My all-time favorite movie scenes

I wrote this back in 2006 on the old TV Guide web site. They still are my all-time favorite, even five years later! I hope they get you thinking of those all-time scenes that are personal to you (Warning: some spoilers!):

What are my 10 favorite, best scenes of all time? The films may or may not be all-timers; however, most of them border on the great.

1. “West Side Story” – When Tony and Maria meet in the gym, the surrounding scene blurs and they begin to dance to a syncopated version of “Maria.” This chokes me up every time I see it. Now this is love at first sight!

2. “2001 – A Space Odyssey” – The Bone-Into-The-Space-Station transition. What a way to leap forward into the storyline. It just reeks of symbolism and all sorts of things.

3. “Alien” – The Chest Burst. I saw this on opening day in Westwood with a full crowd, and nobody, I mean nobody, knew that was coming. Everyone was screaming. They had to pry me off the ceiling!

4. “The Usual Suspects” – The shattered saucer/teacup. Then the cut to the notice board. Wham! I like to pride myself that I can figure endings out pretty well, but that one totally blind-sided me.

5. “Psycho” – The you-know-what. Janet Leigh was one of my first infatuations as a kid, and I was absolutely horrified and totally unprepared for it. This is the truth…I had a family friend who refused to take a shower for years after that film came out.

6. “Forbidden Planet” – The monster attacking the force field fence. I was young, but the combination of the animated creature and the roaring sound effect had me riveted to my seat. I still get chills when I see the scene remembering all those years ago.

7. “Dr. Strangelove, Or…” – Slim Pickens ridin’ the Highway to Hell. I was 14, the Cold War was at its height, and that image was so outrageous, and I would have never thought of that vision in a million years.

8. “It’s a Wonderful Life” – The ending when George realizes all the friends he has. The singing of “Auld Lang Syne” and George saying “Attaboy, Clarence!” gets me misty every time! This is my second favorite film of all time.

9. “Reservoir Dogs” – The torture scene – I will never hear “Stuck in the Middle with You” quite the same way again.

10. “Jaws” – “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” ‘Nuff said.