MovieChat Forums > Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1977) Discussion > Top 5 single shots in a film ever (spoil...

Top 5 single shots in a film ever (spoilers)

posted 17 years ago by moviesceleton
27 replies | jump to latest

I posted this on OUATITW board, too, but I'll put it here to get more opinions.

May contain spoilers! (For other films, too)

In no order:
Once Upon A Time In America - The boys running towards camera in slow motion

Once Upon A Time In The West - The first shot of Harmonica's and Frank's duel; at first only Frank is in the picture, then suddenly Harmonica appears from a side of the frame and then camera pulls high and back

Clockwork Orange - Alex and his gang are walking down a street, in slow motion, when Alex suddenly starts beating them

Aguirre: The Wrath of God - The last shot

Taxi Driver - The slow motion shot from bird perspective after the end massacre

What are yours?

"Raid" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229924/), Tapio Piirainen's Finnish masterpiece

[–] justinlittle2004 17 years ago

just a few off the top of my head
-kim novak glowing green in "vertigo"
-Moira Shearer's ballet in "the red shoes" particuarly the slo-mo, confetti falling sequence
-Tatsuya Nakadai (Lord Hidetora) emerging from his the burning fortress in "Ran"
-Larwence slowly coming in to view in the desert "Lawrence of Arabia"
-The killing near the end of "the conformist" - craning shot of stabbing, hand held camera on chase
-Jean-Pierre Leaud (Antoine Doinel) riding in the back of the police wagon through Paris in "400 blows", maybe also the run to the sea
- Montgomery Clift's flashbacks of Liz Taylor at the end of "A Place in The Sun" -amazing

[–] nderrick 17 years ago

--The actors riding through the rapids scared $h|tless for real
--Aguirre throwing a monkey
--The two guys putting algae from their raft in their mouths
--Anal Fisting in Caligula lol
--The two fighters in 'Wind and Cloud, The Storm Riders' running on the water hitting eachother with lazer-force kung fu bubbles that glow blue and red and make really loud zap/explosion sounds
--Chow Yun-Fat sliding down the stairs blowing the guys away in hard boiled
--Arnold jumping out of a plane chasing his parachute in..true lies..fack i cant even remeber what movie of his it was, they are all basically the same one
--man lighting himself on fire in faces of death

CAHNSIHDAHDITDAH DIVOARCE (BAHLAM IN DAH FAYKE WHYFES FAEC)

[–] Frengers 17 years ago

These are all great (except for the anal fisting in Caligula, eewww). But the last shot in Aguirre is utterly breathtaking.

[–] mikelogics 16 years ago

My personal favorite would be the scene in Solyaris between Kelvin and Snaut. The changing juxtaposition of characters inexplicably disorients time and space.

[–] dehumanized 16 years ago

I'd like to say that my favorite shot of the film is also one of my all-time favorites after having just watched this. The shot of Asuara hanging from the tree (only his feet are visible) as the man lies below him eating is absolutely amazing. Great great stuff.

"I've come up hard, baby, but now I'm cool."
-Marvin Gaye

[–] grrrdevin 16 years ago

* The huge pull-back revealing shot in The Keep
* The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's opening shot of an exhumed corpse back-lit by an orange dawn
* The funeral procession in Ran
* The opening shot of Session 9
* All of Once Upon a Time in the West. ALL of it.

"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"

[–] daveysnoek 16 years ago

The revealing ''keep your loving brother happy'' crane shot in Once Upon A Time in the West. I'm not a real big fan of the whole film, but that shot is just cinematic perfection, the best crane shot ever made and couldn't possibly have been shown any other way.

The Children Of Men longtake in which Clive Owen's character makes his way into a bulding while the town is at war. And also the rotating one in the car.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] grrrdevin 16 years ago

Yes, we know.

"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"

[–] pjbrubak 16 years ago

In no order:

Paul Newman at the pool tournament in Color of Money, the way the camera swirls all around him, much like the last shot of Aguirre.

The first shot of Touch of Evil. Unparalleled.

First shot of the Player. Almost as good as Touch of Evil, and longer, but not better.

Yeah, I'd have to agree Alex beating his droogs in slo mo is pretty incredible, probably Kubrick's best individual shot...

Here's an obscure one for ya: Andrei Rublev. You'll find amazing shots throughout.

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need.

[–] mrmgool 16 years ago

I think Children of Men has some of the greatest shots ever captured. These two are both brilliant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQLrnN3qsDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF7d0RJezbs

The opening from Strange Days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlPgm2vAsJ8

The shootout from Hardboiled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTCymujrkMg

The single take fight scene from Tom Yum Goong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1NcElsoVc

The scene in Oldboy where he takes on a gang with a hammer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZenU-R84U

The tracking shot on the beach in Atonement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB8tVQ_pWFA

The scene in Goodfellas where they enter the restaurant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pwVuystKJ0

[–] Caddy_88 15 years ago

I am quite shocked that nobody has mentioned the opening shot of Bela Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies, as well as several other shots in that film. I don't know about a top 5, but that is definitely my favourite shot of all time. It's on youtube if anybody wants to see it. It's simply breathtaking.

[–] robhumanick 15 years ago

The opening of Aguirre. And the zoom-in on Sugar Ray Robinson in Raging Bull (a great film I find overrated on the whole) is pretty much the most intimidating thing I've ever seen.

Other than that, I'd have to parse through 2001 to come up with my other fav's. The whole sequence where the man-apes discover the monolith is ridiculous, but I might have to settle on the closing shot in which the Earth gives way to the Star Child for pure cinematic divinity.

[–] laura-827 15 years ago

I came on these boards looking for a thread like this because I was so taken by the opening shot of Aguirre. The extended sequence of the descent on the mountain shrouded in fog was pure poetry. I'm glad someone else thought it was remarkable.

I think Aguirre has some of the most (naturally) horrifying footage I have ever seen: the extended shot of the river before the party splits. I have never seen water that angry looking, and the thought of being compelled to venture onto it is terrifying. It's not surprising the characters in this story became unhinged.

Great thread.

[–] robhumanick 15 years ago

In a whole film of astounding images, that one always stays in my mind. If you check out the DVD for Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World, there's an interview on the second disc between Werner and Jonathan Demme, who specifically brings up that moment in the film. I was asked to participate in a poll to come up with the 50 greatest films, and for my top ten I made a visual essay of screencaps; the image of the raging waters was one of a handful I considered, and ultimately used.

http://projectionbooth.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-line-review-presents-50 -greatest.html

[–] HulotderSpeiler 15 years ago

Not top 5, but off the top of my head:
Rebbeca: the opening shot
M. Hulot's Holiday: The shot with the lights going on
Touch of Evil: The tracking shot (best by far)
Scarface (31): Opening shot
The Third Man: the windowbox shot
Citizen Kane: 1000 Kanes
The 39 steps: The Shot of the road
Trafic (france 1971): The Misty morning
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: The 2nd to last shot
And every shot in the battleship potemkin is excellent

black and white movies were better

[–] Sturmknecht 15 years ago

Some other great shots from me:

- There will be blood. (Opening shot.)

- Singing in the rain. (Gene Kelly dancing round the lantern.)

- 2001: A Space Odyssey (The sunrise behind the planet. Docking of the spaceshuttle on the station. The first ape inventing a tool.)

- Inglorious Basterds. (The scene Shoshanna puts on her 'war paint'.)

- North by Northwest. (The scene on the crossroad with the plane.)

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