Today’s scene that I love comes from The Longest Day. In this scenes, the Allies land at Omaha Beach and run straight at the Germans trying to hold their position. This scene was later recreated in Saving Private Ryan. I think both scenes serve as a fitting tribute to the soldiers who fought and sacrificed to liberate the world from the Axis Powers.
It was 82 years ago today.
Today’s scene comes from Apollo 13.
In this scene, Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and the engineers of NASA try to figure out how they can bring Apollo 13 back down to Earth. There’s a lot of questions about what can and should be done but one thing is made clear. Failure is not an option.
That’s an attitude that we could use more of nowadays.
“Don’t leave home without it!”
The Cleveland Indians (yeah, I said it) are finally in the race for the pennant and, as a result, they get to star in their very own credit card commercial. The main reason that I love this scene is because, even when appearing in a commercial, each member of the the team still has their own personality and style.
From Major League, one of the greatest baseball films ever made:
For me, there was no more touching film scene in 2007 than this one from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. After years of blaming Dewey for accidentally chopping his brother Nate in half, Dewey’s father finally realizes that it could have happened to anyone.
I nearly shared the “there’s no crying in baseball” scene from A League Of Their Own as a reminder to myself not to cry, no matter what the Rangers’s final record is.
But then I decided that I would rather share this scene from 42, in which Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) takes his team to the World Series! Forget about Black Panther and Da 5 Bloods. This was Boseman’s greatest performance.
The scene from The Tree of Life is a reminder that empathy is not just a human trait and that no one and nothing will be here forever. This is one of my favorite scenes from this film. I don’t claim to understand everything about The Tree of Life but I’m still moved every time that I watch it.
Today, we wish a happy 96th birthday to the one and only Clint Eastwood!
Clint Eastwood is an American icon. In many ways, his persona epitomizes all of the contrasts and extremes of the American experience. A political conservative who specializes in playing taciturn and rather grouchy men, he is also one of our most humanistic directors, specializing in films that often question the traditional view of history and morality. He may have first become a star in Europe but Clint Eastwood is definitely an American original.
In honor of his birthday, I’m sharing a scene that I love from 1971’s Dirty Harry. In this scene, Detective Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) meets the Mayor of San Francisco (John Vernon). The mayor is concerned that there’s a psycho on the loose, gunning people down and demanding money. Callahan’s annoyed that he’s spent a lot of time sitting in a waiting room. Things pretty much go downhill from there.
There’s so much that I love about this scene. Both Eastwood and Vernon do a wonderful job playing off of each other. The Mayor may be in charge of the city but Callahan probably didn’t vote for him. One thing that I especially love about this scene is the look of annoyance that crosses Harry’s face whenever he’s interrupted.
And, of course, there’s that final line! Eastwood does a great job explaining Harry’s “policy” but ultimately, it’s Vernon’s “I think he’s got a point,” that provides the perfect closing note.
Happy birthday, Mr. Eastwood!
The late director Franklin J. Schaffner was born 106 years ago today.
Though Schaffner won an Oscar for directing Patton, my favorite Schaffner film will always be Planet of the Apes. In this scene, Charlton Heston discovers where he’s actually been for the entire movie.
Everyone had to start somewhere and for Clint Eastwood, that somewhere was 1955’s Revenge of the Creature. Here he is, making his uncredited film debut as a lab technician who has discovered something odd. Even in his very first role, Eastwood’s physicality made him stand out. And check out that gorgeous hair!
118 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London. A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No. Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent. Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend. She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned. We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.
Through the Shattered Lens 