In passing, I caught a small segment of Channel 4's "50 Bestest Somethings Of Something" last night. OK, it was Comedy Films, and it contained this moment from Dr Strangelove:
"Gentleman! You can't fight in here - this is the War Room!"
It made my luvverley wife laugh out loud, despite never having seen the film, despite not really knowing much about Peter Sellers ...
And it occurred to me that this one line is probably a perfect piece of comedy writing -it's independently and objectively funny. I believe that it would probably survive translation (which is a rare thing for humour) and, as such, it is a rare thing that should be treasured.
We're kind of in the same territory as the "Wow" thread, but casting the net a bit wider than just movies, but I was wondering what other single, crystalline moments in other media or genres embody actual perfection, the sense that it actually doesn't get any better than that in a particular field ...
Off the top of my head:
The big reveal in Watchmen: "Do it? I'm not a Republic serial villain, Dan ..."
Although I'm not a fan of the series in general, the page turn in Sandman #5 (or is it #6 - I can never remember?) after Dee destroys Dream's ruby, but turns out to be sitting in Morpheus' palm in that amazing full pager ... That's as good as comics get.
Despite being a thoroughly average film, the moment in Equilibrium where the strains of the (perfectly chosen) opening to Beethoven's 9th kick in, combined with Christian Bale's splendid reaction, evoke a pitch-perfect emotional response that renders the subsequent aww-it's-an-ickle-puppy scene completely redundant.
'Stonehenge' in Spinal Tap. It actually doesn't get any funnier than that. Seriously. Whatever your personal funniest-cinematic-moment-ever is ... is it actually funnier than Stonehenge and the dwarves?
The kid scratching at the window in the 80s version of Salem's Lot is as creepy as it gets.
The chest cavity moment in (Carpenter's) The Thing ... for some reason, I never remember this bit. Possibly, I'm misdirected by the severed head bit that follows, but this bit gets me every single time, as does ...
Capt. Dallas in the air vents in Alien. Every single time that "WHOA!" moment gets me ...
Anything else occur to anyone? A moment in a film, book, album, comic ... whatever ... when you just thought "Bloody Hell! That's as good as it gets."
Cheers!
Jim
"Gentleman! You can't fight in here - this is the War Room!"
It made my luvverley wife laugh out loud, despite never having seen the film, despite not really knowing much about Peter Sellers ...
And it occurred to me that this one line is probably a perfect piece of comedy writing -it's independently and objectively funny. I believe that it would probably survive translation (which is a rare thing for humour) and, as such, it is a rare thing that should be treasured.
We're kind of in the same territory as the "Wow" thread, but casting the net a bit wider than just movies, but I was wondering what other single, crystalline moments in other media or genres embody actual perfection, the sense that it actually doesn't get any better than that in a particular field ...
Off the top of my head:
The big reveal in Watchmen: "Do it? I'm not a Republic serial villain, Dan ..."
Although I'm not a fan of the series in general, the page turn in Sandman #5 (or is it #6 - I can never remember?) after Dee destroys Dream's ruby, but turns out to be sitting in Morpheus' palm in that amazing full pager ... That's as good as comics get.
Despite being a thoroughly average film, the moment in Equilibrium where the strains of the (perfectly chosen) opening to Beethoven's 9th kick in, combined with Christian Bale's splendid reaction, evoke a pitch-perfect emotional response that renders the subsequent aww-it's-an-ickle-puppy scene completely redundant.
'Stonehenge' in Spinal Tap. It actually doesn't get any funnier than that. Seriously. Whatever your personal funniest-cinematic-moment-ever is ... is it actually funnier than Stonehenge and the dwarves?
The kid scratching at the window in the 80s version of Salem's Lot is as creepy as it gets.
The chest cavity moment in (Carpenter's) The Thing ... for some reason, I never remember this bit. Possibly, I'm misdirected by the severed head bit that follows, but this bit gets me every single time, as does ...
Capt. Dallas in the air vents in Alien. Every single time that "WHOA!" moment gets me ...
Anything else occur to anyone? A moment in a film, book, album, comic ... whatever ... when you just thought "Bloody Hell! That's as good as it gets."
Cheers!
Jim