As I continue to celebrate Chow Yun-Fat, as he gets ready to turn 70 on May 18th, 2025, I thought I’d highlight his performance as the evil Emperor Ping in CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. Chow doesn’t often play a bad guy, but he can do it extremely well, and he’s still the ultimate badass. Enjoy this scene between Chow Yun-Fat and Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou as Prince Jai.
Category Archives: Scenes I Love
Scenes That I Love: Albert Finney Hates People In Scrooge
Today would have been the 89th birthday of the great British actor, Albert Finney!
And today’s scene that I love features Albert Finney in the role of history’s most famous miser. In 1970’s Scrooge, Finney played the title role and, early on, his worldview was perfectly captured by a song called I Hate People. Finny was only 34 when he played Ebenezer Scrooge but he does a wonderful job of bringing the character to life and he’s just as convincing when he’s being good as he is when he’s being bad. Finney is the main reason why Scrooge is my personal favorite of all of the versions of A Christmas Carol.
Scenes That I Love: A Conversation From Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City
Today’s scene that I love comes from Rome, Open City:
Filmed in 1945, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City was one of the first films to be made about life under the Nazis. What set this film apart from others is that the majority of the cast actually had lived under the occupation. While there were a few professional amongst the cast, Rossellini also used many nonprofessional actors, who brought a weary authenticity to their roles and their portrayal of life in occupied Rome.
Scenes That I Love: The First Two Minutes of Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to director Amy Heckerling!
Today’s scene that I love comes from Amy Heckerling’s feature debut, 1982’s Fast Times At Ridgemont High. In just two minutes, Heckerling introduces us to almost all of the major characters, establishes the mall as the center of Ridgemont High culture, and leaves us with little doubt that we’ve entered a time machine and found ourselves in the 80s. Look at all the future stars. Look at Mike Damone, future mobster. My heart always breaks for Stacy and her brother Brad. They have no idea what’s waiting for them this year.
Here is today’s scene that I love:
Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – The Restaurant Shootout – from A BETTER TOMORROW (1986)!
One of the most influential scenes in action movie history, the restaurant shootout from A BETTER TOMORROW still packs a punch. I watched HAVOC (2025) from director Gareth Evans recently and he used the music from this scene in his movie. It felt like a love note to fans of Hong Kong cinema like me, and it made me want to revisit this movie again immediately. Chow Yun-Fat is amazingly badass, and John Woo himself even shows up at the end.
Enjoy, my friends!
Scenes That I Love: The Opening Tracking Shot from Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil
Since today is Orson Welles’s birthday, I wanted to share at least one scene that I love from his films. The famous tracking shot from 1958’s Touch of Evil, which begins in America and ends in Mexico, truly shows Orson Welles at his visionary best.
It’s also Welles at his most clever. Knowing that he wouldn’t be given control over the editing of the footage he shot, Welles included as many long shots as possible to make it more difficult for an editor to chop up or alter his vision.
Scenes I Love: Simon and The Devil Go To The Future In Simon Of The Desert
From Luis Bunuel’s 1965 short film, Simon of the Desert, the faithful Simon (Claudio Brook) finds himself transported from 6th Century Syria to the 1960s by the Devil (Silvia Pinal). The song playing at the club is called Radioactive Flesh. Simon wants to go home. The Devil wants to dance.
Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Secretariat wins The Kentucky Derby!
Since every horse in this weekend’s Kentucky Derby is a descendant of legendary racehorse Secretariat, I thought I would share the scene from the 2010 movie where the super horse wins the first leg of the Triple Crown. It’s good stuff!
Scene That I Love: The Meteor Hits Hong Kong
Today’s scene that I love is a chaotic scene in which a fragments of a meteor cause a tidal wave to crash over Hong Kong. It’s chaos on a budget in 1979’s Meteor! This scene was actually filmed in Los Angeles and featured cardboard cut-outs of buildings in a big water tank.
Brad’s “scene of the day” – Glenn Ford, Charles Bronson, Rod Steiger & Ernest Borgnine!
JUBAL (1956) is one of my favorite westerns. It’s set in the Grand Tetons and it stars some of my all time favorite actors, namely Bronson, Ford and Steiger. On what would have been his 109th birthday, I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate Glenn Ford. I visited the Tetons a couple of summers ago and I thought of these great actors often! Enjoy this scene from these icons of cinema!
Through the Shattered Lens 