1. Opening Scene to Star Wars: A New Hope.
This film should be studied for years to understand how all movies should start. Those little blue letters about a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...and then BOOOOOOM! John Williams hits you with that horn section, and the letters scroll up, and then you see that huuuuuge star destroyer, cut to where there's warning klaxons going on all over, the robots are running one way, the ship's crew are running the other, and then everyone gets in place.
It's quiet. A few ominous sounds of metal-on-metal, and then BLAMO again, as the stormtroopers blow up the door and start blasting everybody. And then, you guys, in the middle of this white-ish door steps through Darth f--king Vader.
2. The Scene In That One Church from Saving Private Ryan
Medic Wade: Actually, the trick to falling asleep is trying to stay awake.
Mellish: How is that, Wade?
Medic Wade: Well, when my mother was an intern, she used to work late through the night... sleep through the day. So the only time we'd ever get to talk about anything is when she'd get home. So what I... I used to do, I used to lie in my bed and try to stay awake as long as I could, but it never worked 'cause... 'cause the harder I'd try, the faster I'd fall asleep.
Private Reiben: Yeah well, that wouldn't have mattered none in my house. My ma, she would've come home, shook me awake, chatted me up 'til dawn. I swear that woman was never too tired to talk.
Mellish: That was probably the only time she could get a word in.
Medic Wade: Only thing is, sometimes she'd come home early, and I'd pretend to be asleep.
Mellish: Who, your mom?
Medic Wade: Yeah. She'd stand in the doorway looking at me... and I'd just keep my eyes shut. And I knew she just wanted to find out about my day - that she came home early... just to talk to me. And I still wouldn't move... I'd still pretend to just be asleep. I don't know why I did that.
Gets me every time.
3. Closing Scene to Field of Dreams.
Where he asks his dead dad to go play catch? Oh man, you'd have to be some sort of cold unfeeling robot (or a girl) to not cry at that. I don't know if women will understand that movie at all- probably not. It's probably like Brian's Song in its ability to make men cry, while women don't get it. So remember, sports-obsessed culture, if you want to tug on the heartstrings, make a movie about sports. Or war. Or wargames. I cry every time I play tic-tac-toe, now. Only Jordan will get that joke.
4. The scene in The Jerk where Navin gets randomly shot at.
I laugh throughout this movie, but never as hard as when Navin gets overenthusiastic about the Phone Book: "The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here! Things are going to start happening to me, now!" Cut to scene of maniacal killer selecting his victim at random from the phone book: "Navin R. Johnson, random sonofabitch milkface bastard."
And then the cans. "He hates these cans! STAY AWAY FROM THE CANS!!!" Steve Martin's horror when he finds that he's accidentally taken refuge behind a Coca-Cola machine is priceless.
5. Rain Scene from The Notebook.
It's so over the top that I can't help secretly liking it. "I wrote you every day for a year. It wasn't over. It's still not over." Ker-smooooooooooooooooch.
That's it. Those are the five best, ever. Everybody else go home. Where are you going to go from there? Forget about it.
