10 Best Movie Dream Sequences

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Staff Writer

For all the bad things Hollywood has given us a paparazzi culture, inflated ticket prices, Big
Momma's House they've also come up with some great stuff. There might be no better use of
film than a great dream sequence. Yes, movies have the power to show life as it really is, but it
takes a whole other kind of skill and ingenuity to capture on film the surreal fantasies that feel
both strange and universal. Just about anyone can set up a camera and shoot two people talking
(this is how Kevin Smith makes money); very few people, though, can blend sound and image
and pure feeling into something as compelling as a good dream sequence. Some are
commonplace, like sexual encounters or school-based nightmares, while others are wholly
unique. But they're all prime examples of the power of movies. Here are ten of the best:

1. The Big Lebowski: How could this not make the list? The Big Lebowski is
arguably the best movie the Coen brothers have ever made (certainly the
most Coen-nish one, if that makes sense), and the absurd comedy is
anchored by this glorious dream sequence that mashes up everything in
the Dude's head, from bowling to porn to Saddam Hussein. It's perfectly
scored to "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),"
a song by The First Edition with Kenny "Roasters" Rogers on lead vocals.
How awesome is that?
2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High: For a generation of young men, the
strains of The Cars' "Moving in Stereo" still evoke strong, unexplained
urges. Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a fantastic teen comedy with one of
the best high-school scripts ever written, so it almost wouldn't be right if the
movie didn't include a sequence in which a high school boy indulged in
some intensely personal recreational pursuits. (Weirdly, though, Judge
Reinhold was in his mid-20s when the movie was
filmed.)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High Watch more Funny Videos

3. The Science of Sleep: Michel Gondry has always done amazing things
with visual effects (his music videos are a good place to start), and the
2006 filmThe Science of Sleep is no exception. The film plays with the walls
between reality and dreams by having the main character (Gael Garcia
Bernal) slide between the two with such ease that the viewer is often
unsure where one stops and the other begins. One of the most memorable
dream sequences in the film sees the man doing battle with himself as he
tries to work with giant hands that have a shop-made look only Gondry
could bring to them.
4. Trainspotting: Watching Danny Boyle's Trainspotting while sick or
hungover is not at all advisable. The visceral feeling of watching heroin
junkies go through addiction and withdrawal is not, shall we say, a pleasant
way to spend an afternoon. But the images of Renton (Ewan McGregor)
going through withdrawal and hallucinating that a baby with a swivel head
is crawling across his ceiling should be enough to remind you that drugs
are not a good idea. Ever.
5. Spellbound: Alfred Hitchcock's 1945 thriller is one of his better works, and
it's notable especially for the fact that Hitch hired Salvador Dali to design
the dream sequences that would illustrate the fragility of human perception
and the nature of delusion. The resulting sequence is a gorgeous one that
plays to Dali's surrealist strengths while also elevating the overall quality of
Hitchcock's already impressive film. It's rare to see titans of such different

media working together like this, which is why the dream sequence remains
one of the best in movie history.
6. Wild Strawberries: Ingmar Bergman's 1957 exploration of mortality uses
dream sequences to potent effect, allowing an old man's confusing, unreal
dreams to set the tone for the entire movie. It's a slow-moving sequence,
but never a boring one, and it's a great example of how things that would
just look like random accidents in real life can take on a new level of
importance in dreams.
7. Vertigo: Heck yes, Alfred Hitchcock makes the list twice. Have you seen
these movies? They're trippy, awesome examples of what happens when
mid-century filmmaking goes a little wacko. Vertigo is by no means a
perfect film it gets a little draggy in the final act but it's still vintage
Hitchcock, with all the double-crosses and hot blondes you could ask for.
When Scottie (James Stewart) sees his love plummet to her death, he's hit
with a creepy nightmare built on flashing colors and eerie animation. Throw
in some classic music from composer Bernard Herrmann and you're all
set.Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com
8. Rosemary's Baby: Before sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, Roman
Polanski was mainly known for making some good movies. His 1968 horror
flick Rosemary's Baby uses a shocky premise woman gives birth to
Satan's baby and mines it for sheer atmospheric terror. After Rosemary
(Mia Farrow) is drugged, she passes out and has a vivid dream in which
she hallucinates (or thinks she does) that she's being impregnated.
9. Dumbo: Never let it be said that Disney is completely devoted to safe
entertainment. Sometimes they're all about genuine terror, especially if you
go back a few years. Dumbo packs some classic moments into its trim 64
minutes, including a mother-son song that's guaranteed to make you cry,
but it's the acid-fueled dream sequence that's been scarring kids for
decades. The sequence is probably meant to be a caution against
drunkenness, or just a good example of why an elephant and a mouse
should never be allowed to have champagne, but there's almost no story
value at all in the dream. It's just plain freaky.
10. Mulholland Drive: Mullholland Drive is, technically, one giant Mobius strip
of dream sequences. The twist comes when the viewer realizes that the
entire setting of the film so far has been a fantasy, and that Naomi Watts'
character isn't a bright young star but a desperate woman in love with
someone she can never have. A genius offering from David Lynch, and one

worth watching again just to figure out what's going on. It's hard to pick just
one sequence from the film, but this one's one of the best: