Most tension filled movie scenes of all-time?

[NittanyChris]

Those edge of your seat, cut the tension with a knife scenes. So great. I'll start with two:
1. Opening scene of Inglourious Basterds when Colonel Hans Landa interrogates the farmer about sheltering Jews. Amazing scene.
2. The coin flip scene in No Country For Old Men. Really revealed the depravity of Anton Chigurh. Sensational.

 

[db90]

the end of Silence of the Lambs

 

[CVLion]

Injecting the adrenaline into Uma Thurman’s heart in Pulp Fiction.

The standoff at the end of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

 

[Aardvark86]

Those edge of your seat, cut the tension with a knife scenes. So great. I'll start with two:
1. Opening scene of Inglourious Basterds when Colonel Hans Landa interrogates the farmer about sheltering Jews. Amazing scene.
2. The coin flip scene in No Country For Old Men. Really revealed the depravity of Anton Chigurh. Sensational.

Silence of the lambs

 

[Ranger Dan]

The stair scene in saving private Ryan where Upham is on the stairs but is frozen and can’t help Mellish, with Mellish getting knifed by the German.

 

[MJG-90]

The beginning of Saving Private Ryan when they stormed the beach. Probably because it depicted a real event made it so much intense than any horror film scene.

 

[paulouie]

The scene where Kathy Bates breaks James Cann's legs in Misery!

 

[ericstratton-rushchairman]

I'll give you two...

Deliverance - squeal like a pig
American History X - curb stopping

 

[nittanyfan333]

The entirety of Free Solo

 

[eidolon21]

The interrogation scene with Sharon Stone wearing the really short dress!!

 

[NittanyChris]

As I think about it more, Tarantino is really a master at this. The dinner table scene in Django, the bar scene in Basterds, the end of Reservoir Dogs, and on and on.

 

[BobPSU92]

The interrogation scene with Sharon Stone wearing the really short dress!!

FLAG.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

When Michael goes to get the gun behind the toilet of Loui's restaurant prior to blowing Solozzo's and Captain McCloskey's brains out!

Try the veal, it's the best in the city!
I'll have it!

 

[Obliviax]

James Cann getting machine gunned in the first Godfather. Saving Private Ryan where the German kills the Jewish soldier in hand to hand combat. Richard Harris getting strung up by his boobies in A Man Called Horse. The entire movie named "The Exorcist".

 

[Mile High Lion]

The Russian roulette scene in The Deer Hunter. I was pretty young when I first saw it but that one always got to me.

 

[rudedude]

I brought this scene up in the thread about best Nam movie

 

[rudedude]

True Romance

 

[rudedude]

Marathon Man

 

[rudedude]

The Thing blood test

 

[rudedude]

The Revenant bear attack

 

[LionDeNittany]

There have been others quoted, but Lynch is truly the master of this.

 

[Lane]

Essentially all of 1917 considering the cinematography used to convey that it's all just 2 scenes.

 

[psu08]

Some great ones already mentioned above. I’ll add drug deal scene from Boogie Nights. A lot going on there, terrific scene.

 

[BBrown]

Those edge of your seat, cut the tension with a knife scenes. So great. I'll start with two:
1. Opening scene of Inglourious Basterds when Colonel Hans Landa interrogates the farmer about sheltering Jews. Amazing scene.
2. The coin flip scene in No Country For Old Men. Really revealed the depravity of Anton Chigurh. Sensational.

The Russian Roulette scene in The Deer Hunter.

 

[psuro]

The Crying Game....but it was really the second to last scene - talk about the air being taken out of a room.....

 

[LionJim]

 

[Kiber]

Those edge of your seat, cut the tension with a knife scenes. So great. I'll start with two:
1. Opening scene of Inglourious Basterds when Colonel Hans Landa interrogates the farmer about sheltering Jews. Amazing scene.
2. The coin flip scene in No Country For Old Men. Really revealed the depravity of Anton Chigurh. Sensational.

The "rat" scene from departed is pretty intense. It's the scene where Jack Nicholson knows there is a rat in his group. He brings DeCapio in for a sit down at a closed restaurant. Only 3 in the place are Nicholson/DiCapio and Nicholson's #1 henchmen. The are face to face and Nicholson starts talking about rats.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Marathon Man

View embedded media

This was my immediate thought - thread over.

That said, Free Solo was brought up. The scene where he was traversing under the overhang and the view dropped away - one of the last pitches - jesus!! I’ve climbed a bit and that just hit me hard.

 

[Obliviax]

Marathon Man

View embedded media

That's a great, GREAT movie. I had forgotten about that. Thanks for bringing it up. Should also be in the thread about movies that are really good but not given consideration any longer.

 

[SaquonCappelletti]

 

[odshowtime]

The Thing blood test

View embedded media

Dang it you stole mine but you went the extra mile with the video so hats off to you.

 

[LionJim]

 

[LDandy]

Airport scene in Argo is pretty tense.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Funny how?

 

[NittanyChris]

Funny how?

Surprised it took this long to get a mention! Outstanding.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Many years ago, but thought the opening minutes of the first Indiana Jones movie were outstanding!

 

[Chris92]

"Debbie Does Dallas." Pretty much every scene puts you on the edge wondering if this is going to be the guy/gal to turn her down.

 

[lein]

The opening scene in the Wizard of Oz with the tornado.
(terrifying when I was 5)

 

[m48tank]

The first time Bella Lagosi appears in Dracula. I was very young. Also the Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price (the whole movie)!

 

[Mooseworks]

Those edge of your seat, cut the tension with a knife scenes. So great. I'll start with two:
1. Opening scene of Inglourious Basterds when Colonel Hans Landa interrogates the farmer about sheltering Jews. Amazing scene.
2. The coin flip scene in No Country For Old Men. Really revealed the depravity of Anton Chigurh. Sensational.

The shower scene in Psycho.