The second half of my top 20:
Goodfellas – Martin Scorsese’s gangster films have many memorable death scenes, but this one, which is actually the result of an attack scene later in the film, when Joey finally snaps at Billy Batts’ shoeshine remarks with one of the most breathtakingly violent assaults in cinema history, is a hell of a way to start a film.
Alien – None of the deaths in this film are inconsequential, and some of the most emotive ones take place offscreen, but few scenes can inspire as much shock in the audience as when the facehugger, which we thought had died, frees itself from Kane’s abdomen, stunning the other actors in the process.
RoboCop – Another hyper- violent film with several candidates for this list, but the one which resonates is when the titular cybernetic law enforcement official realises who he is and how to bring down the corrupt authority which is ruining the city.
Apocalypse Now – I’m not exactly sure why this has left such an impression on me, but the insanity of the Vietnam war is beautifully summed up in Willard’s mission, from covert beginnings (“Terminate with extreme prejudice”) to conclusion, probably one without any impact on the conflict in general.
The Shining – I’m one of those who prefers this to the book on which is based, partly because Kubrick doesn’t dwell on what is going on in the Overlook hotel, nor why Jack is behaving in such a way. For me, this makes it scarier because there is no logical explanation and, with this stunning murder of Halloran, any doubt that Danny and Wendy are in mortal danger is dispelled with one swing of the fire axe.
Bambi – A moment which had me, in common with many children, in floods of tears and a scene which continues to bring a lump to my throat every time I watch it. The Disney films have always tended to take the viewers on an emotional rollercoaster and without this the ending wouldn’t be as powerful or moving.
This Is Spinal Tap – Not all great cinema deaths take place on screen and, as with Alien when Dallas meets the xenomorph in the tunnel, the fact you know it is coming doesn’t lessen its impact. The drummers’ deaths are legendary and the descriptions by the band make funnier than if they were all filmed and shown.
Watership Down – Like Bambi, this turned me into an emotional wreck as a child and did so again when I watched it a few months ago. There is something about the ‘life fulfilled’ part of the death which makes it so moving because, like an elderly grandparent or other beloved relative, it resonates with people of all ages.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail – A scene I watched repeatedly as a child, relishing in the cartoon violence when The Black Knight dispatches his valiant foe, but then meets his match in King Arthur, which results in more violence which is funny rather than anything else.
Pan’s Labyrinth – As someone who had seen many, many violent horror films and thought he was desensitised to blood, gore, and vicious beatings, I was stunned at the intensity of this beating, perhaps because Sergi López’ Capt Vidal expresses no emotion and is almost robotic in his reaction to the horrendous violence he has just meted out to a poor peasant. I don’t mind admitting I cried when Ofelia died at the end and, as Princess Moanna, returns to her family in the underworld, but this is the one which left the biggest impression on me in the cinema, and continues to do so.
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