Category Archives: Scenes I Love

A Joseph Cotten Scene That I Love From Citizen Kane

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Joseph Cotten passed away 31 years ago today.  Cotten appeared in a lot of good films and worked with many important directors but he will always be remembered for bringing to life Jedidiah Leland, the drama critic in Citizen Kane.  I liked the character so much that I paid tribute to him with my penname, though I substituted an A for the first I.

Cotten played Jedidiah as both a young man and an old man in Citizen Kane.  The first time I saw the movie, I reacted to the young Leland.  With each passing year, I think I understand better what the older Leland was talking about when he said that memory is the greatest curse ever inflicted on the human race.

(Even retired and living in what appears to be a nursing home, Jedidiah Leland still spoke like a drama critic.)

 

The Opening of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) – one of my favorite scenes. 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I can’t let Michael Mann’s 82nd birthday pass without sharing one of my favorite scenes of his filmography. Have y’all ever started watching a movie and immediately knew you were going to love it?! That’s what the opening 4 minutes of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS did for me. The credits start and the soundtrack reveals the powerful musical theme of the movie as well as its beautiful mountain setting. And then we join Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), his dad Chingachgook (Russell Means), and his brother Uncas (Eric Schweig) in the middle of their hunt as they’re sprinting through the woods after their prey. They just look so cool running together under Mann’s stylish direction. It’s not even the best scene in the film, but it’s the scene that drew me in and let me know I was in for something special.

Happy Birthday, Michael Mann and thanks for sharing your talent with all of us! 

Enjoy this awesome scene, my friends!

Scenes That I Love: The Tiger Scene From Manhunter

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Michael Mann’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from his 1986 film, Manhunter.

In this scene, a blind woman (played by Joan Allen) pets a sedated tiger while her new boyfriend (Tom Noonan) watches.  This would actually be a pretty romantic scene if not for the fact that her boyfriend is also a homicidal maniac.  This is a scene that, when you watch the film, seems to come out of nowhere but, when you look back, you realize it was one of the key moments in the narrative.  While the killer watches the woman who represents a possible redemption embrace another predator, the profiler played by William Petersen continues his way into the killer’s tortured psyche.

This scene is Michael Mann at his best.

Scene That I Love: The Escape Disaster In Night of the Living Dead

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been George Romero’s 85th birthday.

Today’s scene of the day comes from Romero’s best film, Night of the Living Dead.  In this scene, an attempt to escape from a farmhouse ends in disaster.  As was typical of all of Romero’s films, the disaster has less to do with the zombies and more to do with humans that simply can’t work together.

The upload isn’t great but this scene still represents Romero’s vision of a society working to destroy itself.

HARD TIMES (1975) and the One-Punch knockout! One of my favorite scenes!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

My personal favorite Charles Bronson movie is HARD TIMES, and this is one of my favorite scenes.

As an appreciation gift for helping him all summer with his many projects, my dad took me to Wal-Mart sometime back in the 80’s and told me I could pick out a movie. Wal-Mart just happened to have a big stack of HARD TIMES videocassettes. I was about 13 years old at the time, and I was already obsessed with Bronson, but I had never seen this movie before. So, dad bought the movie for me and did something he didn’t often do, he sat down and watched it with me when we got back home. This one-punch knockout scene takes place at the very beginning of the movie, and I vividly remember my dad having a nice laugh when the scene occurred. That made me happy, as I was always wanting my family members to watch and enjoy my movies with me. It’s a special memory for me of a great time with my dad and of the very first time I saw HARD TIMES!  

Enjoy! 

Scenes That I Love: The Skating Fiddler from Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes from Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate.

You know what?  I’ve read that some people consider this scene with the skating fiddler to be an example of Cimino’s tendency towards self-indulgence.  The oft-made claim is that it’s a scene where Cimino is more interested in showing off than moving the story forward.  That may be true but still, I don’t care what anyone says, I like this scene.  It captures the communal joy of the settlers before the arrival of the mercenaries who have been hired to force them out of their homes.  To understand why the settlers fight, you also have to understand what they’re being expected to give up.

Scenes I Love: Rod Taylor Travels Through Time in The Time Machine

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene — or really, I should say scenes — that I love comes from 1960’s The Time Machine.

Watch as Rod Taylor travels from 1900, all the way to the very far future.  As you’ll notice, this upload is just of the scenes of Taylor watching the years fly by while sitting in his machine.  Taylor does leave the machine twice — once to see Britain in 1917 and a second time to experience 1966 but those scenes aren’t included here.  That said, the time travel effects are simple but hold up well and Taylor’s disillusioned feelings about witnessing “a new war,” were ones that were undoubtedly very relatable to audiences in 1960.

This is one of my favorite science fiction movies and one that I plan to rewatch very soon!  (One could say that the time has come again.)

 

Scenes That I Love: Who Was Really “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance?”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

John Ford was born 131 years ago today and it seems appropriate that today’s scene of the day should come from his final great film (even if it wasn’t the last film that Ford directed).

In 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, frontier lawyer Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) comes to political prominence due to his notoriety for being the man who, in self-defense, gunned down notorious outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin).  Stoddard, an intellectual who opposes violence, is not happy about this.  When Stoddard considers refusing to be a delegate to the upcoming statehood convention, he is reprimanded by Tom Doniphon (John Wayne).  Stoddard and Doniphon are friends but they’re also romantic rivals, both being in love with Hallie (Vera Miles).  In this scene, Doniphon reveals the truth about who shot Liberty Valance.

MR. MAJESTYK (1974) and a shotgun butt to the nuts! Happy Friday!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

One of my favorite Charles Bronson films is MR. MAJESTYK, and one of my favorite scenes in any movie is this badass masterpiece. It encompasses just about everything I love in a movie. It has the beautiful Linda Cristal. It has the slimy Paul Koslo who doesn’t really understand who he’s dealing with. It has Bronson saying tough guy lines in a way that only he can say them…”you make sounds like you’re a mean little ass-kicker…” And finally it has that shotgun. It just doesn’t get any better than this. 

Enjoy my friends, and have a great weekend!! This should help! 

Scenes That I Love: That Iconic Moment From Tough Guys Don’t Dance

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Norman Mailer was better-known as a writer than a filmmaker but, over the course of his limited directorial career, he did come up with one scene that will never be forgotten.  That scene is a scene that I love from 1987’s Tough Guys Don’t Dance.

Take it away, O’Neal!