The 10 Most Electrifying Moments in the Movies
Honorable Mentions, they almost made it to the top 10...
- Iceberg! (Titanic, James Cameron, 1997)
Rose and Jack (Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) have realized that they can indeed be
happy, after all they have each other! As they run from the henchmen sent to look for them,
they go to the deck, where moments before an officer had given the infamous shout of "iceberg!
Straight ahead".
This is the Titanic after all and we know what will become of the ship. Inevitability and
impotence had never been so affecting before...
- Film reels? (Persona, Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
What was this all about?
- Out the door. (Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
Devlin (Cary Grant, in perhaps his best performance ever) has just realized how mistaken he
had been about Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) who he had convinced about becoming a spy. He goes
to her husband's home, Alexander Sebastian (as played brilliantly by Claude rains) where she is
kept, imprisoned? Sick? Dead?
As he leaves the house, we can only look at Sebastian, Rains' look is priceless.
- CAT!!! (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Blake Edwards, 1961)
Holly Golightly is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking characters to grace the screen. Audrey
Hepburn not only imprinted on this woman, her renowned beauty, but also a spirit that makes
her so tender, so sweet and so despairing. Through the course of the film we know what is
good for Holly. And the last scene in the film where she frantically looks for her nameless cat
under the rain is romantic and altogether distant. We realize that Holly has been avoiding
herself and if she doesn't find her kitty, she will be lost forever as well.
- The sinking. (Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
The hidden meanings, the revealing characters, the hidden consequences...
- Kissing in the rain. (Great Expectations, Alfonso Cuarón, 1998)
Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow) has made Finn's (Ethan Hawke) life almost miserable. He loves her,
but she doesn't respond to him. One night Finn finds Estella, (how can you find someone so
easily in NYC?) she is dining with her fiancé, but leaves with Finn. They seem to get lost in the
moment and in themselves. They dance and there is not music. They kiss.
- The beach. (The 400 Blows, Francois Truffaut, 1959)
Antoine Doinel (Jean Pierre Leaud) has raised hell for his family, he has stolen, he has been
kicked out of school, he has provoked fires, the list is too long. Now he is in jail, yes that's what
it is, a jail for out of control kids. During one of their field trips, Antoine sees he can in fact
escape, and he does so! He runs and runs and runs until he reaches the ocean, which he is
seeing for the first time. Truffaut's direction here is intimate and breathtaking.
Antoine has reached freedom, or has he?
- Kiss of death (American Beauty, Sam Mendes, 1999)
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) has found happiness, or so he thinks. Everything he hated
about his life has become unimportant to him. He even works out while smoking pot in his
garage. His neighbor (Chris Cooper) notices this and finds an option, he takes a shot at his own
happiness. Suburbia had never been so clearfully dark.
- Odessa (Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
The most brutally unforgettable moment in silent film history. Chilling.
- Iceberg! (Titanic, James Cameron, 1997)
Rose and Jack (Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) have realized that they can indeed be
happy, after all they have each other! As they run from the henchmen sent to look for them,
they go to the deck, where moments before an officer had given the infamous shout of "iceberg!
Straight ahead".
This is the Titanic after all and we know what will become of the ship. Inevitability and
impotence had never been so affecting before...
- Film reels? (Persona, Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
What was this all about?
- Out the door. (Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
Devlin (Cary Grant, in perhaps his best performance ever) has just realized how mistaken he
had been about Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) who he had convinced about becoming a spy. He goes
to her husband's home, Alexander Sebastian (as played brilliantly by Claude rains) where she is
kept, imprisoned? Sick? Dead?
As he leaves the house, we can only look at Sebastian, Rains' look is priceless.
- CAT!!! (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Blake Edwards, 1961)
Holly Golightly is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking characters to grace the screen. Audrey
Hepburn not only imprinted on this woman, her renowned beauty, but also a spirit that makes
her so tender, so sweet and so despairing. Through the course of the film we know what is
good for Holly. And the last scene in the film where she frantically looks for her nameless cat
under the rain is romantic and altogether distant. We realize that Holly has been avoiding
herself and if she doesn't find her kitty, she will be lost forever as well.
- The sinking. (Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
The hidden meanings, the revealing characters, the hidden consequences...
- Kissing in the rain. (Great Expectations, Alfonso Cuarón, 1998)
Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow) has made Finn's (Ethan Hawke) life almost miserable. He loves her,
but she doesn't respond to him. One night Finn finds Estella, (how can you find someone so
easily in NYC?) she is dining with her fiancé, but leaves with Finn. They seem to get lost in the
moment and in themselves. They dance and there is not music. They kiss.
- The beach. (The 400 Blows, Francois Truffaut, 1959)
Antoine Doinel (Jean Pierre Leaud) has raised hell for his family, he has stolen, he has been
kicked out of school, he has provoked fires, the list is too long. Now he is in jail, yes that's what
it is, a jail for out of control kids. During one of their field trips, Antoine sees he can in fact
escape, and he does so! He runs and runs and runs until he reaches the ocean, which he is
seeing for the first time. Truffaut's direction here is intimate and breathtaking.
Antoine has reached freedom, or has he?
- Kiss of death (American Beauty, Sam Mendes, 1999)
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) has found happiness, or so he thinks. Everything he hated
about his life has become unimportant to him. He even works out while smoking pot in his
garage. His neighbor (Chris Cooper) notices this and finds an option, he takes a shot at his own
happiness. Suburbia had never been so clearfully dark.
- Odessa (Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
The most brutally unforgettable moment in silent film history. Chilling.
© 2003-2005 Movies Kick Ass All Rights Reserved
First I must explain what electrifying means to me. Have you ever had that feeling? Your spine begins to
tingle, you often find yourself sighing, you are uplifted or even shocked, or is it both? You just seem to
get lost in the spirit of the movie. Time and space are lost. You are lost.
Mind you these aren't what I consider to be the best scenes in movie history, for that list I would spend
at least half a lifetime recollecting and researching. These are based just on my tastes and especially
because every time I re watch this films, the moment always strikes with the same potency as if it was
the very first time.
tingle, you often find yourself sighing, you are uplifted or even shocked, or is it both? You just seem to
get lost in the spirit of the movie. Time and space are lost. You are lost.
Mind you these aren't what I consider to be the best scenes in movie history, for that list I would spend
at least half a lifetime recollecting and researching. These are based just on my tastes and especially
because every time I re watch this films, the moment always strikes with the same potency as if it was
the very first time.
