Samuel Edwards brings us his top 10 edge of your seat chaotic films and the key scenes that gripped the world.
Have you ever felt on the edge of your seat during a film? And thought…. is this really happening?
It can be an exhilarating feeling, but it is also rare to find.
In this article, I have selected ten films that in my opinion do a fantastic job at portraying chaos. I wanted to branch out in terms of genre and style.
The war genre may seem to be the obvious choice for this material and yes, that is correct. But, this article will cover quite a few films from different genres.
Whatever genre you are into, there will be a film for it.
One of the strengths of cinema is conveying emotion to the audience. Whether its happiness, sadness or laughter. However, all of these themes can be subjective to the viewer, because everyone responds to these themes differently.
When chaos is portrayed effectively, it has the potential to be undeniable.
Once the viewer locks their eyes on screen and witnesses a well executed scene, you know the film is handled well.
The takeaway from this list is that you can go away and see what scenes resonate with you.
The concluding point is that regardless of personal taste, background and genre, if the film conveys an undeniable sense of chaos, then you have to say, the film has achieved something.
This list will cover themes of tragedy,bravery and fun popcorn entertainment.
From the words of Khan from Star Trek…
1. Titanic – The Grand Staircase Scene
James Cameron’s revolutionary Titanic was a hit amongst audiences.
The critics and box office numbers prove this with bolstering results.
The film was a fairly realistic retelling of the tragic story of the ship meeting its doomed faint in 1912.
The story is fascinating and James Cameron was the perfect choice to take on a project of this magnitude. Although the 2nd half of the film is completely chaotic, I wanted to select one scene that gets me everytime.
It’s the scene where half of the ship begins sinking, forcing the passengers to run up the ship.
You hear screams and cries, then James Horner’s music is played.
I don’t think matters could have been worse for the thousands on board.
2. Saving Private Ryan Opening Scene
Yes, we all knew that this film was going to be mentioned at some point. In terms of warfare, there haven’t been many films of recent years that have topped the opening scene.
The scene leaves you speechless because it feels so real.
Spielberg definitely went all out on this film and it really showed.
When you see Tom Hanks with his crew, you immediately connect with him. We all love Tom Hanks, or shall I say Forrest.
He leads his team throughout the invasion and witnesses fellow soldiers being gunned down. However, the most effective part of this scene is the sound. It’s silent but it accentuates natural sound effects, like dog tag clashing and the sound of the waves bashing against the boats.
The chaos really starts when the guns are fired.
There is a reason why this film still holds up to this day.
The film is over 20 years old and conveys chaos at its most intense level.
We can thank Spielberg and the wonderful work from John Williams. Bravo.
3. The Great Escape – Motorcycle Escape
The Great Escape is one of my favourite films and it barely gets mentioned today.
People tend to overlook it because it was made nearly 50 years ago, but the finale to this classic is just plain awesome.
Our main character Steve Mcqueen leads a team of prisoners to escape out of the German POW camp.
The whole film is intense, but Steve Mcqueen steals the film. Prison breaks can be chaotic because there is so much uncertainty and you never really know if your plan will work.
The chaos is elevated because we usually always root for the prisoners to escape.
As audiences, we like to root for the underdogs and take on enemies and when something goes wrong, we want them to overcome it.
4. Deepwater Horizon – Jump Scene
Like, some of the other films on the list. This film is adapted from a real story.
This film is about bravery and looking out for one another.
A really powerful theme that was well realized from director Peter Berg.
The film is about the oil spill in the Gulf of New Mexico in 2010. As soon as the explosion hits off, chaos begins but it escalates to a whole new level.
The film contains remarkable scenes of heroism and bravery, most of which actually happened.
This includes the main character leaping 10 stories to escape the flames into the dark weary ocean. Just let that sink in a bit because it actually happened.
Director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg would later team up again in 2016’s Patriots Day.
5. Rambo – Final Battle
This scene may be geared towards pleasure rather than realism, but it’s still pretty chaotic.
The finale of Rambo is just completely mad on every front.
People are being gunned down left, right and centre.
It’s clear to say that Rambo didn’t really have a plan, it’s just him armed with a lethal machine gun.
The chaotic part of the film is the finale.
For die hard action fans, this scene delivers on the theme of visual chaos.
6. Black Hawk Down – McKnight’s Convoy
One of Ridley Scott’s finest works.
The film is a retelling of the US conflict in Somalia in 1993. It won 2 oscars for best editing and sound.
The majority of the film is one long blood shredded mission that goes completely haywire.
The film stars an impressive cast, with the likes of Ewan Mcgregor, Eric Bana and Josh Hartnett.
There are so many scenes that we can choose that puts the audience right on the edge of their seat.
When I think about chaos, I think of the convoy scene.
The vehicle is being directed by Mcknight (Tom Sizemore), when the driver gets shot, they have no idea where they are going or where they are.
It’s like having your satnav broken on the way to an airport, only so much worse.
7. Lone Survivor – Falling Sequence
Another war film, but Lone Survivor is no exception to the theme of chaos.
The true story of the film is remarkable and some of the sequences are hard to watch.
This film feels a lot more claustrophobic than other war films. The combat features a lot more close encounters.
The scene that I have to show is when the soldiers are forced to the edge of the mountain and have no choice but to fall down, with enemies firing bullets and even at one point, they have grenades thrown at them.
They just keep falling down with no break or a minute to catch a breath.
8. The Revenant – Bear Attack
Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant shocked both critics and audiences with its intense and gritty style.
For those that have seen the film, you probably know what scene I am about to bring up. It’s the bear scene.
The scene is relentless in almost every possible way.
There are points where you think Dicaprio may have a chance for survival, but the bear comes back again and again.
The lesson that we can take from this is to never mess with a bear or her cubs.
In fact, maybe never go to the woods in the first place.
On that note, Dicaprio can’t seem to catch a break from chaos, this being his 2nd reference following on from Titanic.
Things do get better for him though in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Battle for the Bridge
Prior to 2011, audiences had been waiting for a good apes film, but Rupert Wyatt’s film was a surprise hit.
What this film does really well is that it makes us, the humans feel totally out of control when we deal with highly intelligent animals.
A theme that is shared in the Jurassic park films.
The scene that I would like to highlight is the bridge scene.
It’s an onslaught of man vs apes. We can relate to the human characters in this scene, which makes it feel more real.
You always feel that the apes are stronger and the humans are just a notch below them.
The series does become progressively more chaotic, but the original film gave audiences a real shock.
The film is a good depiction of when science goes haywire.
10. Fast Five – Bank Heist Scene
Like Rambo, this film leans towards fun popcorn entertainment.
When we think of ridiculous and over the top sequences, the fast and furious franchise always comes to mind.
However, the bank heist scene is genuinely brilliant and I really mean that.
Regardless, of whether or not you like this franchise, you have to admit the sequences are well handled.
This scene in particular has two cars carrying a bank vault down the streets.
The physics are flawed but I was never good at science, as I wont bother to think too much about it, you see them smash and crash into buildings and other vehicles.
The financial bill would be painful to look at, but both Dom and Brian get away with it. It’s cinematic chaos at its most fun.
Conclusion
There we go, a list packed with different variations of chaos. From emotional to heroic.
Saving Private Ryan, Rambo and Lone Survivor are all showing on Netflix.
You will be able to watch all of the films on Amazon Prime, if you are in the mood to be blown away.
Sounds like a good Friday night experience!
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Do you agree with the list? What do you think are some of the most chaotic scenes in film history?
