h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do you have a favourite scene in cinema? Well yeah several probably; I do.

But after watching 'Bullit' again on telly last night, I was reminded how totally and absolutely brilliant the car chase is...easily the best one in movies IMO. And the whole film is simply wonderful I think.

Not only are the visuals brilliantly cut giving a complex kaleidoscope of POVs, I was struck how much the sound track makes it. The alternating sounds of the engines of the two cars gives sound POVs with the contrasting throaty roars of the two cars, and especially that moment when it suddenly takes off. It starts with a simply brilliant kind of tense music track, which cuts when it takes off, after all the initial hedging around with each other. And there is a brilliant bit where the pursuers suddenly become the pursued signalled by the rear view mirror shot.

Absolutely well worth watching the whole thing for its sheer complexity. I think the guy who edited it got an Oscar for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-7IEPTAoTg

(A stupid pop up ad appears at the bottom at the start. Click on the X on top right of it to close.)

Millions....

The Ferris Beuller, "If you don't look around once in a while..." for some reason immediately springs to mind....

FB

The whole of The Princess Bride...

The opening of Star Wars

er...
can't think of any more

I've got a few. I think there's these perfect moments in celluloid and they can come in even mediocre films and they just stick with you.

In LoTR: Return of the King Theoden's speech to his troops before plunging into the Battle of the Pellenor. Theoden *knew* that battle was going to kill him, he knew the Rohirrim were probably going to lose and he thought he was going to be the last king of Rohan. In spite of all this, he makes this awesome speech (with beautiful music in the background and the sun just rising behind them).

In Garden State, where Sam and Largeman are sat in front of the fire. He's just told her something pretty upsetting and she holds his hand for a second and then starts to do this really cute tap-dance kind of thing. The camera pulls back and the room is pitch dark apart from the light of the fire and Sam's just dancing. Gorgeous.

In Atonement, Keira Knightley runs out after James McAvoy and she's wearing this *stunning* green dress and as he drives away she's bathed in red light and calls after him. Atonement was a good film, but that really stuck with me.

The domino scene in V for Vendetta. as

In 300, which is a pretty trashy film and good for little other than trashy fun, there's a scene where the King looks over the sea, having beaten the Persians in the first battle and the narrator describes his fervent, impossible hope that he might actually survive the battle. I like the story of Thermopylae in general and this bit just really stood out.

The dodging bullets bit on top of the skyscraper in The Matrix is pretty cool.

I have to agree with Sho, the whole of the Princess Bride, especially the following: the clifftop swordfight ("I'm not lefthanded."), Fezzick being wheeled towards the castle gates on fire shouting "I am the Dread Pirate Roberts! There will be no survivors!" (on a side note, someone should market "I am the Dread Pirate Roberts" t-shirts) and "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

I always find the wily old cardinal at the end of "The Mission" intriguing.

For some reason, comedy without sound fascinates me too. I saw a Norwegian film last week where the timing and choice of shots had me chuckling all the way through.

I'll add my vote to the whole of TPB. My children were only this evening reminding me of how annoying it is that I quote the entire film along with the actors whenever we watch it.

My *very* favourite LOTR moments (because there are many) are: when Sam stops still in the middle of the field and says "Just one more step". It's quite early on in FOTR and it was at that moment that I realised Peter Jackson was a genius - it's not from the book, but it's perfect. The other is the beacon sequence in ROTK.

"Daddy - Daddy - oh, my Daddy!"

The ballroom dancing in Beauty and the Beast, when the camera pulls back from the two of them.

Factory floor scene in HHGTTG.

The "no-smoking" read-through in In The Bleak Midwinter.

Mol

It has to be the 'stepping out' scene in the 'Quiet Man'

"No Patty fingers now!"

MMF

Best ever scene??

The spacecraft approaching the Space Station in '2001, a Space Oddysey' to the strains of 'Blue Danube' by Strauss...





'g'

Withnail and I

are you the farmer/ we've come on holiday by mistake.

LoB,

'You'll only make it worse for yourself'
'Worse ? how could it be any worse ? Jehova ! Jehova ! Jehova !

I'll lend my voice to the Magrathea showroom scene in HHGG.

The last scene in the movie "Manhattan", a Woody Allen flick. Woody Allen is asking this girl not to leave for London, just as she's about to leave, and she declines, and there's a great shot of him just smiling, and then the NYC skyline shows up, over "Rhapsody in Blue". It's the best part of the movie, which is otherwise sort of bad.

"The Godfather", lots of them. But I like the scene when Don Vito sees Sonny's dead body for the first time. Also the opening scene - "I believe in America..."

The only good scene in Woody Allens Manhattan ! Nooooo Its a black and white marsterpiece from the title sequence to closing credits . My favourite film of all time .

Oh my, oh my, how on earth to narrow this down? I'll be typing all night. As far as visual slickness goes, almost all of the Matrix, and I mean that in a good way. That movie just sticks in my head. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where she whispers, "Meet me in Montauk."
And of course I just adore Star Wars and Casablanca. Have practically memorized those two. Raiders, Indy running from the rock. Hmm, let me think some more. And the Nazgul flying up to Frodo in Lord of the Rings.

Oh I completely forgot LOTR

so from FOTR when Frodo has just left and Aragon walks around the corner to meet the army of Orcs

and the pre-battle scene in ROTK where Theoden rides along the horsemen touching his sword to the lances.

>>Oh I completely forgot LOTR<<

And in my case , may that happy state of affairs long continue .

I would say almost any scene from 'The big Lebowski'

Top three for soundtrack -

Return of the Jedi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR__1JIc1Tc

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXldafIl5DQ

Leon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-Rx0Akpg0

The final showdown in Once Upon a Time in the West. That scene is beautifully choreographed. That's the only way I can describe how Fonda and Bronson move towards the shoot-out.

The dole queue scene from The Full Monty, tapping their feet to the music.

From 'The English Patient' when Ranulph Fiennes finally gets back to the underground cave where he left his severly injured lover...