Brando knew how to die

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Nine or ten years ago I raved about Marlon Brando's inspired air-bubble death scene in Edward Dmytryk's The Young Lions, which I happened to watch again last night on DVD. The scene is the second to last one, as I recall (I can't locate the original Mr. Showbiz posting), and I don't think anyone has died since with such remarkable delicacy and finesse.

Brando's Christian Diestl is in a German forest not far from an abandoned concentration camp, sick of war and soldiering and bashing his rifle against a tree in a mad rage. He then runs down a hillside and right into the rifle sights of Army G.I. Dean Martin, who immediately opens up. The fatally wounded Brando tumbles down the hill and lands head-first in a shallow stream.

The camera goes in tight; his mouth and nose are submerged. A series of rapidly- popping air bubbles begin hitting the surface -- pup-pup-pup-pup-pup-pup-pup -- and then slower, slower and slower still. And then -- this is the mad genius of Brando -- four or five seconds after they've stopped altogether, a final tiny bubble pops through. There somethiing about that last little pup that devastates all to hell.

I've sure I'm prejudiced toward Brando. (He also died brilliantly in Viva Zapata, tucking himself into a kneeling fetal ball with his arms outstretched and his palms facing up as he's riddled with bullets fired by an ambush posse of several Mexican soldiers.) I'm sure many others have died just as vividly. If anyone can describe an exceptionally fine death scene -- one so good you can only go "wow" -- please share.

One of the absolute worst death scenes of all time is when Burt Reynolds is shot at the end of Robert Aldrich's Hustle. The way he falls and breathes his last is atrocious.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 1, 2007 at 2:36 PM

comment #1

Mark says ...

Tim Robbins' in Mystic River. i'm not a big fan of that movie, but what a memorable scene.

Posted by Mark at March 1, 2007 3:27 PM

comment #2

115thDreamer says ...

Well, the first scene to come to mind in recent years is Spacey in "LA Confidential". In part it's just the drawn-out, quiet way in which he plays it, but it's also devastating because his character is actually trying to redeem himself with his investigation, and his death is almost too ironic to take. And, of course it also hurts because Spacey is fantastic in "LA Confidential" and we don't want to see him go.

Posted by 115thDreamer at March 1, 2007 3:27 PM

comment #3

Breedlove says ...

Brando was the fucking man. One death scene that always stood out to me in terms of just sheer kitchen-sink realism is Don Cheadle in 'Out of Sight.' It's not a big drawn-out scene, there's no dialogue. He's shot in the head and he justs drops really really fast and is instantly still. It just looks real to me.

Posted by Breedlove at March 1, 2007 3:31 PM

comment #4

Josh Massey says ...

I know Jeff won't agree with this, but the most disturbing death scene I've experienced was the nude woman's in Munich.

Posted by Josh Massey at March 1, 2007 3:32 PM

comment #5

joncro says ...

Remember when the pool playing crow died in 'Fritz the Cat'? crazy..........

Posted by joncro at March 1, 2007 3:35 PM

comment #6

ratskiwatski says ...

Jesus, I lurk for a year and *this* is what finally
smokes me out... Partial as can be to Brando's expiry in "Last Tango" myself... and not to get all AFI on the Proprietor, but you've gotta give a nice shiny Participation Ribbon to the tremendous flop after the non-fatal hit in "The Godfather." Even Ulrich Muhe gives it a 9.5...

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 1, 2007 3:36 PM

comment #7

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Massey: No, you're right...that stayed with me, that scene. One of the Israeli assassins wanted to close her pajama top so she'd have some dignity in death, and another said, "No, leave her exposed." Or words to that effect.

Posted by gruver1 at March 1, 2007 3:37 PM

comment #8

Telemachos says ...

Steve McQueen in THE SAND PEBBLES.

Posted by Telemachos at March 1, 2007 3:40 PM

comment #9

jeffmcm says ...

Cruddy movie, but Kurt Russell's death in Poseidon was pretty effective - he actually looked like he was gulping water into his lungs.

Posted by jeffmcm at March 1, 2007 3:42 PM

comment #10

Craig Kennedy says ...

Chief smothering Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

And of a different timbre: The demise of Leondard Smalls in Raising Arizona.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at March 1, 2007 3:44 PM

comment #11

ratskiwatski says ...

Why am I guessing Tony Kushner won't be taking any fact-checking calls on that one...

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 1, 2007 3:47 PM

comment #12

colby says ...

Adam Goldberg being stabbed from Saving Private Ryan.

Posted by colby at March 1, 2007 3:55 PM

comment #13

bmcintire says ...

jeffmcm - have to second you on POSEIDON. Russel's death almost took me out of the catatonia I'd been experiencing in the theater up to that point - after the boat turns over, that is. Kurt rocks.

Posted by bmcintire at March 1, 2007 3:58 PM

comment #14

Nick Rogers says ...

Nicky Katt dying by arrow in "Sin City" is hilarious: "Hey. Will ya look at that? It's right through me. Guys, look. It's cut a hole right through me."

Posted by Nick Rogers at March 1, 2007 4:04 PM

comment #15

Geoff says ...

That scene in Saving Private Ryan always frustrated me. I actually don't like watching it. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the Upham character being such a fucking wimp at that moment. And then when he ends up shooting the guy just a little later I start to become really conflicted and confused as to what the movie is trying to say. I don't know, great movie though.

Posted by Geoff at March 1, 2007 4:07 PM

comment #16

Nick Rogers says ...

As far as one of the more modern worst death scenes, DiCaprio ruins the good will of his quick death in "The Departed" with his endless wheezing, 10-minute demise in "Blood Diamond." Worst. Death Scene. Ev ... of 2006.

Posted by Nick Rogers at March 1, 2007 4:09 PM

comment #17

ArchiveGuy says ...

Sorry, Geoff, the soldier that kills Goldberg and the soldier that Upham kills later are different people. The soldier Upham kills is the one they captured (after Ribisi's death) and let go earlier in the movie.

The ending of "Ashes and Diamonds" still reverberates for me.

Posted by ArchiveGuy at March 1, 2007 4:19 PM

comment #18

Matthew says ...

Robert De Niro has a great death scene in HEAT. The way he's laid out in such an unconfortable position (strikes me a realistic). Plus the connection between his character and Pacino's. Perfert end to a great movie. Another one might be Paul Newman in COOL HAND LUKE. Not sure if this should neccessarily count, as its less about him dying and more about being surprised he's shot, but I've always loved his last line "What we've got here is a failure to communicate" followed immediately by the shot.

Posted by Matthew at March 1, 2007 4:30 PM

comment #19

ratskiwatski says ...

Matthew: Spot on re DeNiro - that last (not too) forced exhalation...technically flawless. As for Pacino, bless him, one of the worst - Godfather III. When he drops, it reads like a Blake Edwards sight gag...

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 1, 2007 4:38 PM

comment #20

slothroplt says ...

COLBY: "Adam Goldberg being stabbed from Saving Private Ryan."

Seconded. That scene is just BRUTAL to watch. Absolutely BRUTAL.

Posted by slothroplt at March 1, 2007 4:38 PM

comment #21

MichaelC says ...

Amen to the person who said Kevin Spacey in LA Confidential. That was the first thing that popped into my mind and would probably top my list of the best ever.

After some thought I would add to that list:

- William H. Macy in Boogie Nights
- Bill Nunn in Do the Right Thing
- The Child stuck in the wall in The Pianist
- The execution scene from Paths of Glory
- The duel at the very end of Sanjuro (My jaw hit the floor the first time I saw that scene)

and of course

- Hal 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Posted by MichaelC at March 1, 2007 4:41 PM

comment #22

gruver1 says ...

Wells to MichaelC: HAL's death in "2001", ohmygod...excellent call. Ditto the firing-squad scene in "Paths of Glory."

Posted by gruver1 at March 1, 2007 4:50 PM

comment #23

Geoff says ...

The slow motion shot of Hans Gruber looking into the camera as he begins his 40 story plunge in Die Hard. I've always loved it.

Posted by Geoff at March 1, 2007 4:59 PM

comment #24

T. S. Idiot says ...

I agree with Geoff about Private Ryan. Upham is ridiculed as a coward yet still gets to be a hero for killing a kraut. This sort of illogic runs throughout Spielberg. The bullies in ET are bad, yet they still get to soar into the sky with Elliott.

Back to Brando: The only memorable moment in The Score comes when the camera stares at length at an immobile Brando as he watches a TV news report about the heist. It's almost as if he's dead. Then his upper lip twitches slightly, the most subtle display of disappointment in the history of movies. Brando one of the few who can be equally brilliant at being over the top and subtle.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at March 1, 2007 5:07 PM

comment #25

ratskiwatski says ...

Even more Brando - perfect framing and dialogue... close on eyes shocked open from a dead sleep by Jaaaack...

"You what just woke you up? You just got your throat cut."

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 1, 2007 5:18 PM

comment #26

jeffmcm says ...

What you guys are claiming as 'illogic' in SPR or ET is actually irony. What tells you that Upham is considered a 'hero' at the end of the movie? He was reacting out of fear and weakness - his shooting the soldier is not a high point. The 'bullies' are kids who act like kids, but rescue ET and Elliot.

Posted by jeffmcm at March 1, 2007 5:22 PM

comment #27

Geoff says ...

Yeah yeah yeah. We all know what irony is, some chick even wrote a song about it in the 90's.

Posted by Geoff at March 1, 2007 5:27 PM

comment #28

rocco says ...

Goldberg's scene in 'SPR' is god awful...

...but I don't think Spielberg was trying to show any kind of transformation had taken place in Upham, it reverberated more as a metaphor for the randomness and demoralization that engulfs war...blah, whatever...

Radio Raheem's death in 'DTRT'...great call...always a scene I expected him to get up from...every time I watch it.

...how about Giovanni Ribisi's death scene in SPR? "I wanna go home"...sappy, yeah, but god if it didn't ring true, especially after his heart-wrenching speech a scene earlier about the regrets of wasting his mother's affection...fuck, what a great movie.

Or how about...

...Theodore Donald Kerabatsos' fatal coronary during the showdown with the nihilists in 'Lebowski'?

...Willem Dafoe in 'Platoon'? Or even Tom Berenger's "do it"??

...Christopher Walken in 'Deer Hunter'?

...Travolta in 'Pulp Fiction'??

...Neo in 'Matrix Revolutions'?? (kidding)

...Vincent Donofrio AND the gun-wielding whore in 'FMJ'?

...so many good ones...but my all-time favorite chill-inducing death scene...Willem Dafoe's "it is accomplished" from 'The Last Temptation of Christ' as the film exposes and Scorsese cues the bells and the Arab women.

Posted by rocco at March 1, 2007 5:38 PM

comment #29

gruver1 says ...

Wells to delbomber: Of course!...the Arab women warbling as Dafoe gives up the ghost in "Last Temptation." But that's all Scorsese...Dafoe just eases his head down and closes his eyes. The thing that makes it so legendary is the way Scorsese makes it look like a film reel is coming to an end, with the leader starting to flash through all white and pink.

Posted by gruver1 at March 1, 2007 5:43 PM

comment #30

Pablo VillaÃ§a says ...

I actually wrote an article about the many "deaths" of Marlon Brando a few years ago. What a genius! (Brando, not me. Well... ok, I'm a genius too.)

The Kevin Spacey death scene in "LA Confidential" is fantastic. The surprised look in his face, his low and short moans as he tries to breath and, finally, his little smile after setting up Cpt. Dudley with his brilliant "Rollo Tomasi" comment. Fantastic scene.

I also love:
- Sean Connery's demise in "The Untouchables"
- Bonnie and Clyde's gruesome end
- James Caan being gunned down in The Godfather.
- Luca Brazi's being strangled.
- Moe Green being shot in the eye.
- Don Fanucci being shot by De Niro in Godfather II (God, Coppola DOES know how to kill people!)
- Joe Pesci's death in GoodFellas (the way he says "Oh, no" upon realizing what's going to happen always gets me)
- Sean Penn's detailed execution in "Dead Man Walking"
- Giancarlo Giannini's evisceration by Hannibal Lecter in "Hannibal"

Posted by Pablo VillaÃ§a at March 1, 2007 5:54 PM

comment #31

rocco says ...

meh, scratch Travolta from the list...

...forgot to mention I love the Die Hard drop...

OK, a few more, these all just came to me after hitting post...

...no love for Turtorro in 'Miller's Crossing'?

...Peter Weller's death in 'Robocop' always angered me...

...Swank's in 'Boys Don't Cry' is really disturbing...

...the curbing scene from 'American History X'...

...Joe Pesci and his character's brother in 'Casino'...brutal...beaten with bats and buried alive...

...Annakin Skywalker from 'Retu...no, kidding again...

...I probably listed too many...they're all "wow" moments when I first saw them, but the best has to be Dafoe's from 'Last Temptation...'.

Posted by rocco at March 1, 2007 5:58 PM

comment #32

rocco says ...

delbomber to Wells: Agreed Jeff, Scorsese all the way there...although the film commentary, as I recall, says the technicolor flash at the end was pure serendipity...either way, it's fucking brilliant..."warbling"...good word, I couldn't think of one...

Great post, btw...

Posted by rocco at March 1, 2007 6:05 PM

comment #33

cbuckie says ...

The suicide death of Ben Kingsley, putting his wife to sleep by poisioning her tea and of course his son dying earlier in a terrible accident in "House Of Sand And Fog" Also John Merrick in "The Elephant Man"

Posted by cbuckie at March 1, 2007 6:56 PM

comment #34

Undercover Brother says ...

Thelma Ritter in "Pickup on South Street." Nothing sadder than that poor little worn out woman and her ties.

And much love to Turturro in "Miller's Crossing."
Look into your heart! What heart?

Posted by Undercover Brother at March 1, 2007 7:02 PM

comment #35

Undercover Brother says ...

Oh lord. We all forgot one of the earliest classics. "All Quiet on the Western Front." Soldier reaching out for the butterfly and is then....

And one to grow on. "The Wild Bunch." Give'm Hell Pike!

Posted by Undercover Brother at March 1, 2007 7:12 PM

comment #36

travis b says ...

the death of fredo in the godfather part II. from his hail mary on the lake, to the sound of the gunshot, to the reaction shot of michael, back to the boat with only michael's bodyguard sitting over fredo's body. note perfect.

Posted by travis b at March 1, 2007 7:18 PM

comment #37

colby says ...

By no means a great movie but Chris Rock yelling "daddy" after being shot in Nurse Betty also affects me.

Posted by colby at March 1, 2007 7:19 PM

comment #38

travis b says ...

while not a "dramatic" death, the demise of major kong in "dr. strangelove" as he rides a nuclear missile to his doom is fairly powerful in the message that it's trying to get across.

Posted by travis b at March 1, 2007 7:24 PM

comment #39

rocco says ...

Don Fanucci, yes Pablo...also good call on 'Elephant Man' buckie.

I thought of a few more...sorry, just a refreshing topic here reminiscent of the H-e (and all its previous incarnations) of yore...

...it's tired and worn out, but how about Quint in 'Jaws'?
...or the first time you saw John Hurt in 'Alien'
...Donald Sutherland in 'Don't Look Now'
...Jeff Goldblum in 'The Fly'...ok, it wasn't really Goldblum, it was a giant animatronic human-fly hybrid freak , but still...
...Rutger Hauer at the end of 'Blade Runner'

...ok, last one...for now...Spock in 'Wrath of Khan'??? Too hokey?

Posted by rocco at March 1, 2007 7:37 PM

comment #40

Rasselas says ...

Mifune as Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai, pouring out what the DVD commentator calls "the last full measure" against the bandit chieftain. Lying out, stretching out, sinking into the puddle.

Posted by Rasselas at March 1, 2007 8:26 PM

comment #41

Craig Kennedy says ...

Thinking of Kurosawa I'm reminded of Ikiru with Takashi Shimura on the swing set in the snow as he's singing that song. Technically he dies off camera, but still.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at March 1, 2007 9:13 PM

comment #42

JB Moore says ...

Good ones so far, but don't forget...

-Jean-Paul Belmondo in "Breathless".

-Jim Caviezel in "The Thin Red Line".

-Sam Neill in "Hunt For Red October". - "I would've liked to have seen Montana."

-Dick Rude in "Repo Man", and any poor soul who opened that trunk...

-Orson Welles in "The Third Man". His fingers (or Carol Reed's actually) through the sewer grating. Love that scene.

Posted by JB Moore at March 1, 2007 11:20 PM

comment #43

Seppo Igloo says ...

The death of Donald Kauffman (Nick Cage) in Adaptation I found absolutely perfect in the way it embraced the simplistic type of death a hack writer would want for himself.

Ikiru is a fantastic call, that's one of my favourite scenes in any film.

Posted by Seppo Igloo at March 2, 2007 12:38 AM

comment #44

Rich S. says ...

I can think of two from what were otherwise pretty forgettable movies. The first is the poor sailor in U-571. He knows he's going to drown when they send him in to fix that valve to save the boat. It's wrenching when they actually show him expiring.

The other is from Peter Jackson's King Kong. Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but Kong's death is absolutely heartbreaking. Jackson's key decision was to show Kong's eyes glazing over before his fall, so you know he was already dead. It was almost like he died in Naomi Watt's arms.

Posted by Rich S. at March 2, 2007 5:23 AM

comment #45

T. S. Idiot says ...

The way the dwarf shakes her head as if to say, "Boy, you screwed up," before killing Sutherland in Don't Look Now.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at March 2, 2007 6:33 AM

comment #46

austin111 says ...

Here's an obscure one but an extraordinarily powerful image -- in Tartovsky's Andrei Rublev, the Czar's rebellious and revengeful twin brother -- born minutes too late to ultimately rule -- watches as the Mongols, with whom he has allied himself, kill the orthodox priest with whom he has issues. The priest is tortured and then bound from head to toe with cloth. A cross is melted down and the priest whose feet have been tied to a horse, his mouth the only exposed part of his body, has the molten metal poured down his throat. You can imagine the sounds and then the horse drags him away.

Posted by austin111 at March 2, 2007 7:38 AM

comment #47

Rich S. says ...

delbomber, I'm right there with you on Spock in Wrath of Khan. Unfortunately, the subsequent films have reduced its impact. But at the time, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Posted by Rich S. at March 2, 2007 7:42 AM

comment #48

nemo says ...

Dan Hedaya in "Blood Simple". The way he lifts that gun at John Getz, who is in the process of shoveling the dirt over Hedaya, who he thinks is already dead. But Hedaya can't pull the trigger because of his bandaged finger.

Someone already mentioned it, but Tatsuya Nakadai's death in the samurai face-off with Toshiro Mifune at the end of "Sanjuro". Mifune first tries to convince Nakadai to just walk away. Then they stand and glare at each other, only a few feet apart, for what seems like an eternity. Then the swords are out faster than you can blink, a geyser of blood spurts, and Nakadai slowly, slowly topples forward. The look on Nakadai's face as he goes down -- he just can't believe it. And all in one unbroken medium shot.

Speaking of samurai death scenes, the crusty old samurai killed by Hiroyuki Sanada at the end of "Twilight Samurai" is pretty great as well. The messiness of their fight inside the enclosed space, the fact that the old samurai has the upper hand and is about to finish Sanada off, but he miscalculates how much clearance he has with the low ceiling, and gets his sword stuck in an overhead beam. He can't believe it either.

And as someone already mentioned, Orson Welles's fingers reaching through the grate at the end of "The Third Man".

Posted by nemo at March 2, 2007 7:57 AM

comment #49

Ortega says ...

Speaking of Godfather II, when Robert DeNiro kills the big Sicilian mafioso, Don Gigio (I think that's his name) in the front of his house. He plunges a big knife in his mid-section and just pulls it up the guy's torso, carving him up like a turkey.

Also Brando's death scene in Apocalyse Now ("the horror, the horror")and pretty much every death scene in "Munich", especially the woman that was mentioned before and the young men who shared the same room with the Israelis. When one of them was shot in the street, the way he reacts and falls is
very realistic.

There's also Schindler's List, when the Jewish people were shot in the head and fell down like marionettes with their strings cut off; that certainly drove the horror of the Holocaust home for me as much as anything else in the film.

Posted by Ortega at March 2, 2007 8:00 AM

comment #50

Fudge Ripple says ...

Laurence Harvey shooting his father in law in the kitchen in "The Manchurian Candidate," with the milk spurting out of the bullet hole in the carton. Great stuff.

Posted by Fudge Ripple at March 2, 2007 8:25 AM

comment #51

Silverscreenvideos says ...

Oddjob getting fried in Goldfinger....

Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea....

Posted by Silverscreenvideos at March 2, 2007 8:29 AM

comment #52

rocco says ...

Always loved Abe V's last scene in 'Godfather'...Tessio sees the goons surround him and pleads to Hagan..."Tom, can you get me off the hook...for old time's sake?"..."Sorry Sally, can't do it"...

..ok, kind of straying from the topic now...

Posted by rocco at March 2, 2007 8:42 AM

comment #53

Craig Kennedy says ...

I just want to say there were some spectacular entries here and it was a kick reading them all.

I know everyone but me hates the Oscar montages but this would make a creepy but cool one.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at March 2, 2007 9:14 AM

comment #54

RFlagg says ...

"..the soldier that kills Goldberg and the soldier that Upham kills later are different people. The soldier Upham kills is the one they captured (after Ribisi's death) and let go earlier in the movie."

OK, maybe I'm completely wrong, but I always thought that the German soldier that killed Goldberg was the same one they let free earlier in the movie. Then Upham kills him in the end. Which puts a little different spin on it - since Upham is the one that argued against killing him when he was their prisoner.

Posted by RFlagg at March 2, 2007 9:27 AM

comment #55

Josh Massey says ...

RFlagg: If I recall correctly, the soldier they let go ended up killing Hanks.

That's why I always bristled when somebody called Saving Private Ryan an "anti-war" movie. The squad's act of peace ended up costing them, making the film decidedly "pro-war."

Posted by Josh Massey at March 2, 2007 9:36 AM

comment #56

Walter Sobchak says ...

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to are convinced that the soldier that killed Adam Goldberg is the same one they let go earlier. He is not. The guy they let go, (and who later was shot by Upham), is skinny and gaunt. The guy that kills Goldberg is big and burly. Part of the blame goes to Spielberg's casting. He apparently wanted all the German soldiers to look like skinheads so nearly all of them looked alike. (Except for the blonde SS guy commanding one of the Tiger tanks in the final battle.)
Also, Upham's shooting of the German at the end was in no way redemtive. It was satisfying because the guy had just shot Hanks, but since he had dropped his weapon and was surrendering didn't make Upham any less of a coward. (so NOW he suddenly grows balls?) It was ironic though since Upham was one of the main proponents of letting the guy go in the first place.

One technical note: One of the very FEW details that Private Ryan got wrong was when they let that guy go. I'ts not unusual that they released him, (if holding on to him would be a detriment to their mission), but they would have taken his boots. Sounds odd but it's what they did.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at March 2, 2007 10:04 AM

comment #57

Cadavra says ...

Nobody's mentioned Martin Balsam in PSYCHO?

A good candidate for all-time worst is Denise Richards in EMPIRE. The set-up is bad enough--who screams threats at a drug-crazed maniac who's waving a gun around?--but the expression on her face as she falls backwards redefines "laughable."

Posted by Cadavra at March 2, 2007 10:44 AM

comment #58

Walter Sobchak says ...

And sorry about the bad grammar/typing/spelling. I'm on some weird IBM hotel computer. (anyone else here in Aspen for the USCAF?)

Also, for all those people that love to diss on Saving Private Ryan... if the same movie, done exactly in the same way, were directed by somebody other than Spielberg you would be raving about its brilliance.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at March 2, 2007 10:48 AM

comment #59

jeffmcm says ...

SPR isn't really 'anti-war' or 'pro-war', I think it's most accurate to describe it as a movie that illustrates the costs and complexities of being a soldier. If it was 'pro-war' Upham shooting the German would be validated as a noble, heroic thing to do. Instead it's his greatest moment of weakness - the movie in this moment is stating simply that war is hell.

Posted by jeffmcm at March 2, 2007 11:20 AM

comment #60

Mark says ...

King Kong is the King Kong of death-scene acting.

Also Joey Pants in the Sopranos.

Posted by Mark at March 2, 2007 11:38 AM

comment #61

George Prager says ...

Some so bad their goods worsts:

Don Stroud in Bloody Mama
Laurence Luckinbill in one of Charles Bronson's 80s porn movies (Messenger of Death)
John Vernon in Point Blank
Rene Auberjonois in Walker
John Turturro's mom in Five Corners

Just plain funny:
Rockers Redglare in Mystery Train

The best:

Dick Rude in Repo Man
William L. Petersen in To Live and Die in LA

Posted by George Prager at March 2, 2007 1:29 PM

comment #62

nemo says ...

Dennis Hopper's death scene in "True Grit" gets to me every time I've seen it. The claustrophobic cabin, Hopper's leg wound, the build up of ugly tension between John Wayne and Hopper's partner, Jeremy Slate, the way Slate hacks at the dead turkey, the flurry of violence with the knife and the shooting. Then finally the dying Hopper plaintively says of his partner in crime, "He never did me wrong until he killed me."

Hopper is a minor character in the film, and he's a bit of dope, as well as a low-life. But his fear and his humanity pull me in every time.

Hopper's death illuminates one of things a lot of the great death scenes have in common -- the way we identify with the character's surprise and disbelief that his death has arrived. I can't believe this happening to me. I knew death would come one day, but not now. Not this way. Not today.

Posted by nemo at March 2, 2007 2:18 PM

comment #63

beetlebrox says ...

If you knew how Alfred Hitchcock worked, you'd have to say any death scene in a movie he directed was HIS deathscene, since he was so controlling over how ever detail played out. A few of these come right to mind. The first strangulation in "Frenzy," with that terrific crane shot but also the horrifying image of the victim on the cough, tongue not hanging out but jammed out. The fall off the Statue of Liberty in "Saboteur," in which the suspence is delightfully sustained a bit as the villain dangles as his coat rips free. And, of course the murder in the bathtub in "Psycho" when ends with that cold, dead eye starring at the camera.

Posted by beetlebrox at March 3, 2007 5:24 PM

comment #64

cinefan says ...

There are a couple of great death scenes in Touch of Evil incl. the death of uncle Joe Grande (I've always loved the detail of the streetlight through the hotel window flickering on and off while the murder is being committed) and the death of Hank Quinlan at the end of the film. For Hitchcock, probably my favorite death scene is Judith Anderson's in Rebecca. The film's final shot of the pillow case with the embroidered R burning up in the flames is one of my favorite closing shots from any film.

Posted by cinefan at March 3, 2007 11:50 PM

comment #65