Submitted by hoginlly t3_yhuqlv in movies

I’m wondering what are some of the most powerful movie scenes that use only the direction, wordless acting and/or music etc, but no dialogue...?

One that comes to my mind is ‘Schindlers list’, when we see the red coat in the pile… So incredibly powerful and devastating, but subtle too.

What are some others?

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garrisontweed t1_iufsucc wrote

The first scene from There Will Be Blood

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grjjr91 t1_iufz5rl wrote

When my brother and I saw it for the first time we thought there was something wrong with the TV.

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[deleted] t1_iuh06dn wrote

Wrong how? There’s still sound effects and music. Did you think the tv broke specifically from playing dialog?

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DoubleTFan t1_iuheaor wrote

It's possible that it was on a different audio track, but I dunno what glitch a tv or player could have which would cause that.

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grjjr91 t1_iuh54e4 wrote

Our TV use to have a problem of playing just music and sound effects but not the dialogue.

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[deleted] t1_iuh8ivq wrote

Plainview also grunts and screams multiple times during the opening. It’s not a silent sequence in any way except he doesn’t talk to another person for the first four minutes.

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thesnapening t1_iufshf3 wrote

The scene is children of men where everyone stops the fighting and you can only hear a baby cry.

Up Carl and ellies life montage.

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Redcandle_15 t1_iugrvj9 wrote

God that scene in children of men made me cry my eyes out

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GrayRoberts t1_iufvu1i wrote

Most of ‘No Country for Old Men.’

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MovieMike007 t1_iuftmtq wrote

The beginning of Wall*E

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JRogeroiii t1_iui40gt wrote

The first half of the movie has no dialog. That was such a gutsy thing to do for a kids movie. Best Pixar movie IMO.

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kpc45 t1_iufwlip wrote

The very end of shawshank when Andy sees his friend red made it

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Rusty_Shackleford75 t1_iufuanh wrote

The Godfather, when Michael moves his father into a different hospital room, to hide him from an assassination.

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callmemacready t1_iufvexw wrote

Roy sees the UFO for the first time Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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strong1117 t1_iug717k wrote

2001: A Space Odyssey - Frank's death scene. It is so extremely tense and when the audio cuts completely out it is terrifying

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3KZapRowsdower t1_iug0hjj wrote

The Good the Bad and the Ugly final shootout

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KingCrandall t1_iufvfp7 wrote

The moment before the shooting starts at OK Corral in Tombstone. You see the look on Doc's face and then everyone reacts. Perfection.

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OldMork t1_iufye3c wrote

beginning of Heat is nice where he steals the ambulance and val buys the explosives, almost no words spoken.

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DublaneCooper t1_iugcftb wrote

Actually, if we’re discussing non/dialogue scenes, then the bank shootout from Heat. Legendary.

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Friendly-Bad-291 t1_iujlu1b wrote

last 15 minutes of heat make that flick, that last shot of just cop and criminal both only having each other. Hard movie to make where everybody loses

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Aconductor2 t1_iuftekb wrote

The end in " Deep Throat ", where John Holmes and Linda Lovelace do their best acting in their career best film.

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MarkOfTheDragon12 t1_iufwvo1 wrote

  • UP - Growing old montage;that moment at the Dr. Office

  • Phantasia 2000, the Firebird Suite where nature spirit huddles in ash after she unleashed the valcano that destroyed everything around her

  • Spirited Away - sitting on the train with noface and other spirits just quietly thinking and watching

  • Star Wars A New Hope - Wistfully staring at the suns going down over the dusty plain

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TaroFuzzy5588 t1_iufyf96 wrote

At the end of The Birds when Melanie takes the kids from the schoolhouse and the birds are just watching

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Key-Mulberry2456 t1_iugmvns wrote

You’re confusing two different scenes, but yes. Hitchcock was a visual storyteller. His best movies alternate scenes with dialog and scenes that are just perfectly shot and edited bits of film.

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TaroFuzzy5588 t1_iugukqg wrote

I'm thinking at the end where Tippie Hedren and Rod Taylor quietly slip into the car with her daughter and slowly drive away...

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Key-Mulberry2456 t1_iugxutb wrote

…with not even a musical score to provide any obvious emotional cues. Just the sounds of endless birds and the final visual of a conquered landscape.

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Kevin8se7en t1_iufyyau wrote

The Church Scene in Kingsman.

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hoginlly OP t1_iuh165i wrote

God I love that scene. Freebird was the perfect choice there!

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Spiky_Pig13 t1_iug2019 wrote

The ending of "the mist" when he was being helped after he murdered his own fam.

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Marvel_plant t1_iufs9uk wrote

The long kitchen scene from Big Night where they cook eggs and everyone’s hung over. I love it.

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SirRavenNekros t1_iufw70q wrote

The intro scene to Melancholia. The movie itself is hard for me to watch, but the introduction is a beautiful tragedy of imagery.

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Oz-Batty t1_iufwq93 wrote

The beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Also, all the other scenes from 2001 without any dialogue.

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SaltySweetManDicks t1_iug13x9 wrote

The Dark Knight - The scene after the Joker breaks out of jail. Him sticking his head out the car window like a dog was pure cinematic magic to me. Same scene eerily shows the aftermath of his explosions.

Donnie Darko- After the airplane's turbine falls and kills Donnie at the end of the movie. The title card for October 2nd reappears and the song "Mad World" starts playing. I get chills every time this scene starts. It's beautiful watching each character quietly awaken to a disturbance they'll never understand.

The Shining- At the very end when the song "Midnight, the Stars, and You" starts playing. The camera slow panning to the picture of the New Years Eve party picture with Jack Torrance dead center of it. I can't imagine a better ending scene / shot.

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MugenWhips t1_iug2lzz wrote

The knife fight in John Wick 3. They're in this antique knife shop, everybody keeps going into the knife cases, grabbing knives and throwing more shit at each other, it's exhausting but one of the best fight sequences I've ever seen.

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orwll t1_iug75q5 wrote

In DePalma's Dressed to Kill, I think there's only one line of dialogue in a 20-minute span from minute 13 to minute 33.

Amazing tension build with just sound music and visuals.

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jonmulanys5thniple t1_iug9qz5 wrote

In The Mood For Love(1999) has so many to choose from.

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Zeratul111 t1_iug3jia wrote

"Arrival" - when you first see the you-know-whos.

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[deleted] t1_iug47oq wrote

Depending how you feel about Ghost Story, almost every scene could be the best silent scene in the movie.

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randomidkokbye t1_iug7mlp wrote

End of Return of the King when they are back at the pub and start laughing

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Greaser_Dude t1_iugn7nq wrote

Return of the King - The lighting of the beacons across Middle Earth from day into night into the next day.

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supmandude t1_iufssh1 wrote

Nosferatu (the whole film).

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Best_Duck9118 t1_iuglgoq wrote

If we’re doing Murnau then Sunrise and The Last Laugh too.

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shanghairolls99 t1_iufto01 wrote

Timothee chalamets last scene as elio on call me by your name.

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PagingDrHuman t1_iufxkjw wrote

While the movie may not be liked, I always liked the visuals of the blind girl waiting for the joker in the Village when one of the "monsters" was just in visual range.

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liquidportal6199 t1_iufyptc wrote

Most of the Omaha Beach scene in Saving Pvt Ryan

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bjanas t1_iug28v1 wrote

Not exactly "no" dialogue, but I'm going to try to sneak in the "fuck" scene from the wire.

Yeah, they talk, but only the one word really, and everything is told through action. It's great.

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apologymama t1_iugfck9 wrote

As a female, when Darcy crosses the distance at sunrise to reach Elizabeth, gets me

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vilebutvast t1_iugs19w wrote

Mine was from this too!!! But it’s the hand at the carriage and the dancing! Great use of non-dialogue in that film!!!

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ilovelucygal t1_iuho6z1 wrote

Saving Private Ryan has two memorable scenes, one leading into another.

Even though there's a voiceover, there's no dialogue where the women are typing condolence letters to families of deceased soldiers. You can tell what has happened with the Ryan family just by watching.

Then seeing Mrs. Ryan washing the dishes & noticing the big, black car making its way up the dirt road to her house--which could only mean one thing.

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OhioForever10 t1_iuixz4c wrote

> which could only mean one thing.

It's made worse by the fact that she would've been wondering which son had died, and probably didn't consider three of them had. The Right Stuff has a similar scene in its opening.

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Miklonario t1_iufwpon wrote

The heist from Rififi.

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amnycya t1_iufyeq5 wrote

“Dawn of Man” (opening) sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey

First 20 minutes of “Once Upon A Time In America”

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ravelty t1_iug23m4 wrote

The End of The Shawshank Redemption

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fruitporridge t1_iug4kfm wrote

The shape of water

Sally Hawkins describing sex with the fish man .

😂

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plasma_evil t1_iug56h3 wrote

Once upon a time in the west opening scene. Hands down

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nowhereman136 t1_iug853r wrote

Out of context the basement scenes in War of the World's was pretty well done. The movie as a whole was just ok, but that scene was Spielbergs bread and butter

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Redcandle_15 t1_iugrzst wrote

Agreed, I know loads of people hate it but I really thought those scenes were amazing, and Tim robins really sells being a paranoid psycho

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DominicanBoi02 t1_iugbdd2 wrote

Not just one, but a lot of the scenes in 2001 A Space Odyssey. Some scenes have beautiful music, others don't, and the scenes manage to be very mesmerizing.

Kubrick just had a certain philosophy and method with his films, it's fascinating.

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vilebutvast t1_iugrwjw wrote

The “hand” scene in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage and walks away, close up on his hand flexing in excitement or feeling. Ughhhh still love love that so much. Plus their whole dance sequence when the sounds of the room fade away and it’s just them and then the music even fades out and it’s just the two of them. Perfect way to depict falling in love.

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jeffmartin47 t1_iugusw4 wrote

The beginning and ending of E.T.

The ship landing. The government agents showing up. E.T running toward the ship.

The shot of E.T as the ramp rises and the portal door closes. The ship leaving behind a rainbow.

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quast_64 t1_iuh14sd wrote

the scene in Apocalypse Now, where the group arrives at the Kurtz camp. minimal dialog, but so much tension in the silence

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chojny t1_iuh3yxs wrote

Burning (2018) - the dance at sunset scene.

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Pingasboybitch t1_iug53bh wrote

First scene from Saving Private Ryan from what i remember

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LionHeart9901 t1_iughjai wrote

Final scene from Whiplash, when the villain finally wins

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Altruistic-Brief2220 t1_iuhq558 wrote

Cast away - there is a really long period after Hanks’ character crashes where there is no dialogue until he creates Wilson. Highly effective.

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bluejester12 t1_iuiaa1y wrote

William Wallace rides into town after is wife is killed.

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BitchZia t1_iuiggzy wrote

The first 10 minutes of Pixar's Up never fail to make me cry.

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BachthovenIB t1_iujqy1u wrote

Jeremiah Johnson Indian Burial Ground Scene

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SirDeviantRicky t1_iufun78 wrote

The last like 15 minutes of August Rush. Absolutely amazing! I get gooseflesh whenever I rewatch it

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moinatx t1_iug1elv wrote

The wordless montage in Up showing Ellie and Carl’s life together.

I’ve seen this scene bring high school boys to tears. I cry in front of my film class every time.

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Zeratul111 t1_iug29t1 wrote

The early montage scene in 'Up', where they showed the marriage until the wife's death.

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HardSteelRain t1_iugh7ap wrote

Avengers post scene when they're all sitting exhausted eating schwarma

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Puzzled-Journalist-4 t1_iugrqtn wrote

Schofield sprinting on the open battlefield at the end of 1917. Music, background extras, and explosives, everything collides in one final moment and it gives me goosebumps every time I watch this scene.

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FaisalFrame t1_iuh02oh wrote

Almost every scene from The Master

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cellexo t1_iuh3rpd wrote

Ending of Lost in Translation. Nothing said, just beautiful.

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chichris t1_iuh9fuw wrote

Most of Quiet Place.

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2Blitz t1_iuhg2eb wrote

Padme's Ruminations from Revenge of the Sith. The beautiful Coruscant skyline as the sun sets, the haunting, eerie music playing in the back and Anakin looking to Padme one last time before making his decision. That was it. The calm before the storm. The fall of the Republic, the end of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire. Everything was about to change and not a single person knew it was going to happen. Fucking Palpatine..

 

And it hits even harder if you watched Clone Wars. After getting to know the Jedi Order, the clones and all these main characters. It's honestly really tragic.

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Kolermigon t1_iuhzy97 wrote

A very short one: Mission Impossible Fallout. Henry Cavill is in the helicopter, feels a bump, looks behind and sees Tom Cruise chasing them. Then Cavill looks like he's silently evaluating his options, maybe throwing a few insults in his mind, and takes a machine gun to shoot down Cruise.

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scrjim t1_iui8y42 wrote

The build up to the fight during the orgy in Conan the Barbarian. It looks like a full on Frank Frazetta painting, the music is great and the way James Earl JOnes turns into a snake is really well done.

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Nothotsnothoughts t1_iuibyz6 wrote

That rock scene in everything everywhere all at once

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satsumike t1_iuicomz wrote

Heist scene in Rififi (1955)

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Mathemagician23 t1_iuiczah wrote

The Star Wars Holiday Special…

Technically, Chewbacca’s family has dialogue, but there’s no subtitles or indication of what they’re saying. it’s just ten minutes of Wookiees growling at each other while going about their day…

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IAmSomnabula t1_iuj3szc wrote

The final showdown of The Good The Bad and The Ugly

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MrThrowAweh t1_iujtkoz wrote

The hand sign scene from Sicario 2

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remusane t1_iuk35o1 wrote

The play performance at the end of Drive My Car was really powerful

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Nicklovin1942 t1_iugexrj wrote

A Quiet Place has no dialogue for a majority of the movie

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Over_Goal_7 t1_iuiffp3 wrote

i prefer watch full movie not scenes

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hoginlly OP t1_iuiqogp wrote

Obviously. Normally, when watching the full movie, you have to watch the scenes in that movie, no?? This is just a post about movies which have powerful scenes not relying on dialogue, the same as asking for what are the best acting performances etc

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r_bogie t1_iugoenj wrote

There's no dialog and then there's no dialog or music.

This question needs to be broken into two separate categories.

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