Since today is Al Pacino’s birthday, it only seems right to share a classic scene from The Godfather.
In the scene below, which is perfectly directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael proves that he truly is a Corleone. Am I the only one who yelled, “Don’t forget to drop the gun!,” the first time that I saw this scene?
From Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon, today’s scene that I love is the classic final fight between Gary Busey, Danny Glover, and Mel Gibson.
Since yesterday was Sheryl Lee’s birthday, here’s one of the best all-time examples of foreshadowing.
From the 1991 finale of Twin Peaks:
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 89th birthday to the legendary Jack Nicholson.
Today’s scene that I love comes from the 1970 film, Five Easy Pieces. In this Oscar-nominated film, Jack Nicholson plays Bobby Dupea. Born to a wealthy and music-obsessed family, Bobby currently works in an oil field and is alternatively angry, cynical, and idealistic. After Jack Nicholson’s Oscar-nominated turn in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces featured Nicholson playing the type of role for which he would be best-known in the 70s, the wayward rebel who must choose between being a part of society or being forever an outcast.
In this scene, Bobby and his oilfield co-worker find themselves stuck in a traffic jam. Bobby gets a chance to show off both his temper and his talent. It’s a great scene and Nicholson gives such a strong performance that it’s only later that you realize that Bobby’s anger didn’t really accomplish much.
Happy San Jacinto Day!
You can celebrate by watching my favorite scene from Richard Linklater’s Bernie! I really love this quick lesson about my home state:
By the way, that line about “Dallas snobs,” always got a big laugh from the audiences at the Dallas Angelika. It’s important to have a sense of humor.
Don’t worry, Vermont. You’ll learn how to laugh at yourself someday.
Today’s scene that I love comes to use from Andy Warhol’s 1965 film, Vinyl!
In this scene below, Gerard Malanga and Edie Sedgwick dance to Nowhere to Run by Martha and The Vandellas. Malanga is playing an out-of-control juvenile delinquent. Edie is playing …. well, Edie is basically playing herself. No one smoked a cigarette with as much style as Edie Sedgwick.
Today, we wish a happy birthday to actor Hayden Christensen.
This scene that I love comes from the 2003 film Shattered Glass, in which Christensen played real-life journalist and fabulist Stephen Glass. In this wonderfully-acted scene, Glass’s (fake) reporting falls apart as Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) walks through Glass’s claims.
1983’s Star 80 features one of Eric Roberts’s best and most disturbing performances. On the one hand, it’s the film that proved Roberts’s talent. On the other hand, it’s a film in which he does such a good job bringing the repellent Paul Snider to life that he reportedly struggled to convince casting agents that he could characters who weren’t shady and/or mentally unstable.
In this scene, Roberts-as-Snider gets his look down. Snider, a man who has no real identity beyond his desire to be somebody, tries to disguise his emptiness through the right haircut and the right clothes.
This scene that I love features one of the greatest lines of all time. From John Milius’s 1984 masterpiece, Red Dawn:
Given how much I love the 1953 film, Roman Holiday, I’ve probably shared this scene before but that’s okay. It’s an incredibly charming scene and hey, April is the birth month of both Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn!
Through the Shattered Lens 