Favorite Shots of All Time

Tools    





A system of cells interlinked
Lawrence of Arabia - Every shot...the whole damn film.....

__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



In the Beginning...
Two recent favorites:

Serenity: When the Serenity transport first comes into view, the shot does not cut until we see it landing. The camera enters the ship, follows Malcolm Reynolds around as he jabbers with the crew and readies for landing - all without cutting. It was at least two minutes worth just in that one shot. All the actors had to be perfect. I love shots like that.

Batman Begins: The camera pans around a city skyscraper at dawn, and we see the silhouette of Batman standing on a ledge, looking down at the city below. It's a simple shot with some building orchestral music behind it, but it's breathtaking. It's the most faithful Batman shot I've ever seen. Batman isn't just a vigilante in a costume. He becomes the watcher of the city, as if it's his own - and that shot did it for me.



I love most of the shots in Dead Man ... particularly this one and also the end shot of Depp...


__________________
You never know what is enough, until you know what is more than enough.
~William Blake ~

AiSv Nv wa do hi ya do...
(Walk in Peace)




Good the Bad and the Ugly has the best shots ever

IE, The shots between The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly over and over

And these

-End shot of Joe going over the hill
-Shot of Joe and Tuco going through the town with bandits
-Shot of when Tuco finally finds jow

Clockwork Orange has some great shots too

-Opening shot
-Shot during rape scene done sideways with Alex yelling at Magee
- Hospital Scene
- Fight at Opera House
__________________
"No, you made a big mistake, you forgot to flush" Dwight

"Walk down the right back ally in Sin City, and you'll find anything" Marv



ObiWanShinobi's Avatar
District B13
Kiss scene between the Warrior Warchief and the former orphan's girl while the subway train passed by them.

The gun shooting in the limosine in Requiem for a dream.

The contrasting color scenes in Pleasantville/Sin City were very nice to look at, but not very special besides their purpose.

Any scene in any movie with kurt russell.
__________________



I think my favorite shot of all time would go to Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange. The shot I'm referring to is the opening slow zoom out that starts the entire film. In my eyes, it's simply flawless. Malcolm MacDowall must have the most intense eyes ever to have been committed to the screen. And that accompanying piece of music that goes with it just makes it that much more diabolical. Kubrick is one of those filmmakers that just knew his way with cameras and his one of a kind vision justifies that.

Another shot that also belongs to Kubrick is in Barry Lyndon. It's another slow zoom out where the woman and the child are sitting together like porcelain dolls. It makes such a strong impression of that period.

There are a grip of great shots but if there are several films with just incredible cinematography all throughout that just needs to be mentioned too. Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas; Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven; and Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock are all examples of incredible images.



Taking care of planet Earth
Not sure if any of these have been mentioned but here goes:

Jaws - The bit where Brody (Roy Scheider) is sat on the beach and everybody is swimming in the water. He realises that a shark is in the water and attacking somebody, it's a strange camera effect where the background all stretches away from him but his face is static in the shot. First time I saw it my jaw hit the floor and it still does today.

Goodfellas - The famous tracking shot through the kitchen. Incredible, imitated in Swingers much to my amusement. I love Swingers by the way, it's a film that film fans get so much from with those kinds of little touches.
__________________
My Top 20 films



So many good movies, so little time.


Ending shot from The Searchers
__________________

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."- Groucho Marx



Road To Perdition - Sullivan Jr., just before he goes back to bed, hugs his father. It surprises Sullivan Sr and it's obvious that he was touched by it.

Road To Perdition - MacGuire shooting Sullivan at the beach house. It's totally out of the blue, and the fact that there is no dramatic music at all makes it register harder. It's just.....silent.

Trainspotting - Renton overdosing at Mother Superior's place, in which he has to drag him outside. The music was incredible. It's the only tear-jerker in the movie.

Rushmore - The opening scene in which we see all of Max's extra-curicular activities. It's wonderfully amusing, and it's just a perfect opening to a perfect movie.

Rushmore - Everything you need to know about Herman Blume is summed up in 5 minutes, as he aimlessly throws golf balls in the swimming pool, staring at his cheating wife. he then gives one last ****-eaten miscast look at his family and jumps in the pool, sinking to the bottom, The Kinks' "Nothin In This World Can STop me Worryin Bout That Girl" No dialogue. Simply wonderful.

Magnolia - The entire cast singing along to an Aimee Mann song. That's all that needs to be said.

Jackie Brown - Jackie driving off in the end, singing along with Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street." It's almost a redemption.

Punch Drunk Love - The entire first 10 minutes, with the Harmonium drop, meeting Lena, and seeing the car crash. It sets the mood for the rest of the film: chaotic, confused, and lovely.

Boogie Nights - The montage of Dirk being jumped by the guys in the truck and Jack beating the college student senseless. It's topped of with a great scene of Buck in a donut shop that gets helped up. There's hardly any music; just a pulsating thump of strings every few seconds.

Fargo - Peter Stormare shoving Buscemi's body in the woodchipper. It almost adds an element of old Italian horror to the film.

Sideways - Jack being attacked by Stephanie. No reason, really. Just funny as Hell.

Lost In Translation - Bob and Charlotte's first night on the town. The movie until this point is slow-building, but then suddenly Tokyo comes alive as well as Bob and Charlotte. The scenery is some of the best I've ever seen, but then again, Tokyo is gorgeous.

Y Tu Mamma Tambien - Both love scenes with Luisa, first with Tenoch then with Julio. They're both very quick, but seem longer due to the emotion behind them.



A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by Clark Nova
Not sure if any of these have been mentioned but here goes:

Jaws - The bit where Brody (Roy Scheider) is sat on the beach and everybody is swimming in the water. He realises that a shark is in the water and attacking somebody, it's a strange camera effect where the background all stretches away from him but his face is static in the shot. First time I saw it my jaw hit the floor and it still does today.
Ah, yes, love the shot. The technique they are using their is an old Hitchcock invention. It's a reverse tracking shot with a simultanious forward zoom.... it creates an interesting feeling, and my father said it blew people's mind back in Vertigo, which is the first time he remembers seeing it.


Meanwhile:




In the Beginning...
Originally Posted by X Randeath X
Road To Perdition - Sullivan Jr., just before he goes back to bed, hugs his father. It surprises Sullivan Sr and it's obvious that he was touched by it.
Yes!

Originally Posted by X Randeath X
Sideways - Jack being attacked by Stephanie. No reason, really. Just funny as Hell.
I like the shot of Jack chasing Miles down the hill. It's a static shot, which makes it hilarious, but you've got it in the back of your mind that this is a serious issue.



Also:

Two shots from Magnolia - The entire frog scene blew my mind. The whole movie up until had me hooked, but when the frogs started falling, I wanted to cry because the film was so amazing. It still stands as my favorite movie of all time.

Also, at the end, the incredibly long shot of Claudia Gator in her room, then Jimmy sits on the bed next to her. Before the film is over, she smiles. And that smile sums up everything in a 3 hour movie. The film is about redemption, and when she smiles, she's forgiven her father. She's redeemed, and you feel like everyone has been saved.
__________________

And we say to ourselves, "Well if that were in a movie, I wouldn't believe it."

www.myspace.com/randeath - me

www.myspace.com/animasana - my band



A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by X Randeath X
Also:

Two shots from Magnolia - The entire frog scene blew my mind. The whole movie up until had me hooked, but when the frogs started falling, I wanted to cry because the film was so amazing. It still stands as my favorite movie of all time.
I just recently saw it for the first time, and have seen it twice now. I really, really like it a lot, but I must ask.. have you seen Altman's Short Cuts?

Originally Posted by X Randeath X
Also, at the end, the incredibly long shot of Claudia Gator in her room, then Jimmy sits on the bed next to her. Before the film is over, she smiles. And that smile sums up everything in a 3 hour movie. The film is about redemption, and when she smiles, she's forgiven her father. She's redeemed, and you feel like everyone has been saved.
Agreed, I would also like to add the montage right at the first turning point for all the characters where the classical score starts using the minor movements and all the characters are sort of contemplating various problems. You have a series of dolly-ins on each of the characters and when they show Macy I want to start crying because the music is so moving and his subtle facial acting is so well done... I wish I could pinpoint the montage a bit better for you...I believe it is around the point where Tom Cruise is sort of quietly judging the reporter....

yeah, I like that film a lot, but after seeing Short Cuts, it was minimized a bit for me, because Altman did it just a bit better...

I would also mention the incredible steady-cam work when the kid arrives at the TV studio, but again, Scorsese did it first and a bit better, IMO.



Originally Posted by Sedai
I just recently saw it for the first time, and have seen it twice now. I really, really like it a lot, but I must ask.. have you seen Altman's Short Cuts?



Agreed, I would also like to add the montage right at the first turning point for all the characters where the classical score starts using the minor movements and all the characters are sort of contemplating various problems. You have a series of dolly-ins on each of the characters and when they show Macy I want to start crying because the music is so moving and his subtle facial acting is so well done... I wish I could pinpoint the montage a bit better for you...I believe it is around the point where Tom Cruise is sort of quietly judging the reporter....

yeah, I like that film a lot, but after seeing Short Cuts, it was minimized a bit for me, because Altman did it just a bit better...

I would also mention the incredible steady-cam work when the kid arrives at the TV studio, but again, Scorsese did it first and a bit better, IMO.
Yeah, I know what montage you're reffering to. I believe it's where Macy's breaking down in the bar, telling Brad the bartender he loves him.

The film's full of memorable emotional scenes, like:

- Julianne Moore telling her lawyer that she never loved Earl, but now she does.

- Stanley refusing to answer any more questions, saying he always has to do everything and doesn't want to anymore.

- Phil Parma requesting help from Frank's people ("This is the part of the movie where you help me out").

- The dinner scene with Jim and Claudia.

One of my favorites is when Stanley tells his father, "You need to be nicer to me." It's blunt and direct, and it needed to be said. The entire film is a ball of emotions.



A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by X Randeath X
Yeah, I know what montage you're reffering to. I believe it's where Macy's breaking down in the bar, telling Brad the bartender he loves him.

The film's full of memorable emotional scenes, like:

- Julianne Moore telling her lawyer that she never loved Earl, but now she does.

- Stanley refusing to answer any more questions, saying he always has to do everything and doesn't want to anymore.

- Phil Parma requesting help from Frank's people ("This is the part of the movie where you help me out").

- The dinner scene with Jim and Claudia.

One of my favorites is when Stanley tells his father, "You need to be nicer to me." It's blunt and direct, and it needed to be said. The entire film is a ball of emotions.
\

The Hoffman scene on the phone is actually one of my favorites in the film, as well. I love that scene. In fact, I think the screenplay is absolutely brilliant in it's entirety.

A couple more

- The cop loses his gun. I love the way this sequence is shot and lit, and I felt as if I was cringing in the bushes with the character.

- Jilliannne Mooore (haha CFrog) is picking up some prescriptions for her dying husband, and gets treated like some sort of street hood or college party girl, her reaction is perfect, and I love the looks on the dudes faces as she lays into them...

-The intro! the guys voise(no, voice is spelled with an s Frog, learn the language!!), the clipped frame, the quick dolly up to the little kid talking to the cops, all of it...


Next, I will spell Abe Froman with four Ms and a silent Q, all for the Frog's pleasure....



Originally Posted by Sedai
\

The Hoffman scene on the phone is actually one of my favorites in the film, as well. I love that scene. In fact, I think the screenplay is absolutely brilliant in it's entirety.

A couple more

- The cop loses his gun. I love the way this sequence is shot and lit, and I felt as if I was cringing in the bushes with the character.

- Jilliannne Mooore (haha CFrog) is picking up some prescriptions for her dying husband, and gets treated like some sort of street hood or college party girl, her reaction is perfect, and I love the looks on the dudes faces as she lays into them...

-The intro! the guys voise(no, voice is spelled with an s Frog, learn the language!!), the clipped frame, the quick dolly up to the little kid talking to the cops, all of it...


Next, I will spell Abe Froman with four Ms and a silent Q, all for the Frog's pleasure....
It's an all around beautiful film, and the fact that it didn't win any Oscars puzzles me. I also can't believe that one guy actually sat down and wrote such a thing. It just seems like the kind of film that just falls from the sky.



A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by X Randeath X
It's an all around beautiful film, and the fact that it didn't win any Oscars puzzles me. I also can't believe that one guy actually sat down and wrote such a thing. It just seems like the kind of film that just falls from the sky.
Oh, I think you will find, even with the members on the site that abhor Magnolia and Boogie Nights, that PT Anderson is considered one of the best Writer/Directors living working today. There is a thread around somewhere on exactly that subject, and he comes up a lot. I would probably agree about his craftmanship, but I do find some flaws in the way he puts his stuff together onscreen and in the editing room, just because he so blatantly "borrows" certain techniques. The fact that he executes them so well is something to be applauded, but I want to see something (technique-wise) that doesn't immediately make me think about a technique in another, earlier film...



Lets put a smile on that block
Im loving this discussion on Magnolia between you two. Your just highlighting everything i absoloutly adore about this film. Every scene youve described is just wonderful. Claudia's and Jim's relationship is one of my favourite elements of the film. Its so sweet and desperate, with them both clinging to this possibility of being with eachother and finding some peace together. I love it. I can easily say this film has its place in my top five. I love the tagline for the film:-

Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.

What are your thoughts on the title of the film? Why Magnolia?

P.S. I like you X Randeath X. You meantioned Punch Drunk Love as well. Another Anderson film that is just beautiful.

P.P.S And now i must see Altmans Short Cuts.
__________________
Pumpkins scream in the DEAD of night!



Ha, thanks alot blibblobblib. I had an unhealthy obsession with Punch Drunk Love after I saw it. My friends thought I was nuts, but it's the most beautiful love story I've ever seen.

As for the title, I'm honestly not too sure what Anderson was going for by naming it Magnolia. Maybe a symbol of beauty or something, but it doesn't seem like that goes deep enough.



Lets put a smile on that block
Maybe the title has something to do with the structure of a Magnolia flower. Like each story is a single petal but once you see them all together its a thing of beauty.






Maybe im a bit stoned.