The Ring (2002)

In director Gore Verbinski's remake of Hideo Nakata's equally effective Ringu (1998, Jp.):

• the disturbing film's plot about a videotape that once played would give the viewer only seven days to live
• the character of investigative reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) watching the enigmatic images and trying to understand the tape
• the cutaway flashback scene when Katie Embry's (Amber Tamblyn) mother Ruth (Lindsay Frost) tells Rachel how she discovered her daughter in a closet
• Rachel's discovery that Samara's (Daveigh Chase) adoptive mother drowned her in a well (and the ring was the corona of light when the stone cover was put on the top of the well
• the scenes of Rachel's scary nightmare
• Samara's adoptive father Richard Morgan (Brian Cox) committing suicide by electrocution in a bathtub
• the extremely scary scene of the ghostly and undead, decomposed Samara crawling out of the well - and directly out of a TV screen toward Noah Clay (Martin Henderson) to kill him with a lethal stare

Rio Bravo (1959)

In Howard Hawks' traditional western - conceived as a rebuking response to Fred Zinnemann's High Noon (1952) and its main character Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper), by having self-reliant Sheriff Chance (John Wayne) refuse the assistance of Pat Wheeler's (Ward Bond) men -- "some well-meaning amateurs, most of 'em worried about their wives and kids," although all he is left with is "a lame-legged old man and a drunk":

• the two and a half-minute opening scene (with no dialogue) in which many of the major characters are introduced in the El Toro Rojo cantina in the small Texas town of Rio Bravo (Presidio County) in the late 1860s:
  - tough Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne)
  - his derelict, alcoholic future (and past) deputy Dude (Dean Martin) nicknamed Borachon for his boozing after a jilted romance
  - the brutish murderous antagonist Joe Burdette (Claude Akins)
• all the scenes involving interactions between the characters over a three-day period (while waiting for the US Marshal to arrive)
• attractive, independent, strong-minded and alluring stagecoach passenger and gambler's widow Feathers (Angie Dickinson) (with a shady card-playing past due to her deceased husband) who immediately shows affection toward the sheriff although she has an antagonistic relationship with him
• elderly, toothless, crippled, jumpy sidekick Stumpy (Walter Brennan)
• baby-faced, brave, two pistols-gunslinger greenhorn Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson) who assists Chance in preventing a jailbreak of Joe Burdette by his wealthy rancher-brother Nathan (John Russell) and hired guns
• the scene of Dude noticing blood dripping into a beer mug from a wounded gunman in a saloon's loft -- and his quick reaction to shoot the bad guy above him
• the hotel front porch shootout scene in which Feathers assists by throwing a flowerpot out a window as a distraction
• the musical scenes including Dude's duet (with Colorado) singing "My Rifle, My Pony and Me", and Colorado's strumming of a guitar accompanying the song "Get Along Home, Cindy" - with toothless Stumpy on harmonica
• the climactic scene of the exchange of Dude for Joe at Burdette's creek-side warehouse - ending in a shootout (and a key role played by dynamite)

Risky Business (1983)

In writer/director Paul Brickman's debut film:

• the opening fantasy-dream sequence in which Chicago suburbia-dwelling, college-bound high school Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) sees a strange young girl (Francine Locke credited as "Shower Girl") soaping up in a steamy shower in his neighbor's house - and her non-chalant request: "I want you to wash my back" - making him three hours late for his College Boards tests
• the famed scene of his floor-sliding entrance into the living room while solo dancing and wearing white socks, a pink-striped shirt, and tight underwear, and lip-synching to the tune of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll"
• Miles' (Curtis Armstrong) repeated advice to Joel when his parents are away: "Every now and then say, 'What the f--k.' 'What the f--k' gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future"
• the scene of sexy call-girl Lana's (Rebecca DeMornay) first arrival at the house when the wind blows the living room's patio doors open and they make love on the staircase
• Joel and Lana's love-making during a late-night ride on the CTA elevated subway - backed by the electronic score of Tangerine Dream
• Joel's cool Ray-Ban sunglasses
• Joel's successful dealing in "human fulfillment" and free enterprise in the extracurricular Future Enterprisers organization

A River Runs Through It (1992)

In director Robert Redford's adaptation of Norman Maclean's novel:

• the story of two brothers (studious and intellectual Norman (Craig Sheffer) and rebellious Paul (Brad Pitt)) growing up in Montana in the 1920s
• the mystical cinematographic beauty of the entire picturesque and poetic film (shot by Academy Award-winning Philippe Rousselot) - especially the thrilling Big Blackfoot River fly-fishing scenes with the lyrical voice-over narration: ("In our family, there was no clear division between religion and fly-fishing" and "It was a world with the dew still on it")

The Road Warrior (1982) (aka Mad Max 2, 1981, Aus.)

In George Miller's exciting post-apocalyptic adventure film sequel:

• the sequel to the grim revenge/action film Mad Max (1979), with the opening and closing images of lone cop road warrior Max (Mel Gibson) standing as a lone figure on a highway amidst visions of a post-apocalyptic violent world
• the looney sidekick character of the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence)
• the brutal rape scene viewed from afar when a group of townsfolk attempt to find a truck to haul an oil tank to freedom and are set upon by the bikers
• Max, driving a semi-trailer fuel-oil tanker in an escape attempt, pursued and viciously attacked at breakneck speed by a convoy of bizarre vehicles, souped-up cars and motorcycles, and a marauding savage band of punkish desert vandals
• the nomadic warriors flinging grappling hooks at the truck, and shooting arrows from crossbows at it while leaping from vehicle to vehicle, and a fire-bombing gyroplane hovering above the action
• the climax when the 40-foot tanker crashed into Lord Humungus' (Kjell Nilsson) car -- also killing Wez (Vernon Wells), who was clinging to the fender of the tanker -- and the tanker rolled over onto its side

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

In director Raoul Walsh's documentary style crime-gangster film:

• the Prohibition montage
• the characterization of rough gangster Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney)
• the scene of the gang's robbery of a shipment of government-confiscated liquor
• the film's ending -- Eddie's memorable death scene (evoking Michelangelo's Pieta) in the snow on the steps of a church in the arms of Panama Smith (Gladys George)
• her epitaph: "He used to be a big shot"

The Robe (1953)

In the stirring religious epic by director Henry Koster:

• the spectacle of the first film released in widescreen CinemaScope from 20th Century Fox

Robin Hood (1922) (aka Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood)

In director Allan Dwan's silent adventure swashbuckler:

• this much-filmed classic, with many amazing acrobatic stunts performed by Douglas Fairbanks himself (such as leaping on and off horses, climbing up steep walls, etc.)
• the famous scene in which the Earl of Huntingdon/Robin Hood (Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.) rides (actually, he was on a slide) down a 40 foot curtain drape from the balcony to the main floor to elude pursuers

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

In director Kevin Reynolds' romantic costume adventure swashbuckler:

• the point-of-view shot of an arrow flying through the air toward its target
• the scene of Robin (Kevin Costner) smashing through a chapel window on a length of flag
• the scene of the prolonged death of the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) by a dagger in his chest

Robocop (1987)

In director Paul Verhoeven's gory and violent sci-fi action-thriller film:

• the scene of the prolonged, horrifying torture/murder of good-guy dystopic Detroit officer Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) in the line of duty by sadistic drug gang punks led by Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith)
• the reassembly of his terminally-wounded body into a half-human, half-robotic crime-fighting super-cop cyborg
• the heart-breaking scene in which RoboCop (Peter Weller) strolled through his former home (now up for sale), and had intermittent, ghost-like flash-backs of his old life as Police Officer Alex Murphy, with the POV shots of his wife Ellen (Angie Bolling) and son Jimmy (Jason Levine) -- at one point Ellen told him intimately: "I really have to tell you something...I love you!"
• the scene of the poorly-performing product demonstration of the incompetent, robotic ED (Enforcement Droid) - 209 prototype ("I'm sure it's only a glitch") that kills surrendered Kinney (Kevin/Ken Page) in the boardroom
• the death scene of bad guy Emil Antonowsky (Paul McCrane) when he melts and liquifies after driving his truck into a tank of toxic waste (the famed Melting Man scene) and staggers around moaning - and the moment his body splatters explosively across the windshield of Clarence's speeding vehicle
• the closing exchange between The Old Man corporate president (Dan O'Herlihy) and RoboCop after the villainous Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) is dispatched: (Old Man: "Nice shooting, son. What's your name?", RoboCop: (smiling) "Murphy")

Rocky (1976)

In John G. Avildsen's Best Picture-winning boxing classic:

• Philadelphia bum Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) gritty apartment with two pet turtles (Cuff and Link) and a goldfish (Moby Dick)
• his touching courtship with shy Adrian (Talia Shire) ("Yo, Adrian!") - especially in the scene on a deserted ice rink when he runs along by her side as she skates (and their discussion about using either one's body or one's brains)
• Rocky's reason for fighting: "'Cause I can't sing or dance"
• the scene of their first kiss at the door of his apartment
• Rocky's screaming at trainer/manager Mickey (Burgess Meredith), and his later reconciliation with him, shaking his hand (in an extreme long shot)
• Rocky's morning training regimen montage including one-armed pushups, guzzling a glass of five raw eggs and boxing slabs of hanging meat in a freezer, culminating in a run up the steps of the Philadelphia art museum to the music of Bill Conti's rousing "Gonna Fly Now"
• the exciting 15-round world heavyweight boxing fight finale in which champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) won by a split decision - Rocky's bloody face with eyes swollen - and his plea to his trainer to cut his eyelids ("Gotta cut me, Mick")
• his loving embrace with Adrian following the decision - going the distance

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

In director Jim Sharman's ultimate-audience sing-along participation midnight-movie cult-musical film:

• wholesome Brad Major's (Barry Bostwick) musically vocal proposal ("Dammit Janet") to Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon)
• the dramatic entrance of fishnet and heels-wearing Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry) while singing "Sweet Transvestite"
• Eddie's (Meat Loaf) escape from cryogenic freezing (singing "Hot Patootie") and his subsequent axe-murder by Frank
• the dual scenes of Frank's seduction of Brad and Janet, and Janet's seduction of bi-sexual Rocky (Peter Hinwood) while singing "Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me" as they are spied upon by Columbia (Laura "Little Nell" Campbell) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn) with a video monitor
• the major production number "The Time Warp"
• the exclamation of names in the dialogue following the discovery of Janet and Rocky making love ("Janet!" "Dr. Scott!" "Janet!" "Brad!" "Rocky!", etc.)
• the floor show in an empty theater in front of an RKO Pictures logo as Frank croons ("Whatever happened to Fay Wray...")
• the finale with Magenta (with a Bride of Frankenstein hairdo) and Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien) revealing themselves to be incestuous siblings from outer space

Roman Holiday (1953)

In William Wyler's charming romantic comedy:

• the scene of runaway Princess Ann's (Audrey Hepburn) preparation for bedtime (in a sleep-sedative stupor) in undercover news reporter Joe Bradley's (Gregory Peck) apartment and her regal command ("You have my permission to withdraw")
• the sequence of the incognito Princess' 24 hour tour around Rome including her haircut, a motorcycle ride, the 'Mouth of Truth' stone sculpture scene (in which Joe pretends to have his arm bitten off in the mouth - followed by Ann's surprise and laughter), the inscription wall, and dancing on a barge, the attempts of photographer Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) to get some candid shots
• the night-time parting scene
• the final press conference scene in which the Princess says farewell to the newspapermen and to Joe Bradley and they both have to pretend that they don't know each other - it is one of the most bittersweet endings of any film

Romancing the Stone (1984)

In Robert Zemeckis' ultimate cliff-hanger and tongue-in-cheek romantic action-adventure film:

• the film's funny opening prologue - a Western fantasy featuring sexy blonde Angelina (Kymberly Herrin) - the heroine of romance-starved New York romance novelist Joan Wilder's (Kathleen Turner) books
• the action-filled, joke-rich repartee between daredevil drifter-mercenary Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) and Joan while experiencing dangers in South American Colombia, such as the famous waterslide scene, in which Jack ends up face-first between Joan's legs and howls with delight: "This has turned out to be one hell of a morning!" - and later adds: "One hell of a morning has turned into a bitch of a day!"
• the villainous characters including wisecracking, greedy treasure hunter Ralph (Danny DeVito in a star-making role) and the menacing, despicable General Zolo (Manuel Ojeda)
• Jack's funny line of dialogue that distracts him from saving Joan from a poisonous snake - when he finds a Rolling Stone magazine: ("Dammit man, the Doobie Brothers broke up! Shit! When did that happen?")
• the startling scene in which a man-eating crocodile bites off the hand of Zolo while clutching the much-sought-after gigantic emerald (the "stone" of the title)
• the romantic finale in which Jack dives into the ocean to fetch the crocodile who ate the stone, and later reappears outside Joan's Manhattan apartment with a parked sailboat and wearing crocodile shoes
• their romantic exchange as they embrace: (Jack: "Yup, that poor old yellow-tailed guy. Developed a fatal case of indigestion. He died right in my arms." Joan: "I can't blame him. If I were to die, there's nowhere else on Earth I'd rather be.") followed by a passionate closing kiss on the boat: (Jack: "I even read one of your books." Joan: "Then you know how they all end")