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Cinematical Seven: The Death Scenes I'll Never Forget

by Monika Bartyzel Mar 19th 2007 // 2:01PM

Filed under: Classics, Fandom, Cinematical Seven




Trying to pick 7 death scenes that stand out above all the rest is like picking one grain of sand in the desert. It's a fool's game. For every great morsel that you pick out of the cinematic ether, there is another that's just as good, or maybe even better. Faced with the futile task of whittling down the myriad of options, I decided to think about types of death. That should narrow things down a bit, right? Well, there's the serious, funny, long, short, graphic, strange, animal, human, science-fiction, romance and everything else in-between. Basically, thinking in terms of themes doesn't narrow things much. Nevertheless, there are always death scenes that resonate.

For whatever reason, whether it's a perfectly laid out shot, or seeing the right thing at the right time, there are those that stick out. They're the scenes that you bring up in conversation, and argue about over a beer or two. For me, those films are:


1. American History X

Fifty years ago a shocking, violent death would make a viewer's stomach turn. These days, it's a bit harder. We've seen rivers of blood, scary death pictures, and almost every type of horror, both in the news and in entertainment. However, the curb stomping scene from American History X stands out as one of the most disturbing deaths I've ever witnessed in a movie. Derek (Edward Norton) empties his gun towards an escaping car of thieving accomplices before turning to the wounded one they left behind. Out of bullets, he forces the dying man's face to the curb, and "curbstomps" him. It's curious how weapons of death can be less terrifying than a simple pair of steel-toed boots.

2. Easy Rider

Some movie endings have shockers that seem disjointed and disappointingly jarring. And then others are unnerving, yet completely and appropriately apt. With a splash of red, Peter Fonda's "We blew it," takes on a rather literal meaning. The camera soars upwards as the fiery bike gets smaller and smaller. What makes this scene so great is that there are a number of ways to interpret it. You can be blown away by the symbolism of the rising camera, the bitterness of death at the end of a spiritually empty journey, or even feel the stinging slap of ignorance.


3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

While I did think of the infamous Paul Rubens death scene when compiling this list, I didn't include it until a number of friends of mine named it as their favorite. Most of the movie slides out of the mind like butter, but everyone seems to remember the goofy death of Amilyn. Unlike its television successor, Kristy Swanson's version doesn't have the vamps bursting into dust with a swift stake to the heart. This allowed Pee-Wee to "ooh," "arr" and "unh" his way through a splintery death. But really, that's what you get for asking a girl if she ever feels less than fresh.

4. Reservoir Dogs

Where Pee-Wee's death was a farce, Mr. Orange's death in Reservoir Dogs was a long and drawn out lesson in bloody agony. After a rousing digression about "Like a Virgin," we see Tim Roth splayed on white leather, his crisp, white shirt dyed red with blood. What's really great about this is that it's a movie about tough guys, yet the death doesn't fall into the usual trap where a painful death is played with a quiet grimace that seems more like indigestion. Mr. Orange cries, wails and quivers, much like a swift kick in the groin with a sharp, metal-spiked boot. His tears aren't labeled as less-than-manly, and his performance allows you to grasp the depth of his pain.

5. The Deer Hunter

The power of Nick's (Christopher Walken) death in Deer Hunter lies not in his end, but in the depth of eye-contact. When Mike tries to bring Nick home at the end of the film, Walken's blank face is almost as bad as his ultimate fate. You can see Robert DeNiro's eyes change as he recognizes that he has lost his friend and his mission is futile. When Nick's eyes just barely squint in return, and he remembers his friend and his past, it is only then that his on-going game of Russian Roulette proves fatal. It's the haunting "one shot" of their past, and the classic double-edged sword – you hope that he will recognize and remember his life-long friend, but when he does, you know he is doomed.

6. Executive Decision

I wasn't thrilled by the prospect that Steven Seagal was one of the stars in Executive Decision. However, being a big fan of Joe Morton, the quirky martial artist wasn't about to stop me from seeing Joe in all his crime-fighting, heroic glory. Sure, the whole connecting two planes in mid-air is kind of goofy, but what it results in is so amazingly, well, awesome. Seagal does his tough guy thing, and then BAM! He's dead! Sitting there in the theater, I squealed in delight. Then I wondered if I should be quiet, as no one likes loud noises during big death scenes. While wondering, I was distracted by loud noises around me. The entire theatre had erupted into cheers and applause. I wasn't the only one waiting for Seagal's demise.

7. Psycho

While we all can argue about most of the films that would make any death scene list, can anyone argue about the infamous Psycho shower scene? Alfred Hitchcock re-defined horror with the rushing water, desperate screams, plunging knife and carefully-placed fake blood. For such a brief scene, Hitchcock employed a myriad of camera positions to film the infamous, sharp-knifed death of Marion, and it's one of the few scenes that stands the test of time. And really, it is only fitting that the mother of death scenes gave birth to the epic Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. It must run in the blood.

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