Cinema can be very beautiful, especially when small moments are executed to perfection. Like these:
The Wizard in the Wizard of the Oz
Despite being referenced by many in the wizarding world, the mighty wizard was never seen by anyone, including the film’s audience, until the very end. Some considered him a great myth, which was ultimately correct, for behind the curtain he was just an ordinary man pretending to be much more powerful than he was. But he was as wise as you’d expect a wizard to be!
Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird
Boo Radley was considered by many to be a maniac who left his house alone after dark. But when Radley came to rescue the children who feared him, as a mystery man, the movie’s message at the time was solidified to never judge a book by its cover.
Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now
Colonel Kurtz’s facial reveal is still considered one of the great images of cinema. In the movie, Kurtz had lost his mind and started his own war. He was constantly mentioned but never seen until the last act when we see him emerge from the darkness after talking to Martin Sheen’s character. The audience immediately recognized Marlon Brando’s voice, but it was still surprising to see him.
Darth Vader in The Return of Jedi
Vader was this menacing figure who haunted our youth with his breathless voice. After the final duel with his son, Luke, we see Vader’s mask come off both literally and figuratively. After being defeated, we find that Vader was only half a man while the rest of his body was amputated. But with his final lines with Luke, reflecting on life and his choices made us emotionally bonded with him.
John Merrick in The Elephant Man
The build-up of the disfigured man’s face was not dramatic, rather simple. A nurse accidentally walks into the room of the hospital where John Merrick lay. This was a very smart move, as we, as the public, had as little idea of what was going to happen as the nurse. The dramatization of it would have ruined it.
Mrs. Bates in Psycho
Throughout the film, Mrs. Bates was seen in silhouette—either from above or from behind. But in the end, in the fright of her life, when Vera turns Mrs. Bates’s chair, she sees not her but her skeleton sitting there. When she turns around, she sees Norman dressed as a woman, revealing that he has been playing his mother all along.
Predator in Predator
The alien is invisible for much of the movie, which makes it all the more terrifying when we finally see the Predator in its physical form. To have a final battle with Arnold, he removes his mask and reveals a truly grotesque alien face with snarling external teeth.
Harry Lime in the third man
Lime is referenced too often in the movie that you could practically visualize it yourself. He was supposed to be dead, but it was revealed halfway through the film that he is not only very much alive, but is played by Orson Welles. One of the most respected actors of all time.
What moment of revelation made you gasp the hardest in the theaters?
