Scenes That I Love: The Final Moments of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America


(SPOILERS BELOW)

The final moments of Sergio Leone’s epic 1984 gangster film, Once Upon A Time in America, are filed with questions and mysteries.

Who did Noodles (played by Robert De Niro) see standing outside of Max’s mansion?  When the garbage truck pulled up, did the mysterious man get in the truck or was he thrown in by some unseen force?

Why, in 1968, did Noodles see a car from the 1920s, one that was full of people who appeared to be celebrating the end of prohibition?  Was the car really there or was it an element of Noodles’s past as a gangster suddenly popping into his mind?

Once Upon A Time In America was Sergio Leone’s final film.  It’s one that he spent decades trying to get made and, once it was finally produced, it was butchered and re-edited by a studio hacks who demanded that the film tell its story in a linear style.  Leone was reportedly heart-broken by how his film was treated.  Some have speculated that his disappointment may have even contributed to the heart attack that eventually killed him.  It was only after Leone passed that his version of Once Upon A Time In America became widely available in the U.S.  This enigmatic epic continues to spark debate.  One thing that can’t be denied is that it’s a brilliant film.

As today is Leone’s birthday, it only seems appropriate to share a scene that I love, the final moments of Once Upon A Time In America.

Scenes That I Love: The Future, as imagined by Fritz Lang’s Metropolis


Metropolis (1927, dir by Fritz Lang, DP: Karl Freund and Gunther Rittau)

Since today is National Science Fiction Day, it seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should come from one of the first great science fiction films!  In this scene from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, we get a look at how the future was imagined in 1927.  Lang really was not that far off!

Scenes That I Love: A New Year In Strange Days


Strange Days (1995, dir by Kathryn Bigelow, DP: Matthew F. Leonetti)

2025’s first scene that I love comes to us from a film that was released 30 years ago.  With its portrayal of a society desperately looking for both meaning and sensation in an increasingly digitized and detached world, Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days predicted the future and it has continued to find new fans and admirers despite having been a box office disappointment when it was originally released.

In this scene, Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett bring in the new year with the knowledge that they have many more strange days ahead of them.

As do we all.

(It’s always somewhat jarring to see a science fiction film that is set in what is now the past.  Welcome to 2000!  That said, Strange Days did a very good job of predicting where the world was heading.)

Bonus Horror Scene Of The Day: The End Of 10 To Midnight


The scene below is a major spoiler for the film 10 to Midnight so don’t watch if you haven’t seen the film yet.  And, to be honest, you probably shouldn’t even read the rest of this post, as the post itself is probably a spoiler as well.  There’s no way to truly talk about this film without talking about the ending.  10 to Midnight is a film that’s been on my mind a lot this year, largely because Charles Bronson plays a character who reminds me of my Dad.  Bronson’s relationship with his daughter (played by Lisa Eilbacher) also reminds me of my own relationship with my Dad.  I doubt there’s many people who get sentimental over a relatively unheralded vigilante horror film from 1983 but, as I’m still processing losing my Dad earlier this year, I am one of those people.

If you have seen the film, you know that this is one of the best endings that Charles Bronson ever filmed.  Indeed, in today’s chaotic world, there’s some very satisfying about both Bronson’s final line and his no-nonsense style of dealing with problems.  And indeed, with all the bad vibes that seem to have been unleashed on the world over the past few years, this scene feels like an exorcism of sorts.

Serial killer Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) thought he could game the system.  He thought he had everything figured out.  He smugly assumed no one could stop his reign of terror.

Well, Bronson disagrees.

And with that one wonderful final line, Charles Bronson brings this year’s Horrorthon to a close.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Dan O’Herlihy Tells Us What Halloween is All About in Halloween III: Season of the Witch


Tonight’s horror scene that I love is from the 1982 film, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a film that has finally started to be recognized for being the horror classic that it is.

In this scene, Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy) explains not only the origins of Halloween but he also discusses how he’s going to make Halloween great again.  This scene is probably the best in the film and it’s almost entirely due to O’Herlihy’s wonderfully menacing performance as Conal Cochran.

“….and happy Halloween.”

Two Scenes From Young Frankenstein (In Memory of Teri Garr)


Today, everyone was saddened to hear about the passing of actress Teri Garr.  The veteran actress and dancer, who was best-known for her comedic performances but who also showed that she could handle drama, was 79 years old.

Since this is October, it seem fitting to share two scenes from 1974’s Young Frankenstein, featuring Teri Garr as Inga.

 

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Interview With The Chief From Night of the Living Dead


“Yeah, they’re dead …. they’re all messed up.”

There’s a lot of disturbing scenes in the original Night of the Living Dead but I’ve always loved this live, televised interview with the chief of police.  First, there’s the delivery of that classic line.  “….they’re all messed up.”  Yes, they are.  Then there’s the fact that the chief doesn’t seem to be particularly perturbed by the fact that the dead are coming back to life.  Instead, his attitude is very straight-forward.  It’s happening, we need to take care of it, let’s arm some civilians.

Of course, this interview sets up the film’s ending, in which we learn that those helpful civilians with guns are a bit trigger happy and sometimes, the living get in the way.  When you first see this interview, it’s easy to laugh at the sight of the chief’s posse and everyone’s odd confidence that the dead will somehow just go away.  (Death, after all, is the one thing that is guaranteed to happen to everyone eventually.)  Once you know how the story’s going to end, though, this scene becomes much more ominous.

In the end, the film suggests that it’s not just dead who are all messed up.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Christopher George Digs Up Catriona MacColl in City of the Living Dead


From 1980’s City of the Living Dead, directed by the amazing Lucio Fulci, comes today’s scene of the day.  In this scene, it turns out that Catriona MacColl was actually not quite dead when she was buried.  Can Christopher George dig her up without accidentally killing her in the process?

Watch to find out!

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Man Behind The Dumpster From Mulholland Drive


It’s not usually described as being a horror film but this scene from David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive literally made me jump the first time I saw it.

Personally, I think this is the scariest moment that David Lynch ever directed.