Movie Scenes That Are Practically Flawless

Each of the all-time greatest films has left an impression on audiences across the world for any number of reasons, including perfect direction, excellent performances, a great soundtrack, or an impeccable script. By giving viewers indelible images they can never forget, a film can stand the test of time, creating an unforgettable experience for movie lovers.

Great films are one thing, but a truly great scene is another — a film can prove itself on the strength of its opening, ending, or climax alone if a scene is really something special. Whether it's a huge action set piece, a big emotional moment, a perfect piece of physical comedy, or a master class in creating tension, a truly amazing scene can further the story as well as stand on its own and create its own legacy. From classic Hitchcock moments to Tarantino's bloodiest shots, here are just a few movie scenes that are practically perfect, from the writing and directing to the performances and the overall execution.

The 1996 slasher film Scream, just one of the many horror classics conceived by Wes Craven, was at once a love letter to horror films as well as an effective addition to the genre in its own right. Set in a small town with a history of tragic murders, the film centers on Sidney Prescott, a seemingly normal teen who starts getting mysterious phone calls as she and her friends are stalked by an unknown entity known as "Ghostface." Before Sidney even appears, there is a lengthy opening sequence featuring Drew Barrymore as Casey Becker, a teenager enjoying a night at home when she starts getting some unsettling phone calls.

At first, Casey is unfazed by these odd calls, assuming that the person on the other end of the phone is simply playing a rude prank, but before long, she starts getting nervous, and once she sees her gutted and murdered boyfriend posed in her backyard, her panic intensifies. As her parents arrive home at the end of the evening, the camera zooms in on her mutilated body hanging from a tree on the property, finally cutting to the opening credits and capping off a perfect encapsulation of both Craven's vision and the horror genre.

Adapting the Lord of the Rings series, comprised of three novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, was no easy feat, but clearly one man was up to the job: Peter Jackson, who used his home country of New Zealand as the stand-in for Tolkien's Middle-earth. The films were critical and commercial smashes, with the final installment, The Return of the King, winning a whopping 11 Oscars at the Academy Awards.

In the first of the three films, The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo (Elijah Wood), a timid and inexperienced hobbit of the Shire, embarks on his long journey to destroy the One Ring that could control the entire world, and during his journey with the "fellowship" of nine (made up of hobbits, men, elves, dwarves, and wizards alike), the group must cross through the dangerous Mines of Moria, home to ancient monsters that lurk far underground. When they encounter a Balrog, an enormous demon made of fire, all hope seems lost, until Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), a powerful wizard and Frodo's closest advisor, fights the Balrog, sacrificing himself to get Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship to safety. With still-impressive special effects, an ideal action set piece, and strong performances across the board (especially from McKellen), it's no wonder that "you shall not pass" has become a part of the cultural lexicon.

One of David Fincher's most highly regarded films, 1995's Se7en is a classically dark and twisting thriller from the acclaimed director, as well as one of his first big hits. Starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, the film centers on two detectives, Mills (Pitt) and Somerset (Freeman), tracking a violent and creative serial killer who taunts police by leaving his victims in deliberate arrangements meant to evoke the seven deadly sins. With each crime carefully covered up and meticulously planned, the detectives have no leads until John Doe (Kevin Spacey) arrives at the police station covered in blood to confess.

Doe then leads both detectives to a remote spot in the desert to show them his final crime, revealing that he has been guilty of the sin of envy, leading him to murder Mills' pregnant wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), and presenting Mills with Tracy's head in a box. In response, an enraged Mills shoots Doe — representing wrath and doing exactly what Doe wants. The scene, with its sepia-toned color scheme, tense music, and impeccable performances (especially from Pitt), is a master class in thrillers, especially since the audience never even sees the contents of the box. We don't need to — in fact, the scene is better with just the mental image of gore rather than a direct visual.

Christopher Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise to rave reviews in 2005 with Batman Begins, but that was nothing compared to 2008's The Dark Knight — widely regarded as one of the best films of the decade, as well as the gold standard that future superhero movies would strive for. Nolan cast Heath Ledger (then mainly known for arthouse dramas and teenage romantic comedies) as the Joker to play opposite Christian Bale's Batman, and though the casting was initially controversial, the bet paid off handsomely. Tragically, Ledger passed away in January of 2008 before the film's summer release, but his performance in the film remains one of the best of all time.

There are almost too many incredible scenes featuring Ledger to narrow them down to one, but one of his best occurs when he crashes a high society gala to torment Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), terrorizing guests and throwing glasses of champagne with reckless abandon. The scene is a perfect encapsulation of chaos on any scale — whether that means committing murder or simply making a mess as the Joker traverses the party, cackling as he eats off random trays and explaining his disfigured face.

A great opening can perfectly set the tone for a film, and few are as famous as the sequence that opens Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the classic horror movie that made millions of people suddenly reconsider taking a dip in the ocean. The film itself, which is considered one of the best movies of all time, starred Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider as a marine biologist and police chief trying to take down a man-eating great white shark that is terrorizing a resort town in New England, and though they're ultimately successful, the shark takes several lives in the process.

Thanks to an often unreliable mechanical shark on set, Spielberg ended up not showing his toothy antagonist in many scenes, creating a Hitchcock-esque thriller where the main villain's mere presence evoked fear without even appearing onscreen. This is perfectly displayed in the opening scene: after a party on the beach, a young girl and her boyfriend take a swim, during which they are both attacked and the girl is eaten by the shark. By filming crucial parts of the scene from the shark's perspective and using menacing music by John Williams (which remains one of the top film scores in history), Spielberg takes a "less is more" approach to creating this unforgettable scene.

One of the most famous directors in history, Alfred Hitchcock is responsible for some of the most famous and unforgettable scenes in all of film — arguably led by the murder scene in Psycho. As Marion Crane, a young woman who stops at the Bates Motel, Janet Leigh seems to be the hero of the story — but in a perfect subversion of expectations, Marion is stabbed to death by an unseen attacker while taking a shower at the motel.

The scene, which has no score or music until the murder, focuses tightly on Leigh, which only increases the audience's sense of dread when they see a shadowy figure through the shower curtain. The camera then lingers on Leigh's body, eventually contrasting her open eye with the open drain, allowing for a sense of symmetry. This three-minute scene (with only 45 seconds of action) remains one of the gold standards of the horror genre, so much so that an entire documentary about it, 78/52 (the title refers to the number of setups and cuts it took to accomplish the scene), was released in 2017, offering viewers a whole new insight into this masterful cinematic moment.