In the history of motion pictures, from the silent era to modern times, there are literally hundreds of thousands of memorable scenes which seem to have achieved a life of their own as they often transcend the movie itself and become a symbol of human intolerance, horror, struggle, salvation, endurance, vindication, joy, and hope. In other words, all the aspects of human existence and experience. In most cases, they are the culmination of a movie, the embodiment and essence of the film or they stand alone and are fondly remembered, either with fondness, hope, laughter or even utter fear. The scene may also be the prelude to a subsequent sequence of events in the movie, but they set the stage for that series of developments. Whatever the case, they remain the defining film moments and iconic images which will endure for as long as motion pictures are remembered.

This book will not only discuss the intrinsic essence of the 100 greatest scenes in motion picture history themselves, but also the mechanics and thought processes that created each of these scenes.