Tarantino, Lynch, and Jarmusch are quite different filmmakers on their own: their movies are set in different ages, are in different genres, and cover different themes. Heck, they even look different. However, one thing that connects all three directors is coffee.
Coffee has been a recurring piece of their films for decades at this point. Jim Jarmusch even made a full movie based around coffee and cigarettes – creatively titled “Coffee and Cigarettes” – back in 2003. Most importantly, coffee has been a part of some of most memorable scenes in their career.
That brings us to the subject of today’s post where we ask the question ‘What are some of the best coffee scenes in film history?’ The folks over at Home Grounds have come up with some suggestions so let’s take a look at the following scenes to find out…
The Usual Suspects (1995)
What makes a big, plot-twisting scene memorable? A shattering coffee mug? No, that would be too easy. A coffee mug shattering twice? No, no, still not grandiose enough. A coffee mug shattering three times in a row – now that’s what we’re talking about! Once Chazz Palminteri’s mug shatters on the floor, his character finally manages to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out that (spoilers… possibly the most well-known twist in movie history) Kevin Spacey’s character was Keyser Söze all along.
Goodfellas (1990)
Up next, we have a scene from one of the best gangster movies of all time. In this particular scene from Goodfellas, Samuel L. Jackson’s Stacks is executed by Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito who puts a blanket over his head and a bullet in it. What makes the scene so disturbingly hilarious is the fact that Pesci sarcastically asks Frank Sivero – playing Frankie – to make some coffee, to which he happily obliges. After the hit, Pesci tells Sivero to make the coffee on the go and then scolds him for not understanding he was sarcastic in the first place.
Amélie (2001)
In a memorable scene from this awkward, turn-of-the-century classic, the titular Amélie tries to bring two awkward lovers together. What’s her romantic approach? She spills hot coffee all over the girl’s lap and by tricking her to go into the bathroom while her love interest, Joseph is trying to clean himself up. Amélie’s tactics prove to be worth it in the end because a few moments later, she’s forced to vent some steam out of the coffee-making machine in order to cover up some of the love bird’s sounds. Cute and awkward, just like the rest of the movie.
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
David Lynch is a serious man. He serious about his craft, he dislikes those Star Wars movies (he reportedly declined to direct The Empire Strikes Back), and he takes his coffee so seriously he has his own brand. Coffee was famously displayed in “Twin Peaks” and his 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive. In a famous scene from the latter, a Hollywood big-shot, played by Angelo Badalamenti shows his displeasure for what the movie calls “one of the finest espressos” by spiting the drink out. Eh, those Hollywood big-shots, with no respect for the small pleasures of life.
Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992)
And this scene is memorable because of one extraordinary performance. In of the most memorable scenes in his career, Alec Baldwin verbally overpowers the entire room of salesmen. He proceeds to guilt poor Jack Lemmon over a cup of coffee like no one in movie history. Poor old Jack simply wants a cup of coffee, but Baldwin proceeds to tell him that coffee is “for closers” only. A few moments later, Baldwin manages to question his manhood too. How good was Alec Baldwin in this movie? He received an Oscar nomination, despite appearing for less than 10 minutes on-screen.
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Are you a hip hop fan? Do you like Ghostbusters? Then you’ll definitely enjoy this scene from Jim Jarmusch’s cult classic Coffee and Cigarettes. The movie that could take almost every spot on today’s list. Anyway, in the scene, RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan run into Bill Murray, who’s trying to stay low-key while seemingly working in the coffee shop. All of the people in the scene are portraying themselves too and the sentence “Are you a bug, Bill Murray?” is said. While we might’ve gone with a ton of other scenes, the Wu-Tang-Murray scene is certainly the crown jewel of the entire piece.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The last place on our list comes from Tarantino’s second movie. If you’re not a fan of Mr. Quentin then you probably be a fan of this scene, though, if you watched Pulp Fiction original on TV, you probably haven’t seen this scene, since it was completely edited out due to the strong language. Sam Jackson makes another appearance on the list in a moment where his character attempts to defuse a tense situation by complimenting Tarantino’s Jimmie on his coffee-making skills. But he only ends up telling the two hitmen that unlike his wife Bonnie, who buys… let’s say crap, he buys “expensive gourmet stuff” because he wants to taste it when he drinks it. We definitely know what you mean Quentin.
We hope you enjoyed our little list. Now tell us, what are some of your favorite coffee scenes in movie history? Did we miss some of your favorites? Let us know what we missed.
