Your Star Wars Showreel

If you had to pick what you feel are the best five scenes from each of the films, to put on a showreel if you like, which would they be and why?

If pushed, I would choose :

TPM

- Dinner Scene on Tatooine - As pointer scenes go, this one stands out for me, mainly for Jake Lloyd - he's fantastic here as the wide-eyed innocent and idealistic kid .. a pure contrast to where he's going to end up

- Last Lap of The Pod Race - The tension and excitement once Anakin falls behind is brilliant. And the special FX still stand as some of the best ever seen. Stuff like this was rarely even imagined before this movie.

- "You're no longer a slave" - A really touching scene for Pernilla August and Liam Neeson especially. Shmi clearly hiding her hurt at the revelation her son must leave. The end where Qui-Gon puts his hand on her shoulder is among the most touching in the saga

- First Council Meeting - In the context of the whole saga this one really plays well for me. Qui-Gon telling the council he has found the chosen one and their initial apprehension, and not expected joy, give it an excellent tension. The look Mace gives Yoda right before the cut seals it for me

- Obi Wan's attack on Darth Maul - A scene of raw emotion - feels very real and is acted superbly. Ewan and Ray's swordplay is frenetic and amongst the most exciting in movie history. Just knowing what Maul is capable of and seeing Obi-Wan completely lose all his discipline - never a better duel in the entire saga

AOTC

- Into The Nightclub/Zam's Assasination - For the humour ; "wanna buy some deathsticks" and the tension ; the camera tracking Anakin when it's Obi Wan who is under real threat, John Williams music, and then the interrogation outside the club - "tell us now!" .. great foreshadowing.

- Obi Wan meets Jango Fett - Again, Lucas putting some nice tense touches to the mystery ; "recently?", "possibly." Really well played and for me, one of the best in the movie

- Shmi's Death/Tusken Slaughter - Nearly as good as anything in the entire Prequel Trilogy. Christensen is at his complete best and for this alone I can happily accept the odd sloppy line here or there. So pivotal in the saga too.

- Anakin's Return/Confession - Again, for mostly the reasons above. It's too powerful not include

- Yoda vs Dooku - Again, a moment when ILM took special effects to a new level. I don't believe for a minute anyone other than Lucas would have attempted such a scene. And even though it's a little clunky and Yoda was vastly improved for ROTS, it's one you can't really ignore.

ROTS

- Anakin's meeting with Yoda - Great direction on this one. The lighting, the CG on Yoda, the two performances. Truly fantastic filmmaking.

- The Opera - Two words - Ian McDiarmid. Breathtaking .. and not all that easy to pull off either, I imagine

- Anakin's decision - Credit to Lucas for being so bold as to add this when it could have backfired badly. John Williams music is everything but also the lighting and mood and the performance of Christensen, looking out into the skyline - you don't need any dialogue to know what he's thinking .. and this is where Star Wars always works 100% to its potential ; as a silent movie

- Obi Wan confronts Padme - It's all about Ewan McGregor in this. All his work studying Alec Guinness paid off in this one scene. His finest moments in the prequels for me.

- The Immolation Scene - In my opinion, the greatest scene in all 6 movies. Nothing else matches the significance, the performances and the horror. It was so pivotal and Lucas completely nailed it.

ANH

- Leia's Message - There's something about the youthful innocence of Luke, Leia as the damsel in distress and Artoo knowing more than he's letting on that make this a fun scene. And the fact that Luke's life is never going to be the same again.

- Obi Wan Returns - One of the best introductions to a character in any

 

I tend to agree with many of yours. Here are mine, in no particular order.

TPM

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul - the choreography, music and passion here is beautiful to watch, the Jedi and Sith are evenly matched and fighting with everything they've got, IMO the saga's best duel (ROTS is great but the duel is too damn tragic)

the final lap of the pod race - great fx and good tension, a fun child-like sequence that's seems kinda forgotten now

"Don't look back." - a heartbreaking scene that makes me feel more for Shmi than Anakin

Yoda giving Obi-Wan permision to train Anakin - I really like the look of this scene, the sunset's pretty, Yoda's always great, plus its an important scene as it has major ramifications for the rest of the saga

dinner with the Skywalkers - Qui-Gon really dominates this scene, you see him become a father figure to Anakin and start to realize how he could convince a young boy to follow and try to be just like him

AOTC

Anakin and Padme on the transport - this is, for me, made by Hayden's acting, his "attachments forbidded" line is so sincere and honest that I see Padme falling for that sort of thing

the picnic scene - visually beautiful and a nice mix of flirtation and debate, the "political" discussion gives us some nice forshadowing as well as a little insight into Anakin's personality

Obi-Wan meets Jango - good tension, a scene that tells us much about every character in the room while saying very little

Shmi's death/Tusken slaughter - best scene in the movie, needs no explanation

Anakin's confession - so powerful and sad, Anakin's regret is so painful considering we know he'll make more mistakes before its all over

ROTS - tough to stick to 5 for this one, uh here's 8

Anakin vs Dooku - Anakin's greatest moment as a Jedi as he becomes the hero of the PT, this is the image of "Luke's father" we all had from ANH (before he became Vader), Dooku's goading reminds us of Vader's future tactics, Anakin obliterating Dooku is a big payoff for the character

the opera scene - wonderful acting from Ian McDiarmid, both charming and seductive, Hayden is also good here

Anakin's decision/Padme's ruminations - I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said, the saga's best scene IMO

the Jedi Purge - from Anakin's march up the steps to the distant worlds, the score really gives this series of scenes an emotional punch

Obi-Wan confronting Padme - Ewan McGregor is terrific here, his "Anakin is the father, isn't he? I'm so sorry" is delivered so well that the viewer feels his sadness, sympathy, anger, resolve and sense of betrayal

Padme and Obi-Wan confronting Anakin - great acting from all, glimpses of the "good" Anakin and a lot of the Darth Vader monster, the right "break-up" for the romantic leads and a perfect lead-in to the duel

the immolation - incredibly tragic for both the characters as well as for what might have been, these events resonate though the rest of the saga

Vader's rage - for starters, it was wonderful to hear James Earl Jones voice again, this scene gives us see the man behind the mask (as his first words are of Padme) and demonstrates just how powerful Vader truly is as his rage can destroy everything, even the things he loves


That's it for the PT. I've got to go but will try and come up with stuff for the OT later.

 

ANH - I'm gonna cheat again. Here's 8 scenes I like:

Tantive IV and the Stardestroyer - many of my ANH choices will relate to things that made the film such a phenomenon back in 1977 (as well as today), this scene was was great from a special effects point of view and breathtaking on a big screen

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." - the sadness and impending doom in Leia's voice and Luke's reaction is so sincere that I really like this scene, Luke wants to help but has no idea what he's about to face

Binary Sunset - visually beautiful and a great musical moment, the viewer emotionally connects with Luke right away

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader..." - significant to both trilogies, Sir Alec's performance was perfect even though he didn't know the entire story yet

Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's death - an homage to The Searchers that works well within Star Wars, a very emotional scene

"I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan. We meet again at last..." - I always liked that Vader was waiting with his saber lit, the verbal sparring lets us know how deep and bitter this former friendship has become, Vader's determination is palpable: not "you will try" but "I am the master"

"Here they come!" - exciting action, fast editing, great music, pure Star Wars

Death Star trench run - the tension builds as Vader approaches and Luke slowly loses everything- first Wedge, then Biggs, then R2- until Han arrives in one of the saga's most thrilling and emotionally satisfying moments, I always liked the shot of the Falcoln blocking out the star as it swooped into the fight, I also liked the look on Luke's face when he sees the shots go into the exhaust port as when he hears Ben's "Remember, the Force will be with you, always."


ESB

"I happen to like nice men." - for the reasons in the first post

the cave - I like the darkness and creepiness of this scene, Mark Hamill's grest during the Dagobah scenes, including this one, where he doesn't say a word but we see his hatred, power and then understanding of the cost

lifting the X-wing - more for Yoda's speech than for the actual action but they do go together, if the PT is a treatise on the power of the dark side, this scene shows us the greatness of the light

the carbon freeze - another "what Star Wars is all about" scene: friendship (Han & Chewie), love (Hand & Leia), badass villains (Darth Vader, Boba Fett) and the slightest hint of redemption (Lando's obvious regret, Vader not letting Boba shoot Chewie), I also like Vader's attitude towards Lando- he's so arrogant and dismissive that we kinda see even Vader is disgusted by the betrayal

"I am your father." - Star Wars was never the same after this, it was a big gamble on Lucas' part but added such complexity to the overall story and Luke (and Anakin's) journey


ROTJ- I'm cheating again, here's 7

Luke on the skiff - I've said this many times, but back in 1983, seeing that green lightsaber spring to life was beyond cool, nice to see Luke's lessons finally pay off too

Luke with Yoda and Ben - a pay off scene made much better by the PT ("there is good in him")

Luke and Vader on Endor - an emotionally powerful scene as Vader reflects on a life wasted, interesting how we can read his expressions through the mask, knowing a young Anakin and Padme makes this scene even sadder now

Endor space battle - still the saga's most epic battle, exciting and visually beautiful

Luke defeats Vader/attack of the Emperor/Vader's redemption - (I know its 2 scenes but they run into each other) Vader (and Lucas) pick the perfect thing to set Luke off, the music's a perfect mix of tragedy and power as Luke succumbs to his anger, Vader's defeat is so emphatic that we actually feel sorry for the "ultimate bad guy" and we're then "reminded" of Anakin vs Dooku (in ROTS, not AOTC) as the Emperor makes Luke an offer, the acting's wonderful here as Luke realizes and und