What are some film scenes involving clapping?

July 20, 2009 7:22 AM

What are some films with scenes involving clapping/applause?

Can you think of films with scenes in which clapping or applause is prominent and integral to the plot? I am helping compile a montage of scenes involving clapping (like Orson Welles at the performance in Citizen Kane or the "slow clap" in Not Another Teen Movie) and your help would be greatly appreciated. I asked a few weeks ago for scenes with locks/handcuffs and got a great response here.

posted by emflr to Media & Arts (37 answers total)

Rather more screaming than clapping, but the audience response in 'Hard Day's Night' could be argued as important to the plot.
posted by Coobeastie at 7:31 AM on July 20, 2009

The slow clap at the end of Cool Runnings.
posted by jschu at 7:41 AM on July 20, 2009

Clockwork Orange?
posted by Midnight Skulker at 7:50 AM on July 20, 2009

The Witches of Eastwick has a scene (early in the movie) where Jack Nicholson is sleeping and snoring through a classical concert, then wakes up right when the players are done and gives a maniacal standing ovation (with everyone else in the audience applauding normally).
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:56 AM on July 20, 2009

In Carrie, right before the crazy hits the fan, there is an extended slow motion clapping scene.
posted by sacrifix at 7:59 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

At the end of Titanic, there was a scene with clapping.

This is not meant to be an endorsement of the movie Titanic, which was utter crap. Utter, utter crap of the crappiest sort.
posted by contessa at 8:05 AM on July 20, 2009

Mrs. Henderson Presents is pretty audience-centric. Nothing like a theatre-full of soldiers cheering for naked women.
posted by philotes at 8:07 AM on July 20, 2009

Peter Pan!
posted by chiefthe at 8:07 AM on July 20, 2009

In an innovative variation on the traditional clap, the "golf clap" was introduced in the 1990 film, Men at Work.
posted by nineRED at 8:08 AM on July 20, 2009

Animal House during the 'trial', the Delta's clap and harrumph before they walk out. But you don't see much clapping ...
posted by steeb2er at 8:09 AM on July 20, 2009

The finale of Napoleon Dynamite? Or any movie with a talent show in it, basically.
posted by jzed at 8:14 AM on July 20, 2009

Mr. Holland's Opus
posted by smackfu at 8:15 AM on July 20, 2009

Any given romantic comedy, when the two, met cute, protagonists get past the misunderstanding.

Also, Major League has two guys doing the wave. Come to think about it, any sports movie.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:16 AM on July 20, 2009

Again, a slow handclap scene at the end of Strictly Ballroom.
(and hey, someone else has seen 'Men at Work'!)
posted by scruss at 8:18 AM on July 20, 2009

The King of Comedy (applause is all in his head, that crazy Rupert)
posted by heather-b at 8:18 AM on July 20, 2009

There's some uproarious applause in this scene of Scent of a Woman. Also, in Rudy when he returns to the field, there's one of those slow clap deals.
posted by the other side at 8:22 AM on July 20, 2009

Well, it's been a while since I've seen it, doesn't the 'Oh Captain My Captain' scene from Dead Poet's Society feature them all clapping around him?
posted by lemonade at 8:23 AM on July 20, 2009

The Joker's (ad-libbed) clapping in prison in The Dark Knight.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 8:30 AM on July 20, 2009

lemonade: I don't think so, actually; looks like it's applause free (though, incidentally, I do like the fact that in one of the final shots you can see that it's not the whole class, just roughly half, the rest being too cowed, which keeps the schmaltz meter from going too far into the red).

There is a bit of clapping in this scene, though.
posted by the other side at 8:46 AM on July 20, 2009

Here's another. Not sure what movie it's from, tho.
posted by asras at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2009

Slow Clap compilation.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:10 AM on July 20, 2009

Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure. At the end of their History Project.
posted by Gungho at 9:18 AM on July 20, 2009

Some great applause towards the end of Rushmore, after Max's play. This vid cuts off most of the applause, but it goes on for a while after this ends.
posted by JoeGoblin at 9:24 AM on July 20, 2009

I thought the scene was very moving in Reservation Road when Jennifer Connelly and Joaquin Phoenix applaud at their daughter's music recital .
posted by cda at 9:28 AM on July 20, 2009

Several examples in the Star Wars series including "This is how liberty dies - with thunderous applause"
posted by rongorongo at 9:33 AM on July 20, 2009

There's a great one-man-claps-then-another-man-then-standing-ovation in the Coen Brothers' Intolerable Cruelty. Not perfectly crucial to the plot, but part of the pivot point for the main character's development (or, er, not).
posted by Shepherd at 9:57 AM on July 20, 2009

At the end of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dr. Frank-N-Furter walks out in the "I'm Going Home" song to an audience standing up and applauding.
posted by Dukat at 9:59 AM on July 20, 2009

Note re. my comment above: that Intolerable Cruelty scene is used in the Slow Clap compilation posted by Happy Dave (it's the one with George Clooney walking through a crowd).
posted by Shepherd at 10:01 AM on July 20, 2009

In An Officer and a Gentleman, the factory workers applaud as Richard Gere carries Debra Winger out of the factory. I think there's also a scene in Working Girl where Melanie Griffith gets applause from her co-workers.
posted by teg at 10:20 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

You need to check out the ending to The Tenant. Super duper creepy and awesome.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:30 AM on July 20, 2009

Not a film, but the finale of the first season of Dexter ends with a great internal monologue by Dexter to an imaginary cheering crowd.
posted by elendil71 at 11:19 AM on July 20, 2009

TVTropes has a lot of examples covering various contexts:

Sarcastic Clapping
Slow Clap
Clap Your Hands if You Believe
posted by Rhaomi at 11:23 AM on July 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

There's the slow clap and stick-tap from Mystery, Alaska.

The "They gained a yard!" clap and cheer from Little Giants, I felt was pretty pivotal.
posted by CancerMan at 11:26 AM on July 20, 2009

I haven't seen it in a while, but I think the original The Manchurian Candidate had a plot point related to applause.
posted by clorox at 12:46 PM on July 20, 2009

From Casablanca: "Play La Marseillaise. Play it!"
posted by amery at 1:06 PM on July 20, 2009

Guy Maddin's Saddest Music In The World has a plot that hangs entirely on audience response.

Also, Isabella Rossellini as a double amputee with glass, beer-filled prosthetic gams.
posted by Sallyfur at 11:21 PM on July 20, 2009

If you're gonna pick one from the Star Wars series, I'd go with the medal ceremony at the end of the '77 original, even as a bit of a prequel apologist.

(When adjusted for inflation, it may be the most widely seen applause scene ever. Unless there was one in Gone with the Wind...)

And if you're gonna pick one from a sports movie, how about the Naked Gun, with umpire Enrico Polazzo?
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 1:17 AM on July 21, 2009