7 cult movie scenes from the 80s that EVERYONE LOVES

The Shining. Here's Johnny!

There is no shortage of iconic, recognizable scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – Danny riding a bicycle through the corridors of the Overlook Hotel, the ghostly twins at the end of the corridor or the green bathroom and its resident. The most terrifying scene, however, is the one in which, driven by a murderous impulse, Jack (Jack Nicholson) looks for his wife and son in the hotel. Wendy (Shelley Duvall) is hiding with Danny (Danny Lloyd) in the bathroom, and although she pushed the boy through a small window, she can’t get through it herself. Meanwhile, a crazed Jack is already knocking on the door, reciting a fragment of the fairy tale about the wolf and the three pigs. He swings his axe to break down the door, and Wendy appears through the crack, ominously announcing, “Here’s Johnny!” – “Here is Johnny!”

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I'm your father

In the film’s climactic scene, where Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles Darth Vader (David Prowse) and Darth Vader  tries to turn him over to the dark side of the Force; in perhaps the most iconic scene in the entire saga, Darth Vader tells Luke, “Obi-Wan didn’t tell you what happened to your father,” to which Luke angrily replies, “He told me enough! That you killed him.” “NO. I’m your father,” he informs a shocked Luke. Interestingly, the rest of the cast had no idea about this groundbreaking plot twist. Mark Hamill talked about how difficult it was for him to keep a secret from his colleagues for almost a year from the time the scene was shot until the film’s release.

E.T. Across the Moon

According to many rankings, it is the famous Steven Spielberg film that contains the most memorable scene in the history of cinema. Of course, it’s about cycling. Elliott (Henry Thomas) pedals through the woods with E.T. sitting in a bicycle basket. The alien uses telekinesis to lift the bike into the air as they reach the edge of a cliff. Elliott and E.T. they fly majestically against the backdrop of a huge moon. The bike ride scene also appears at the end of the movie when Elliott and his friends are escaping with E.T. before the authorities and the police. To avoid the roadblock, E.T. once again lifts the boys’ bikes into the air.

Scarface. Say hello to my little friend!

One of the final scenes from Brian de Palma’s cult gangster film is one that is particularly memorable thanks to a line spoken during it that has permeated everyday life. Drug boss Tony Montana (Al Pacino) hides in a barricaded room in his stately villa, watching the situation unfold on cameras mounted around the house. He waits for the arrival of Alejandro Sosa’s gang, who want to get even with Tony. As the gangsters finally break into the house, Montana shouts, “Say hello to my little friend!” and fires a machine gun at the door before the gangsters storm his stronghold.

Dirty Dancing. Time of my Life

The iconic final dance in Dirty Dancing is already a scene-legend. Opening with the iconic quote “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”, it is the spectacular culmination (or perhaps really the beginning) of Frances “Baby” (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze) romance. Symbolic victory of love over conventions. Johnny snatches Baby from the table and begins an energetic dance with her on stage to (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. Then he leaves his partner on stage and performs a solo show, joining a group of dancers. The scene ends with the famous jump of Baby into Johnny’s arms – the climax of the phenomenal dance, which Jennifer Gray said was performed without rehearsals, spontaneously.

Fatal Attraction. Boiled Bunny

Adrian Lyne’s film does not lack emotional scenes – after all, it is a story about betrayal, toxic love and morbid jealousy. Dan (Michael Douglas), a happy husband and father and a talented lawyer, becomes involved in an affair with a publishing editor, Alex (Glenn Close). A woman becomes morbidly obsessed with her lover and does everything to keep him with her. When Dan once again tries to end the relationship and returns to his wife, Alex tries to blackmail him and intimidate his family. While they are away from home, Alex kills Dan’s baby girl Ellen’s rabbit and puts it in a pot of boiling water. The suspense-building montage alternates between shots of Dan’s wife, Beth (Anne Archer), approaching a cooking pot on the stove, and little Ellen, who runs to the cage in the garden to see her beloved bunny.

When Harry Met Sally. The Orgasm.

Two friends, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), meet for lunch at Katz’s Delicatessen – New Yorkers’ iconic place with the best pastrami sandwiches. They talk about relationships and sex, and at one point the conversation turns to female orgasm. Harry swears that none of his partners have ever faked an orgasm, and Sally convinces him that it’s happened to every woman at least once, and he wouldn’t be able to tell a real orgasm from a fake one. To the surprise of Harry, as well as the cooks, waiters and diner guests, Sally plays a scene in which she fakes an Oscar-worthy orgasm.

Michalina Peruga

Film scholar, art historian and lover of contemporary horror cinema and classic Hollywood cinema, especially film noir and the work of Alfred Hitchcock. In cinema, she loves mixing genres, breaking patterns and looking closely at characters.

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