50 Greatest Movie Drinking Moments
Tiny tipples and epic booze-ups…
Django Unchained (2013)
The Drinking Scene: While at the house of Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), Django (Jamie Foxx) heads to the bar for a drink. There, he finds Amerigo Vessepi, played by original Django Franco Nero. Past meets present…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: We may never have had that fortuitous meeting.
Shame (2011)
The Drinking Scene: Brandon (Michael Fassbender) and his boss David (James Badge Dale) go to a New York club. Sitting with their drinks, they watch Brandon's sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) croon a hypnotising version of 'New York, New York'.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: The booze is all-but forgotten when Sissy starts singing, so it wouldn't make too much of a difference if it was absent. Though what kind of New York bar doesn't serve booze?
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
The Drinking Scene: "Have a cup of tea and wait for this whole thing to blow over…" Ed (Nick Frost) and Shaun (Simon Pegg) plan how to save Shaun’s mum, pick up Liz and get home for a nice brew to wait out the apocalypse.
If The Drink Hadn’t Been There: Ed and Shaun would have sat down with a nice Cornetto instead.
Arthur (1981)
The Drinking Scene: Billionaire Arthur (Dudley Moore) sits in a bar with a rolling drunk who's wearing a red baseball cap and pretends he's a dentist. Just for the fun of it. Meanwhile, the bartender's got his work cut out for him.
Meanwhile, Arthur reveals his secret pain over his father's death. "Then he just kept sleeping. And I was all alone…"
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: They'd probably have smoked a joint instead.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Drinking Scene: The opening credits are more of a prelude to drinking, as Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) dances through the aisles grabbing bottles by the fistful.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Sanderson would have been shoving bleach into his trolley instead.
Trainspotting (1996)
The Drinking Scene: Franco Begbie (Robert Carlyle) starts a fight (simply because he feels like it) by hurling a pint glass into the middle of the pub, then throwing his knuckles at anything that moves.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Begbie would have chucked a packet of peanuts over his head. Not quite as dangerous, but still pretty annoying.
Casino Royale (2006)
The Drinking Scene: "Dry Martini," orders Mr Bond. "Wait... three measures of Gordon's; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice, and add a thin slice of lemon peel."
Nobody knows what he likes to drink more than James Bond (Daniel Craig).
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Bond without booze? Don't be silly.
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Casablanca (1941)
The Drinking Scene: "Shut up and go home, will ya?" demands Rick (Humphrey Bogart). "No, I'm staying right here," says Sam, sitting down to play the piano.
Quite simply one of the most beautiful scenes in cinematic history - not counting the other beautiful scene at the film's climax.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Rick would have been comfort eating by chowing down on some Moroccan meatballs instead.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
The Drinking Scene: Marion (Karen Allen) has a drinking competition in her tavern in Nepal, and proves that her constitution is fit to rival any man's.
Later in the scene, she even uses a whiskey bottle to smash over a bad guy's head. Brilliant.
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Marion would have been arm-wrestling instead.
Rushmore (1998)
The Drinking Scene: After downing a whiskey and soda while at dinner, Max (Jason Schwartzman) spectacularly insults Luke Wilson.
“I like your nurse’s uniform, guy.” Meanwhile, Bill Murray chokes a chuckle into his glass…
If The Booze Hadn’t Been There: Max wouldn’t have gotten quite so inebriated, though he’d probably still have had a few choice obnoxious remarks to share.
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
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