by Jason Frank Koenigsberg We have all seen movies and know that some of the images we see on screen get embedded into our consciousness. Some images and moments from […]
by Jason Frank Koenigsberg
We have all seen movies and know that some of the images we see on screen get embedded into our consciousness. Some images and moments from movies go beyond that and get branded in our public consciousness and become synonymous with not only their movie, actor, or director, but with motion pictures themselves. These are the images that transcend the art form and have been duplicated and assimilated into being iconic images people of all ages are familiar with. A few simple rules I established for this list were to allow only one image per movie. Otherwise this could be filled with moments from The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, and Citizen Kane. I also tried to limit multiple images from a movie franchise. I did my very best to restrict the selections to a single shot or frame, although there are a few moments on here that require an edit. I allowed those simply because the edit is almost more famous than any single image alone. By no means is this a list of my favorite movies. In fact some of these images come from movies that I downright loathe, but they are nonetheless important and influential moments in cinema. A few that just missed the cut that I still felt were worthy of mentioning are the reveal of the robot in Metropolis (1927), the crane kick from The Karate Kid (1984), the blue sky with the white picket fence and red roses from Blue Velvet (1986), The Klan riding in at the end of The Birth of a Nation (1915), and “Gooble Gobble, one of us” from Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932). So now without any further ado, here are the Top 100 most iconic images from motion picture history.
100. The Deer Hunter (1978) Russian Roulette
99. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Driving away
98. The Bodyguard (1992) Carrying Rachel Marron off the stage
97. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) Bluto in a toga
96. The French Connection (1971) Popeye Doyle waves goodbye
95. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) The bridge blows up
94. Ben-Hur (1959) The chariot race
93. Wayne’s World (1992) Head banging to Bohemian Rhapsody
92. Frankenstein (1931) First full shot of the Frankenstein monster
91. Dracula (1931) Meeting the Count
90. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Freddy’s hand in the bathtub
89. The Lion King (1994) Holding up baby Simba
88. Gladiator (2000) Are you not entertained?
87. Ghostbusters (1984) Aim the guns from their proton packs at Gozer
86. Rear Window (1954) Jimmy Stewart with the long lens camera
85. The Third Man (1949) Harry Lime makes his first appearance
84. Fight Club (1999) Tyler Durden takes off his shirt
83. Fargo (1996) Sheriff Marge Gunderson raises her gun
82. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Lightsaber fight between Luke and Vader
81. Crocodile Dundee (1986) This is a Knife
80. Fantasia (1940) Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
79. Spider-Man (2002) Upside down kiss with Mary Jane
78. The Godfather Part II (1974) Michael gives Fredo the kiss of death
77. Dirty Harry (1971) “Do ya feel lucky punk?”
76. Pulp Fiction (1994) Vincent and Jules point their guns
75. Taxi Driver (1976) “You talkin’ to me?”
74. Scream (1996) Drew Barrymore screams on the phone
73. When Harry Met Sally (1989) Fake orgasm in the deli
72. Braveheart (1995) William Wallace raises his sword
71. The Dark Knight (2008) Batman and Joker in the interrogation room
70. Alien (1979) Xenomorph opens its mouth
69. Forrest Gump (1994) Forrest Gump on the bench
68. Platoon (1986) Sgt. Elias crucifixion pose
67. A Clockwork Orange (1971) Opening shot
66. The Breakfast Club (1985) Fist pump in the air
65. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Axel Foley gives the OK with a big smile
64. Top Gun (1986) Maverick gives a thumbs up
63. Schindler’s List (1993) Girl in the red coat wanders around
62. Basic Instinct (1992) Interrogation scene
61. Thelma and Louise (1991) Car drives off the cliff
60. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) End reunion scene where George holds his daughter
59. The Ten Commandments (1956) Moses parts the Red Sea
58. Casablanca (1942) Rick and Ilsa farewell at the airport
57. Chariots of Fire (1981) Running on the beach
56. Superman (1978) Superman flying over Earth
55.From Here to Eternity (1953) Passionate kiss on the beach
54. It Happened One Night (1934) Hitchhiking competition
53. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Phantoms mask is removed for the first time
52. Nosferatu (1922) Vampire shadow ascends the stairs
51. The Seventh Seal (1957) Chess match with Death
50. Saturday Night Fever (1977) Tony Manero disco dancing
49. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Criminals walking in opening credits
48. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Leatherface waves the chainsaw over his head
47. Halloween (1978) Michael Myers appears in the dark
46. Die Hard (1988) Come out to the coast, we’ll have a few laughs
45. Shane (1953) Shane rides away with his head down
44. Independence Day (1996) Alien ship blows up the White House
43. Home Alone (1990) Aaaaaaahhhh!
42. The Matrix (1999) Neo dodges bullets
41. Jurassic Park (1993) T-Rex at the end
40. Big (1988) Dancing on the big piano keyboard
39. All The President’s Men (1976) Overhead shot at the Library of Congress
38. Say Anything (1989) Lloyd Dobler boombox over his head
37. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Red bikini fantasy
36. Rocky (1976) Training montage ends atop the steps
35. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) Blondie chomps on his cigar
34. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Hannibal Lecter in the muzzle
33. Blade Runner (1982) Opening shot of Los Angeles 2019
32. The Graduate (1967) Mrs. Robinson you’re trying to seduce me
31. Back to the Future (1985) DeLorean goes back in time, tires leave flames on the road
30. Manhattan (1979) Date under the Queensboro Bridge
29. The Shining (1980) Here’s Johnny
28. Apocalypse Now (1979) Willard emerges from the water
27. Dr. No (1962) First gun barrel sequence
26. North by Northwest (1959) Cropdusting plane attacks
25. Jaws (1975) Moment right before “I think you’re gonna need a bigger boat”
24. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Stella!
23. Star Wars (1977) Darth Vader’s first appearance
22. Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Riding the bomb
21. Sunset Boulevard (1950) “Mr. Demille I’m Ready for my close up”
20. Planet of the Apes (1968) Statue of Liberty reveal
19. The Seven Year Itch (1955) Marilyn Monroe stands over the vent
18. Citizen Kane (1941) “Rosebud” and the shattered snow globe
17. Duck Soup (1933) Groucho in the mirror
16. Modern Times (1936) Little Tramp in the gears of the machine
15. Titanic (1997) Jack and Rose on the edge of the ship
14. The Wizard of Oz (1939) Off to see the Wizard… approaching Emerald City
13. King Kong (1933) Kong on top of the Empire State Building
12. Gone with the Wind (1939) Aftermath of the battle
11. The Gold Rush (1925) Roll dance
10. Psycho (1960) The Shower Scene
9. The Sound of Music (1965) The Hills are Alive…
8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Blowing out the match cut to the desert
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Cut from the bone to the spacecraft
6. Patton (1970) Speaking to the troops in front of the American flag
5. The Exorcist (1973) Father Merrin arrives
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Big ball rolling towards Indiana Jones
3. The Godfather (1972) Bonasera whispers in Don Corleone’s ear
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Singing in the Rain
1. E.T.-The Extraterrestrial (1982) bicycle over the moon silhouette
Very good pics. But there many other missing.
Such as?