! because it means he must be a time traveler.
The best part of this: the music. - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJeff BridgesMatt DamonHailee SteinfeldA stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.The scene with the horse swimming across the river while Cogburn and LaBoeuf look on in disbelief.
The best part of this moment: the music is hopeful and inspiring. - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.This movie has countless laugh/cry/cheer out loud moments, so this includes two of them:
1) When McClane pulls out the gun from behind his back and shoots Gruber after it seems all hope is lost.
Best part: The shot behind McClane of his gun strapped to his back before he pulls it.
2) when McClane's wife punches the obnoxious reporter in the face.
Best part: The looks on every character's faces when she does it. - DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.The moment at the end where the last man against Henry Fonda breaks down crying and finally votes "not guilty."
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Rosebud burning up like a piece of trash at the very end of the film.
The best part of this moment: the realization that they never found out what Rosebud was, nor will they ever. - DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine CavanaughGentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?"That'll do, pig, that'll do."
The best part of this moment: the looks on the man's and the pig's faces. - DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyBrad PittJulia RobertsDanny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.When they pull it off and the fake S.W.A.T team just walks out of the building.
The best part of this moment: Probably Brad Pitt taking off his SWAT helmet and smiling to himself, and the music playing. - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.Charlie Chaplin's speech at the end of the film.
The best part of this moment: The abrupt seriousness the film takes on is a surprise, but a very welcome one, as it calls for a world humanity will forever seek that is still a goal now, over seventy years later. - DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsHarrison FordGary OldmanGlenn CloseCommunist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board."GET OFF MY PLANE"
The best part of this moment: The moments as the president gets the upper hand in the fight and grabs Gary Oldman to give him one last one-liner and then send him off to his death. - DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostMartin FreemanAn overachieving London police sergeant is transferred to a village where the easygoing officers object to his fervor for regulations, all while a string of grisly murders strikes the town.Simon Pegg riding the white horse down the road as he comes back to save the day, armed with a whole arsenal of weapons.
The best part of this moment: The calmness with which he rides, in contrast with the immense firepower he is carrying. - DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonEdgar RamírezJoan AllenJason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.The very end where Julia Stiles is sitting in a cafe and she hears the body of Jason Bourne was never found, and she smiles. Then his body is seen floating, then awaking and swimming off into the darkness.
The best part of this moment: The knowing smile on Julia Stiles' face. - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.The moment where Neo sees the three agents as just lines and lines of numeric coding, and his eyes are opened for the first time, right before defeating them all.
The best part of this moment: Just the fact that once he can see the world for what it really is, Neo can defeat the undefeatable. - DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsFrank SinatraDean MartinSammy Davis Jr.Danny Ocean gathers a group of his World War II compatriots to pull off the ultimate Las Vegas heist. Together the eleven friends plan to rob five Las Vegas casinos in one night.From the original movie (the remake is superior), there is a great scene at the very end (SPOILER) where they realize all the money they successfully stole has been incinerated.
The best part of this moment: The shot of all eleven guys looking down the line as they all realize what has happened. - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.The end moment with Rick staring as his love flies off away from him.
The best part of this moment: Bogart's acting. - DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.When the T-1000 fires the minigun at the policeman gathered around the SkyNet building.
The best part of this moment: The Terminator's eyes totaling up the total human casualties to 0.00 - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsFernando ReyDelphine SeyrigPaul FrankeurA surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.The scene in the barn where the priest shoots the ailing old man who killed his parents.
The best part of this moment: the casualty with which the man looks at the shotgun, picks it up, fires, replaces it and walks out. Just brilliant. - DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.In the taxicab, when his brother pulls the gun on him, Terry just pushes it away like he is just disappointed in his brother and says "Oh, Charlie"
The best part of this moment: The short moments where you think Terry is going to get angry and yell or punch Charlie or something, but you see he is just sad that it has all come to this. - DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoSean PennPenelope Ann MillerA Puerto Rican former convict, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of N.Y.C.The moment in the hospital after Kleinfeld (SPOILER) is given a gun by Carlito because Carlito knows there are people there to kill Kleinfeld. As he leaves, a phony policeman enters the room, and Kleinfeld raises the gun and pulls the trigger, but it is out of bullets. The phony cop shoots him in the head, and Carlito just walks away, having properly gotten his revenge.
The best part of this moment: Carlito just walking away as the inevitable happens and Kleinfeld gets his comeuppance. - DirectorKurt WimmerStarsChristian BaleSean BeanEmily WatsonIn an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.In this critics-hate-it-but-users-love-it movie, Christian Bale lives in a dystopian world void of human emotion. At the very end, as he manages to overthrow the corrupt rulers and save (most of) the day, he looks over his city, now full of emotional people, and cracks a smile.
The best part of this moment: The close up of this hard-shelled, emotionless peacekeeper, finally expressing a shred of human emotion. - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsAl PacinoJack WardenJohn ForsytheA lawyer is forced to defend a judge, while defending other clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.As Kirkland finally realizes he cannot defend this awful sadistic judge and snaps, screaming this man should "GO RIGHT TO *beep* JAIL!"
The best part of this moment: The line where he changes his lawyerly mind and decides not to defend this rapist judge: "The prosecution is not going to get that man today, because I'M GOING TO GET HIM!"