It’s always a good time to share something from Tony Sirico, who passed away four years ago today.
From The Sopranos, this was one of Sirico’s best performances:
Tag Archives: Scenes I Love
Scene That I Love: Janet Leigh and Pat Hitchcock in Psycho
Yesterday was Janet Leigh’s birthday and today is Pat Hitchcock’s birthday so it seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should feature both of them. From 1960’s Psycho, this scene features Leigh and Hitchcock as office co-workers who meet the very wealthy Mr. Lowry (played by Frank Albertson).
“He was flirting with you. He must have seen my wedding ring,” remains one of the greatest lines ever written.
Scene That I Love: The Rocky III Training Montage
Today, we celebrate Sylvester Stallone’s birthday with one of the most definitive montages of the 1980s. From 1982’s Rocky III (which was directed by Stallone himself), here is the famous Rocky/Apollo training montage.
Scenes I Love: Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer Play Beach Volleyball in Top Gun
Tom Cruise is 64 years old today! He still doesn’t look a day over 36. Insert your own Dorian Gray joke here.
No matter what else you may want to say about Tom Cruise, you can’t deny that he’s one of the last of the genuine movie stars. He’s been a star in since the 80s, doing things onscreen that you could never imagine some of our younger actors even attempting. Juat four years agp, Top Gun: Maverick was unstoppable with audiences and critics. There were many reasons for Maverick‘s popularity but one cannot deny that a lot of it is the fact that Cruise just has that old-fashioned movie star charisma.
Today’s scene that I love comes from the first Top Gun. In this scene, Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, and Rick Rossovich play beach volleyball. The scene kind of comes out of nowhere and there are times when the whole thing comes close to self-parody. (Actually, if we’re going to be honest, it crosses the line into self-parody more than a few times.) But, Cruise and the much-missed Kilmer manage to save it, like the movie stars they are!
Scenes That I Love: The Wishmaster Meets A Security Guard In Wishmaster
Today, the Shattered Lens wish a happy birthday to character actor Andrew Divoff!
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1997’s Wishmaster and features Divoff in his best-known role. The Wishmaster films were kind of silly but Divoff always made them worth watching.
Scenes I Love: Robby the Robot Makes His Debut in Forbidden Planet
According to the imdb, today is Robby the Robot’s birthday. I didn’t know that robot’s had birthdays but apparently, they do. Robby is 67 years old and I think that, along with Earl Holliman, he might be one of the last two surviving cast member of the 1956 sci-fi classic, Forbidden Planet.
So, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should be Robby the Robot’s debut appearance in Forbidden Planet. Happy birthday, Robby!
Scenes I Love: The Final Scene of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Today’s scene that I love from 1969’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? After all the drama and all the tragedy and all the sadness, the dance continues without end.
Scenes I Love: Jason and the Argonauts
Today would have been Ray Harryhausen’s birthday.
In honor of the man and his legacy, today’s scene that I love comes from 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. The skeleton army was one of Harryhausen’s greatest creations.
Scenes That I Love: Putting On The Ritz From Young Frankenstein (Happy Birthday, Mel Brooks!)
Today, Mel Brooks is 100 years old!
Mel Brooks. What can you say Mel Brooks? Not only did he help to redefine American comedy but he was also responsible for bringing David Lynch to Hollywood. Brooks was the one who hired Lynch to direct The Elephant Man. It can probably be argued that, if not for Brooks, Lynch’s feature film career would have begun and ended with Eraserhead. Brooks not only hired Lynch but also protected him for studio interference. When the execs tried to make Lynch remove two surrealistic sequences from The Elephant Man, Brooks stood up to them. When they requested a more conventional biopic, Brooks defended Lynch’s vision and the result was one of the best films ever made.
Of course, Brooks isn’t listed in the credits of The Elephant Man. Though he produced the film, he went uncredited because he didn’t want people to assume that the movie was a comedy. By doing so, Brooks missed out on an Oscar nomination but he also ensured that the film was taken seriously. It’s hard not to respect someone who was willing to go uncredited to help make the film a success.
Though Brooks, as a producer, was responsible for a number of serious films, there’s a reason why Brooks is associated with comedy. He’s a very funny man and he directed some very funny films. In honor of Mel Brooks, here’s a scene that I love from 1974’s Young Frankenstein.
Happy birthday, Mel Brooks!
Scenes That I Love: Freddie and Dodd’s Final Meeting From Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master
Today’s scene that I love comes from 2012’s The Master, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (who is celebrating his birthday today).
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix were never better than they were in Anderson’s enigmatic story of two very different men who become unlikely friends. Phoenix plays Freddie Quill, a World War II veteran who has never figured out how to adjust to life during peacetime. Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, a writer who claims to have all the answers but who is actually a charlatan. In this scene, Freddie and Dodd meet for one last time and, though they are both characters about who most viewers will have mixed feelings, there’s something undeniably poignant about their final moments together. Both of them realize that the time they had is over. And indeed, watching this scene today is all the more difficult because it reminds us of what a talent we lost when we lost Philip Seymour Hoffman.
From Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master:
Through the Shattered Lens 