The Greatest Movie Scenes Of All Time

The point of arrival has big potential for a lasting impact.

Welcome To Oz

"It's when Dorothy steps out of the house into Technicolor and into a new world. It changed film. The emotional aspect is unreal. That scene is forever engraved."

– janesaysmore

The King Of Beasts

"When the T Rex showed up in Jurassic Park."

– 123phantomhive

"F'king amazing scene. The water in the cup moving before you can even see the T-Rex is such a scary thing. Bloody brilliant scene."

– whingingcackle

Introducing, Indy

"The opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark set the bar awfully high"

-Reddit

Shocking moments on celluloid are forever cemented in our brains.

The Hatching

"The original chestburst scene from Alien."

– Novel_Board_6813

Choose Your Weapon

"A giant worm breaks into Reba's basement and then the camera pans over to the wall of guns. :)"

– sofakingdead

Traumatizing Opener

"The first 12 minutes of Cliffhanger when Sylvester Stallone could no longer hold onto his friend's suspended girlfriend after they're both stuck halfway above the abyss of a canyon."

– anon
 

Lights, camera, and plenty of action in climax.

Gunslingers Galore

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: the showdown at the Sad Hill cemetery."

– YouKnowWhatYouAre

Frying The Shark

"I will die on the hill that the ending to Jaws is an example of the perfect climax."

"Quint is dead, Hooper is indisposed. The Orca is sinking rapidly and Brody is trapped in the cabin. A combination of hope, despair, thrill, and terror, all wound together by brilliant cinematography and John Williams' famous soundtrack leads to the ultimate duel of man vs. beast."

"Brody is on the parapet, rifle in his hands, watching the shark circle closer with the oxygen tank jammed in its teeth. Brody goads the shark into attacking. 'Come on... Show me the tank.' He growls. 'Blow up'"

"The shark begins its final approach."

"Brody fires the first shot. It misses wide right, whizzing through the water as a trail of bubbles. He fires again, missing the tank. Williams' score escalates, becoming louder than even the bang of Brody's rifle. He squints down the sights harder. 'BLOW UP!' He fires again, missing. Down to the last bullet. The shark's snout breaches the water, its eyes lock onto Brody's."

"Smile you son of a-"

"Bang"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM"

"An eruption of sea water, blood, and shark matter. Hunks of flesh rain down. Brody opens his eyes. His expression lights up with triumph. Then he cheers, a release of all his stress, terror, and grief, now a glowing victory."

"The shark's corpse falls to the ocean floor to the melody of a piano. Hooper resurfaces to reveal he's alive. The two men laugh, mourn the loss of Quint, then paddle home on a makeshift raft."

"'I used to hate the water,' Brody muses."

"Hooper chuckles. 'I can't imagine why.'"

– TheGreatJaceyGee

Terror In Pitch Darkness

"The night vision sequence in Silence of the Lambs is great suspense."

– teradactyl-rex

The long take sequence in Joe Wright’s Atonement remains, for me at least, one of the most captivating cinematic moments captured on film.

The five-minute tracking shot featuring James McAvoy as a wounded British soldier wandering past a series of vignettes on Dunkirk beach was glorious to watch on the big screen.

Accompanied by the hauntingly exquisite Academy Award-winning score by Dario Marianelli, the scene alone elevates what already is a heartbreakingly well-crafted film to another level.