This is a continuation of this series started here and continued here.
You can go there to see numbers 50-31. You can also check it out to remember the ground rules and criteria for choosing. A brief recap:
1. A moment can be only about 2 minutes (unless it is an unbroken shot).
2. Only one moment per movie.
3. All the context matters.
4. The subjective element of beauty is real.
5. Beauty only.
So, with those in mind, I will now share #30-21 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
30. Sleeping Beauty - "Final Shot"
I have a strong attraction to traditional romantic imary, and I blame this movie for that. I saw this when I was a kid, I didn't realize what an impact it had on me. You can argue that the couple dancing in the end have very shallow character arcs. But they are there more as archetypes. The operatic nature of the music and the classic, idealized medieval setting would set my young imagination on fire. And in that innocent mind, this image was burned into me as an ideal of romantic love. Sometimes I'll dance with my wife while singing this end tune. The two glide on the screen to that timeless ballad as they literally dance on the clouds giving us an eternal yearning for that "happily ever after."
29. The Truman Show - "Touching the sky"
What I love about this scene is how much it emphasize the tactile nature of our bodily existence. Truman believes that his world is not real. And even seeing the fake horizon isn't quite enough. He has to reach out and touch it. The look of utter relief on his face as he does is so cathartic. When he rails against his cage you can tell that he has finally been set free from all of his doubt and that he has been vindicated. Director Peter Weir wisely drops the sound from the scene and let the visuals and music take over so that can move into Truman's heart. And I love the way he shows him "walking on water" as he moves to ascend out of his prison.
I know that this movie is remembered, but I don't think it ranks high enough in people's minds as it should. While this sequence is about 4 minutes long, I'm going to focus on the first 2 minutes. The entire movie has been about Sam no longer able to connect to Molly. Earlier we had the scene where he possesses Oda Mae and they can finally touch. But in this scene she can see and hear him one last time. I love the way they use the ethereal light to make Sam look like he is made of that same light. And that light rises as the orchestral version of "Unchained Melody" swells. What makes this even more beautiful is the wonderful contradiction of overwhelming emotion that are surging through this scene. Look at the way Sam turns to look at Molly with a big smile on his face because he is going to heaven, but watch as it turns to heartbreak because now they have to part. And she communicates her sorrow, but also her joy for him. And this is followed by an ethereal kiss that is such sharp contrast to the very earthy, tactile love scene from the beginning of the movie. And almost all of this is communicated wordlessly.
27. Henry V - "No Nobis Domine"
This might be the longest clip I have on this list at over seven minutes long. But it fills my excemption because it is one single shot. I remember seeing this movie in high school and this shot stayed with me a long time. First of all, I love how the music starts diegetically with the singer praising God for the victory, but then it swells into a full orchestration. Director Kenneth Branagh does two contradictory things simultaneously: he gives you a powerful victory march while at the same time making you feel the carnage of war. The mud, the bodies, the arrows, and the wounded all remind you that horrible things happened on the field. But the song reminds us that God brought them through the horrible things. The relentless single shot makes you feel like the battle took place in an absolutely grand scope, which makes the miraculous victory all the more impressive. And keeping it all together is the shot of a king carrying the body of a lowly squire, idealizing the nobility of what a monarch should be.
26. The Passion of the Christ - "Pieta"
If you asked me what the greatest movie in the world is, I would say it was a tie between this movie and another to be mentioned later. Mel Gibson was able to tell the story of Jesus almost completely through the visuals, and he does it in a way that is so powerful that you don't feel like you are watching a movie, but are transported to another world. There are so many amazing shots in this film, but the one that stays with me is this one. When Mother Mary breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at you, it is piercing. She doesn't have to say a word, but you can feel volumes spoken right to your heart and soul. She looks at you and takes the movie out of being a passive observance and hands the Gospel story to you, presenting her Son to us. I cannot help but be stirred and challenged every time I look into her eyes and behold the Body of her Son.
25. Pride and Prejudice - "Darcy on the Moors"
I had not seen this movie in years, but this shot always stayed with me. It is such a bold choice to stay on the figure of Darcy walking towards the camera for almost a full minute. Any actor will tell you that one of the most difficult things to "act" is simply walking. It sounds odd, but true. But the beautiful gloom on the dawning moors reveal Elizabeth's love breaking free from the clouds of her bride. And the use of music is just stunning. It starts as a soft piano as he is far away. But the music stands in the place of her beating heart. As he approaches, all of her swirling emotions rise in a cacophony of love as he approaches. Those who have fallen madly in love know this feeling, which this moment captures. And Darcy is scene here as the most masculine of men, striding through nature, directly toward the woman he loves to sweep her off her feet.
24. Camelot - "Never Could I Leave You"
(I could only find this shot in a montage on Youtube)
I love this movie. I love that it perfects the classic trope of movie musicals by being innocent and happy in the first act and then tragic and heartbreaking in the second act. I remember seeing this movie when I was very young and it was one of the first times I understood that movies use visual symbolism. The final shot of the song shows Lancelot and Gwyneviere with a cage in the foreground. They are trapped by their illicit desire. All of the tragedy that follows could be avoided if they just turned away from their sin. What makes this shot work so well is that by using the cage in the foreground, you can see that they are not in an actual cage. They are free but they choose to be trapped and cling to each other as they damn the world around them. It is a shot that stirs me every time I see it.
This is a beautiful film in general, one filled with struggle and despair. With almost no dialogue, Robert Redford fights a losing battle to stay afloat in the ocean. This final moment is so powerful in its resigned sadness as he lets go and allows the ocean to take him. The shot looking upwards at the moon and the burning raft contrast the distant celestial beauty of the moon and the chaotic agony of his struggle: a shot of heaven and hell. It captures that moment when life is slipping away how its beauty is more manifest. But in all that comes the light of grace.
22. The Ten Commandments - "Final Shot"
There is a reason that when this 70-year-old movie is played on network TV, it has more views than all of its competition. It's themes are as relevant today as when it first came out, with a defining performance by Charlton Heston. But this last shot always takes my breath away. If you had told me that the final moment with Moses was actually from a Renaissance painting, I would not doubt you. The composition is pefrect and gorgeous. Moses, bathed in the light of heaven stands as the intermediary between God and man. He waves goodbye so that there is sorrow, but there is triumph and hope. He is off in the distance because he stands as the great teacher whose wisdom will guide generations of civilization. The colors mix with subtle life while the bombastic music swells. Even though you don't see it, you can feel the heavens open up. A truly beautiful moment.
21. Dead Poets Society - "Final Shots"
I remember this movie's ending was so unexpected for me when I first saw it when it came out. The utter saddness and injustice of what happens was hard for me to overcome. The world is unfair and the world has little use for men like Mr. Keating. But the world is just men. And if these boys can stand up as men then the world is changed. That is what is really at stake in this movie. It isn't just about honoring their teacher. It is a statement that they will rise above and make their lives extraordinary. I love that the show Keating from their point of view, a high angle shot. High angles diminish the character, but this works because that is Keating's goal: he wants his students to rise above him. The wide shot of the 10 students standing is the best. It is a low angle so that they tower over. The look on Keating with love, gratitude, and admiration. They are not standing on desks; they are standing on his shoulders. And then the remaining boys keep their heads down, ignoring Keating and the other boys, hunched over into annonymous, faceless lumps. Gone is the headmaster from this shot. This is one shot is about the future. It is about who they will become. And from Keating's point of view he can see that there is hope for the future. What more could any teacher ask?
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