Today is Oliver Stone’s birthday so, for all conspiracy-loving readers, here is a key scene from Stone’s 1991 film, JFK! In this scene, Kevin Costner’s Jim Garrison meets the mysterious man known as X (played by the much-missed Donald Sutherland). X explains the conspiracy to Garrison.
This scene certainly convinced a lot of people. Personally, I think Oswald acted alone but one cannot deny Stone’s talent as a filmmaker.
Today’s scene that I love comes from the greatest show ever made about my home state of Texas, Mike Judge’s King of the Hill.
Listen as Jeff Boonhaumer explains the Internet!
Today’s scene that I love is one of the greatest television moments of the past ten years. It’s one that I still think about on a nearly daily basis.
Oddly, ever since it went off the air, there’s been an attempt on the part of the media to pretend that Selina Meyer was meant to be some sort of inspiring figure. This scenes reminds us that she wasn’t even supposed to be likable.
(I groaned when the cast of Veep reunited to support Kamala Harris in 2024 because Veep was literally the last show that Harris should have been trying to remind people of.)
On this date, 112 years ago, filmmaker Robert Wise was born in Winchester, Indiana. He started his career as an editor (and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Citizen Kane) and then eventually branched out into directing. From the mid-forties to the year 2000, Wise directed every genre of film. He won two Oscars for Best Director, one for West Side Story and one for The Sound of Music. He was also the first director to helm a Stark Trek film with 1979’s Stark Trek — The Motion Picture.
Today’s scene that I love comes from Wise’s 1951 masterpiece, The Day The Earth Stood Still. In this scene, America watches as a UFO darts across the sky and eventually lands in Washington D.C. Though it’s a simple scene, it deftly captures the wonder of the moment.
Today the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Adam Sandler!
Here he is in 1996’s Happy Gilmore, learning how to putt and shouting one of the defining lines of the 1990s.
Today is a special day here at the Shattered Lens as we celebrate the birthday of Dario Argento!
Now, we’ve got a lot of Argento-related stuff scheduled for October so, for today, I’m just going to share one of the best scenes from one of my favorite Argento films, 1975’s Deep Red. This scene features what is seriously the creepiest puppet that I’ve ever seen.
In this scene from 1967’s Barefoot in the Park, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda show us how to enjoy a honeymoon.
In honor of Werner Herzog’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from one of his best films. 1972’s Aguirre, The Wrath of God not only established Herzog as a major filmmaker but it also showed that he was the director who could get the best out of the notoriously difficult Klaus Kinski.
In this scene, Kinski plays the mad conquistador, Aguirre. Lost with his men in the Amazon, Aguirre establishes control over the dwindling expedition.
The Caine Mutiny (1954, dir by Edward Dmytryk, DP: Franz Planer)
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1954’s The Caine Mutiny.
In this scene, Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) is cross-examined by Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer). The court martial concerns whether or not an officer under Queeg’s command was justified in taking over the ship from Queeg. Greenwald, tasked with defending the head mutineer, knows that the only way to win the case is to expose Queeg himself as a paranoid and unstable officer. Greenwald does his job but he’s not happy about it.
This scene, directed by Edward Dmytryk, features both Bogart and Ferrer at their absolute best.
Today’s scene that I love comes from the surrealistic 1968 musical, Head. It features Davy Jones dancing with the wonderful Toni Basil.
Enjoy and try not to cry because it’s a seriously sad song.
Through the Shattered Lens 