The 99 Most Jaw-Dropping Movie Moments

Cinema's greatest shocks and show-stoppers

67. Oldboy (Park-Chan Wook, 2003)
Psyche!

The cruellest defeat-snatched-from-jaws-of-expected-victory moment OF ALL TIME, with Dae-su falsely imprisoned, tricked into incest and voluntarily scissoring his own tongue in savage humiliation.

66. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)
The price

Nolan's drama of showmanship and magic has its own moment of awed revelation, as we discover the true price of Hugh Jackman's success: he dies a death with every performance.

65. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999)
Love is hell

For all-out offensiveness it’s tough to top the bitch-and-butch relationship of then still-in-power Saddam Hussein and Satan, Hussein’s squawking dom patronising the sensitive dark prince in order to keep him sweet for sex.

64. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
Rock 'n' roll

The blowaway opening to Lucas and Spielberg's adventure masterpiece, complete with giant spiders, booby-traps, a giant rolling ball and a last-gasp plane getaway. Incredible.

63. Shallow Grave (Danny Boyle, 1995)
Getting hammered

Greed gets the better of Kerry Fox’s Juliet as she turns on stricken housemate Ewan Mcgregor – not pulling the knife out of his shoulder but hammering it in, through the floorboards. A shocker – but the last laugh's on her...

62.Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976)
Carrie on living

The kick-to-the-guts pretend ending, which sees surviving schoolgirl Sue visit the site of Carrie’s collapses house – only for the apparently still not dead Carrie’s hand to shoot through the ground and grab her arm. From 05.02.

61. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
The sad demise of Billy Batts

A recently sprung made man pays the price for showing no respect to Joe Pesci's firebrand button man Tommy DeVito, taken out in a brutal three-way shivving and beatdown.

Next: 60 - 56

Comments

    • snooochies

      Nov 24th 2009, 4:06

      Oh dear! Close Encounters is actually post-Star Wars, having been released in November of '77. Awesome list though, missing the T-1000 though or even Arnie being good from T2

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    • NDitum

      Nov 24th 2009, 9:30

      Oh man, headslapping mistake. Had 1975 in my head. Obviously. I'll see if I can have a tinker... Terminator a good shout - there is a space left!

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    • ChristoLaurent

      Nov 24th 2009, 10:55

      I'd like to nominate Ichi The Killer (...any number of scenes!) and also Gozu, the ending is pretty out there, although I love the actual "Cow head" scene too. Dead of Night (Ealing) has the great ending, especially the moment with the dummy. Although not a great film, but passable, the ending of The Entity..."Welcome Home C**t"

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    • Pokoboy

      Nov 24th 2009, 11:58

      My jaw dropped when Bill Murray played himself in Zombieland. That was a pretty special moment in a mediocre zombie comedy.

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    • chenneye

      Nov 24th 2009, 14:44

      This should have had usual suspects at no.1 and surprised that the kerb scene from American History X is missing.

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    • BlueRyan

      Nov 24th 2009, 18:48

      For that golden 100th place i believe the "I have a Milkshake" scene from There will Be blood should own it. Considering it's one of the most bizzar and subliminal pieces of film in the past decade it should rightfully take the 100th place.

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    • Agent69

      Nov 24th 2009, 21:26

      That Irreversible scene scared me for life.

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    • Pokoboy

      Nov 25th 2009, 22:49

      Is this the same Nathan Ditum thats the reviews editor for official playstation magazine? 10/10 f0r uncharted 2!!! 11/10 surely?

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    • joVceski

      Nov 26th 2009, 21:30

      You have to watch Pascal Laugier's Martyrs, I couldn't pick up my jaw from start to finish, it's so f..... up.

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    • mark912smith

      Nov 27th 2009, 12:06

      Great list and good call no. 5 on the kerb scene from American History X. I thought that the 'tree-rape' scene from the Evil Dead might have placed somewhere?!?

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    • jrod85

      Nov 27th 2009, 14:39

      Thanks Pokoboy, some people haven't seen Zombieland yet. Way to ruin the surprise. Well done, j*****s

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    • Pokoboy

      Nov 28th 2009, 7:47

      ah my bad, apologies.

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    • NDitum

      Nov 30th 2009, 0:49

      Yes, same me as from OPM :) Seen Matyrs. Kinda hated it. It's nasty like falling over. Kerb scene - we had it in the recent shocking moments feature. I guess the shock had worn off...

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    • Hadouken76

      Dec 1st 2009, 13:09

      Whys is there a complete absence of John Carpenter movies? Like the girl asking for an ice cream in Assault on Precint 13? The little boy at the the start of Halloween? The doctor losing both arms in The Thing or the head spider?

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    • starwars4life

      Dec 3rd 2009, 20:49

      Awesome list, really, and yes; everything on this list has good value to be in the 99, BUT there is one film which I would personally place at number one and it was very surprising that you didn't include it: The Machinist!!!! It has one of the most awesome twists and jaw-dropping moments EVER in the history of film! Please amend the list and get it in there, it REALLY deserves it :)

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    • starwars4life

      Dec 3rd 2009, 20:55

      Almost forgot, not nearly as important as the machinist but Lucky Number Slevin deserves a place, it really has the shock factor and I would also say the scene in 'The Phantom Menace' where Maul ignites the double-bladed saber deserves a place further down becaus; although it may not seem like much now and television adverts probably ruined it, it is obviously a big reveal as he only uses one blade earlier and it must have been epic for the ignorant star wars fan at the time!

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    • RazorbalNL

      Dec 9th 2009, 15:39

      GREAT ARTICLE!!!

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    • littlebocuk

      Jan 8th 2010, 21:39

      Some of these moments really had me but I would like to see "Terminator removing his eye" thing in this list.

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