I’ve reviewed two movies about witches today and I should be posting a review of a movie about Rasputin in a few more hours. Needless to say, all of this witch talk might be disturbing to some. Well, fear not! Today’s scene that I love is for you!
Tag Archives: scene that I love
Horror Scenes That I Love: The Jack The Ripper Scene From Pandora’s Box
Since I reviewed Robert Bloch’s Night of the Ripper earlier today, it only seems appropriate that Jack the Ripper should play a role in today’s horror scene that I love.
In the 1929 silent German film, Pandora’s Box, Louise Brooks plays Lulu who, through a series of misfortunes, goes from being the mistress of an upper middle class newspaper publisher to living in squalor in London. Reduced to working as a prostitute, Lulu picks up her first client on Christmas Eve. Little does she know that her client is actually the infamous murderer known as Jack the Ripper. At first, Jack attempts to resist his urges by throwing away his knife but once they reach Lulu’s apartment, he discovers another.
This scene, which served as the film’s finale, was considered to be so controversial in 1929 that it was edited out of some prints, which had the effect of turning a tragic story about a woman forced into prostitution into a story about a woman who, following some bad luck, moves to London and is redeemed by volunteering for the Salvation Army.
Here is the original conclusion of Pandora’s Box:
Horror Scenes That I Love: The Old Man In The Woods In A Quiet Place
Since I reviewed A Quiet Place earlier today, it seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love is taken from that film.
In this scene, Lee Abott (John Krasinski) and his son come across an old man in the woods. The old man is looking down at the remains of a woman who we presume to be his wife. What he does next is a reminder of just how brutal and unforgiving life can be. When the man screams, it’s the first human voice that we’ve heard in a while. It’s also a cry of surrender and sacrifice, one that sets up the conclusion of the film.
Watch, listen, and don’t make a sound.
Scenes That I Love: Danny Meets The Grady Girls in The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is unique in that it’s a horror film that freaks me out every time that I see it. Even though I’ve sat through the film so many times that I now practically have it memorized, The Shining still scares me.
And, to be honest, a lot of that has to do with the daughters of Charles (or was that Delbert) Grady. Early on, we’re told that the previous caretaker, Grady, went crazy from the isolation and ended up killing his daughters with an axe. And yet, if his daughters are dead, what are they doing in the hallway of the Overlook Hotel, inviting poor little Danny Torrance to come play with them!?
AGCK!
Seriously, this scene freaks me out every time that I see it.
Scenes that I Love: Bela Lugosi Says “Pull the string!” In Glen Or Glenda
“PULL THE STRING! PULL THE STRING!”
Hi, everyone! Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s October and we’ve pulled the string here at the Shattered Lens! Welcome to the annual TSL Horrorthon! For the next 31 days, TSL is going to be home to everything that makes October our favorite month of the year!
So, here’s Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda, performing the opening ceremony of the season:
Scenes That I Love: “They Call Us Death” from Dario Argento’s Inferno
Earlier today, I watched Dario Argento’s underrated 1980 masterpiece, Inferno, on Retroplex.
I fear that, with all the hype surrounding the remake of Suspiria, people are going to forget about Argento’s original Three Mothers trilogy. Inferno was the second part of the trilogy and a loosely connected sequel to the original Suspiria.
In this scene, Mark (played by Leigh McCloskey) finally confronts the Mother of Darkness (Veronica Lazar). While this scene undoubtedly loses some of its effectiveness when viewed separate from the rest of the film, it still shows off Argento’s dream-like style.
Here’s the scene. Be sure to track down and watch whole film if you haven’t already:
Scenes That I Love: Happy Birthday, Sam Elliott!
Today is the 73rd birthday of the perennially underrated actor, Sam Elliott!
Sam’s been acting for longer than I’ve been alive. He’s been in a ton of good movies and he’s given some truly iconic performances and yet, with all that in mind, he still seems to be strangely underrated. At the very least, he deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance in last year’s The Hero. There’s some speculation that he might get one this year for his role in A Star is Born.
With all that said, most people seem to know Sam Elliott best for playing The Stranger in 1998’s The Big Lebowski. So, with that in mind, here’s a scene I love featuring Sam Elliott from that very film!
Sam Elliott abides.
Scenes that I Love: Harry Potter Confronts Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Since today is apparently Harry Potter’s birthday (Mazel Tov!), it seems like a good day to share a Harry Potter scene that I love. Here is Harry Potter confronting the sadly misunderstood Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2!
Enjoy!
(RIP, the great Alan Rickman)
Canadian Dances Scenes That I Love: Jamie Lee Curtis and Casey Stevens in Prom Night
Prom Night … everything is alright…
Since today is technically still Canada Day, I figured why not share one of the greatest dance scenes ever filmed? This scene is from the classic 1980 film, Prom Night, and it features Jamie Lee Curtis and Casey Stevens showing what they can do on the dance floor!
Well, actually, it shows Jamie Lee Curtis showing what she could do. According to David Grove’s Jamie Lee Curtis, Scream Queen, Casey Stevens claimed that he could dance but, when it came time to shoot the scene, he turned out to be rather awkward and the responsibility for selling the scene pretty much fell completely on Jamie Lee Curtis’s shoulders. As Prom Night co-star MaryBeth Rubens put it, it was impossible to imagine Casey and Jamie Lee ever being a couple in real life, despite the fact that they were during the making of this film.
Interestingly enough, Prom Night would later bring Jamie Lee Curtis her first acting nomination when she was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Foreign Actress. (Indeed, one of the interesting thing about the early history of the Genie Awards is just how many slasher films were nominated. Apparently, during the early 80s, the Canadian film industry was a bit less robust than it is today.) That said, Jamie Lee does give a really good performance in this film and dammit, she deserved the award!
(Or, at the very least, I assume she did. I’m not really sure to whom she lost and I’m too lazy to look it up on Wikipedia.)
(Okay, screw it. I felt guilty for being lazy so I decided to look it up. Jamie Lee Curtis lost to Susan Sarandon, who won for her performance in Atlantic City. Since Sarandon’s role was actually a supporting one to Burt Lancaster’s, I still say that Curtis should have won.)
The song’s great too.
So, enjoy this scene and just try not to dance!
Through the Shattered Lens 