6. Bizarre Japanese Tap Dance (Zatoichi)
Why? Dear god, why? I'm trying to picture to myself what Takeshi Kitano might have been thinking when he choose to end a movie this way, but no, I've got nothing. I can't really decide if this scene is awesome or awful, but no matter, no list of dances in films would be worth its salt if it didn't include this one.
5. Morticia & Gomez (Addams Family Values)
This copule has chemistry like no other. It's sexy, classy, and cool. Oh, and you gotta be impressed by the flames.
4. The Lap Dance (Death Proof)
Oh, sorry, I'm just gonna go fight a sudden urge to masturbate 'til I faint. Be right back.
3. Ballroom Dance (Beauty and the Beast)
Even if we ignore the fact that this scene broke ground as computer animation goes, it's still a masterpiece of mood, elegance and general visuals, and likely to trigger massive nostalgia-buttons for anyone in my general age group. The song is actually much better in the swedish dub, though, so I've chosen to link to that version.
2. Chunari, Chunari (Monsoon Wedding)
The indian civilisation achieved what will some day be generally recognized as the foremost musical culture in human history. This scene is not very spectacular as Bollywood coreography goes, far from it, rather, it's great because of how much goes on in the background, and how the eventual outbreak of mass dance works as a kind of resolution for oh-so-many tensions in the film. There's even a little love conflict begun and resolved during it, all through the wonder of SPONTANEOUS INDIAN MASS DANCE!!!
1. Beauty Dance (House of Flying Daggers)
Like India is probably the pinnacle of musical culture, the Tang dynasty of China was probably the pinnacle of civilisation in general - it's all been downhill from there. Of course, this shouldn't really make them beat India in a list of this particular kind, despite the sheer gourgeousness of the clothes and the accessories and the room and the floor and every little visual detail, not even with a song as beautiful as this (it's 'Jia rén qu', composed in antiquity by Li Yannian); India would still beat all the chinese could muster as dance scenes go.
You can leave it to Zhang Yimou to fix that particular shortcoming, though.
What I find interesting is that as far as I know, out of those movies, only the Beauty and the Beast is actually a musical (though not everybody would categorise the Disney classics as actual -musicals-). I'm not sure about Monsoon Wedding, since I haven't seen it, or... well, out of the films listed, I have only seen Beauty and the Beast and the House of Flying Daggers. It makes me curious as to how such a list would look were you to -only- look at movies that are classified as musicals and/or dance movies (making films such as the ol' 1988 Hairspray borderline - they feature a lot of music and dance, but aren't really films made -by- music and dance as films -about- them. Oh well I digress).
SvaraRaderaI'm not sure if I can forgive you for putting the lap dance clip on this list though :P But about the House of Flying Daggers clip... isn't there a much cooler one in this film where the sort of shoots her sleeves at drums? Something about flicking peas or rice or whatever it was at a drum and she, being blind, had to hit the correct one? I think that one was -much- cooler than this blue one you used for #1. In fact, I think it was the only good scene in the entire movie :)
Or wait. I lied. I have seen the Adams Family Values too, but it was so long ago I didn't remember it until after I posted that comment >_> way to go.
SvaraRaderaoh, but the lap dance is good even on its...err...cinematic merits, absolutely, I...insist ^_^
SvaraRaderaAs for House of Flying Daggers, is the pea flinging really a dance? Putting this dance as #1 is, as you'll have figured, much about my fetisch for the Tang dynasty, but it really is a very beautifully executed piece of cinema with subtle but gorgeous imagery and interesting character development taking place during it, I really considered it to be deserving its #1.
And regarding musicals, I don't really watch that many as I generally hate (western) musicals. I'm willing to reconsider that after the Hunchback of Notre Dame, though, and give the genre a new chance.
Well, if you consider that dance you put as #1 a dance... I'd consider the pea-flinging an interactive dance. I don't see the merits you see in that dance, nor the movie at all, but I will put that down to your fetish and my on again off again relationship with Chinese "any frame could be a poster"-movies.
SvaraRaderaI, as you might have noticed, rather love musicals in general, so I'd be happy to recommend you some :P Dolly Parton once made a family film about life at a brothel ("The Best little whorehouse in Texas") for instance. I don't think -anyone- but Dolly Parton could have managed -that- feat O_o