50 Greatest Movie Scenes Ever

16. Boulder Chase - Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Paramount Pictures

The opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark is about as great an introduction to a new action hero as we're ever likely to see. From Indiana Jones replacing the golden idol, it's a thrilling, funny sequence that's bursting with character, and it only gets better once that boulder starts a-rolling.

Having survived the crumbling building and the poison darts, Indy hears a rumbling and turns, horrified, to see a huge boulder coming right towards him. The shot of that giant rock looming out of nowhere and coming right upon him, and us, is thrilling, and from there we get to see the hero lose any semblance of cool in favour of just running for his life.

It's not only exhilarating, but expertly sets up who Indy is: a daring adventurer like few we've seen before, but also someone who'll get by with the help of a lot of plain dumb luck too.

[JH]

15. Milkshake - There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood Daniel Day Lewis Paul Dano
Miramax Films

"I. Drink. Your. Milkshake. I drink it up!"

You'll be hard pressed to find a better on-screen duo than Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano from the past two decades. The two elevate Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood to a whole other level, with the toxic relationship between Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview and Dano's Eli Sunday reaching boiling point in the film's bloody, violent final moments.

Returning to a broken, alcoholic Daniel in an attempt to con him out of money, Eli breaks down in Plainview's lavish bowling alley when he can't sell his land to the oil baron. In a bout of mental torture, Daniel forces Eli to renounce his faith, before berating him for the death of his brother, and acting out how he's stolen his last chance at prosperity right from under him.

The mental torture turns into physical torture, as Daniel, manic, throws Eli across the room and beats him to death despite his victim's pleas for forgiveness. By this point, Day-Lewis has become almost animalistic, shuffling along the bowling alley, frothing from the mouth and bellowing "I am the Third Revelation!".

It's a very easy scene to parody, but in context, it captures a whirlwind of intensity unlike anything else.

[JB]

Advertisement
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Articles published under the WhatCulture name denote collective efforts of a number of our writers, both past and present.

Contributor
Contributor

WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.

Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.

Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!

Contributor
Contributor

Horror film junkie, burrito connoisseur, and serial cat stroker. WhatCulture's least favourite ginger.