2. "You Want That Gun Don't Ya, Zed?" - Pulp Fiction
After potentially being first on the rooster for male rape, saved only by an old fashioned racist riddle and later escaping, Butch (Bruce Willis) decides the best thing to do is put his new found fortune face first into the gift horse's mouth. Some may suggest going back to save Marcellus (Ving Rhames) is nothing but a great act of contrition on Butch's part, but the more cynical viewers will recognise it is Tarantino's love for all things ultra-violent and going against the expected are the driving force behind this one. Whatever the reasoning, seeing two rapists get exactly what they deserve is one of the more morbidly sustaining moments in Tarantino's body of work.
1. "Attica, Attica!" - Dog Day Afternoon
If there is ever a skill displayed by an actor that has the power to get you behind a character, it is Al Pacino's great ability to shout things with passion, anger and flair. He may have been making a career of using this skill ALL THE TIME since the early 90's ('Hoo-hah', 'What have ya' GOT?!', 'She's got a GREEEAT ASS!'), but there was once a time when he used it sparingly to command the screen without parodying his own legend - 'Dog Day Afternoon' is such an example. According to legend, director Sidney Lumet (a hugely underrated director) was keen to allow his actors the freedom to improvise. Mix that with method acting and one of the greatest actors of the 70's and you had yourself one of the best 'stick it to the man' speeches ever recorded - And all of it punctuated with the repetition of two words bellowed over and over again (a direct reference to a prison riot from the 70's). As stated in the introduction, there are literally thousands of moments like these in movies. Any big ones we missed? Any you don't agree with? Have your say in the comment section below...
