10 Best Sniper Scenes In Film

Taking aim at the best sharpshooting moments we've sighted in movies.

American Sniper
Warner Bros.

There is something about the noble sniper that has always endeared them to us. A favourite staple of the war-time flick; the patient, calculated approach taken by the man up high has always fascinated audiences. A skilled marksman can clear the battlefield seemingly as quickly as a gaggle of scopeless soldiers take to bundle through the same task. The best snipers are rarely seen but always stand-out in our minds.

Precision, patience and a penchant for punishing even the slightest movement from miles away are the pillars on which these eagle-eyed death machines have managed to capture the imagination of war movie buffs over the years; and there have been so many noteworthy exponents of these skills. From classic war-films to modern gun-heavy drama's there is no shortage of sniper scenes to pick from, good news for us.

Using my own keen eye I've picked the 10 Best Sniper Scenes In Film:

10. Saving Private Ryan

American Sniper
Paramount / Dreamworks

Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is undoubtedly one of the all time great war movies and any list of this kind would be immeasurably lesser for its exclusion. The film comes to a head when Tom Hanks and his band of heroes are pinned down after finally reaching the eponymous Private Ryan.

With time to prepare for the impending attack, they set themselves up for the best possible chance to survive. It is from atop a disused bell-tower that Barry Pepper's Jackson makes his mark on the film.

Pinned down and surrounded Barry begins Peppering (yes!) the proximity around him with aplomb. There is an acceptance amongst the men of their impending deaths and one of the things that makes this scene so memorable is the quiet prayer mumbled under breath as Jackson tags and bags every Nazi in sight.

He earns his blaze of glory as Jackson is cleared from the tower by a nearby tank. The lord was his strength and he was doing a great job it would seem!

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Contributor

Writer/Editor/Director/Film-Maker/Frequenter of Childish Gambino’s Spotify Page- basically a perpetual procrastinator who never finishes anyt.... Got this Twitter thing goin' @ByrnAfterReadin