"WOW!" Moments in the Movies (1 Viewer)

[Andy_Bu]

So many many good ones, and so hard to pick my all time favorites but here goes

1) "You bow to no one" ROTK - Defining moment in my favorite movies of all time. Total lump in throat. Almost wish the movie has faded to black right there as that was as an emotional a moment for me as I can ever remember in a theater

2) The signal fires in ROTK - Just took my breath away

3) The Titanic going down. 45 minutes of heart pounding entertainment.

4) Marty rounding the corner and scaring the wits of of Doc telling him that he is back from the future at the very end of BTTF 2 - So smartly done being perfectly woven into the BTTF1 storyline that you just had to be impressed

5) The payoff in both 6th Sense and Fight Club - Well done and I did not guess even close to either when first time viewing

6) The first viewing of the span of Dinosaurs when Laura Dern's characters eyes bug out. Technology at its best

7) The EE prolouge to FOTR. I simply can't watch that enough

8) "We will rock you" song at beginning of A Knight's Tale. Not a wow like the others but certainly a great suprise that really worked for me

9)"Rudy Rudy Rudy" - enough said for any person who ever played sports

Andy

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Scarface

When Tony looks out of his window and sees the Goodyear blimp hanging low in the sky and the message "The world is yours" scrolling by on its marquee; then the camera pulling back to show the glass wall of the house with Tony downstairs as Elvira scurries around the second floor.

Breathtaking and the highlight of the movie.

 

[John_Lee]

Beatrix punching through the coffin to the strains of Morricone in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

I loved that scene in the theater. But then, when I got the soundtrack, and listened to L'Arena, and thought of the whole lesson of the scene [sometimes, things get so tight that the only thing you can do is fall back on what you know and steel yourself for what it's gonna take to get out], it was very moving. Can't wait to finally see it again tomorrow.

 

[FredHD]

I did not look through the whole thread, but here are some of my favorites:

Poltergeist: "Mommy, they're here"
The Color Purple: Miss Celie preparing to shave "Mister" and Shug running to stop her,OMFG!!, Shug singing her way to the curch followed by the entire juke joint. I think these are some of Spielberg's finest moments as a director.
The Color of Money: Vincent revealing the dump
Taxi Driver: The rescue of Iris
The Warriors: "Warriors, Come out to play-ay."
The Exorcist: The turning of the head.
Pulp Fiction: Lance's house with the syringe
True Romance: The final shootout
Natural Born Killers: The diner scene in the beginning and the prison sequence in the end.
Goodfellas: The confrontation in the Driveway (you know, with the Corvette), SMACKDOWN!!
Tombstone: Wyatt confronts Johnny Tyler, the OK Corral.
Heat: The bank robbery and aftermath
Casino: Nicky and Dominic pay their dues for their "sins"

I could prbably think of a thousand more, but who has that much time!!

 

[Fred Bang]

My turn (didn't read all 8 pages so bear with me for the redundancy)

The Color Purple The final scene with Mister walking discretly behind the two sisters.

Fellowship of the Ring (EE) : Legolas shooting 7 orcs in a row.

The Two Towers : Gollum vs Smeagol speach

Return of the King : Everybody bowing in front of the hobbit.

The Empire Strikes Back : The binocular zooming out to reveal an Imperial walker.

Dancer in the Dark : The final scene

Schindler's List : The liquidation of the Ghetto


And finally, my best moment of all time (and the first scene I've ever seen in a theater)
Star Wars : Boarding Tantive IV. The first time I saw the stormtroopers and heard the blaster rifle's sound, I just went nut!

 

[Kenneth+S]

Hello everyone, I have to say this is a wonderful thread. I thought it would be fitting to have this be my first post, since this is why we all love movies so much.

My first "WOW" moment would definitely have to have been back in 1977. I was eight years old and went to the movie theater for the first time. Of course the movie was Star Wars! My jaw hit the floor from the moment the crawl began straight through to the end. Talk about an indelible impression.

From that point on, I was hooked on cinema.

Most of the other "WOW" moments I can think of have already been mentioned. A few that do come to mind though are more because of the message than the FX.

Saving Private Ryan: Tom Hanks line to Matt Damon, "Earn this!"

Braveheart: The whole message of freedom.

Schindler's List: Oscar Schindler breaking down at the end, wondering if he could have saved one more Jew by selling a gold pin.

The Passion of the Christ: I'll be careful not to make my first post my last Of course the whole movie was tremendous. But the part that stuck out for me was when the Roman guards are nailing Christ to the cross and he is praying, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."
I have never walked out of a theater that was so sullen and quiet as I did after viewing this movie.


Anyway, I have to say that so many films have left me with such fond memories, but none will top my first experience in a theater back in 1977.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Amadeus

The dictation of the Confutatis. How this film managed to take a person dictating music note-by-note and turn it into a gripping climax, I don't know, but it works. I especially love the way we get each individual element seperately, and they all sound completely disparate. But then we hear them together, and my gosh it works, and it is divine.

I also love the funeral sequence - it's one of the best film funerals I have ever seen.
But I do acknowledge that my reaction may be combined with my feeling about Mozart and his music. Amadeus was the first place I heard Mozart's Requiem, and while I love the Lacrimosa, every time I hear it, it drives home to me just how young Mozart was when he died, it makes me think about all the wonderful music we might have had he lived on, and it makes me terribly sad.

 

[Alf S]

When watching the opening scene of Raiders at the Continental in Denver and having the whole audience jump up and cheer when Indy jumped into the river and swam to the plane...gave me goose bumps.



Haven't had an experience like that one at the movies ever since...

Oh wait! I forgot about having my dad take me and my little sister to JAWS while in Hawaii, and she proceeds to loose one of her baby teeth..bloody mess both on AND off the screen!!

 

[FilipM]

Shawshank. The rooftop beer scene, the poster/tunnel scene, Andy in the rain, the warden opening up the book, and of course the final scene in Mexico. All are fantastic.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I have an odd reboot of this thread. There is also a 2004 edition located here, but the WOW! moment I am referencing is from an older film, so this is the appropriate thread. Besides, it never hurts to read through this thread

Onto the film/moment - I had been looking for the soundtrack to this film for quite some time (it's my wifes), refusing to pay (again) the $5 this thing would have cost. I found it yesterday, and the music reminded me of the goosebumps this particular scene gave me.

The Prince of Egypt - The Burning Bush. The score and dialogue in this scene was fantastic, and it's something I plan on revisiting soon...maybe even the whole movie. but the scene itself is magic.

I have some others to add, but I'll use the other thread, as they are from recent films.

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Stephen_L]

Glad to see this thread pop up again. I was rewatching some favorite films and the WOW moments got me again.

Aliens: Maybe one of my all time favorite WOWs. The queen has stowed away on the ship. Ripley disappears behind a blast door only to reemerge like an avenging angel in the power loader. "Get away from her, you bitch!" Dang, I was whooping like the first time I saw the film.

High Fidelity: A WOW on a smaller scale but still delightful. At the close of the film, Jack Black's character mounts the stage for what seems likely to be an embarrassing musical performance; instead he belts out a kickin' rendition of "Let's Get It On" I knew Jack Black could sing, but the movie establishes him so well as an obnoxious geek that to hear that fine singing is a real WOW.

 

[Shaughan]

I think for me, the real WOW scenes that come to mind are:

The opening of Apocolypse Now - The jungle burning to the tune of The Doors "The End" and how the scene transitions from the helicopter blades to the ceiling fan in the Saigon hotel room. I was just blown away by that.

When Jules caps the guy on the couch so casually and then asks Brad if he interrupted his train of thought. I first saw the film on Laserdisc and had to run it back to make sure I had seen what I had thought that I had seen.

In Schindler's List where the Nazi officer kills the jewish woman architect after she points out a flaw in the construction of the building that they are constructing. The way that she explains the problem and the Nazi just casually says "I'm sure you are right" and then puts a bullet in her head.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

The Matrix Reloaded - the whole movie. The whole damn movie.

 

[Richard Kim]

Magnolia - The "Wise Up" scene. A wonderful song, used in a totally unexpected manner.

Oldboy - The corridor fight sequence, continuous action taking place all in one shot.
Very impressive.

Revenge of the Sith - The whole film, but the Order 66 and the Immolation scenes in particular.

 

[Tim Mauldin]

I'm sure I can think of more later, but here is one right off the top of my head.

Aliens: When Vasquez and Gorman are about to be overtaken by Aliens. They decide to take out as many as possible by activating granades. "You're such an asshole Gorman" - a WOW moment if I ever saw one.

 

[Jonathan_]

Titanic- After the ship sinks. Gloria Stuart's speech is just amazing.

"Fifteen hundred people went into the sea when Titanic sank from under us. There were twenty boats floating nearby and only one came back. One. Six were saved from the water, myself included. Six out of fifteen hundred. Afterward, the seven hundred people in the boats had nothing to do but wait... wait to die, wait to live, wait for an absolution which would never come."

To me this is the WOW moment in the movie. Seeing the ship for the first time was close, but I get a lump in my throat every time I hear that speech.

 

[Angel Pagan]

For me, it was the following from Contact:

S.R. Hadden: [over video feed from Mir space station] I wanna show you something.
[shows satellite feed to Ellie]
S.R. Hadden: Hokkaido Island.
Ellie Arroway: The systems integration site.
S.R. Hadden: Look closer.
[zooms satellite feed to reveal second machine]
S.R. Hadden: First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price? Only, this one can be kept secret. Controlled by Americans, built by the Japanese subcontractors. Who, also, happen to be, recently acquired, wholly-owned subsidiaries...
Ellie Arroway: [speaks with Hadden] ...of Hadden industries.
S.R. Hadden: They still want an American to go, Doctor. Wanna take a ride?

 

[John Kilduff]

I know that most of these moments come from movies of the 80s and 90s, but those are the filmic periods that I'm most familiar with.

-"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from "The Wizard Of Oz". Two wow factors: WOW, it's a great song. WOW, it's heart-wrenching!

-The end of "Scarface". 6 words..."SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!".

-The Kurrgan plays chicken in "Highlander".

-Bigfoot destroys a car dealership in "Road House". (It's a personal favorite....One of the greatest guy movies ever made, if not THE greatest!)

-"Poor Unfortunate Souls" from "The Little Mermaid". Ursula starts out as a smiling kind of sinister but gains a demonic tone to her voice when she sings "Go ahead and sign the scroll! Flotsam, Jetsam, now I got her, boys! The Boss is on a roll...These poor, unfortunate souls!"

-The twist climax of "To Live And Die In L.A".

-"The Old Landmark" from "The Blues Brothers".

-The ending of "Runnning Scared". "YOU WANT YOUR COCAINE?"

-Lone Star and gang maneuvering their way out of Mega-Maid in "Spaceballs".

-"New Jack City". "Money talks and bullshit runs a marathon, so see ya and I wouldn't to be ya!"

-The end of "Videodrome". "THIS IS VIDEODROME! LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!"

-The crane shot in the title number of the movie "Beauty And The Beast"

-Martin Riggs running down Hollywood Boulevard with a very large gun in "Lethal Weapon".

-Any of the fight scenes in "Million Dollar Baby".

-"I Can't Do It Alone" from "Chicago"

-"Back To The Future" and "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

-Cameron screaming when he finds out about the mileage in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". The way the camera flies out of his mouth is amazing.

-"Aliens" and "Get away from her, you bitch!"

-The bunny meets his fate in "Fatal Attraction".

-"Sudden Impact" and "Go ahead...Make my day!"

-"I Just Checked In [To See What Condition My Condition Was In]" from "The Big Lebowski"

-Naked horseback riding in "Private School"

-"I'm as mad as Hell AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" from "Network"

-Joe Hallenbeck and Milo's fight on top of the football stadium from "The Last Boy Scout"

-The Mr. Creosote scene from "Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life"

-The black mass, the trial sequence and "TAKE THAT, FUCKERS!" from "Pink Floyd: The Wall"

-Catherine Trammell opens her legs in "Basic Instinct".

-The Communists parachute onto the grounds of the high school in "Red Dawn".

-Nada and Frank's all-out fight in "They Live'.

-Dr. Harvey sees his wife one last time in "Casper". This was more of a cathartic moment, considering that my dad had died about a month-and-a-half before the movie was released. From the same movie, I also went WOW when I saw Dan Aykroyd's cameo as his "Ghostbusters" character Raymond Stantz. "Who ya gonna call? SOMEONE ELSE!"

-The raid on the train in "The Untouchables".

-The combination car chase/gunfight in "Demolition Man".

-The opening chase in "Beverly Hills Cop".

-Axel Foley's final showdown with Maxwell Dent and Karla Fry in "Beverly Hills Cop 2".

-The big suit comes out in "Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense".

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

That's all I have for now.

 

[SteveCallas]

Ok, after 8 pages and countless repeats, I don't think anybody has mentioned the revealing of the edible room in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Also, Kill Bill Volume 1 as a whole.

 

[AlexCremers]

The ending of 'The Machinist', even though I'm totally allergic to everything Shyamalan.





Alex