MovieChat Forums > Brief Encounter (1946) Discussion > Favourite shot/moment?

Favourite shot/moment?

posted 12 years ago by tohu
16 replies | jump to latest

NB I'm not asking for your favourite /scene/, but your favourite /shot/. I mean, just a couple of seconds of film.

For me, it's just happened.... I watched the film tonight for the first time in ages, and it was wonderful of course. But the moment that just took my breath away is right near the end, when she finishes her story and she sort of lies back in her chair. Suddenly, the camera cuts to Fred: he is sitting watching her, with his newspaper folded on his lap. And the shot just holds on him for a few seconds, before he goes to her. In those few seconds, his facial expresson says it all. It really did just literally make me gasp.

Isn't that amazing? :) A 70-year old movie, and a simple shot of a middle-aged, ordinary man sitting in a chair, not moving or speaking... and it's got tears running down my face.

_____________

"Maybe I should go alone"
- Quint, Jaws.

[–] Spinners1961 9 years ago

There's a lot of wonderful scenes in this film but it's the hand on the shoulder shot SECOND TIME around.

[–] Peterlh 9 years ago

My favorite moment is just before, during, and after she tries to throw herself in front of the express train.
The movie builds up so you know it's coming which makes it just so much more powerful, and the way that the camera makes a smooth transaction to the most perfect use of dutch angle I have ever seen is just magnificent.
All this brilliance and I haven't even mentioned the lighting yet!

[–] AmyLouise 9 years ago

For me, the moment Laura realises she's falling in love. In the tea shop, she tells Alec "You looked like a little boy" - the camera focuses on her face, and his voice becomes a little muted as a fleeting look passes over her face. A couple of seconds, but we know she's falling in love and is intensely aware of him.

[–] zwot 8 years ago

For me, the moment Laura realises she's falling in love. In the tea shop, she tells Alec "You looked like a little boy" - the camera focuses on her face, and his voice becomes a little muted as a fleeting look passes over her face. A couple of seconds, but we know she's falling in love and is intensely aware of him.

I agree. That was a magnificent bit of acting, by both of them.