9 Comments
author

Been debating this one for a couple of days and I guess I've settled on 1917. The scene where Schofield wakes after suffering a head injury and struggles to regain his bearings while flares are temporarily illuminating the battle-torn village. He comes under fire and as he runs for his life he's confused, scared, and disoriented, unable to discern enemy from friend in the chaos. The visuals are intense and amazing and the music is used extraordinarily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xolxw74qqgw

Expand full comment

Oh man. Hard question because there are so many great contenders…but the one that immediately came to mind is when the beacons are lit in Return of the King. The expanse, the sudden surprise of light beaming from an unexpected location, the shift in direction to see another, and another, and another further on — all with the message that when you feel alone in the biggest battle, you’re not, and help is on the way. 🙌🏻

Expand full comment
Oct 10, 2023Liked by Vince Guerra

Gravity's opening sequence is amazing. I already nominated House of Flying Daggers for something else. 300 had some stunning, albeit very violent sequences.

Christopher Nolan immediately came to mind. Tenet or Inception? Inception. Do I need to narrow it down to a specific scene? I hope not. The entire movie is filled with countless sequences that take one's breath away.

Expand full comment
author

And the winner is, Shannon, with Return of the Kings beacons of Minas Tirith. Congratulations, Shannon, you get to choose Mondays question.

Expand full comment

I'm going with the initial docking scene in 2001, set to "Also Sprach Zarathustra". With a passing acknowledgment of the outrageous beauty of many landscapes employed throughout film history, I settled on this scene because Kubrick raises the bar so far, so fast, straight out of the gate.

Expand full comment

I would say til this day, I still haven’t watched a film with more beautiful sequences than Zhang Yimou’s Hero. It’s difficult picking just one sequence out of all the color-theme sequences. It seems like they went to the most gorgeous places in China to film. So many shots are just paintings. But, I’ll nominate Flying Snow vs Moon’s red leaves fight. Beautiful setting, beautiful women, stunningly poetic.

https://youtu.be/p9keMBIyPnA?si=TbgxOpPW2PII5VgL Couldn’t find an HD version that showed the whole sequence.

Expand full comment

For some reason, this one cuts the clip like several seconds before the end of the scene.

Expand full comment

Gotcha! Either clip is enough to intrigue me :)

Expand full comment