Dancing through a fever dream. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the most memorable dances that are surreal for their style and context in films.
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00:00He became the number one game player to the point where he didn't know where the games
00:05ended and the reality began. Welcome to Miz Mojo and today we're looking at the most
00:12memorable dancers that are surreal for their style and context in films.
00:18I couldn't unwind, I saw so much, I broke my mind.
00:29Jim Henson's fantasy adventure Labyrinth is full of bizarre creatures and yet one of the most
00:35bizarre sequences involves humans impersonating such creatures. Everything's dancing.
00:48An enchanted peach transports Sarah to a masquerade ball with visions of Jareth
00:54the Goblin King amid the dancers' own ghoulish disguises. David Bowie's disembodied voice
01:00performing As the World Falls Down is almost as entrancing as the elaborate
01:05camera work and editing around a crowded group dance.
01:09There's such a fooled heart beating so fast in such a new dreams.
01:17A love that will last within your heart, I'll place the moon.
01:24Inspired by Jim Henson Studios' own annual masquerade balls, this sequence had as much cult
01:31impact as Labyrinth altogether. Sarah's stunning dress is particularly considered iconic. Of
01:37course, the Goblin wardrobes and Henson's aesthetic set this Cinderella daydream apart
01:43with a sinister flair.
01:509. Bathroom Dance – Joker
02:06Hey, what's your name? Arthur. Hey Arthur, you're a really good dancer.
02:15Todd Phillips' Joker creatively delves into the psychology of a supervillain origin story.
02:22Arthur Fleck's Fall From Grace is first cued when he shoots three businessmen in a panic
02:27while still wearing clown makeup. After retreating to a bathroom, he breaks the tension by slowly
02:34swaying around a stool. It's all lit by broken fluorescent lights and chillingly
02:39scored by cellist Hilda Guthnaderthir.
02:4610. Psychopathy – Joker
02:58The script originally had Arthur dispose of all evidence of the killings. Actor Joaquin Phoenix
03:05actually improvised the dance to formally express the Joker's descent into psychopathy. The scene
03:12became subject to deep critical analysis and representative of Phoenix and Guthnaderthir's
03:18Oscar-winning performances. It may even be synonymous with comic book movies' transition
03:25into experimental drama.
03:278. Opening – Climax
03:39Really any Gaspar Noé film feels like a fever dream throughout. Climax gets particularly intense
03:46after the sangria bowl at a dance troupe party is drugged. The rising action begins with each
03:52dancer displaying modernist solos while the DJ blasts Max Veronne's Supernature.
04:11The five-minute routine is captured in a single floating shot, with a giant French flag hanging
04:17in the back of a deeply red studio. This visual dynamic sets the tone for
04:22the film's experimental style and a diverse ensemble's inevitable breakdown.
04:40To be sure, nothing can fully prepare the audience for how insane this party gets.
04:47But Climax's opening sequence showcases Noé's
04:50foreboding craft as much as his cast's physical prowess.
05:047. Moonshild – Buffalo 66
05:08Tap dancer Layla embraces what agency she finds as Billy Brown's captive,
05:13fake wife. When the kidnapper takes a break from a stellar game at a bowling alley,
05:18the young woman impersonates his skills.
05:31In the dim lights, she drifts around as a poor bean,
05:34lyrically tapping to King Crimson's ethereal ballad, Moonshild.
05:39Christina Ricci's self-choreographed solo comes out of nowhere,
05:43even for a film as eccentric as Vincent Gallo's Buffalo 66.
06:00The hauntingly earnest daydream has still been praised for showing Layla
06:05literally taking the spotlight after being a pawn in Billy's criminal exploits.
06:10Whatever further interpretation one can make,
06:13a 90s teen idol tap-dancing to prog rock is hard to forget.
06:25The sci-fi psychodrama Ex Machina is a quietly intense study in artificial
06:31intelligence and humanity. And then Nathan Bateman disco dances with an
06:36android to Oliver Cheaton's Get Down Saturday Night.
06:50The eccentric tech genius wanted to show Turing tester Caleb that his robots can do more than
06:56philosophical conversations. Writer-director Alex Garland says he wanted to wake up the
07:02audience with a drastic tonal shift. And yet, the sheer randomness of this sequence
07:08and its red-neon lighting epitomize Ex Machina's subversiveness.
07:20It was the perfect meme moment in an otherwise seriously thought-provoking thriller.
07:25Though fans probably didn't need any waking up,
07:28Garland's playful side and Oscar Isaac's dance moves were themselves mind-blowing.
07:34Impulse. Response.
07:39Fluid. Imperfect. Patterned. Chaotic.
07:52Legendary musician and model Grace Jones shows two frat boys a bloody good time when they enter
07:58a vampire strip club. Their introduction to Katrina is alluring and unsettling enough.
08:14She takes the stage for an exotic dance with a headless, seated mannequin,
08:18painted in black and white patterns. Katrina wears white makeup and some
08:23scarlet to foreshadow her ghoulish true form. This also complements her modest red dress,
08:29until it comes off to reveal patterned body paint and metallic spiraled undergarments.
08:35The visual is hypnotic, regardless of Jones' wild gyrating and her funky song Vamp.
08:54The film of the same name may be considered a camp classic,
08:57but Katrina's seductive debut is a genuinely iconic moment for Jones.
09:054. The Locomotion – Inland Empire
09:18David Lynch dumped all of his avant-garde hallmarks into Inland Empire.
09:23This includes juxtaposition of pop music with sinister imagery.
09:28At one point, Sarah observes a group of women lounging around a house and singing the Little
09:37Eva classic The Locomotion. The quietness is suddenly shattered by a coordinated dance to
09:43the song and flashing lights. Then, just that quickly, the dancers disappear as the house
09:50falls silent. Even Sarah looks totally confused. It's as bizarre as any scene in Inland Empire,
09:57but it's a refreshing break from Lynch's dark surrealism.
10:10This dance has prompted much discussion, especially regarding female bonding and
10:15distant train sounds throughout the film. At the least,
10:18it's a lively reprieve that still enhances the epic's uncompromising weirdness.
10:313. Gutterballs – The Big Lebowski
10:35When he isn't bowling, Jeff the Dude Lebowski is conducting an amateur missing person
10:40investigation. He finally makes a breakthrough with an adult film magnate when the subject
10:45knocks him unconscious with a spiked drink. The Dude then dreams of being in his own sleazy video,
10:52cheekily titled Gutterballs.
11:10In it, he bowls through an elaborately produced dance number, set to the first edition's Kenny
11:16Rogers song, Just Dropped In. As much as The Big Lebowski revels in quirky vignettes,
11:23this film within a film blew the budget in the best way.
11:41The Dude's Freudian fantasy stands out among fans for its bold artistry and weirdness.
11:49It's now a cult classic independent of the movie, a trippy triumph for any fan to flashback to.
12:022. Bye Bye Life – All That Jazz
12:05Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical All That Jazz consistently pushes the boundaries of cinematic
12:12dance. The jazziest moment comes as choreographer Joe Gideon lays dying,
12:17his life flashing before his eyes in the form of a gaudy variety show review.
12:35Throughout his and Ben Vereen's 10-minute metaphysical spoof of the Everly Brothers'
12:41Bye Bye Love, Joe grooves with a massive ensemble and reconciles with peers.
12:46Somehow, the celestial production values go even more over the top.
12:501, 2, 3, 4!
13:04It's one last tongue-in-cheek showstopper on Joe's way to the afterlife,
13:09and it was the last musical set piece in Fosse's innovative work in that film genre.
13:15Altogether, Bye Bye Life sends his meta-masterpiece off with all the bang of a dazzling life.
13:29Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
13:37The liberation of the Wicked Witch's sweatshop is a colourful, iconic symbol of joyous freedom.
13:45Oliver and the Psychedelic Furs enchant Elio on a colourfully lit dance floor.
14:15The Dietz's dinner party is livened up by supernatural possession and Harry Belafonte.
14:28Pennywise's dance, It! The demonic clown makes a fitting entrance, jigging out of an inferno.
14:59The Rhythm of the Night, Beau Travail, Claire Denis's masterpiece and Galou's life end
15:12with a heavenly jam to Corona's signature track.
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15:44Powell and Pressburger's masterpiece balances brutal honesty and the ballet world with
15:50cinematic expression of its beauty. It all comes down to an original production
15:55of The Ballet of the Red Shoes, choreographed by Ivan Bolas-Larsky.
16:12The 15-minute-long set piece enhances already breathtaking moves with experimental editing
16:19and whimsical special effects scenery. The camera work also frequently concentrates
16:24on Victoria Page's intensity throughout her solo.
16:43It's a stunning climax to her journey, as well as The Red Shoes' artistic odyssey.
16:49This basically cinched wins for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction at the Academy Awards.
16:56Even now, many consider the film's epic ballet to be the pinnacle
17:01in using the film medium to raise dance as the highest, dreamiest art form.
17:19What do you think are the strangest and most artfully made dance scenes in film?
17:27Dream it up in the comments.
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17:49Thanks for watching!