There's nothing better than a good death scene.

It sums up a film, puts an annoying character out of their misery or, in some cases, lets you have a good cry. Here's ten of the best...

10. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING – BOROMIR (Sean Bean)

You can't talk about death scenes in film without mentioning Sean Bean. He dies in everything. We could have done a Top 5 of Sean Bean's on-screen deaths and it would have totally been amazing. We really like this one, however, because it was done so well. And plus, how long did it take for Sean Bean to go down? He just kept at it, didn't he? Amazing. Maybe he was fighting against it, y'know? "I'm not going down in this one... Urghhh.."

 

9. FATAL ATTRACTION – ALEX FORREST (Glenn Close)

If you've never seen Fatal Attraction, you're missing out. You know the term Bunny Boiler? It came directly from this film. Glenn Close plays Alex Forrest, an attractive woman who engages in an extra-marital affair with Michael Douglas. The catch? Glenn Close / Alex Forrest is actually batshit insane and then tries to kill Michael Douglas and his wife, Anne Archer.

 

8. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY – TERMINATOR T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

If this scene didn't bring a tear to your eye, you're just as robotic as, well, the Terminator going into the molten lava. It's the thumbs up at the end that really makes it.

 

7. JAWS – QUINT (Robert Shaw)

The first time you watch Jaws, it's a constant pressure-cooker. Who's going to get it? Granted, there's only three of them on the boat, but you really don't expect the old-timey captain to get it? Do you?!


6. AMERICAN BEAUTY – LESTER (Kevin Spacey)

American Beauty is easily one of Kevin Spacey's most memorable roles and this scene was equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful. Everything is leading up to it. It's the perfect end to an almost perfect film.

 

5. PULP FICTION – MARVIN (Phil LaMarr)

Marvin was a small character in the film, sure. But his death sets in motion what is easily the best storyline of the film. The real question is why somebody would turn around and point their gun at somebody in a completely innocuous way in the way John Travolta did.

 
4. COMMANDO – SULLY (David Patrick Kelly)

This film is just one-liners and Arnold Schwarzenegger killing people. You will never need to watch another film again.

3. SCARFACE – TONY MONTANA (Al Pacino)

Much like Boromir in Lord of the Rings, it takes Tony Montana more than just one shot to take him down. His death is like the rest of the film – loud, gory and goes on longer than it needs to.

 

2. ALIEN – KANE / CHESTBURSTER (John Hurt)

True story. The chestburster scene was almost entirely unscripted. Tom Skerritt said that none of them, except John Hurt, was aware of what was going to happen with the alien. So when it burst out of his chest and the blood hit Veronica Cartwright in the face, she actually went into hysterics. We couldn't find a clean version of the clip. Sorry about the meows. It'll make sense when you click the video.

 

1. THE GODFATHER, PART I – SONNY CORLEONE (James Caan)

There are so many scenes in The Godfather that are instantly recognisable and define the film. If it's not the scene where Michael kills the police chief and Sollozzo in the Italian restaurant, it's the final baptism scene. This, however, is our favourite. Sonny's been set up by his brother-in-law and is rushing to his house to beat the crap out of it. He's stopped at the turnpike and then...