3 of your favorite scenes in the history of cinema...

Great thread! And soooo tough. Off the top of my head:

The Godfather - The murder of Don Fanucci (the lightbulb). Just an incredibly brilliant scene and so influential.
Hard Boiled - Opening scene (the toothpick). Awesome opening and just so damn cool.
That Thing You Do - On the Radio scene (saw it up thread). This scene always gives me goosebumps. So joyous you can feel their excitement.

I took a quick glance at the thread and these three immediately stood out.

 

1. Amadeus - march of welcome


2. Bad News Bears - ballet scene - "I have a Harley Davidson. Does that turn you on?"

3. Brazil - the restaurant lunch - "gift tokens...medical gift tokens"

 

I didn't like it at all.

 

Great scene. Love it when Mozart improvises on the march and the giggle at the end.

 

Not a movie but I love this.

 

The opening scene from in the name of the father

 

This is the first one that came to my mind:

 

Used Cars has some hilarious scenes, my favorite would be the one where they send the deceased car lot owner strapped into his car into a high speed crash so that he could be accounted for after the lot employees had him hidden for awhile after he died of a stroke.
There are a lot of good belly laugh scenes in this film.

 

I always thought the end scene of Year of The Dragon was great where they are running towards each other on the bridge firing guns.

the Opening sequence of the Royal Tenenbaums with Alex Baldwin’s voiceover is also a great sequence.

I hadn’t noticed the shootout scene from Unforgiven mentioned yet either. Almost as good as that scene was the scene right before when he finds out that Ned is dead and they’ve got a sign on him in front of Greelies. The look on his face and his voice is just perfect as he starts drinking the whiskey. You know something is about to get real and the kid is there realizing what an idiot he is. Those scenes are a bit cliche now, but seeing it for the first time was pretty explosive.

 

1. Double Indemnity- First encounter of Macmurray and Stanwyck, she at the top of the stairs in a towel. "Is there anything I can do for you?" At that point, Macmurray is a goner.
2. The Searchers- John Wayne loses it when Harry Carey Jr. wants more details about finding his cousin Lucy dead. "What do I have to do, draw you a picture??? Don't ask me again as long as I live!!!"
3. Key Largo- Alcoholic Claire Trevor barely getting through accapella "Moanin Low" in order to get a drink from Johnny Rocco - Edward G Robinson.

 

This scene was the last straw for me to quit a job. The president of the company was like Alec's character.

 

Almost Famous - "wanna come?", "ask me again", "wanna come?", "yes"
The Pillow Book - scenes of the main character being written on by caligraphers
Heat - the bank heist

 

I could come up with dozens, so I will go with the first three that spring to mind and hope I don't regret it later:

The Gold Rush (teetering cabin):

Rabbit Seasoning ("Pronoun Trouble" the beak sight gags are almost as good as the brilliant dialogue): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e1hZGDaqIw

Godfather wake-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC1_tdnZq1A

 

Rear Window where Grace Kelly kisses Jimmy Stewart.

 

Off the top of my head, I went for the ending of Jurrasic Park, where the Raptors are closing in and then the T-Rex saves the day. I still get chills when the Raptor jumps and the T-Rex grabs him mid-air as the music kicks in and then it cuts to Alan's reaction. The Lost World: Jurrasic Park the sequence with the baby T-Rex and the cliffside I think that is a masterclass in tension from Steven Spielberg. And finally the ending of Back to the Future. Marty is trying to convey this information to the Doc and then he has to go because there isn't enough time to get the Delorean in place and then the tree falls and the Doc has the climb up and fix the cable before the lightning strikes and the music is just incredible in that scene as well.

 

Great scene in one of Lynch’s best films.

 

There are a few great scenes in year of the dragon. The restaurant shootout scene is one.
He was trying to recover from Heavens Gate

 

The steam room scene in Thunderball
Jack Nicholson getting his Florsheim shoe wet in Chinatown
The amplifier that goes to 11 in This Is Spinal Tap

 

There is always Bela Lugosi !

 

Oh, and Max Schreck !

 

the slow motion utilized in the bar scene when Arnold walks by and Sarah drops down to pick something off the floor with all the eye glances and all the tension is a fantastic scene. Great movie- I agree. The pace, sequencing, and overall script never allows much of a lull in the film at all.

 

the deer hunter - wedding scene - a real ensemble tour de force.

se7en - the ending - starting w the drive out there meeting that van with the package ... all the way to the end.

vivre sa vie - anna karina dancing at the pool hall

 

Too many to choose from.

2001: A Space Odyssey: The bone to the Pan Am spaceship segue. Evolution set to a graceful ballet of of sorts.

The Godfather: Garden scene where the ailing Don warns Michael and then laments his choices. Incredible fatalism.

Boogie Nights: Swimming pool party scene. Perhaps influenced by the Goodfella's Copa scene. Every character is either introduced or their personality exemplified. The casual responses to decadence (overdose, public sex) are priceless.

Runners up:

The Exorcist: Scene where Father Karas glances at Regan's drawings, which happen to be of winged creatures or demons shown to her by the demon. Amazing subtle horror.

Apocalypse Now: Attack on the village. Horror, historical commentary, insanity, and some humor all rolled into arguably the greatest battle scene ever put on film.