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

Mike Farley

Auditioning
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Sep 23, 2002
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Couple no-one's hit yet...

Superman II "General Zod, would you care to step outside?"

John Carpenter's The Thing The spider-head sequence

Star Trek II Kirk and Co. are trapped inside Regula with no hope of escape when suddenly his communicator chirps. It's Spock, acting on the plan they had set up earlier. KIRK: "I don't like to lose."

And I'd like to echo a few...

Star Wars The binary sunset

Return of the Jedi Everything from Acbar's line "It's a trap!" to the end

Supermen: the Movie The best openning credits in any movie ever

The Abyss The whole drowning/resurrection scene. James Cameron's finest moment

And just a bit off-topic...

Babylon 5 The final fate of the station in "Sleeping in Light." Brought a oh-so-manly tear to my eye.
 

John Thomas

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Wait, there was more to that movie than that?!!!
Ha!

For me, in Return of the Jedi, it was the Sarlacc pit where everything was looking bleak for our heroes. Luke jumps off the plank, bounced back up and grabs his R2-propelled lightsaber and 'ignites' it. That was mind-blowing at thie time. (Of course I was 10..)
 

James T

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Aladdin The magic carpet ride escape. I remember seeing that in the theater and was just stunned. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster ride.

Superman Lois' death followed by Superman screaming, then roaring into the sky.
 

PS Nystrom

Second Unit
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Jan 27, 1999
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There are tons of examples I agree with here, but I'll try to add only new moments to the list:

The Hunt for Red October The final three-sub battle.

The Fifth Element Leloo jumping off the ledge into Corbin Dallas' cab.

The Phantom Menace I was blown away from the beginning by what the Jedi were capable of. The Force Push (with amazing bass to support the effect) and Qui-Gon's attempt to bring down the door leading to the command center.

Pitch Black The eclipse. Probably my favorite on this list.

Toy Story 2 When the crew, hiding in the dog carrier, get launched into the airport baggage sorter.

Pieter
 

PS Nystrom

Second Unit
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Jan 27, 1999
Messages
444
Forgot to add the end of Equilibrium . Saw this recently and the mano a mano with the Cleric and Father literally made me say "Wow." Fits the idea of this thread to a T.

Pieter
 

Matt Stone

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Star Wars - "I have you know!"
Empire - "Obi-Wan never told you about your father..."
Jedi - Luke jumps off the plank into the Sarlacc Pit.
The Phantom Menace - Obi-Wan's duel with Maul.
Attack of the Clones - Anakin's slaughter of the Tuskins (and subsequent confession).

...enough with the Star Wars section :)

The Matrix - Bullet-Time roof scene.
The Matrix Reloaded - A lot...but to keep it short, Neo flying.
The Fellowship of the Ring/The Two Towers - Gandalf's showdown with the Balrog.
The Fellowship of the Ring - Boromir's death.
The Godfather Part II - Fredo gets whacked.
Glengarry Glen Ross - Alec Baldwin's opening speach.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - The opening sequence.
L.A. Confidential - "Rollo Tomasi."
L.A. Confidential - Shootout at the motel.
Goodfellas - Nightclub entrance.
Fight Club - The end.
High Noon - The crane shot revealing how alone Will Kane is.

I'm sure there are a million more, but I don't feel like typing them :)
 

Joshua_Y

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Seems like the ones that keep popping up are Star Wars films...Matrix...and LOTR...we are such geeks! :D
 

JakeMcM

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I was wowed (still haven't decided good or bad...seems to depend on my mood) when Legolas does that wierd mount onto that horse against the Wargs in two towers.

I saw the Matrix Reloaded today...many wows...but most noticeably the flying scenes, and the oncoming traffic of the freeway (motorcycle) All I know is that if you have ever been in or known anyone in a serious car accident you may want to avoid that scene.

I especially liked that scene where Theoden/aragon/others charge out to meet the uruk hai and Gandalf comes down etc...I was wowed by the sheer numbers, the score, and the excitement of the event itself. Also Any other overhead shot where they showed the masses of uruk hai pouring into Helm's deep.

Many of Buster Keatons stunts/setups...sheer genius.
 

PS Nystrom

Second Unit
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Jan 27, 1999
Messages
444
For me, the moment in Matrix Reloaded when I said wow was the semi collision. That was amazing.

My longest inhale during Titanic came after the ship sank and there was that shot of the survivors on the lifeboats listening to the screams. Followed later by total silence. That really brought home the impact of the event for me.

Pieter
 

Malcolm R

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Great lists everyone. Most of mine appear already. But what about the twist of The Crying Game?

And I especially love Tim Glover's list:

:laugh: Who needs bass shakers! :)
 

Matt Pasant

Second Unit
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Jan 16, 2001
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493
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - "He chose... poorly." Typical English understatement..
Not a WOW scene per se, heck maybe it is. At the end of The Last Crusade when Indy, Dr. Jones Sr., Marcus, and Sallah all ride of through the cavern into the sunset...

I love that scene, and at the time, presented the perfect ending to the series.

Henry: What did you find, Junior?
Indy: Junior?! Dad...
Sallah: Please... what does it always mean, this... this "Junior?"
Henry: That's his name. Henry Jones, Junior.
Indy: I like Indiana.
Henry: We named the dog Indiana.
Brody: May we go home now, please?
Sallah: (To Indy) The dog!? (Laughs) You are named after the dog...
Indy: (Embarrassed) I've got a lot of fond memories of that dog.
Indy: Ready?
Henry: Ready.
Brody: Indy! Henry! follow met I know the way! (To his horse) Haaa!
Henry: (To Indy) Got lost in his own museum, huh?
Indy: Uh-huh.
Henry: After you, Junior.
Indy: Yes, sir! (To his horse) Haaa!
 

Greg_R

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My favorite would be the ending of "Last of the Mohicans".

Some fight scenes that haven't been mentioned:

- Final fight of Inagaki's Samurai trilogy. The use of the sun & the victor's actions afterward... awesome!
- Any fight scene in the Once Upon a Time in China series (esp. I & II). A Jet Li classic...
- Most over the top gun battle: The end of A Better Tomorrow II.
 

Steve Kuester

Second Unit
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Dec 19, 2001
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2001: A Space Odyssey

When humans discovered the monolith on the moon. They are all standing around it, and all I can think is "Oh my God, reach out and touch it!" And he did. I'll never forget seeing that for the first time.
 

Michael Allred

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Well this is difficult for me because have to think of moments where I really felt that sitting-on-the-edge-of-and-not-knowing-it moments, not ones that were simply "cool."

The entire 2-on-1 lightsaber duel in "The Phantom Menace"

The final chase sequence in "The Road Warrior"

When Storm creates a multitude of tornados in "X-Men 2"

Superman turning the tide against General Zod in "Superman II" by breaking every bone in his newly mortal hand

The fates of the 4 lead characters being revealed in heartbreaking detail in "Requiem for a Dream"

Jack Lemmon's confession and immediate pleas at the end of "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Jodie Foster defending her beliefs in front of Congress in "Contact"

The wrath scene (aka "What's in the box?") in "Seven"

The montage of Kevin Spacey's lies in "The Usual Suspects"

and those are just a few.
 

Jeremy Jones

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Okay, I'll bite.

1. Watching Humphrey Bogart change from the affable Fred C. Dobbs to the crazed, gold-fevered, madman in Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

2. The opening sequence of Star Wars A New Hope. Was 5 years old and I hadn't heard anything about it! The only real time I forgot I was in a theater.

3. Jurassic Park Dinos. Not as wow now, but back then it was.

4. All of the Matrix. Action movie with intellect!

5. "No, I am your father", from Empire. I remember being a kid and it being the only time I ever felt that much shock in a movie.

6. The freeway chase in Matrix Reloaded. There are whole parts of it that I cannot see any evidence of CGI, and there must be!

7. Jaws. 3 parts. When you see the shark pull the man underwater and then the leg falls to the bottom. We're going to need a bigger boat. And, Ben Gardner's head floating up from inside the boat. Yikes!

8. Citizen Kane. The quality of it, and know the guy who wrote it, directed it, produced it, and starred in it was only 26 at the time.

9. Tora, Tora, Tora. The Pearl Harbor attack is still one of the most realistic ever filmed.

10. Superman. From the opening titles to the end, just a really WOW movie.
 

Joey Gunz

Second Unit
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Feb 26, 2003
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1) Superman: The Movie - As the opening credits rolled, that amazing .Superman music starts playing.

2) Jurassic Park - When we get our first glimpse of a dinosaur.

3) Aliens - When Hicks checks the ceiling and sees all those aliens coming.

4) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - After the Jedi/battledroid fight in the arena near the end of the film, we are suddenly thrown into an entirely new scene as the troopships carrying Yoda, Clonetroopers and Jedi Knights fly out of the arena into a bigger battle: The Clone War.

5) March of the Wooden Soldiers - This is a classic Laurel & Hardy film. The part that made me go "wow" was when L&H ran into the warehouse where all of the lifesize toy soldiers were being kept. They then started pressing the buttons found in the back of each soldier, bringing them "all to life" to fight the boogeymen. Hearing the sound of the drums as the Wooden Soldiers marched out of the warehouse and into Toyland gave me goosebumps when I was a kid. Still does. :)

6) Starship Troopers - I think its near the end of the film, when the troopers find an abandoned outpost. As they look around and investigate what had happend, one of the marines announce that the bugs were coming. The scene where we literally see thousands of bugs pouring out of the valley toward the human outpost was stunning.
 

Scott_D

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Sep 17, 2001
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77
TPM: Quigon stabbing the blast doors.
The Duel

AOTC: The Rain fight.
The Arena
Yoda vs. Dooku
The Palpatine / Clone Assembly

ANH: The beginning
The attack on the death star

ESB: THe Hoth Battle
"No, I am your Father"

ROTJ: Luke aquiring his lightsaber from R2
THe Space Battle of Endor
The Final Duel

Jaws: "We're gonna need a bigger boat"

LOTR:TTT: THe Ents attack
Helms deep sequence
Balrog

LOTR:FOTR: balrog
Boromir's death

ROTLA: the opening scene
the opening of the ark
 

AaronJB

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Nov 2, 1998
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I saw "Finding Nemo" a couple of weeks ago and that includes plenty of wow moments in regards to the animation, which is spectacular.
 

Jeremiah

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Jun 22, 2001
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The scene in Hurlyburly when Sean Penn and Kevin Spacy are talking about Meg Ryan hooking up with a movie director in a Limo and the expression on her kid's face. It is just so wrong my heart breaks for the little kid. It's not a 'wow that was awesome' scene but it's a wow scene.
 

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