40+ Pictures Of The Most Inspiring And Iconic Movie Scenes of All Time

Nothing was too minor or insignificant to be included.

Maryjane

• Published in Film & TV
• April 30, 2022

Even if you haven't seen every classic movie, there are some popular movie scenes that you know by heart. They could be the climax of the film, such as the bathroom scene in Psycho, or they could be one of the scenes that fans still quote word for word, such as the "Wingardium Leviosa" lesson in our beloved Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Not all of these popular movie scenes are essentially crucial to the plot. They are, however, the ones you are likely to hear fans quote long after the films have been dropped.

If a good movie leaves an impression on the viewer, then these popular movie scenes must have been very inspiring. Certain scenes in these films stand out: in Star Wars Episode IV, when Luke blew up the Death Star, and in Gladiator, when Maximus revealed his true identity.

Compiling a list of the most inspiring movie moments can be a difficult task. Everyone has their personal favorites, and no two appear to be the same.

Check out these most inspiring moments from blog buster movies for more amazing films worthy of rewatching. We had to cast a wide net in order to create a list that included the best of what cinema has to offer.

1. When Brody blew up the shark in Jaws

"Every now and then, this old theatre in my town will play old movies. I've seen Jaws there a couple times, and every time the shark blew up, the whole theatre erupted into cheers and applause."

—alexfromjupiter

"When Roy Scheider finally hits the bottle of nitrogen he's stuck in that shark's teeth with the second or third shot and blows that 24-footer to kingdom come."

—lhixson1984

2. In Star Wars Episode IV when Luke blew up the Death Star

"Star Wars digital re-release in the '90s — when the Death Star blew, the whole theatre went mad."

—chloesilverado

3. When Maximus revealed his identity in Gladiator

4. When Andy escaped the pipe into the rain in The Shawshank Redemption

"FREEEDOOOOOOM!"

—craigshames8

5. In Lord of the Ring when Sam carried Frodo up Mt. Doom

"A good Lord of the Rings one in my opinion is when Sam said: 'I can't carry it for you… but I can carry you!' Then picked up Frodo. I thought that scene was powerful."

—tabbyreviews

6. The speech in Braveheart

"So I think we can all agree that Mel Gibson the man has well and truly cancelled himself, but, that aside, the ‘freedom’ speech scene from Braveheart is one of the most air-punching moments in cinema history."

—juliaw1

7. When President Marshall pushed Egor off the plane in Air Force One

"The crowd went wild, and as a huge Gary Oldman fan, I was torn! 🤣🤣🤣"

—Sixthtryatadamnusername

8. When Ron and Hermione finally kissed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This was a long time coming — literally almost a decade — and I screamed my 17-year-old heart out when it finally happened.

9. When Celie stood up to her husband in The Color Purple

"Everyone stood up and cheered!"

—mistinguette

10. In Seabiscuit, when Seabiscuit got in the lead

"The entire theatre cheered and clapped. It was bloody awesome."

—denisesf5

11. When the students recited, "Oh Captain, My Captain" in Dead Poets Society

12. When Rose spit in Cal’s face in Titanic

13. When Aslan came back to life in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

"My class watches The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe every year, and it never fails that they clap when Aslan comes back to life."

—Anonymous

14. When Rocky beat Ivan Drago in Rocky IV

15. When Samuel L. Jackson said his iconic line in Snakes on a Plane

"B-movies are the best movies to watch with an audience."

—hailcthulhu

16. When they found Lando in The Rise of Skywalker

"I cheered so loudly when Rey, Finn, and the others found Lando!"

—Shahbano Malik

17. When Lando came with reinforcements in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

18. When Éowyn killed the Witch-king in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"Nothing will ever top the 'I AM NO MAN' scene in LOTR for me."

—sierrao44a157429

19. In Legally Blonde, when Elle made Chutney admit the truth

20. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Umbridge asked Harry for help

21. When Noah and Allie finally kissed again in The Notebook

22. When Truman left at the end of The Truman Show

23. In Sleeping with the Enemy, when Laura called 911 and then shot Martin

24. In My Cousin Vinny, when Mona proved that Bill and Stan did not commit the murder

25. When everyone returned in Avengers: Endgame

26. When Molly killed Bellatrix in Potter and the Deathly Hallows

27. When Diana walked right into no man's land in Wonder Woman

28. When Rick killed Sadie with a flamethrower in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

"Everyone was cheering and clapping when Leo got the flamethrower!"

—hobbitgirl96

29. In Robocop, when the chief executive asked his name, and Robocop said, "Murphy"

30. When Batman flipped Joker's truck in The Dark Knight

31. When the dog jumped away from the explosion in Independence Day

"The whole theater cheered when the dog was able to leap through the door and escape the fire in Independence Day. It's been over 20 years, but that is still the only film I've been to where the entire theater cheered."

—johnpaynepayne

32. In The Lord of The Rings when Pippin lit the beacons

"That's actually one of my favorite scenes: the lighting of the beacons, the buildup to Aragorn seeing the beacons, Théoden's pause as he considers helping Gondor... Fucking awesome."

—flyerboy6

33. In Back to the Future when George McFly knocked out Biff

34. In The Princess Bride when Inigo killed Count Rugen

35. In Dreamgirls, when Effie sang...

"Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of that song gave me CHILLS. My parents saw Dreamgirls on Broadway with Jennifer Holliday, and they said that Jennifer Hudson is the only one who could have brought that power back to the screen. It was incredible."

—walkinginspace

36. In The Dark Knight, when Batman showed up while the Joker was threatening Rachel

37. When Ellen said this iconic line in Aliens

38. When the president gave his speech in Independence Day

"This ages me, but...oh well. I loved the president's speech in the original Independence Day."

—cr1stalfairie

"That might be one of my favorite monologues of all time."

—karlys3

39. In Harry Potter, when Hermione punched Malfoy

40. When Andrew gave his speech in The American President

"The American President speech (yes, I'm an old millennial) always always makes me cheer internally. 'I'm Andrew Shepherd, and I AM the President!' Damn you, Aaron Sorkin, for making me believe in decent people and politicians!"

—mollykin1015

41. In Rogue One, when Leia came onscreen

42. When Slim killed her abusive husband in Enough

"In Enough when she finally gets to stand up to her abusive husband and wins before it cuts to her driving off to a new life with her daughter and partner."

—slytherinshark

43. The opening of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

"The only time I have ever heard full-on cheering in a movie theater was at the re-release of Star Wars Ep. IV. The theater gets dark, and the music starts, and it’s pandemonium. I cried a little. It’s giving me goosebumps thinking about it! So sad that that was probably the last time anyone felt that way about Star Wars."

—kfish2325

Nothing was too minor or insignificant to be included on the list. What was important was that it meant something to the viewers.

Choosing the film was sometimes the easy part; the real challenge came when we tried to narrow it down to one scene. Don't forget to let us know in the comments which moment was your favorite.

Maryjane