A Fistful of Moments Blogathon

Andrew over at A Fistful of Thoughts has started a blogathon that revolves around, well, your favorite cinematic moments. The rules follow as such:

1) Pick a number between 1 and 100 (any more than 100 is just gaudy)
2) Choose that many cinematic moments that are either your all time favorites or ones that could, on any given day, be your all time favorites
3) Post them on your blog (or Tumblr or whatever) with the above header (or one you create for yourself)
4) Send me the link by either posting it here in the comments or getting ahold of me on Twitter (@fististhoughts)

But what qualifies for a cinematic moment? Well, Andrew explains it as this:

We all have them in the back of our minds; those moments that make us think "man, this is what the movies are all about". We relive those moments in our mind's eye, remembering them and dissecting them and adoring them. They come in all shapes and sizes, from all types of films, and yet they all share one very important aspect; they define why we love the movies. It could be the way that the moment is cut; the way it's edited together. It could be the way the moment uses its actors to evoke a powerful emotion from us. It could be the way that music floods the scene and draws us even closer to the moment in question. It could be a grand climax, a breathtaking introduction or a simple interchange. It could be any and all things, because for every film lover, the list is different.

Having seen a wide array of films over the last several years, it wasn't easy to select just a few (or, in this case, ten) moments. But thankfully I persevered. My choices start after the jump.

1. The tap dance down the stairs in Yankee Doodle Dandy. This is easily a moment that always brings a smile to my face when I think about it. It's a small moment but it's one that I think helped get James Cagney that well-deserved Oscar.
2. The final scene of Le Week-End. Though not a film that was great (at least in my eyes), its last scene had me leaving the theater with a small smile on my face. (You know, the kind you get from an inside joke.) And Andrew, I think you might like its homage to one of your moments.
3. "The Man That Got Away" from A Star Is Born. God, the chills this song gave me when I first heard it. This proved that even with her crashing lows, Judy Garland could still dominate the screen.
4. The final scene of Zorba the Greek. Again, another small moment that brings a smile to my face when I think about it. It's the simple things sometimes.
5. The opening shots of Manhattan. Finally, a moment without singing or dancing! Along with the opening shots for Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen pretty much effortlessly established the whole mood of the film just from this sequence.
6. The reveal of Tony Wilson in Seconds. God, I always love seeing movie stars prove themselves as legit actors. And Rock Hudson's first scene in this film is a prime example.
7. The final scene in Captain Phillips. Can someone please explain to me how the hell Tom Hanks didn't get an Oscar nomination for this film? I mean, this scene alone should have gotten him one. (Hell, he probably would've won too.)
8. Montgomery Clift's scene in Judgment at Nuremberg. Bear in mind that this film was released at a time when Clift's career was in turmoil. It was this lone scene that proved how great of an actor he was.
9. Colonel Brandon's introduction in Sense and Sensibility. This was such a lovely moment. The look on his face when he listens to Marianne's singing...God, it was beautifully done.
10. The entirety of The Apartment. How ironic that Billy Wilder's previous film ended with the line of "Well, nobody's perfect!" and then proceeds to make a film that is perfect. Ah, life and its little ironies.

If you want to participate in this blogathon, the link's attached above. Oh, and you have until April 6th to submit your entries.