Somehow, we got on to trying to come up with the best dance scenes in movies. Quickly I ascertained that Musicals and Movies solely about dance would have to be eliminated. There are too many of them, and it's an unfair comparison. (We can do that list later, if there's a clamor.)
My criteria was that the scene was memorable, the music good, the dancing actually good and the scene was important to the movie, and lastly, how iconic it was. My list may surprise you, but just remember: I'm right, you're not.
#15 Can't Buy Me Love - Nothing beats a young McDreamy in the African Anteater Ritual!!!!
#14 American President - I don't know what's better; the sweeping camera shot or the look on Richard Dreyfus's face.
#13 Gone With the Wind - You know how they made a black version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "The Honeymooners." I got their next project for them.
#12 Reservoir Dogs - One of the creepiest scenes ever, and begs the question, if the other guy is tied up, are you dancing with yourself? (see clip here)
#11 Exotica - There is no way to describe these scenes other than to see the movie, which you should (although: it will tear your head open). The film is about a stripper but like all Canadians, there is so much more going on below the surface. (See clip here, set to Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows)
#10 True Lies - Take your pick. I prefer the Tango with Tia Carrere (seen here), but you might like Jamie-Lee (here)
#9 Sin City - For where it comes in the movie, for the chaps, for the lasso, and for Nancy (see the clip here)
#8 Foot Loose - For me, the movie goes down hill when he survives the bulldozer
#7 Napoleon Dynamite - If only because it comes out of freaking nowhere, man!
#6 Risky Business - Perhaps the highlight of the tighty-whitey era
#5 Pulp Fiction - I think my favorite part might be how Travolta takes off his shoes and then his socks. It just builds tension in this kooky way.
#4 Dirty Dancing (sigh, the final scene, although I prefer the earlier 2, but I want women to talk to me again) - Nobody puts Baby outside of the Top 5! (Is that a child Dirty Dancing? Try to defend that, bitches!)
#3 From Dusk Till Dawn - I think if you have a daughter, and you name her Fantastico Pandemonium, you might as well give her a giant snake, because that's where she's headed. (And in this case, may I just say Thank the gods!)
#2 Young Frankenstein - Now that's "Puttin' on the Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
and the #1 dance scene in a non-musical is......
#1 Saturday Night Fever - Never have so many women simultaneously wanted one man. For that matter, never have so many men simultaneously wanted one man. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you John Travolta!
My criteria was that the scene was memorable, the music good, the dancing actually good and the scene was important to the movie, and lastly, how iconic it was. My list may surprise you, but just remember: I'm right, you're not.
THE TOP 15 DANCE SCNES FROM NON-MUSICAL MOVIES
#15 Can't Buy Me Love - Nothing beats a young McDreamy in the African Anteater Ritual!!!!
#14 American President - I don't know what's better; the sweeping camera shot or the look on Richard Dreyfus's face.
#13 Gone With the Wind - You know how they made a black version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "The Honeymooners." I got their next project for them.
#12 Reservoir Dogs - One of the creepiest scenes ever, and begs the question, if the other guy is tied up, are you dancing with yourself? (see clip here)
#11 Exotica - There is no way to describe these scenes other than to see the movie, which you should (although: it will tear your head open). The film is about a stripper but like all Canadians, there is so much more going on below the surface. (See clip here, set to Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows)
#10 True Lies - Take your pick. I prefer the Tango with Tia Carrere (seen here), but you might like Jamie-Lee (here)
#9 Sin City - For where it comes in the movie, for the chaps, for the lasso, and for Nancy (see the clip here)#8 Foot Loose - For me, the movie goes down hill when he survives the bulldozer
#7 Napoleon Dynamite - If only because it comes out of freaking nowhere, man!
#6 Risky Business - Perhaps the highlight of the tighty-whitey era#5 Pulp Fiction - I think my favorite part might be how Travolta takes off his shoes and then his socks. It just builds tension in this kooky way.
#4 Dirty Dancing (sigh, the final scene, although I prefer the earlier 2, but I want women to talk to me again) - Nobody puts Baby outside of the Top 5! (Is that a child Dirty Dancing? Try to defend that, bitches!)
#3 From Dusk Till Dawn - I think if you have a daughter, and you name her Fantastico Pandemonium, you might as well give her a giant snake, because that's where she's headed. (And in this case, may I just say Thank the gods!)
#2 Young Frankenstein - Now that's "Puttin' on the Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"and the #1 dance scene in a non-musical is......
#1 Saturday Night Fever - Never have so many women simultaneously wanted one man. For that matter, never have so many men simultaneously wanted one man. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you John Travolta!
