I have to point out a few things. Number one, I put this list together mostly off the top of my head, so I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few (remind me!)
Two; as I must always point out, these are my favorites. Not necessarily what I think are the best. Also, they are not all “nice” scenes either
Number three; I’ve mentioned this many times in the past, but I have seen very few pre-1970 films, so just gimmie a break on that.
And lastly, there are quite a few movies that are so well done, that I could not include any one scene from them, as that would take away from the other scenes in the film. And by the same token, I could not include all of the scenes from any movie. Take “Airplane!” for example; half my list would be scenes from that movie alone, so I just left it out. There are a number of these films, and I want to list them first before I get to my list. So here they are (in no particular order):
Airplane!
A Clockwork Orange
Fargo
Vacation series
Best in Show
Fletch
Caddyshack
The Big Lebowski
Forrest Gump
Dumb & Dumber
Die Hard
Blazing Saddles
RANK Scene Film
50 Daniel-San wins the title - The Karate Kid
49 Ace Ventura tries to hide in a cardboard box - Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
48 The baseball team enters the field for the first time - Field of Dreams
47 “I’ll hit the brakes and he’ll fly right by.” - Top Gun
46 Sally’s fake orgasm - When Harry Met Sally
45 Opening monkey sequence - 2001: A Space Odyssey
44 Any Rocky victory - Rocky I, II, III, IV, V
43 Duel in the trees - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
42 “Show me the money” - Jerry Maguire
41 The sensitive guy on the beach - Bedazzled
40 The door warehouse chase scene - Monster’s, Inc
39 The car chase - Ronin
38 The Professor’s game - Rounders
37 When Velocoraptors Attack - Jurassic Park
36 The five-man Stand-off - Reservoir Dogs
35 The flying rabbitt - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
34 The buffalo hunt (all of which was real) - Dance with Wolves
33 Ellie Arroway’s trip - Contact
32 In the war room - Dr. Strangelove
31 Bernie falls overboard - Weekend at Bernie’s
30 Bicycle flies past the moon - E.T.
29 Arrival of “the lamp” - A Christmas Story
28 The masquerade party - Eyes Wide Shut
27 Jack finally snaps - The Shining
26 Any of the “Rupert” scenes - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
25 Detective Manfredjensen (Kevin Kline) - A Fish Called Wanda
24 “I’m gonna make Gretzky’s head bleed!” - Swingers
23 The aliens begin their attack - Independence Day
22 Bar fight - Desperado
21 Franks & Beans scene - There’s Something About Mary
20 Scarface’s last stand - Scarface
19 Bill & Ted’s final report - Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
18 Attack of the Ewoks & Full Final Battle - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
17 Ed Rooney (pick your scene) - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
16 Final minutes of the - Titanic Titanic
15 Kaiser Soze’s identity is revealed - The Usual Suspects
14 Fake coke deal - Boogie Nights
13 “You work on commision right?” - Pretty Woman
12 Alien first bursts throught the guy’s chest - Alien
11 Doc Holliday spins cup on finger - Tombstone
10 Yoda meets Dooku - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
9 Roy Hobb’s homerun - The Natural
8 Christ’s flogging & crucifiction - The Passion of the Christ
7 The chariot race - Ben-Hur
6 Singing “Tiny Dancer” on the bus - Almost Famous
5 Han Solo’s heroic return - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
4 Agent Starling’s first encounter with Hannibal - Silence of the Lambs
3 The O.D. scene of Mia Wallace - Pulp Fiction
2 Indiana Jones shoots the swordsman - Raiders of the Lost Ark
1 D-Day Invasion - Saving Private Ryan
Honorable Mention (again in no particular order):
Putting down Old Yeller - “Old Yeller”
Final rumble between Riggs and [Gary Busey] - “Lethal Weapon”
Primal scream in the rain - “Garden State”
Boiling rabbit - “Fatal Attraction”
Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play chopsticks - “Big”
“There’s no crying in baseball!” - “A League of their Own”
The first girl dies in - “Jaws”
Here are scenes I thought of later that should’ve been included in the list, but it is waaaay too much of a pain in the ass to shift all these movies up or down and change all the numbers, etc. Here is a list followed by roughly the ranking it would’ve been:
“These go to 11.” - “This is Spinal Tap” (30)
Ripley finds her failed clones - “Alien Resurrection” (20)
Printer gets a beat down - “Office Space” (15)





