Comments (37)

1. I walked into a theater on a partly cloudy late afternoon to see Before the Rain. When I walked out it was dark and raining in a steady and melancholy way. I don’t remember much about the movie but that was one of my most profound cinematic moments. A very moving and prescient experience.

   posted by john on 12-13-2006 at 10:37 am

2. I wouldn’t call it my favorite movie moment, but a group of ten of us (five guys, five girls) saw An Officer and a Gentleman in the theaters together. When Richard Gere and Louis Gossett, Jr., have their fight in the blimp hangar near the end of the film, and Gere takes one in the cojones, all five of us guys doubled over in sympathetic pain – the girls just looked at us like we were, well, nuts. I still can’t watch that scene without flinching.

   posted by Chuck on 12-13-2006 at 10:44 am

3. After Tim Robbins escapes Shawshank, Morgan Freeman has a voiced-over montage where muses poetically on prison and souls and caged birds, then drops the poetry and wraps up simply with:

   “I guess I just miss my friend.”

   I’m getting all goopy just thinking about it. That for me is the entire purpose of watching the 2+ hours up until then, for just that line.

   posted by Drew Lanning on 12-13-2006 at 10:51 am

4. Poker scene in Smarttech at the beginning of 40 year old virgin. Funniest thing I have ever seen.

   posted by Gavin on 12-13-2006 at 10:54 am

5. At the end of the Origin of Love song/animation in Hedwig & the Angry Inch I turned to my SO and said “wow”. Not the deepest expression I’ve ever uttered but I was so taken by the scene I was truly incapable of saying anything more.

   posted by Bob on 12-13-2006 at 10:55 am

6. I was 6 years old sitting in my parents’ station wagon at a drive-in when Darth Vader made his entrance in Star Wars. It was the first time I can remember my jaw dropping at a movie — even his breathing was sinister! I’ve been a fan of movies in general (and the saga in particular) ever since.

   posted by Paul on 12-13-2006 at 11:07 am

7. It was one of the Batman movies (don’t ask me which… they’re all pretty unmemorable). Before the movie started, four ushers came out in full costumes (Batman, Joker, etc.) and performed a little skit in the aisles where they were trying to get the film back from the bad guys in order to play it for the audience. It was hilarious… sad to say that the skit was more memorable than the movie…

   posted by Jason! on 12-13-2006 at 11:15 am

8. I love the plastic Bag Scene from American Beauty- I remeber seeing it with my wife while we were deciding whther top get divorced)

   It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing and there’s this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that’s the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and… this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video’s a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember… and I need to remember… Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in

   Ricky Fitts –American Beauty

   posted by Mark on 12-13-2006 at 11:32 am

9. This isn’t really a favourite moment but it was certainly one of the most unexpected moments I’ve had in a theatre. I took a bunch of kids to see THE LION KING. It got to the part where Scar sings his scary song and suddenly there are these hyenas goose-stepping in front of him. I couldn’t believe I was watching Disney do a TRIUMPH OF THE WILL homage. I frantically looked round the theatre but I seemed to be the only one alarmed at the reference to a Nazi film. Perhaps I’m too sensitive.

   posted by Worrals on 12-13-2006 at 11:36 am

10. It was probably my age at the time, but Ben Affleck’s confession of love to Joey Lauren Adams in Chasing Amy became cemented in my teenage heart as the most romantic thing EVER, OMIGOD. I’ve since grown up, but it’s turned into a painful love for Ben Affleck that won’t die, no matter how many Gigli’s he does.

    As far as shock value, the “I am a leaf on the wind” scene from Serenity. (You know the one what I’m talking about….) I’ve never heard a movie audience go from laughter to audible gasping like that. Joss Whedon is a meanie….

    posted by Lyssa on 12-13-2006 at 12:28 pm

11. I don’t know if it was absolute favorite, but most recently I saw Casino Royale. During the scene where Bond was being tortured. As soon as he got hit in the junk my friend let out a loud scream heard throughout the theater. I had to cover my mouth to keep myself from laughing out loud for a good five minutes.

    posted by David R on 12-13-2006 at 12:51 pm

12. The scene that really hit me was in “Saving Private Ryan.” No, not the beach assault scene, not the scenes where the individual members of the squad die. The moment they are in the church and the one soldier talks about pretending to be asleep when his mom came home from the work. Amongst the insane and brutal horror of the war going on around them, this one moment captures a moment of guilt that a child can carry through life and never forgive themselves for. The line that hits is when he says “I don’t know why I did that.” THIS scene made the film of the war and the events therein that much more human and personal to me.

    posted by Sturge on 12-13-2006 at 1:07 pm

13. The first time I saw “Casablanca” it was in a local theater that only showed older movies. I was about 13 years old, and by far the youngest one there. So by the time the band started to play “La Marseillaise” I was the only one not standing and singing along. To this day I get the urge to stand and sing in honor of the moment.

    posted by Sarah on 12-13-2006 at 1:21 pm

14. I love so many films and scenes but this one is memorable. In Torch Song Trilogy where Matthew Broderick’s character is coming home from buying groceries in a bad neighbourhood, he tries to help a man who is getting gay bashed only to become the would-be victim to the gay bashers. As one man behind Broderick begins to swing a bat, the scene cuts to the shattering of a bowl on the floor of his and Harvey Fierstein’s apartment floor. this was shocking and heart wrenching all in one. it’s one of my favourite movies of all time

    posted by basil on 12-13-2006 at 1:26 pm

15. I was 7 when my mom dropped me off at the movie theater to see Star Wars. The theater was packed so full that I had to stand in the back, but I didn’t mind one tiny bit.

    posted by steve on 12-13-2006 at 1:34 pm

16. For me it’s the scene in Swingers where Mike finally gets a girl’s phone number and (three-day-rule be damned) he proceeds to call her that very night over and over again, leaving message after message on her answering machine and blowing his chances more with each call. I remember pulling my legs up to my chest and burying my face in my hands in the theater. I just couldn’t watch. Even thinking about it as I write this makes me cringe. It makes it all the sweeter when he finally meets Heather Graham at the end and gets her number and he decides to wait to call her. When he walks into his apartment all you can think is “don’t do it, don’t do it” and he doesn’t call her, thus leading to one of the most “happily ever after” endings in cinematic history.

    posted by Leah on 12-13-2006 at 1:46 pm

17. Watching “Jules & Jim” in my family room. Never before had I seen such a perfect mix of joy and agony… okay, I really sound pretentious now.

    Seeing “Singin’ In The Rain” for the first time. It’s good on repeat views, but the first time, when the ending title card showed up, I felt better than I did when I started watching it, and I hadn’t even felt too bad beforehand.

    And on the other side, I have to mention a terrible movie called “Mouse Hunt.” Why? Because it was the beginning of an enlightened me, who realized that sometimes, a movie can really suck. In other words, I was about eight, and I saw the first film that failed to entertain me.

    posted by Sillstaw on 12-13-2006 at 2:22 pm

18. My most memorable scene from a movie was when the “Average Joe’s” team walked out of the locker room in the leather S&M outfits. That scene is -of course- from “Dodgeball.” By the time I had regained by breath, it was at least a minute. Never have I laughed so hard.

    A distant second was when I went with friends to see “Spice World” and one of them dropped his bottle of whiskey onto the floor and it broke. OK, I have no idea what part of the movie it happened during but it was pretty funny, and it left a smell I hadn’t counted on experiencing that night.

    posted by Stephen on 12-13-2006 at 2:34 pm

19. I don’t know if it’s my favorite movie moment ever, but I know that when I saw Wallace and Grommit: The curse of the were-rabbit, I was literally bouncing up and down in my seat at the scene with the bunny-vac. I can’t remember a stronger physical reaction to a movie in the theater.

    posted by Sara on 12-13-2006 at 2:47 pm

20. I remember going to see Saving Private Ryan in the theater…it was a mid-week, daytime show. When the movie ended and the credits started to roll, NO ONE, no one moved. The entire audience just sat there and watched – no talking, no moving – just stunned silence.

    posted by Sarah K on 12-13-2006 at 3:20 pm

21. I suppose this isn’t so much a movie moment as a trailer moment, but the first time I saw the trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia, I got serious, serious chills. I’ve loved those books ever since I was a kid. I think they were the first books to actually have me so absorbed to the point where I imagined myself there and felt a connection with the characters. I’m 21 years old and still reread them when I need a smile.

    Long story short, I was floored when I saw the first clips in the trailer. And it was just as good as I hoped it would be.

    posted by Kate on 12-13-2006 at 3:37 pm

22. We had our new adopted baby for about three weeks when friends forced us to go out– so they could babysit. we bought a newspaper on the way to a resturant (1981 it was the only way to find out what was playing). There was an advertisement “Sneak Preview, From the makers of Star Wars” As we were buying tickets we saw a poster for the film. My wife said “that guy with the whip and hat looks like Han Solo” When the giant marble rolled down at Indiana we were blown away.

    posted by Mark on 12-13-2006 at 3:47 pm

23. When The Return of the King came out in the theatre my friends and I went to a special showing where they played the first two LOTRs (extended editions) followed by an early showing of RotK. Seeing the movies one after another would have been amazing enough, but everyone was in the theatre all day long, gasping and cheering and clapping together. I specifically remember a part at the end of the 3rd film when Legolas walks in and the entire audience (male and female) all just sighed. I’ve never felt so connected to so many people before–it was what all movie experiences aspire to be.

    posted by Erin on 12-13-2006 at 4:51 pm

24. I went to see Passion of the Christ, with my youthgroup. During the death scene, the entire theatre was silent, there were people standing in the aisles because the theatre decided to screw the fire code and let in as many people as they could (they did the same for Star Wars), and everyone’s face was glistening with tears. Just as the emotional moment climaxed, my friend sitting next to me opened his soda very slowly, releasing the longest soda hiss in the history of the world. I started laughing.

    posted by Abby on 12-13-2006 at 5:15 pm

25. I had sex with my boyfriend during A History of Violence, while lots of other people were around. It was awesome!

    Oh yeah! We did the same thing during Sympathy for Mr. Vengence! Sweet!

    posted by Amanda on 12-13-2006 at 7:21 pm

26. I saw Philadelphia the night it came out. The scene after the dinner party, where Tom Hanks is listening to Maria Callas. All the light fades to red and as he’s holding on to his IV pole, she hits this high note that just broke my heart. I’m choking up just thinking about it.

    posted by Seth on 12-13-2006 at 7:48 pm

27. Ok, I came up with one that didn’t involve intercourse ~

    My mom took me to see Ghostbusters and I was but a baby girl of 5. I’m fragile, I’ve always been fragile – a nosebleed and allergy type of kid. And when I heard the movie we’d be attending was called “Ghostbusters,” I knew the utter shit was about to get scared outta me. I made it to the scene in the beginning when the librarian breaks-bad and then I hid my face. For the rest of the movie. My own mom made fun of me. B*tch.

    posted by Amanda on 12-13-2006 at 9:09 pm

28. On a college road trip to Boston, a high school girl friend took me to see Harold and Maude in a theater where the flick had been playing every night for years. She would not tell me anything about the movie. I will never forget the strange feeling I had when everyone in the theater started laughing hysterically when Bud Cort (Harold) opens the movie by methodically committing suicide only to have his mother find him and blurt, “I suppose you think that’s very funny!” Those who were in on the joke thought it was very funny indeed. After a few more fake suicides, I too was in on the joke, but I still recall fondly that most memorable movie moment.

    posted by Anthony Cerminaro on 12-13-2006 at 10:16 pm

29. One not so special night, my mother and I decided to take in a movie. We decided on the movie, Saved!.

    For starters, never have a I seen such a mash-up of people: from teens there to see a movie that makes fun of the Christians, to youth groups, to little old biddies that were excited to see a film about Jesus in the theatres.

    At one point in the movie, the mother figure is watching a Bible quiz show and the question, “What prophet offered up his son as a sacrifice to God in the Old Testament?” In the movie, the mother answers “Moses.” But a couple rows ahead of me, a lady exclaims, “It was Abraham!!”

    The entire movie was kind of surreal considering the odd mix of people in the theatre, but that one lady just made my heart happy.

    posted by Beth on 12-14-2006 at 9:43 am

30. ok, so i was watching Happy Feet with a guy friend, and if you’ve seen the movie, you know there’s a massive credit line, because of the songs in it. We were two of eight people in the theatre, so we just got up and started dancing some ridiculous form of swing dance. It was great, and those isles are not wide enough to dance well in, i blame them.

    posted by hannah on 12-14-2006 at 10:26 am

31. My little teenie bopper self cried like a baby when Leo DiCaprio died in Titanic. I was 14, I had never bawled so hard in the theaters in my life. Maybe it was the hormones or maybe I truly felt that what Jack and Rose had was real.

    I also enjoyed the very end of Pleasantville, while Fiona Apple’s version of “Across the Universe” swells. Again, it was something I saw around 14-15, but it made an enormous impression on me. It had never occured to me until then that self-expression and the freedom to be “you” was infact that–a freedom.

    posted by SuperEmi on 12-14-2006 at 11:26 am

32. My favorite has to be the scene right before Doc Holliday dies while Wyatt Earp is visiting him in the Asylum in Tombstone (best movie ever). “Live. Live for me Wyatt.” Get’s me everytime. So many good scenes in that movie

    posted by Billy on 12-14-2006 at 11:46 am

33. I think my favorite experience was during the closing scene in Fellowship of the Ring. A large black woman got up and said, “Oh, hell no!” in a tone that only black women can get away with, I guess she didn’t realize it was a trilogy.

    posted by AnomalyJane on 12-14-2006 at 12:21 pm

34. Well, i suppose i can say that The Passion of Christ was a special movie for me… it was the first time that i fell asleep in a movie theater…

    posted by Rui on 12-14-2006 at 6:39 pm

35. When I went to see Jurassic Park with some friends, it was a dark and stormy night. During the scene where the kids are trying to hide from the raptors in the kitchen, there is a moment where one of the raptors jumps out from behind a panel and at that exact moment, there was an enormous blast of thunder right over our heads outside. I literally fell out of my chair.

    posted by Kaberi on 12-15-2006 at 4:15 pm

36. One of the most memorable movie moments for me is that scene in The Crying Game where Fergus finds out that Dil is really a man (up until that point, he thought Dil was a woman). I didn’t see the movie until several months after it came out, so I already knew about that particular scene . But even though I knew exactly what to expect, I was still completely shocked when I actually saw the scene.

    posted by Jeff Chadwell on 12-18-2006 at 12:53 pm

37. I just recently saw “There Will Be Blood” in theatres. The moment during the baptism when Daniel screams “I Abandoned My Boy!” had me sitting there, awestruck. His performance has to be the best performance that I have ever seen in a movie. I have never seen a character that is so human and yet so ruthless at the same time. It was timeless and will inevitably go down as one of the best performances ever.

    posted by William on 1-28-2008 at 9:30 pm

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