Category Archives: Scenes I Love

Scenes That I Love: Jack Meets Lloyd in The Shining

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The scene below is, of course, from Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece, The Shining.

In this scene, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) stumbles into the Overlook Hotel’s ballroom, still fuming over having been accused of abusing his son.  A recovering alcoholic, Jack sits at the bar and thinks about how he would give up his soul for just one one drink.  And, on cue, Lloyd (Joe Turkel) appears.

As I was watching this scene, it occurred to me that, way back in 1980, there probably was some guy named Lloyd who saw this movie in a theater and was probably totally shocked when Jack suddenly stared straight at him and said, “Hey, Lloyd.”

The brilliance of this scene is that we never actually see Lloyd materialize.  We see him only after Jack has seen him.  So, yes, Lloyd could be a ghost.  But he could also just be a figment of Jack’s imagination.  Jack very well could just be suffering from cabin fever.  Of course, by the end of the movie, we learn the truth.

Everyone always talks about Jack Nicholson’s performance as Jack.  Some people love it and some people hate it.  (I’m in the first camp.)  However, let’s take a minute to appreciate just how totally creepy Joe Turkel is in this scene.  Turkel was a veteran character actor and had appeared in two previous Kubrick films, The Killing and Paths of Glory.  Two years after appearing in The Shining, Turkel played what may be his best-known role, Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner.  Today, incidentally, would have been Joe Turkel’s 99th birthday.

From Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, here’s Jack Nicholson and Joe Turkel:

Scenes I Love: Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been the 100th birthday of the great character actor, Harry Dean Stanton.

My scene that I love for the day comes from Wim Wenders’s Paris, Texas.  This 1984 film gave Stanton a rare starring role as Travis, a man searching for Jane (Nastassja Kinski), the mother of his son.  In this scene, physically separated and hidden from Jane by a one-way mirror, Travis talks about their relationship and their son.

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” is from THE DEAD POOL (1988), featuring Clint Eastwood!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

It’s hard for me to believe, but THE DEAD POOL was released 38 years ago on July 13th, 1988. Back in those days (and now), a 14 year old Brad was completely obsessed with action movies, especially those starring Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood. I especially loved Eastwood’s portrayal of tough San Francisco detective Harry Callahan, and you can be sure that we rented this film as soon as it hit the video shelves! 

Today, I’m sharing a scene that I’ve always enjoyed. It perfectly encapsulates Harry’s dry wit, his disdain for bureaucrats, and his continual desire to work alone. Happy anniversary DEAD POOL, and enjoy my friends  

Scenes That I Love: Valmont’s Nightclub from Danger Diabolik!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The film is 1968’s Danger Diabolik!  The music is courtesy of Morricone.  The direction is courtesy of Mario Bava.  Does the scene make any sense?  Does it have to?  This film is all about pure style and it’s hard to think of any place as stylish (by 1968 standards) as Valmont’s Nightclub.

 

Scenes That I Love: Dracula Meets Van Helsing

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

146 years ago, on July 11th in Kentucky, director Tod Browning was born.  Though Browning was a director who was comfortable working in any genre, he is today best remembered for the horror films that he directed for Universal studios.  Today’s scene that I love comes from Tod Browning’s 1931 adaptation of Dracula.

In this scene, Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) is introduced to Prof. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan).  Van Helsing notes something interesting about Dracula’s reflection, namely that he doesn’t have one.  Needless to say, the Count is not amused.

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – MATEWAN (1987), featuring Chris Cooper!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Beginning in 2018, I fell in love with the state of West Virginia. It started because I fell in love with my beautiful wife who’s from West Virginia, but we’ve also driven across the state on multiple occasions, and I can easily say it’s one of the most beautiful states in this country.

As a movie lover, I began looking for films set in West Virginia when I came across MATEWAN (1987), which was written and directed by John Sayles. Of course, I knew about the film beforehand, but with my new interest in the state, I decided I would purchase it sight unseen from the Criterion collection and give it a spin. Based on the violent, true story of coal miners attempting to form a union in Mingo County, WV in 1920, I’ll just state here that I consider the film to be a masterpiece. I’ll probably write a full review for the movie at some point.

Chris Cooper plays the lead in the film, and interestingly, this was his film debut. Prior to MATEWAN, Cooper had only appeared in a couple of soap operas. After MATEWAN, he would steadily rise to be the Oscar-winning actor we know today. July 9th, 2026, is his 75th birthday, and I’m paying honor to him by sharing this excellent scene. Heck, I just may have to watch this movie again tonight!  

Scenes I Love: Shaft

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been the birthday of Richard Roundtree so, of course, today’s scene that I love could only be the classic opening of 1971’s Shaft.

By doing something as simple as walking down a street in New York, Roundtree showed us exactly who Shaft was and why Shaft did what he did.  This is one of those scenes that’s been parodied so many times that it’s actually surprising to rewatch and see how just defiant and sexy Richard Roundtree’s confident strut actually was.

On another note, I enjoy seeing all of the names of the movies that were playing on 42nd Street when this scene was filmed.