A freeze-frame is a technique where motion in a film is suddenly halted to make it look like a photograph. The still shot is normally used to add emphasis to a scene or simply to create suspense. When used at the end of the film, it normally leaves the viewer guessing what happens next.
The first-ever freeze-frame was used by the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock in his 1928 film Champagne. Since then many other directors have used the technique in their films. But not all of them are iconic. Here is our ranking of the best freeze-frame shots.
Thelma & Louise: The Plunge Into The Grand Canyon
Thelma & Louise is about two friends, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, fleeing from authorities after Louise kills a man who attempted to rape Thelma. They keep driving with the intention to get to Mexico. However, the two are finally ambushed by police near the Grand Canyon.
They opt not to surrender and decide to drive into the canyon. Most movies would rather show the car plunging and crushing before exploding. But this movie uses the freeze-frame technique. The car is shown hanging in the air, and then the movie ends
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid: Coming Out Of Hiding
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid is considered by many as one of the best Westerns of all time. It follows train robbers Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman), and Harry Longabaugh, the “Sundance Kid” (Robert Redford). The two are being pursued after conducting a number of robberies. After a final gunfight with the authorities, they take cover inside a building but they are surrounding. With no other option left, they decide to go out guns blazing.
Instead of a bloody ending where the two are sprayed with bullets, the viewer is instead given a freeze-frame shot where the two outlaws are brandishing their guns. It’s obvious that they are going to get killed, but the movie then cuts to the credits.
Goodfellas: Dead Body In The Trunk
In the opening scene of Goodfellas, Henry (Ray Liotta), Jimmy (Robert De Niro), and Tonny (Joe Pesci) stop their car in the middle of the night and open the trunk. We are then shown a man who has been badly beaten. Tonny goes ahead to stab him before Jimmy shoots him. Henry then closes the trunk and looks ahead in a freeze-frame before the classic line is uttered: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”
The freeze-frame and the line immediately let you know that you are in mob territory now. This is what gangsters do. They kill people, and it’s going to happen a lot in the movie. Interestingly, this movie almost never got made because Scorsese didn’t think he needed to make another gangster film. Luckily, he got his hands on Nicolas Peggi’s book Wiseguy and was more than impressed by it. The rest is history.
Rocky III: Rocky Balboa Vs. Apollo Creed Rubber Match
Throughout the first three Rocky movies, Rocky “The Italian Stallion” Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo “The Count of Monte Fisto” Creed (Carl Weathers), have the most fascinating rivalry. At the end of the third film, the two decide to have a friendly rubber match in a gym to determine who is the better boxer.
“Ding Ding,” Apollo says, imitating the bell and then Rocky swings a right hook. The movie ends there. The freeze-frame thus grants the viewer the liberty to guess who won. Chances are that it is Rocky since this has always been his show, but that isn’t made obvious.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: New Broom
The third year at Hogwarts was a weird and dark one. What was up with the soul-sucking wizard prison guards? But the best moment was when Harry goes anti-gravity on his new Firebolt broom. He is clearly overjoyed and his expression is captured in freeze-frame.
This moment reminds every kid of the time they got that toy that they’d been dying to have. The movie is regarded by some as the best in the franchise. It has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also performed really well at the box office, grossing $796 million worldwide.
Death Proof: Celebrating Killing Stuntman Mike
Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof has one of the best closing shots ever, but it is not an easy movie to watch. There is A LOT of gore. But it’s a horror flick after all. Throughout the film, the crazy Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) preys on young females and brutally kills them by crushing his death-proofed car into their vulnerable vehicles.
In the later stages of the movie, he pursues three women, hoping to add them to his victim list, but this time he messes with the wrong ones. The women run him off the road, then surround him and beat him to death. They then throw their hands up in celebration, and the movie then offers a freeze-frame before cutting to the credits. This moment is significant because all potential future victims have been liberated from the serial killer.
The Breakfast Club: Clark Punches The Air
No, this is not a morning radio show. It’s an 80s high school movie. A popular one for that matter. The movie is relatable because we see young characters trying to find their own identity (just like we did at that age), and dealing with relationships, peer pressure, and general social interactions.
The movie ends in a freeze-frame where a rebel teen named John Bender punches the air. This signifies his moment of victory against all the little battles that people fight in high school. At that moment, Bender and his classmates have triumphed over the authoritative principal Mr Vernon and Bender just shared a kiss with the class princess, Claire.
Pulp Fiction: Pumpkin And Honey Bunny
The opening scene of Pulp Fiction finds burglar Pumpkin and his girlfriend Honey Bunny sitting in a diner. They are debating whether it’ll be safer to rob a diner than rob a bank. Shortly after, they decide to rob a diner. Not any other diner but the same diner they are in. They kiss and then pull out their guns.
The images then freeze before the opening credits begin to roll, coupled with Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” soundtrack. This scene sets the tone for the violence that is about to be rolled out for the rest of the film. And it sure does come in plenty. We’d expect nothing less from Quentin Tarantino.
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown: Chatting On The Balcony
The Spanish film ends with the main character Pepa returning home. It’s all a mess with broken windows, a burnt bedroom, a hanging telephone, poultry running around, and several people still blacked out after an overdose of sleeping pills.
Pepa joins Maria on the balcony where Pepa reveals she is pregnant. The movie then ends in a freeze-frame. This marks an end to the chaos that has followed the two throughout the film. And when the credits begin to run, there is no switch to a black background. The credits continue to role over the freeze-frame.
The 400 Blows: Arrival At The Beach
In 1959, François Truffaut made the iconic French drama film The 400 Blows. The movie follows Antoine, a young Parisian boy who can’t keep out of trouble. He is eventually arrested and sent to a juvenile rehabilitation facility. However, he manages to escape.
He runs away during a soccer match and reaches the beach. He then walks towards the sea and simply looks into the camera. What next? Is he going to jump into the water to finally free himself from the troubles of his life? Will he go back? No one ever knows because a freeze-frame ends the movie.
