This is a continuation of this series started here and continued here and 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
20. Gladiator - "Opening shot"
This one shot sets up the entire character arc of Maximus. It holds for such a long time because it gives you a tactile sense of the moment. You don't see Maximus's face, but instead you feel what he feels: peace and safety in the pastoral paradise. And this golden moment is contrasted with the cold devastation that follows. But in this one moment, it touches on something primal: the masculine need to protect that which is precious. Contrast this moment with the opening of The Sound of Music, where Maria revels in the ecstatic joy of nature. Here, Maximus holds this nature as a fragile memory: something to hold on to in order to fight through the hell of war. It holds the key idea that men will fight and die to preserve a home they will never see again.
(On a side note, a friend of mine honeymooned in Italy recently and found this exact field and had his wife take his picture in the Maximus pose. What was funny was that he said there were about a dozen other men who were having their women take their picture there as well)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Concerning Hobbits
Like the shot in Gladiator, this accomplishes a similar effect: it gives our heroes a home worth fighting for. What separates this one from the previous example is that this one is free from the melencholy: it is simple joy in a simple life. Particularly, the shot of the children running through the rolling hills is something that has stayed with me since I first saw the film. The Shire theme swells and fills your heart with a longing for this wonderfully innocent life. You feel this especially in Gandalf and you experience his joy and the fireworks and fun of it all. Again, as beautiful as the moment is, the music does so much of the heavy lifting. I remember hearing this score before seeing the movie and I could swear I could see Hobbiton in my minds eye simply from that beautiful tune.
18. Superman - "In the Fields"
This is the greatest superhero movie of all time, hands down. One of the reasons why is because director Richard Donner wanted to create something epic and mythic. This shot of Clark in the fields with his mother is so perfectly composed it is like something out of a pastoral painting. The sea of wheat feels like it could swallow them up, but it also feels warm and safe. Because of this, you feel the heartache Clark feels at leaving this perfectly nurturing environment to head out into the cold world. And the emotion of the scene is perfect where the son must leave the mother and the mother must give up the son. It is a true moment in that relationship. And I will say whenever I hear the lyric "amber waves of grain," I always think of this moment.
17. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - "Walking Together"
People remember John Hughes primarily for his writing. But I think that this does a disservice to his skill as a director. And this one shot hits you like a punch to the heart. The entire movie has been this outrageous and silly quest to get home for Thanksgiving. That's all Steve Martin's Neal cares about. And he is saddled with John Candy's Del who lugs around his comically large steamer trunk. But just when Neal is on his final leg, something doesn't sit right and he returns to Del, where he learns the truth: Del doesn't have a home because his wife died several years ago. It is a touching scene with gentle music. But then Hughes hits you with a hard cut and a musical sting that shocks you into attention. And then you see this perfectly executed shot. Neal and Del walking side-by-side, each carrying the steamer trunk as they make the final leg home. So much is going on this these few seconds. The symmetry of the composition is perfect. They are perfectly framed by the street and trees. They are walking towards the audience, coming in from the cold and entering into our memory. And it has this amazing image of friendship: Neal is helping carry Del's burden so that he can come to his new home. All of this is in this one simple shot as the music pushes you to one of the most cathartic endings in movie history.
16. Much Ado About Nothing - "Final Shot"
Like his other movie on this list, Henry V, director Kenneth Branagh composes a single shot that is completely gorgeous. In fact, this is one of my favorite films in terms of cinematography. I love the opening credits image of the men arriving at the villa or the scene where Benedick falls for the lie about Beatrice. But this final shot goes on so long in order to hold onto this wild and joyous ecstasy that we call romantic love. It captures what it feels like to be in that moment where you feel like your own "happily ever after" is about to begin. And by holding it in a single shot, he holds onto that unbroken emotion, culminating in that crane shot looking down on all the revelers lost in the joys of love.
15. Saving Private Ryan - "Silhouette"
This movie is a masterpiece and there are so many shots to choose from. I almost chose the last shot of Ryan and his family, because Spielberg does so much emotional work with how he moves his camera. But instead, it is this simple shot that touches me the most. Tom Hanks' Capt. Miller has just given his speech about how far away from home he feels. And as they bury the body of the soldier who got killed, Spielberg gives us this backlit silhouette. There is Miller, enmeshed in the barbwire entanglement of war, looking longingly, to the peaceful world represented by the tree. He is so close and yet so far. Home is almost within reach, but the sting of violence still ensnares him. All he can do is look with love and longing.
14. The Shawshank Redemption - "Andy's Free"
I think that when most people replay this movie in their heads, this is the shot that they hold onto. One of the things that makes this movie work so well is that it gives you happy endings that are earned. Andy goes through hell, but because his spirit is unbroken, he comes out on top. We see this in the dankness of his crawl to freedom. We feel the horrid, noxious claustrophobia of his journey and we breath deeply when he gets out. And as he gets out, the rain like a divine baptism washes away the evil of the past as he strips away his old life. The high angle shot of him is such an interesting one, because usually a high angle diminishes a subject, which is something you wouldn't think to do in a triumphant scene. But it works here because with Andy's arms raised high, he fills up the screen, standing out against the darkness. I was once given the acting note: "Freedom looks up," and you can feel that in Andy's body language as he opens his arms to freedom (and the audience) to share in his joy.
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - "Gandalf and the Rohirrim
Again, with any moment from Peter Jackson's trilogy, it is hard to find only a single moment. But in The Two Towers, this one stands out. The entire battle of Helm's Deep has felt like a slow, but heroic, defeat. Our heroes ride out for "death and glory." But then we get that striking figure of Gandalf against the sky. And then Eomer shouts, "To the king!" It was either GK Chesterton or CS Lewis who said that there is a natural inclination in human beings to kneel to something greater. This is why monarchy has been so common in history. Ultimately, this refelcts a natural impulse to kneel before God. But in Eomer's shouting, you can feel the power of noble fidelity to a king. But then the shot of them riding down into the darkness, bringing with them to light of day as they break the ranks and give hope just as the musical score stings your heart like the sunlight stings the eyes of the enemy. Truly beautiful
This film is in my to ten movies of all time. It is hard to believe that this was only Mel Gibson's second feature film he directed. Not only are the epic battles something that has been copied over and over again in cinema, but his quiet and intimate moments are powerful as well. And perhaps I should have seen it coming, but when Wallace shouts "Freedom," it hit me like a splash of ice water to the face. But the most beautiful moment is that last shot. That single sword waving in the wind, planted on the battlefield. It stands not only a testament to the warriors but as the Christian cross of sacrifice, a reminder of what Wallace did for the people. The slow disolve from the brave Scots and the voice over hit just the right note. So when Gibson delivers that last line with that final note of the bagpipes, that single image leaves a haunting impression that stays with you.
This is the fourth moment from Steven Spielberg on this list. It might be his most iconic moment, so much so that it is the logo for his film company. Not every iconic moment is the most beautiful, but this one is. ET only works because Spielberg is able to see the entire story from that of an innocent child and is able to communicate the entire movie from that perspective. He captures the wild days of suburban childhood when you would go out into the woods and explore the world on the your bike. And as a child you felt that maybe, just maybe, there would be some magic out there for you to discover. This moment from ET captures all of that. There is the terror of new heights followed by the thrill of the magical. That shot where he crosses over the moon shows us how Spielberg takes the most homely and innocent of images (a child on a bicycle) and marries it to the cosmic grandeur of the silvery moon. It's no accident that these are also the main elements of the logo for his studio, DreamWorks. In this single shot, he promised all of us that even in the ordinary there exists the possibility of the extraordinary.
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