Trailer Tuesday: the most epic movie moments of all time

Luca Fontana

9.6.2020

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

They're unforgettable, those moments that make a movie more than just some images and a score. Moments of pure emotion. Of joy, sadness and anger. They're simply epic.

Epic. An adjective reserved for things that are too grandiose and too meaningful to «only» be called great. Today I'll be using it to describe five movie moments that no other adjective could ever do justice to. They completely immersed me, whether at home or at the movies. They made me cheer – or just quietly hold back a tear.

Moments I'll never forget.

Thank you user @bkeleanor for the idea for this Trailer Tuesday special.

Fifth place: Eye Opener – «Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring»

Epic «Lord of the Rings» moments? They deserve their own special. User Atalantanaa suggested the scene in which Gandalf and the Rohirrim ride down the ridge to Helm's Deep. I almost added it to the list.

But I decided on a different scene. One from the first installation in the trilogy. It's calmer. Less heroic. But more moving, in a strange way. I remember seeing it in cinemas when I was 13 years old. I remember exactly how the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was a moment that made me realise for the first time that this film was different from anything I had ever seen before.

Moria. The companions are trying to get through the dwarven mines without being discovered by orcs or trolls – or something worse. Then, after days in the darkness, they reach the dwarven city of Dwarrowdelf. Gandalf conjures up some light, and a gigantic, mile-long hall full of towering columns appears. Accompanied by Alan Horn's moving score. And Sam, like he can read my mind, whispers, «There's an eye opener, ain't no mistake.»

Cinema release: 19 December 2001
Earnings: 887.8 million dollars

Fourth place: The Revelation - «Gladiator»

Maximus, good and just, is the true Commander of the Roman Legions of the North. His men are so devoted to him that the ageing emperor Aurelius wants to appoint him as his successor. But Aurelius is strangled by his jealous son, Commodus. Commodus springs his trap: out of fear he has Maximus killed and his wife and child crucified and burned. What Commodus doesn't know: Maximus survived and escaped. Barely.

Slave traders kidnapped Maximus and sold him to a gladiator school in Africa. There, the grieving husband and former commander goes into the service of Antonius Proximo. The he gets an opportunity to go to Rome and fight there as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Now that Commodus is Emperor. That is where Maximus' long-awaited vengeance lies.

The scene: Maximus confronting Commodus. Quietly. But determined. Commodus looks like he's seen a ghost. 20 years on, I still get goose bumps. In my opinion, it's the greatest moment of the whole film.

Cinema release: 4 May 2000
Earnings: 460.6 million dollars

Third place: The Envoy – «300»

There's a settlement on the Malian Gulf in Greece – Thermopylae. In the 5th century B.C., the Spartan king Leonidas is said to have defied the Persian army of king Xerxes there with just 300 men. The story, handed down by the ancient historian Herodotus, served as a canvas for Frank Miller's comic, which in turn is the baseline for Zack Snyder's film of the same name: «300».

The movie? A masterpiece of visual might. The most iconic scene? The one where Leonidas kicks the Persian envoy down the well. But not in any conventional way. First, the Spartan king diplomatically digests all the hidden and overt threats of the envoy, who announces the approach of the self-appointed god-king Xerxes – as well as the chance to surrender by symbolically handing over earth and water.

But Leonidas doesn't accept. He turns away. Looks at his queen. Her eyes are steely. Her face fearless. She nods. Not giving her consent. She signals unity. Leonidas turns back. Draws his sword. Holds it to the ambassador's throat. Earth and water, you'll find plenty of both down there, Leonidas says pointing towards the abyssal well behind the emissary. Followed by a powerful kick. The envoy falls to his death. The war has begun.

Release date: 7 March 2007
Earnings: 456.1 million dollars

Second place: The training montage – «Rocky»

I love this movie. Sure, it's a story about an underdog that no one believes in. But he still fights and wins, it's nothing new. In «Rocky» however, it's implemented so well that it was enough for nine Oscar nominations in 1977. The film won three of them, «Best Movie» among them.

Yet «Rocky» could just as well be the film adaptation of the life's story of screenwriter and lead actor Sylvester Stallone. What you must know: before the movie came out, this American actor lived on the street, on the brink of criminality. Then the infamous title fight between Chuck Wepner and Muhammad Ali inspired him to write the story for «Rocky». Three days later the finished script was ready. The rest is history.

One scene in particular remains in the collective memory of Western culture: Rocky running up the stairs towards Philadelphia's Museum of Art in a grey tracksuit. With Bill Conti's theme song playing in the background. At the top, he stretches his fists skywards – the highlight of his training. And one of the most iconic images in movie history.

Release date in cinemas: 21 November 1976
Box office results: 117.2 million dollars

First place: Binary Sunset – «Star Wars: Episode IV»

I've shown you some examples of what I consider to be the most epic film scenes of all time. But none of them surpass this one: Luke Skywalker staring at a double sunset.

Why? Because the scene is perfect in every respect. No words needed. No dialogue. No montage. Just the perfect interplay of image and music in a single camera frame. A picture that tells a whole story. The story of a farm boy who dreams of great deeds and epic adventures. Things waiting for him on the other side of the sunset. There, somewhere beyond the distant dunes of Tatooine.

Just – these things won't probably ever happen. Luke gave up on them a long time ago. He's accepted his life as a moisture farmer on a desert planet. He doesn't yet know that he's about to be drawn into the Star Wars himself: an adventure full of danger, princesses, villains and wizards. As well as a battle for the fate of an entire galaxy.

Cinema release: 25 May 1977
Earnings: 775.5 million dollars

Do you agree with my list? Which moment did I leave out? Let me know by commenting below. Then we can discuss further.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more