Top 10 Classic Movie Moments That Give Us Chills
classic movies, iconic film scenes, Psycho shower scene, Wizard of Oz, Sunset Boulevard, The Godfather, Network, 2001 A Space Odyssey, It's a Wonderful Life, Jaws, Casablanca, Planet of the Apes, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Swanson, Charlton Heston, film history, Hollywood classics, cinema masterpieces, watchMojo, watch mojo, mojo, top 10, list,
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most iconic scenes from the classic era. For this list, we’re counting classic movies as ones that were released before 1980.
When Dorothy Gale opens the door and her world is suddenly filled with glorious Technicolor, movie audiences the world over were dazzled. But it’s the ending of “The Wizard of Oz,” where Dorothy must leave Oz and finally return home, that sticks with audiences. After her tearful goodbye to her newfound friends, she wakes up in her old bedroom with a bump on her head. Oz was just a dream, but it taught her the most important lesson. Her realization that she always had what she needed hits hard no matter how old you are.
Gloria Swanson plays what could be considered a funhouse version of herself in “Sunset Boulevard.” She was a former silent actress whose career fell off after the advent of sound, although not to the extent of her character, Norma Desmond. At the end of the film, Norma has totally surrendered to her fantasies. She makes a grand descent down her staircase to greet the police and reporters who have amassed at her home. Her immortal line, “I’m ready for my closeup,” is both creepy and heartbreaking. She is totally gone, thinking they’re there to make a movie, not to arrest her. She creeps slowly toward the camera, making direct eye contact with us as the screen blurs and fades.
Don Vito Corleone[a] sends his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to deal with a greedy film mogul who is sabotaging his godson’s career. When he won’t listen to reason, the man wakes up with blankets full of blood. It’s not his own. It belongs to his beloved horse, whose head has been placed at the foot of his bed. The masterful reveal and the studio mogul’s anguished screams are chilling and the viewer sees evidence of just how far Don Vito Corleone is willing to go to get what he wants. It sends the message of how dangerous these seemingly polite guys are without having to show them do the dirty work on camera.
When news anchor Howard Beale begins to have a nervous breakdown on air, his producers do the only sane thing they can think of: they monetize it. Putting him on air every night, they allow Beale to rant and rave at the American public about his own disillusionment. The ratings explode. In the movie’s most famous scene, Beale gives a directive to his viewing audience. People start to resonate with his anger so much that they follow his instruction to yell out of their windows about how mad they are at the state of the world. His outrage becomes contagious until all the country seems to be yelling with him.
Stanley Kubrick’s deeply cryptic and symbol-heavy science fiction epic is a true cinematic marvel. From the dawn of the primate age to the colorful and metaphysical themes of the climactic stargate sequence, “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a goosebumpy experience. But early on, it makes one of the longest time jumps imaginable. It suddenly cuts from a group of apes using a bone to kill one of its own to a manmade satellite floating through space, set against the music of Johann Strauss. The movie encapsulates all of human progress, from its first use of weapons to its exploration of space, in that one split-second of film.
Despite its reputation as feel-good holiday fare, this Jimmy Stewart classic actually goes to some pretty dark places. After a massive amount of money is misplaced, George Bailey contemplates taking his own life. Fortunately, his guardian angel’s intervention convinces him otherwise. It’s at this key point that George realizes his worth as a human being. He runs screaming with joy through the snow-covered streets of Bedford Falls before going home. Once there, he finds his neighbors have taken up a collection to pay off his massive debts, and then we all cry forever.
While Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster about a killer great white shark has more than its fair share of spine-tingling scares, its most chilling moment is also one of its quietest. Late one night in the bowels of his small ship, Quint shares that he was among the survivors of the real-life sinking of the USS Indianapolis. He watched and listened as his fellow soldiers were devoured by sharks. His knowledge of how vicious these creatures can be comes firsthand. Menacing English actor Robert Shaw delivers this whiskey-soaked monologue with all the gravitas of a man telling a campfire ghost story.
Melodrama mixes with patriotism and duty in this unforgettable wartime romance. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman play two people torn apart by the breakout of World War II. Bogart plays Rick Blaine, a politically neutral American expat caught between war and Ilsa, the love of his life. But the two realize there’s a greater good to be served by Ilsa getting on a plane out of Casablanca with her freedom fighter husband instead of staying with him. It’s a beautiful representation of the duty many Americans felt as the country’s men went off to war. His iconic monologue to her before she goes is still among the best dialogue ever written.
Even an audience who had experienced the twist endings of “The Twilight Zone” were probably left breathless by the shocker that awaits Charlton Heston at the end of “Planet of the Apes.” Heston is an astronaut who spends the movie thinking he’s crash landed on some distant planet where non-human primates reign supreme. At the end of the film, he and his companion come upon the ruins of the Statue of Liberty. To his horror, he realizes that he crash landed not on another planet but on an Earth far in the future. Mankind has destroyed itself with nuclear weapons and now apes are in charge.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
In 1960, audiences were not accustomed to seeing violence and nudity on screen. Alfred Hitchcock gave them both at once. Midway through “Psycho,” Marion Crane is knifed to death in the Bates Motel shower. Jagged cuts and shrill strings on the soundtrack accompany what may be the most famous murder scene in movie history. It’s a shocking and vicious end for the character we thought was our protagonist. Hitchcock had to battle with censors to stay true to his vision for the sequence. We’re fortunate he did. The final result is a prime example of why he was known as the master of suspense and is one of the most famous sequences in cinema history.
What classic movie moments did we miss? Tell us in the comments.
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#10: “No Place Like Home”
“The Wizard of Oz” (1939)When Dorothy Gale opens the door and her world is suddenly filled with glorious Technicolor, movie audiences the world over were dazzled. But it’s the ending of “The Wizard of Oz,” where Dorothy must leave Oz and finally return home, that sticks with audiences. After her tearful goodbye to her newfound friends, she wakes up in her old bedroom with a bump on her head. Oz was just a dream, but it taught her the most important lesson. Her realization that she always had what she needed hits hard no matter how old you are.
#9: “I’m Ready for My Closeup”
“Sunset Boulevard” (1950)Gloria Swanson plays what could be considered a funhouse version of herself in “Sunset Boulevard.” She was a former silent actress whose career fell off after the advent of sound, although not to the extent of her character, Norma Desmond. At the end of the film, Norma has totally surrendered to her fantasies. She makes a grand descent down her staircase to greet the police and reporters who have amassed at her home. Her immortal line, “I’m ready for my closeup,” is both creepy and heartbreaking. She is totally gone, thinking they’re there to make a movie, not to arrest her. She creeps slowly toward the camera, making direct eye contact with us as the screen blurs and fades.
#8: The Horse’s Head
“The Godfather” (1972)Don Vito Corleone[a] sends his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to deal with a greedy film mogul who is sabotaging his godson’s career. When he won’t listen to reason, the man wakes up with blankets full of blood. It’s not his own. It belongs to his beloved horse, whose head has been placed at the foot of his bed. The masterful reveal and the studio mogul’s anguished screams are chilling and the viewer sees evidence of just how far Don Vito Corleone is willing to go to get what he wants. It sends the message of how dangerous these seemingly polite guys are without having to show them do the dirty work on camera.
#7: “Mad As Hell!”
“Network” (1976)When news anchor Howard Beale begins to have a nervous breakdown on air, his producers do the only sane thing they can think of: they monetize it. Putting him on air every night, they allow Beale to rant and rave at the American public about his own disillusionment. The ratings explode. In the movie’s most famous scene, Beale gives a directive to his viewing audience. People start to resonate with his anger so much that they follow his instruction to yell out of their windows about how mad they are at the state of the world. His outrage becomes contagious until all the country seems to be yelling with him.
#6: Bone to Satellite
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)Stanley Kubrick’s deeply cryptic and symbol-heavy science fiction epic is a true cinematic marvel. From the dawn of the primate age to the colorful and metaphysical themes of the climactic stargate sequence, “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a goosebumpy experience. But early on, it makes one of the longest time jumps imaginable. It suddenly cuts from a group of apes using a bone to kill one of its own to a manmade satellite floating through space, set against the music of Johann Strauss. The movie encapsulates all of human progress, from its first use of weapons to its exploration of space, in that one split-second of film.
#5: The Richest Man in Town
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)Despite its reputation as feel-good holiday fare, this Jimmy Stewart classic actually goes to some pretty dark places. After a massive amount of money is misplaced, George Bailey contemplates taking his own life. Fortunately, his guardian angel’s intervention convinces him otherwise. It’s at this key point that George realizes his worth as a human being. He runs screaming with joy through the snow-covered streets of Bedford Falls before going home. Once there, he finds his neighbors have taken up a collection to pay off his massive debts, and then we all cry forever.
#4: Quint’s Indianapolis Story
“Jaws” (1975)While Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster about a killer great white shark has more than its fair share of spine-tingling scares, its most chilling moment is also one of its quietest. Late one night in the bowels of his small ship, Quint shares that he was among the survivors of the real-life sinking of the USS Indianapolis. He watched and listened as his fellow soldiers were devoured by sharks. His knowledge of how vicious these creatures can be comes firsthand. Menacing English actor Robert Shaw delivers this whiskey-soaked monologue with all the gravitas of a man telling a campfire ghost story.
#3: “Here’s Looking At You, Kid”
“Casablanca” (1942)Melodrama mixes with patriotism and duty in this unforgettable wartime romance. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman play two people torn apart by the breakout of World War II. Bogart plays Rick Blaine, a politically neutral American expat caught between war and Ilsa, the love of his life. But the two realize there’s a greater good to be served by Ilsa getting on a plane out of Casablanca with her freedom fighter husband instead of staying with him. It’s a beautiful representation of the duty many Americans felt as the country’s men went off to war. His iconic monologue to her before she goes is still among the best dialogue ever written.
#2: The Statue of Liberty
“Planet of the Apes” (1968)Even an audience who had experienced the twist endings of “The Twilight Zone” were probably left breathless by the shocker that awaits Charlton Heston at the end of “Planet of the Apes.” Heston is an astronaut who spends the movie thinking he’s crash landed on some distant planet where non-human primates reign supreme. At the end of the film, he and his companion come upon the ruins of the Statue of Liberty. To his horror, he realizes that he crash landed not on another planet but on an Earth far in the future. Mankind has destroyed itself with nuclear weapons and now apes are in charge.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Beach Kiss, “From Here to Eternity” (1953)
Lovers Burt Lancaster & Deborah Kerr[b] Are Swept Up in the WavesThe Head Turn, “The Exorcist” (1973)
Two Priests Battle for a Little Girl’s Soul & Get More Than They Bargained ForChariot Race, “Ben-Hur” (1959)
This Sequence Is One of the Most Famous Action Sequences in MoviesThe Subway Grate, “The Seven Year Itch” (1955)
Easily Marilyn Monroe’s Most Famous On-Screen Moment“Stella!”, “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1952)
Marlon Brando’s Magnetic Performance Made Him a Star in This Moment#1: The Shower Scene
“Psycho” (1960)In 1960, audiences were not accustomed to seeing violence and nudity on screen. Alfred Hitchcock gave them both at once. Midway through “Psycho,” Marion Crane is knifed to death in the Bates Motel shower. Jagged cuts and shrill strings on the soundtrack accompany what may be the most famous murder scene in movie history. It’s a shocking and vicious end for the character we thought was our protagonist. Hitchcock had to battle with censors to stay true to his vision for the sequence. We’re fortunate he did. The final result is a prime example of why he was known as the master of suspense and is one of the most famous sequences in cinema history.
What classic movie moments did we miss? Tell us in the comments.
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con-sill-YAIRY https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/8e325a8d-47cc-42ab-92d1-af8557e65a71HAY-ghin https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/60f397cc-0a41-4c32-a957-bd2b5d8eb005
[b]debra car https://youtu.be/x_khgLKHvNw?si=DkqZBdKahFWyUmWm&t=63
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