Perfect Movie Shots

Sometimes in a film, the perfect single moment, a combination of writing, filming, acting, and directing manages to convey more emotion and story information than all the dialogue ever.

Two come to mind

X-Men 2.

Pyro, the punk kid mutant is in Iceman's family's house. The shot starts on a smiling family picture of Iceman and family, then the focus shifts to show a surly Pyro's reflection, staring at the picture.

The one, three second shot tells more about Pyro's character than anything else in the movie. You FEEL for him in that moment, and it adds so much to the movie while in no way really being part of the plot.

Julie and Julia

Julia Child and her husband are walking along. A woman with a baby carriage walks by. Julia looks at it and becomes briefly sad. Her husband tightens his arm around her.

That shot, maybe eight seconds, totally defines that childlessness was one of the central tradgedies of Julia Child's life, despite that the entire movie doesn't have a single line of dialoge about it (although it's briefly touched on nearer the end of the film when Julia's sister is pregant).

What other movies have single moments that achieve this much? Any thoughts?

how about the scene in Gone With the Wind when Scarlett is walking around the wounded soldiers trying to find a doctor for the pregnant Melanie Hamiton.   The camera slowly pulls further and further back revealing more and more dead and wounded Confederate soldiers,  until you see an uncountable number.   It finally reveals a badly tattered and torn Confederate flag and a sad mournful version of Dixie plays.   I don't think I've ever seen a more powerful depiction of a defeated army in any movie.    My words don't do the scene justice.   You have to watch it.

There is one shot in the Exorcist III that will make you jump out of your whatever you are sitting on even if you if you have seen it before, it's not so much a jump scare (though it is that) but it's also perfectly composed.

Blatty used to work as a Political cartoonist and it shows with many of his shots.

The scenes (all in one fixed camera shots) where an asylum inmate dressed as a nun is exorcising a drinks machine and where a black guy dress as Superman is guarding a door into which a troop of Shakespearian actor dogs of various breeds go in right of shot followed by a man in a jet pack flying left of shot (to crash off screen) in The Ninth Configuration are other examples.

THE DARKNESS - The very last minute makes the whole movie. Incredible (in the positive meaning).

Nanner Split said:

Star Wars - I never get tired of watching the Rebel attack on the Death Star.

 

its a great scene, no doubt about it.  But I don't think it qualifies in this topic as it has dialog.   

The end sequence in Raiders.  The music is perfect as the Ark is rolled into the giant warehouse.  That huge wide shot of the ark being wheeled left and out of sight always gives me the chills.  

The shot in The Simpsons where Professor Frink reveals there is...

...

...a third dimension!

I may have to see Immortal Beloved.