Now, this list was cooked up in a fit of inspiration based
on something I posted on Facebook earlier today. After much deliberation, my friends there proposed that
I draft a list of my favorite badass scenes, which I’ve gone ahead and done. Kind of.
In all honestly, the list here is endless, these are just
the 10 that came to my mind right away. This is the type of list that, as soon
as I publish this post, I will think of 10 more (possibly better) inclusions,
which is where you all come in. If there’s ever a time I implored interactivity
on this blog, it is now. Tell me your favorite, most badass movie scenes. There
are no rules, no restrictions. Have a ball with it. Let the badass become you.
Raging Bull
(1980)
The Beating
Okay, I’m not sure if this belongs in the badass column or
the holy-shit-this-is-what-desperation-looks-like category, but either way you
pin it, you can’t help but be in awe (or horror) of the hurting Sugar Ray
Robinson puts on Jake La Motta late in Raging Bull. By this point in the movie,
La Motta has physically and emotional terrorized damn near every single person
in the film, so when Robinson gets him in the ring again, it’s almost as if
Jake feels like he deserves the most epic beating of his life.
But that ain’t all. After the ref stops the fight, Jake
rushes over to Sugar Ray and quietly tells him that, “You never got me down,
Ray.” (Watch, in a miraculous piece of physical acting, the way Robert De Niro
pulls up his boxing trunks as he walks away.) Again, badass or desperate, I’m
not too sure. Probably a fair mix of both.
Glengary Glen Ross
(1992)
The Talk
This isn’t really going to provoke much of a description
from me. In the form of words, David Mamet’s priceless monologue, as delivered
expertly by Alec Baldwin, is badass personified. Put, that, coffee, down, and
enjoy it below.
Pulp Fiction
(1994)
The Go-Back
So, you break free from two sadistic rapist bastards (and
one chained up gimp), and instead of fleeing the scene (and leaving your sworn
enemy to perish), you stay. Why? Because you have to go back. You tour the inventory. A hammer. Too small. A baseball bat.
Too weak. A chainsaw. Too loud. And then you see it. A giant, glorious,
pristine samurai sword. Time to go, you badass mofo.
Desperado (1995)
The Neck Break
There’s a scene midway through Desperado in which our El
Mariachi owns a bunch of Mexican thugs in a bar. Toward the end of THAT badass
sequence, Antonio Banderas is faced with the last man standing. Or rather
lying. They slide next to each other on the bar, pull the triggers of their
guns and – blank. They get off the bar and pick up two more guns. Blank. They try
two more, then two more, then, finally, Banderas bum rushes the guy, grabs his
neck and as he’s twisting it he yells FUCK YOU at the top of his lungs. That... is badass.
Rounders (1998)
The Nut Straight - SPOILER
Here’s the subtlety I’m talking about. When you go back and
watch the final card game of Rounders from the beginning, you see that Matt
Damon has it won very early on. And he knows it. And not only does he not let us know, his narration
doesn’t either, which is part of the scene’s brilliance. Look at the way Damon
slams those cards down. A subtle act of badass defiance.
Any Given Sunday
(1999)
The Speech
Some people call Tony D’Amato’s locker room speech in Any
Given Sunday (which is, for the record, the very best locker room speech ever
given) inspirational. Me? Sure, but I also think it is supremely badass. There’s Al Pacino’s
slow build up, the simple music, the growing encouragement of the players, but
really, this scene is equipped with something that the others on this list are
not: humility.
There’s something I find unspeakably poetic about D’Amato’s
gentle relent into how, and why, his life sucks as bad as it does. He’s opening
his heart to men he doesn’t expect to give a shit. But, maybe, if he bears his
soul to them, they will bear their souls on the field. It’s an excellent scene of outspoken
shame and regret, and one that I find immensely moving, and uniquely badass.
(PS, look for the camera move at 1:39. THAT, my friends, is
a short piece of expert direction. One of the best shots from any monologue ever.)
American Psycho
(2000)
The Ugly Bitch
I cannot draft a list of badass scenes that does not in some
way include Patrick Bateman. Bateman does a host of badass (and, you know,
psychotic) things in the movie, but the one that I find especially entertaining
is his telling-off of a rude female bartender. After the bartender dismisses
Bateman’s expired drink voucher, she turns his back to him, and he tells her that,
“You’re a fucking ugly bitch. I want to stab you to death, then play around
with your blood.”
It’s our first glimpse into the warped mind of one of my
favorite anti heroes. Does the bartender hear him? Nope. Do I care? Not in the
slightest.
Chopper (2000)
The Kung Fu
Early in this brilliant, criminally underseen Australian
thriller, Chopper (a nearly unrecognizable Eric Bana) is stabbed by his best
friend and cellmate, so that his friend can gain some jailhouse clout. Thing
is, Chopper doesn’t feel the shank repeateding going into his abdomen. After
the first hit, he suggests to his soon-to-be-enemy that it’s, “A bit early for
kung fu.” It takes a second stab for ol’ Chop to feel anything. But because
Chopper doesn’t go down (or show any sign of pain whatsoever) the cellmate
stabs him again, then, again, then… shit, I think it’s seven times total. Oh,
and did I mention that everything in this scene actually happened in real life?
Yup. Badass.
Eastern Promises
(2007)
The Bath
The badassness of Eastern Promises’ most iconic sequence
isn’t that it happens, it’s that it Just. Keeps. Going. A few minutes after Viggo
Mortensen’s Nikolai is attacked in a Turkish bathhouse and left to defend
himself with literally only his dick in his hand, he takes his two attackers
down, and that should be that. But then, slowly, desperately, he crawls overtop
one of the goons and, after a brief struggle, plunges a shank into one of his eyes. The thing is… Nikolai does this as if he’s done it a dozen times already. No mercy. Nikolai is as
badass as they come.
Surprisingly, I was unable to find an embeddable clip of this scene. I found many parodies, but the scene itself is well hidden. Here's a glimpse:
Surprisingly, I was unable to find an embeddable clip of this scene. I found many parodies, but the scene itself is well hidden. Here's a glimpse:
Inception (2010)
The Hallway
Now, here is a perfect example of situational badassness.
The first time I saw Inception, I was dumbfounded by the marvel of most of the
film, but when Dileep Rao's faulty maneuverings of a van sent Joseph Gordon-Levitt flying
through the air, I knew I was in the midst of something that deserved to be
mentioned in the same breath as 2001. Inception has its fair share of
naysayers, which is fine, but like the film or not, there’s no denying how epic this floating hallway fight scene is. And the fact that it was
achieved using very little special effects is, well, you guessed it.
Seriously, folks, the possibilities here are endless. I’ve
left it wide open, so please, do share your favorite cinematic badass
sequences.
Dae-su, Oldboy. That entire sequence where he's holding a hammer and fighting off goons in a tracking shot. Come on, that is pure badass. It's shot beautifully with a wide frame that is perfect. The way the action is choreographed. You can't get any better than that.
ReplyDeleteYes! I was really hoping someone would mention that sequence, and I'm glad it was in the first comment. You're right, badassery doesn't get much higher than that.
DeleteHonestly this was the very first thing that came into my mind when we were discussing it on facebook.
DeleteI thought it might be. Such a worthy pick.
DeleteI agree with this comment.
DeleteI'm really curious to see what Spike Lee does with it.
DeleteWow, much respect to this list. You've already included three that would be on my list with Desperado, Rounders and Any Given Sunday. To this I would would add when Andy climbs out of the sewer during the storm in Shawshank Redemption, the scene in the bar with Bullet Tooth Tony and the desert eagle from Snatch, the introduction of Pablo Escobar in Blow, and the end of Mystic River "that was 25 years ago, driving up this street, in the back of that car". The first three are clear, but there's a subtlety in that conversation between Jimmy and Sean that is just phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteOh shit, that scene in Snatch is epic. Vinny Jones kills in that role... too bad his career has kind of turned into a joke. That Escobar introduction is completely badass... I actually just wrote about that in my Cliff Curtis In Character. Love it.
DeleteAnd Mystic... fuck. "Thanks for findin' my daughter's killer, Sean. If only you'd been a little faster."
That's how you win an Oscar.
Great picks, BK.
Funny, I thought of Glengarry Glen Ross too. Oh, and anything with John McClane. And the end of The Usual Suspects.
ReplyDeleteYippie Ki Yay will forever be badass, no doubt. And The Usual Suspects, well... yeah.
DeleteFantastic idea and list! Baldwin is killer in that scene. For me the badass moments would be "I'll stick it in your ass until it goes CLICK" from The Big Lebowski, pretty much every time Malcolm Tucker opens his mouth in "In the Loop", "Do I look like I'm negotiating?!" from "Michael Clayton" and Lisbeth Salander walking with the gun in her hand to the burning car in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".
ReplyDeleteShit. All seriously excellent picks. The way Clooney's face shakes when he says that line - love it. Tucker in In the Loop is one of the best written characters of recent cinema. That movie didn't get nearly enough credit.
DeleteDo you watch HBO's VEEP? I wish he would make a cameo.
I saw 2 episodes but just couldn't get into it, with The Thick of It I saw entire series in 3 days, so it's very unlikely I will come to like VEEP. But who knows, if Tucker appears I will definetly have better shot at watching more episodes.
DeleteYeah I mean it's okay, but not nearly as good as Iannucci's other stuff.
Delete1. I can't find any videos of it, but the 'revenge'/freakout scene in Midnight Express.
ReplyDelete2. "The" bank robbery scene in Heat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL9fnVtz_lc
3. The coffee scene also in Heat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oTNNjRuqbE
4. The climax of 28 Days Later
5. Final fight scene in Equilibrium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoDKXozA0M4
6. Maximus vs Commodus in Gladiator
7. End of Gran Torino (you know what I'm talking about)
8. Marv's handcuff scene in Sin City
9. Prison escape in The Deer Hunter
10. Roy vs Deckard (Rutger Hauer vs Harrison Ford) at the end of Blade Runner
I could go on for awhile... but I'll stop at 10. lol
Just kidding, I already feel compelled to continue.
Delete11. Serpico slamming fellow cop on the ground and putting him in his place (the one that casually threatens him with a knife out).
12. Liam Neeson at the end of The Grey
13. Noomi Rapace in the uhh, you know, in Prometheus
14. Donnie Yen in all of Ip Man 1 & 2
15. Jet Li vs Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 4
16. Ted Levine's "God loves violence" speech (esp. the end of it) in Shutter Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXY23gsHXXo
17. 2nd half of Man on Fire, need I say more?
18. Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lecter in general
19. Anthony Hopkin's Bill Parish in Meet Joe Black telling off Death at any point
20. The main character in The Descent towards the end
All excellent choices.
Delete2-3. define badass.
8. Love that.
9. Fucking heroic.
13. YEEEEES!
17. I wish… you had… more time.
20. Oh shit, I forgot about that one, great choice.
21. Tom Wilkinson's Falconi lecture of young Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins
Delete22. Interrogation scene in The Usual Suspects, especially Kevin Pollak's
23. Stephen Baldwin's double take down in the garage scene of the same movie
24. Denzel's coffee shop scene in American Gangster
25. Clint Eastwood in the Mexican Standoff in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, esp. his setting it up
26. Brad Pitt's scalping rampage in Legends of the Fall
27. Brad Pitt vs Eric Bana in Troy
28. Russel Crowe and Guy Pearce's interrogation of Ron Rifkin in L.A. Confidential
29. Jeremy Renner in all of The Hurt Locker
30. Terence Stamp in all of The Limey
31. I can't believe no one has mentioned the restaurant stick-up scene in Pulp Fiction. Literally a badass scene (BMF)
Delete32. Russel Crowe's character introduction in L.A. Confidential (where he handcuffs the wife-beater)
33. Ripley in Alien
34. Cogburn in True Grit (either)
35. Denzel's 'arrest' scene at the end of Training Day
22. “Uhhhhh fuck your father in the shower and have a snack.”
Delete23. “Bad day… fuck it.”
28. “I don’t know how.”
30. “YOU TELL HIM I’M FUCKING COMING!!!!”
31. That was my first Pulp choice.
32. “Ghost of Christmas past…”
Hey I'll add a few:
ReplyDelete1. Oldboy hallway scene (worth re mentioning, because...c'mon)
2. Boogie Nights - Alfred Molina scene
3. Drive - elevator
4. Crouching Tiger - Zhang Ziyi vs Michelle Yeow
5. Closer - Caveman
6. Legend of the Drunken Master - Final fight
7. X2 - Nightcrawler
8. Enter the Dragon - Bruce Lee!
9. The Matrix (original still holds up)
2. "...he's Chinese."
Delete3. I almost put this on my list, but I wanted to let someone else have the honor haha
5. "...but sweeter."
7. Fuckin' hell of an intro.
Thanks, Evan, now I have to re-watch X2. rofl
DeleteNot sure if you've heard of The Man from Nowhere. Korean action flick, it's absurdly violent and pretty badass. Throw it on your list if you're ever looking to just sit back and enjoy something light.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see a positive response from Boogie Nights. I took badass as my own interpretation.
I have heard of that... definitely going to check it out. Dude, Molina is badass through in through in that scene.
DeleteGreat list. Agree with all the choices although I probably would have had more than one from Bateman. The entire "Huey Lewis & The News" sequence is great. Also I think one the the most badass monologues there is is the "Fuck you" monologue from The 25th Hour. And I couldn't go without mentioning the torture scene from Reservoir Dogs. Can't listen to "Stuck In The Middle With You" without picturing Mr. Blonde. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And let's be honest, Bateman could occupy every spot on this list... the dude is badass incarnate.
DeleteFuck You monologue is epic. As is "All's you can do is pray for a quick death, which you ain't gonna get."
Amazing list. I don't feel like there's much more I can add to it, since the comments above me have really gone all-out. But how about any scene with Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown? Or the Crazy 88 fight scene in Kill Bill? Or Eli Roth... being Eli Roth in Inglourious Basterds? Those are all Tarantino films, I realize, but he's the only director I can think of straight off the top of my head. I'm sure if I gave it more thought others would come to me. GREAT list anyway.
ReplyDeleteDude, this entire list could be Tarantino based, so I definitely think all of your picks are legit. Tarantino's flicks are the epitome of badass. Accept no substitutes.
DeleteFUCK What about the final scene of There Will Be Blood? Perhaps the most badass scene I can remember.
ReplyDelete"I'M FINISHED."
DeleteMost badass line of all time.
Some badassery that always sticks out to me- Harry Callahan towards the beginning of Dirty Harry. After he shoots out the bank robbers' car and then cooly walks over to the guy on the ground- "Do ya feel lucky?" -all while eating a hot dog.
ReplyDeleteThat's classic badassery right there, no argument whatsoever.
DeleteHell yeah. Great idea for a post, with some especially inspired choices. I was not expecting to see that American Psycho scene, but yeah, you nailed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks man! I fuckin' LOVE Patrick Bateman. Just had to include him here. Everything out of that dude's mouth is pure gold.
DeleteGreat choices! Al Pacino in ANY GIVEN SUNDAY is supremely badass. I have not heard a better locker room speech, and I just listened to it twice haha.
ReplyDeleteIt's the SIX INCHES, IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!!!
DeleteGreat choices, especially Eastern Promises and Raging Bull! I love Desperado and those opening scenes, in the bar, with Tarantino and the fight and everything, are just amazing!
ReplyDeleteYou like Desperado? That's awesome! Love that movie... by far one of my favorite action flicks. Tarantino's cameo is hysterical in that.
DeleteOne of the first movie categories I did was titled Serious Badasses where I reviewed movies with, you guessed it, serious badasses in them. I covered Dirty Harry, Gran Torino, Pitch Black, and...Kung Fu Panda (I explain in the review). If you are interested, you can find the parent post here (complete with a Bruce Lee playing ping pong with nunchucks video): http://www.tipsfromchip.blogspot.com/2011/02/movies-with-serious-badasses.html
ReplyDeleteThat video is awesome! Even though it's fake, it's pretty crafty editing/special effects work. I know some bloggers get weirded out or pissed or whatever when commenters post links to their own stories, but seriously man, feel free to post your stuff in the comments here anytime. I love cool shit like that.
DeleteCheck out this trailer for Badass Brock
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPfcTf8Lwg
That's, uhhh, somethin', all right.
DeleteThe final shootout - The Wild Bunch
ReplyDeleteMichael Caine in the drughouse - Harry Brown
Mostly all of Scarface (Pacino)
Gary Oldman - True Romance
All of Cagney - White Heat
Great picks. That scene in Harry Brown was epic.
DeleteWerner Herzog.........Jack Reacher!!! "Bite your fingers off.......or I will kill you!" - I shuddered!
ReplyDeleteRyan Gosling........stomping all over that guy's face......Drive! - I double shuddered!!
Fuuuuck I still need to see Jack Reacher. Herzog is my God.
DeleteThe Gosling stomp was epic shit!
Perhaps my definition of badasserey differs from some others. Buuut here it goes. In no particular order.
ReplyDelete1.“Get three coffins ready”
2. “You didn’t mean that, did you?”
3. That unforgettable monologue by Lime at the Ferris wheel followed by him strolling off, leaving Martins speechless. So badass. The Third Man.
4. Hans Landa. …Just Hans Landa.
5. Bickle pointing a finger popper to his head and quickly showing the cops that they stumbled into some DEEP shit
6. “Oh and one more thing- love the suit”
7. Luke and ALL THOSE EGGS
8. R Lee Emery facing Pyle’s loaded gun like a true trooper. Subsequently the rest of R Lee Emery’s contribution to Full Metal Jacket.
9. “Shall I take it as a souvenir?” (Day Lewis fucking MADE that film)
10. The sheer balls of the producers for clearing the ending of The Great Silence. Seriously.
Sorry for commenting on all your old stuff dude, just love your work :D
Don't ever apologize for commenting! I'm so appreciative that you do, no matter how old the post is. Love your picks. Number 9 rocks. Gotta love ol' Bill.
DeleteBrandon Lee was a total boss for most of The Crow.
ReplyDeleteThe snake scene in The Assassination of Jesse James.
Most of the scenes with Lil Ze in City of God.
In Mud, when Ellis gets bitten by the snake and Mud just slides down the bank into the pit of snakes willingly to save him.
The first time we meet Leon in Leon: The Professional.
The Jumpin' Jack Flash scene in Mean Streets.
When the women chase down Stuntman Mike in Death Proof.
"I count six shots, nigga." "I count two guns, nigga."
All great choices. Man, that Mean Streets scene. Good god.
Delete