> Does anyone else have any particular favorite silent scenes in movies? Why? What is it that makes silence so effective?
>
> Ste "And if anyone dislikes silence in movies, I'd be interested in hearing from them" phen

Well, my example isn't from a movie, but rather television. I'm a big Buffy fan, so...

The episode where Buffy and the gang deal with the death of Buffy's mother has no accompanying soundtrack throughout the entire episode (usually all the eps have soundtracks). This results in moments of awkward silence while the characters try and cope with the death. It was very effective because it made the dialogue stand out, and it also captured the awkward, uncomfortable feeling of coping with death, the feeling that you just can't find the right words to say. In real life, there is no soundtrack accompanying you; it's just your words (or lack thereof).

On another note, when you concentrate on the silence, it can become funny. I remember a movie award show (not sure which one) hosted by Lisa Kudrow. As one of the obligatory humour bits, she held a mock award ceremony for "Best Dramatic Pause". Then she showed some scenes where the actors/actresses paused for a long while between dialogue. I thought that was really funny because it turned what was supposed to be a tension-building moment into ridiculousness.

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