Iconic Movie Scenes
What would you offer if asked what are the most iconic movie scenes of all time?
www.screencroft would offer some old time classics: Citizen Kane’s Rosebud, Psycho’s shower scene, “Scarlet, I don’t give a damn,” or “Here’s looking at you kid!” Romcom fans may suggest Sally’s fake orgasm, Ghost’s pottery wheel scene, or “Nobody puts baby in a corner.” A STAR WARS fanatic surely would add “Luke I am your father,” or simply the opening “crawl.”
Screencroft suggests: ET’s flying bikes, Rocky’s stair running, Titanic’s “I’m the King of the World,” “Welcome” to Jurassic Park, Jaws’ “You’re gunna need a bigger boat,” the Godfather’s unrefusable offer, and The Matrix’s bullet dodge.
In my opinion, the list MUST contain Lt. Col Jessup’s thundering, “You can’t handle the truth!”, Andy Dufresne’s “Get busy living or get busy dying” lines, and Mr. Keating’s “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”
My son would add Tommy Boy’s “You can get a good look at a T-bone steak…,” and Hannibal Lecter’s “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti… ”
My question for you: what would you add?
A good list but surely not complete, with movies covering decades, genres, and preferences. As an example, this list doesn’t include a “must include” scene from Scent of a Woman, where an exclusive prep-school student Charlie Simms is looking after blind, retired, hot-tempered Lt. Colonel Frank Slade. In the scene, Lt. Col Slade joins Charlie for a formal public hearing with the Bard School advisory board which recommends Charlie’s expulsion. Per www.imdb.com, “At this, Slade cannot contain himself and launches into a passionate speech defending Charlie and questioning the integrity of a system that rewards informing on classmates. He tells them that Charlie has shown integrity in his actions.” I offer this snippet between Lt. Colonel Slade and Bard School headmaster Mr. Trask:
Slade: This is such a crock of shit…
Trask: Sir, you are out of order!
Slade: Outta order? I'll show you outta order! You don't know what outta order is, Mr. Trask! I'd show you but I'm too old; I'm too tired; I'm too fuckin' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago I'd take a FLAME-THROWER to this place!...
Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle -- that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey.
As you may guess, the request for expulsion is overturned. All ends well. Slade’s wisdom remains – “Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Those words are haunting to me and capture, for me, the challenge of living an authentic life – living by principle in the face of chaos, expectation, and expediency.