Top 10 Impacting Movie Moments...
Every good movie has that "moment of impact." Its the point at which the audience fully suspends their disbelief, escapes from reality, and truly believes what they are seeing on screen.
These are what I view as the very best of these moments...my Top 10 Impacting Movie Moments of all time...
10. "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
IMPACT MOMENT: The Beacons of Minas Tirith.
Hard to believe a movie that is an overload of sensory experiences can have one of its most powerful moments without any actors or dialogue. When the world is on the verge of darkness, when all hope is lost, young Pippen lights the first of the Beacons, setting in motion one of the most beautiful scenes on film...and we feel that surge running down our spine...that surge of hope. Not all is lost. An impacting moment for the ages.
9. "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
IMPACT MOMENT: "Anakin...You're breaking my heart."
The only time in the "new" series where real emotions surface, which is why it resonates so deeply. Until now, the relationship between Anakin and Padmé is such a fairy tale even they don't believe in it, so it seems. They haven't had to struggle and so they don't know what love truly means, which is why they spew cheesy dialogue for most of the trilogy.
Its only at the point where Anakin does something truly horrific does reality set in - and Padmé's real emotions surface. In the very moment she realizes that she does love Anakin more than life itself, that feeling is simultaneously ripped from her, and we hate Anakin for that. Hate, being the operative word - as "hate" is the path to the Dark Side.
8. "2001: A Space Odyssey."
IMPACT MOMENT: The Monolith Part Deux.
It's not the first time we see the Monolith that gets us...its the second time. When it first appears in a prehistoric land, while extremely eerie, we have no concept of its significance. After we realize the Monolith is in some way responsible for our evolution, when humans find another one deliberately buried on the moon, that chill instantly runs down our spine. There are larger things at work in the Universe beyond our understanding...more powerful things. A great moment of resonance in our cinematic history.
7. "Jaws."
IMPACT MOMENT: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
The reveal of the "monster." Until that moment, the shark was implied...a victim drowning, POV shots underwater, a severed leg, a fin above water...all aiding in mounting the tension. When the head of Jaws springs up out of nowhere, audiences leaped out of their seats! That formula has been replicated and repeated time and time again, but never as impacting as the granddaddy film of them all.
6. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."
IMPACT MOMENT: Khan strikes first!
Kirk didn't see it coming...and neither did we. In a flash of instantaneous filmmaking brilliance, the Star Trek Franchise propelled itself into oblivion. Sure, Trek had its share of cheesy space battles up until this point, but nothing as gritty and real and tense as when Khan strikes first. The Bridge goes up in flames, the hull breaches in the Engine Room, lives are lost, and William Shatner's face gets dirty. An entire franchise was revitalized during this "holy sh*t" moment.
5. "The Godfather."
IMPACT MOMENT: Blam! Blam! Michael makes the hit.
In one of the most tension-filled moments in cinematic history, Michael Corleone goes from being an innocent war hero, sheltered and hidden from the ways of his family, to a man who takes his destiny into his own hands via a merciless violent act. We want to love Michael, yet he guns down a Mob Boss and Police Captain in cold blood. Granted, both are corrupt - but so is Michael, raising questions about moral ambiguity and the choices we make. It all comes to a head in a moment we remember forever.
4. "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back."
IMPACT MOMENT: "I love you...I know."
A Star Wars movie where one of our heroes "dies"? How is that possible? It wasn't until this moment...one of the greatest gems ever put on film. Star Wars up until this point was a fantastical roller coaster ride, great fun, great fluff. And then we lose our beloved Han. Leia finally realizes her love...and yet its too late. Han realizes his love...and keeps his bravado...yet we know he feels it...and its too late. Where the Impact Moment in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King shows us hope when all things are dark, here its the complete opposite: When we think things couldn't go wrong, this moment of Impact shows us true despair. A classic tonal shift and a classic moment.
3. "The Shining."
IMPACT MOMENT: Jack descends into his self-made purgatory.
Jack. He looks like he's aged a hundred years. His facial hair is razor sharp. And his eyes. He never blinks. He never blinks.
2. "Avatar."
IMPACT MOMENT: Hometree Collapses.
No movie truly flips the switch like Avatar does in this one breathtaking moment. Until this point, we watch Jake Sully transition from Human to Na'vi, his rite of passage into manhood, and his love with Neytiri blossom. Its fantastical and fun, but the dangerous reality hasn't set in yet. Then in an Impacting moment, everything changes. This is Avatar's "Titanic" moment - the point when the ship finally goes under, or in this case, when Hometree collapses. Its in this moment that we, the audience, truly believes in the artificial world James Cameron has created.
1. "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
IMPACT MOMENT: Indy gets shot in the arm!
Lots of iconic moments in Indiana Jones lore. The ball. The snakes. Sean Connery. Very rarely does anyone highlight the above screen capture. It's almost shocking. An Indiana Jones movie with blood splattered on the windshield - Indy's blood.
No action sequence in the history of Cinema does it better. During the first half of the action sequence, we're along for the ride with Indiana Jones - laughing at he does - as he shakes hanging Nazis off the truck, knocks Nazis off their motorbikes into the water, and drives them over the edge of cliffs. All good fun. Then it happens in a split-second. Indy gets shot in the arm. Blood sprays on the windshield. Indy's smile wrinkles into a tense frown. He feels the pain, and we feel the tension. From light humor to thrilling drama in the blink of an eye. At this point, this moment of Impact, Indy is fighting for his own life, and we believe it.
Raiders. #1, Baby!
