Showstopper Scenes in Film

[Nepenthe]

Fuck yeah, I told y'all the 20 dollars in gas it takes to get here, the 10 dollar tickets, the 30 dollar food, and signing over our firstborns was gonna be worth it!

I think everyone's got one of these kinds of film scenes filed away in the back of their heads: the scenes that "justify the price of admission" as they say, a scene that makes the entire movie worth it or elevates an already engaging film into the stratosphere for a few minutes. Fights, celebrations, deaths, monologues; the watercooler scenes, essentially. This thread is basically to post clips and gush about them, and hopefully it will give people a taste of some potential films to watch down the line, as well as provide some use for people who want to talk about these kinds of scenes but otherwise can't be arsed to make an entirely new thread about the film for the chance to do so.

Also, try your best not to spoil anything too new. The parameter for what constitutes that will be simple: if it's been released on home media then it's fair game to talk about openly. Especially since almost every home release is complimented by on-demand; it's exceedingly cheap to watch a new movie nowadays. Anyway, on with the show. My personal scene that I currently can't get out of my head:

Word had gotten around that Madagascar 3 was better than it logically should've been as the third entry in a series filled to the brim with talking animals and pop music culture produced by DreamWorks, which some would consider a triple death knell for any project. So I took the cautious route and allowed a friend to invite me over to watch it. I'm kicking myself in the ass for not seeing it in theaters now and bought the Blu-Ray immediately to make up for my moral failure, mostly because of this scene.

I think the first words out of my nerdy little mouth about it were something to the tune of "Holy shit, they've completely gotten rid of the space." Seriously, the farther the scene plays out, the more ridiculously abstract it gets: The audience and tent goes away, the contraptions the animals use to perform appear and disappear on a whim and sometimes they're used as shot transitions, the tent gets impossibly huge as characters almost fly at unpractical speeds during freefall and being shot from cannons, character overlays everywhere, impossible lighting, backgrounds and colors just switch up completely.

It's all kinda screwed up, but the wonderful point is that the space just doesn't matter. The scene gets down into the root of the matter and celebrates the wonder of the modern circus, putting you in the overall feeling of what the cast is experiencing while they blow the show out of the water and renew their love of performance. It even gives sentimental and contextual value to a fucking Katy Perry song. That right there's the magic of animation, I tell you what. This scene alone makes Madagascar 3 the absolute best entry in the series. Amazing job DreamWorks did on this bit.

Now, what about you guys? What are your favorite showstopper scenes?

[Solkia]

I recall there being a scene at the begining at one of the Hulk movies where scientists used radiation to boil the insides of a frog and make it explode.

That was hilarious.

[Gregzilla]

Avengers spoilers (try and guess what it is!):

The part where Hulk whips Loki around like a fucking chew toy. That was simultaneously the most hilarious and most badass moment in Marvel history. I was lucky to see it in theaters with a full crowd, and laughter and cheers filled the room. It was glorious.

[Mega]

I have a wonderful scene that totally fits the bill...

The original ending to Little Shop of Horrors.

Just the way it keeps building and building is fantastic from the death of Audrey to SEymour's confrontation with the plant until he himself becomes plant food. The slow, ominous beginning to Don't Feed the Plants, followed by the fantastic scenes of Audrey IIs destroying everything in sight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSPsyCYaIW4

Sadly, this is the only decent footage of the restored ending currently on Youtube. There was a longer video, but the user took it down. However, I highly recommend checking out the Director's Cut. It's fantastic!

[Wraith]

I don't want to spoil anything, but....

That one scene at the end of The Dark Knight Rises that had the crowd cheering.

You know the one.

[Kuzu]

Iron Man, the first one, specifically the part when he tests out the Mk II Armor to a bitching soundtrack, it's just all around epic in every way.

Yeah.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Ragna the Bloodedge

[Johnny Boy]

From Batman Begins:

Falcone: What the hell are you?!

Me: *pulls him up through the car roof* I'm Batman.

[Linkabel]

This thread needs more cool scenes:

This scene in Jaws oh my God I still remember seeing it when I was a kid:

The American Werewolf Transformation:

I have more but I'll just leave these scenes for now.

[Milo]

That one defining scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

You know what it is.

Take your filthy paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Applejack1973]

Frida 2002 the hospital clip after the bus crash.

[iDEATH]

Off the top of my head.

The ending to the Devils Rejects. It's just phenomenal.It's not only beautifully edited and makes great use of it's music choice but it actually makes to feel sorry for a group of people who are psychopathic killers. To be able to swing the audience round to their side is an amazing piece of film making.

The introduction to the bathhouse is spirited away, such a beautiful world so wonderfully imagined.

The scene in Batman: Mask of the phantasm (The best batman movie ever made by the way ) where Bruce is crying at his parents grave and you realise just how much being the batman has cursed Bruce, that it means he can never have a normal life even if he wants one.

The toys falling into the smelting pit in Toy Story 3....where they look into the fire...and Woody reaches out......and takes buzz's.......*bawls uncontrollably*