Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt tied to a recent release. This week, with the release of The 4:30 Movie, we’re discussing some of our favorite scenes set in movie theaters! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
The final scene of Damien Chazelle’s Babylon is a masterclass in cinematic storytelling, leaving a lasting impact on us, whether we liked it or not. The film’s conclusion is a montage of classic Hollywood films alongside a voiceover from Manny Torres (Diego Calva) reflecting on the transience of fame and the power of cinema. This poignant ending underscores the movie’s central themes: the fleeting nature of success, the commodification of art, and the human desire for connection. By juxtaposing the glamour of old Hollywood with the harsh realities of the film industry, Chazelle highlights the tension between artistic expression and commercialism. The final scene also serves as a commentary on the cyclical nature of time, as the film industry continues to evolve, while remaining rooted in its past. Ultimately, the conclusion of Babylon is a powerful tribute to the enduring magic of cinema, reminding audiences of its ability to captivate, inspire, and transcend time. By ending on this note, Chazelle leaves a lasting impression, inviting us to ponder the significance of Hollywood’s golden age and its continued influence on contemporary culture. (Adam Ritchie)
What is the most cathartic film ending of all time? There’s certainly a strong argument for Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso. This film follows the youth, adolescence, and regretful adulthood of Salvatore, a young boy who grew up in the cinema. He ultimately became a great director, but his journey consisted of spending plenty of time in the projection booth of his local cinema in his small Sicilian town. Mentored by Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), Salvatore learns about both film and love. He finishes the film as a sad adult with great success. But one fateful sitting in his cinema at home changes his life forever, and delivers the emotional climax of this masterpiece. Ennio Morricone’s emotional and legendary score begins to swell as Salvatore starts a film reel left to him by Alfredo. Tears well up in Salvatore’s eyes as he comes to a great revelation. What appears on screen is every romantic scene the priest forced Alfredo to cut from the cinema’s productions. Few films capture the right balance of visuals, themes, music, and acting quite like this one. Perfecto. (Shane Conto)
Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. So it’s fascinating to see him depict how he got into movies through his fictionalized yet largely autobiographical The Fabelmans. The movie opens with young Sammy Fabelman’s parents taking him to the movies for the first time, and as he watches The Greatest Show on Earth, he’s mesmerized, frightened, and awed all at once. Because movies can give us all kinds of reactions. Seeing what inspired Spielberg to become a filmmaker, knowing the movies he’d go on to make and the impact he’d go on to have, in and of itself is enough to warrant its inclusion on a list of best scenes in a movie theater. (Robert Bouffard)
Inglorious Basterds is the best of Quentin Tarantino and one of my favorite overall films, so it feels fitting to see everything come to a head in a movie theater. The ability to weave together so many different characters and plot points throughout the story is one of the greatest strengths of the film, and being able to intertwine them all so elegantly for a wild climax at a movie theater is all the more impressive. While a bit of an apples and oranges comparison, it reminds me of how well Seinfeld always brought the A, B, and C plots together in a hilarious conclusion each time. This final act has such a beautiful setting with a gorgeous theater. It also allows you to see so many aspects of it, including the lobby, the theater itself, the projection room, and even behind the screen. Not only that, but you get to see the film itself used as an incendiary weapon. And if all that wasn’t enough, you get to see Tarantino rewrite history and have Adolf Hitler taken out in his balcony seat. “Oui Shoshanna!” (Jason Mack)
The opening scene of Scream 2 is a masterful demonstration of meta-ness, and self-aware storytelling. The film begins with a movie-within-a-movie, Stab, a cinematic adaptation of the events of the first Scream. The audience watches as characters watch the film, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. This clever device comments on the public’s fascination with violence and the desensitization of trauma. By satirizing the Hollywood trope of sequelization, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson cleverly subvert expectations, acknowledging the artificial nature of horror movies, while still delivering a suspenseful and bloody opening sequence. This meta approach sets the tone for a film that continues to play with the conventions of the genre, making Scream 2 a standout in the horror franchise. (Adam Ritchie)
I love when a character that has been nothing but horrible for the duration of a film gets their comeuppance in the end. Seeing a liar exposed for pulling off a fraud at the expense of a protagonist makes me all kinds of giddy, and Singin’ In the Rain is by far my example. The opulently adorned theater, packed to the gills with attendees of the movie premier for The Royal Rascal, is the perfect setting to expose the irritatingly talentless Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) for the fraud she is. Having already stolen praise for having the songbird-like singing and speaking voice of the uncredited Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), Lina takes it a step farther by forcing Kathy to sing an encore performance from behind the theater curtain while she lip syncs along. Furious, Kathy complies, unaware that Don (Gene Kelly), Cosmo (Donald O’Connor), and R.F. (Millard Mitchell) are about to literally raise the curtain on the charade. A packed theater on opening night is the only place public enough to expose the fraud poor Kathy had been contractually compelled to participate in, with enough of the press and film community present to allow her to finally receive the credit she deserves. (Patrice Downing)
Who would’ve thought one popcorn spill could set off so much trouble? The theater serves as the meet cute setting for our unlikely Romeo and Juliet. When pop culture nerd Clarence (Christian Slater) gets unceremoniously showered with popcorn by Alabama (Patricia Arquette) during a birthday screening, the eventual one-night stand, initially just a job for hire for the latter, blossoms into True Romance — with angry mafia members hot in pursuit. Considering the film is helmed by Tony Scott and penned by Quentin Tarantino, to divulge that what follows is an insane, action-packed thrill ride that is chocked full of memorable moments and familiar faces should be anything but a shock. Though the initial cinematic meet cute may scream clichéd, the result is anything but. (Jake Bourgeois)