The Projector: When One Scene Defines a Film (Patreon)

Over at Polygon, friend of the show Matt Patches has an excellent oral history of the opening scene of Damien Chazelle's Babylon, famous, as you probably already know from our recent bonus episode, for a graphic scene of elephant defecation. It's the kind of in-depth reporting about one facet of a film that's always fascinating to read, but it also points to what could be an elephant-sized issue: if anyone knows anything about this movie, it's that it contains a lot of elephant poop. And that may not be a turn-on.

That's sometimes the trouble with unforgettable scenes: they can overwhelm everything else. A lot happens in Babylon after the elephant poop's big moment, even if that's the one moment everyone knows about. That can end up being okay, though. Babylon has struggled at the box office, but that probably has to do with other factors. In time, the elephant scene will likely take a place alongside the ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs or the shower scene in Psycho or the horse's head scene in The Godfather: they're part of what makes the movie famous, but they don't entirely define it.

Maybe I'm wrong, however. Did the thought of elephant poop turn you away from Babylon? Have you ever avoided a movie because of a moment you knew about and didn't want to witness? (I'll confess to avoiding I Am Legend because I knew that the ___ ____.)

While you're thinking about that, be sure to check out pal and erstwhile Next Picture Show co-host Rachel Handler's profile of Allison Williams at Vulture, which is also excellent prep for our upcoming episode on M3GAN.