Random top tens: Classic "falling from tall building" movie moments

Published on Thursday 30 October 2008 15:55

1 Superman (1978)Have you just fallen off a skyscraper? Never fear, ma'am. Superman will there shortly to catch you, providing there is a telephone box or a revolving door nearby. Any second now...

2 Vertigo (1958)... although, if you're Kim Novak, your chances aren't so good. Given that you're in a tragic love story, fleeing an obsessed James Stewart, whose character arc demands that he confront his chronic fear of heights, resign yourself now to where this is obviously heading.

3 King Kong (1933) Was it the gunfire that killed Kong, or the fall? Neither, according to that immortal closing line; it was Fay Wray! Talk about blaming a woman for the sins of men.

4 Die Hard (1988)Vanquished by Bruce Willis, evil terrorist Alan Rickman plummets to his death. And sadist director John McTiernan flips on the slo-mo, all the better to relish the look of panic and dismay on evil Alan's face.

5 Batman (1989)Even by 1989, the constant, predictable stream of villains falling off tall buildings in Hollywood films was getting tedious. Still, Tim Burton managed to put his stamp on it by having the Joker's comedy teeth still cackling away as his corpse lay spreadeagled on the ground.

6 The Game (1997)Millionaire Michael Douglas, his life destroyed by a sick game that has turned him into a desperate, destitute murderer, jumps to his death from a skyscraper – only to land on a giant cushion at his own lovely party far below. What a twist! Everything, even his suicide, was part of the game! Eh, what if he'd jumped off another ledge?

7 Vanilla Sky (2001)In which, for reasons too complicated to explain, a grinning Tom Cruise tells a tearful Penelope Cruz he will see her in the next life, when they are both cats, then leaps joyously from a tower to the ethereal strains of Sigur Ros.

8 The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)Looks like it's all over for poor, freefalling schmuck Tim Robbins. Luckily, Bill Cobbs can stop time by shoving a stick in the cogs of a clock, allowing Charles Durning, who is dead, to float down from heaven to give Tim a life-transforming pep talk and a safe landing. Phew!

9 The Life of Brian (1979)In which Monty Python take a swipe at the absurdity of Hollywood's endless falling-from-tall-building scenes. In ancient Israel, Graham Chapman's Brian is running from Roman soldiers. He falls from a rooftop … and is accidentally rescued by a stricken alien spaceship, which hurtles up into space then spins back down to earth, miraculously depositing him safely just before it explodes in flames. "Lucky bastard," marvels a bystander.

10 The Empire Strikes Back (1980) If you're a space-travelling Jedi knight, you can not only fall dramatically from a tall building, but fall out of the bottom of it too, the result being two clinging-desperately-onto-ledge moments for the price of one. Brilliant!