A few months ago, a friend of mine asked me to make a list of the top ten most beautiful shots in movie history. Because of my crazy brain, I was able to keep it to a tight fifty.
I also had a lot of trouble coming up with the list because a shot is a single, uncut moment from a film. But there are so many moments that require the intercut between shots to accomplish its beauty. So I decided that instead of most beautiful shots, it would the moment beautiful moments.
So there are a few ground rules for this list.
1. A moment can be only about 2 minutes.
There are some scenes that are absolutely amazing. But if the scene goes on long enough, I'm not sure you can call it a "moment." So for this list, the moment had to be two minutes or less. The exception is if it is a single shot. There are a few on this list that last much longer than 2 minutes, because the entire moment is an unbroken shot, so there is no logical place to cut it.
2. Only one moment per movie.
This one was difficult, but it had to be that way. Take a movie like The Sound of Music. I recently rewatched it and nearly every scene is gorgeous. If you said to me that it was the most beautifully filmed movie of all time, I would not object. In fact, I would say that 90% of that movie is more beautifully shot than most films that have ever been made. If I allowed multiple beautiful moments from the same movie, The Sound of Music would be too dominant.
3. All the context matters.
One of the other reasons I did not make this only about shots, is that a shot implies only the visual component. But a movie is more than just the visual. You have the convergence of story, music, performance, and editing that bring about the beautiful moment. All of these things need to be taken into account. Particularly, the context of the story gives a great deal of meaning and beauty to what is on the screen.
4. The subjective element of beauty.
While I believe that there are some objective elements to what is beautiful, there is always a subjective element when it comes to any art. I accept that there will be many who will disagree with me about what is on this list and what I have left off. And it is possible that over time, my mind can change. But I can only speak about that which affects me deeply.
5. Beauty only.
There are some moments in cinema that are deeply affective. The show scene in Psycho is terrifying. The moment Brody blows up the shark in Jaws is exhilarating. Arthur's fight with the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is hysterical. But even though these moment provoke powerful emotions, it is not necessarily beautiful. Something beautiful should touch the heart in a way that makes it ache for something deep and transcendent. It should feel like it somehow touches something ethereal in some way.
So, with those in mind, I will now share #50-41 of the most beautiful moments in cinema.
I will provide Youtube links to the videos rather than embed them here. I would imagine that because this is critical commentary it qualifies for fair use, but I'd rather not take that chance.
You can click any of the links below to see the clips (most of them should be timestamped to begin at the moment referred.
SPOILERS FOR ALL THE MOVIES BELOW
50. Gross Pointe Blank - "Under Pressure"
This is a strange black comedy from the '90's that I have great affection for. Almost all of it is cynical, violent, and dark. That's what makes this moment so strangely beautiful. The main character is a hit man, but in this moment when he looks into the baby's eyes, you can feel the change come over him. It is a moment where no words are needed. The juxtaposition of the joy in the baby and the wonder in Martin's eyes is so affective that I am completley convinced about his change of heart in those few seconds. And the use of "Under Pressure" creates the perfect emotional crescendo. I have never forgotten this moment since the first time I saw it.
49. It's A Wonderful Life - "End of my rope"
This is a simple shot. But I was fortunate to see a restored print of this movie on the big screen and the biggest takeaway I had was how beautiful the movie is, particularly this shot. The happy music only seems to isolate George even more. The slow push in and the use fo shadow and light highlight the drama. On top of that it is one of the most affective performances I have ever seen in a movie. When he says, "I'm at the end of my rope," I feel it deeply. Normally, the moments on this list are this tense and sad. But they do such an amazing job here I could keep it off the list.
48. Forrest Gump -"Peace with God"
There are so many things at work here. This is really the culmination of Lt. Dan's character arc. When he says, "I never thanked you for saving my life," he means that he didn't think his life was worth saving until this moment. What is so visually striking about this is that they emphasize what he has lost. His physical injury has not been healed. But as he swims in the water, it is a beautiful baptism metaphor as he is washed in the this new life as he floats towards heaven.
47. Apollo 13 - Landing on the moon."
This is an amazing film. But one of the things they do so well is emphasize how important landing on the moon is for Jim Lovell. This fantasy sequence captures wordlessly the the awe, joy, and majesty of landing on another celestial body. You feel the momentousness of leaving your permanent footprints on the moon. But for me the shot that really captures it is Jim's hands raking through the lunar dust. I can feel that moment in my own hand, in wonder at what that must be like and aching that this moment is snatched from Jim forever.
46. Lars and the Real Girl "Bowling with Margo"
This is such a delightful, small movie. Lars is a crippling shy man who begins falling for his co-worker Margo. I love the absolute simplicity of this scene: just going out and bowling. Meanwhile there are all the little moments and longing looks so familiar to those who have crushes. But the moment that puts it over the top for me is that shot towards the end where they use a very shallow focus so that from Lars' point-of-view, all he sees is Margo and you really begin to feel what Lars is feeling.
45. The Last of the Mohicans - "Final Scene"
This is one of the most under appreciated movies of the 1990's, in my opinion. I always felt that this movie should be more popular than it is. This final moment has Chingachcook mourning the death of his son Uncas. This moment does something that few movies do so well: it makes the title of the movie the most powerful line of dialogue. And as you see our survivors look out at the vast wilderness, there is sadness, despair, and hope all rolled into one.
44. The Untouchables - "The Strength of Righteousness"
The scene plays out like a very typical action scene. But the one moment that makes it stand out is the shot of all four Untouchables as they ride along the river. It is a powerful shot of heroes sallying for to do heroic things. This is put over the top by Ennio Morricone's amazing score titled "The Strength of Righteousness." I mention the title here, because the shot perfectly summarizes the song's title.
43. Jurassic Park - "Running with Dinosaurs"
There are a lot of shots from this movie to choose from. I would imagine most people would choose the first time Grant and Ellie see the dinosaur or perhaps the sick triceratops. But this incredibly short moment is the one. Notice it doesn't even need any musical flourish to accompany it. It is a dynamic shot, perfectly framed, with a paradisal backdrop. If there is a single moment that encapsulates the thrill possibilities of what this park could hold, it is the moment when the humans and dinosaurs run together. Even in the fear, there is a sense of joy and awe in their faces as they cannot believe that they are living out this moment. It is the moment that I would imagine most people watching the movie wish they could experience themselves.
42. Dances with Wolves - "Waves Goodbye"
(I could only find this shot in a montage on Youtube)
This small shot packs a big punch. At the beginning of the movie, John Dunbar begins the movie in a suicidal state, but it is really only in this moment that we see that things have turned. He has just spent the day with the Sioux and he has found his people. You can see in the costuming that he is at this point still a man of two worlds, but that the change has been made. As the sun sets the sky on fire behind him, there is an enlightenment that settles on him as this warrior raises his hand in friendship as the music swells behind him.
This is a very simple shot. James Cameron does some amazing work with the camera in this movie. But this is the shot that gets me. This is the culmination of the journey of these two characters. They have both been plagued by nightmares, but have now vanquished them. Not only is it a shot showing how they have finally achieved peace through adversity, but the composition shows their emotional closeness. They are now a family: mother and daughter. Newt, the wild child, can now rest because hovering above her, protecting her like a guardian angel is Ripley.
No comments:
Post a Comment