Top 10 Greatest Sniper Scenes in Movies

In preparation for a top secret black-op, Willem Dafoe goes in search of an elite sniper. While assessing his abilities, instructors survey the landscape, while the sniper must take shots at a metal target, remaining undetected the entire time. The vantage points come from both that of Chavez, the sniper, and the instructors. When the team fails to locate the gunman, they admit defeat and ask him to reveal his location, which was much closer than they could have imagined. The scene works well, establishing the sniper’s skills. The audience is left just as impressed with the sniper as the soldiers are. How does he move around so fast?

What do you do when you’ve unintentionally incurred the wrath of a psychopath in possession of a high-powered firearm? According to this 2002 thriller, anything he says. Stu Shepard knows he’s in a bind, trapped in the cross-hairs with no means of escape. Stuck in a phone booth on someone else’s turf, he ticks off a prostitute, who sics her pimp on him. Desperate, he tries to pay them off, but only manages to makes matter worse. In a cruel twist, Stu’s tormentor offers to also serve as his protector, further complicating the power dynamic between them. In the heat of the moment, Stu yells out “yes”, and the sniper takes the lethal shot. Talk about a talented shooter and manipulator.

It seems simple, but the military’s primary job when training soldiers... is to make soldiers– people able to react and detach themselves, at least for a time, from consequences. However, when you’re trained relentlessly to serve a single purpose, the drive to fulfill it can be overwhelming. That is the tragedy of this incredible scene from “Jarhead.” The snipers set up their shot perfectly, are given clearance, and are ready to fulfill their duties. However, at the last second Major Lincoln abruptly changes the plan. The disappointment is too much for Corporal Troy to take. Throughout the film, the pressure has been building to this moment. Robbed of his release, Troy implodes.

On top of a snowy mountain, Bob Lee Swagger agrees to an exchange: evidence for a hostage. He was set up, framed for the murder of an Ethiopian archbishop while on the job looking for a would-be assassin. But after having gathered the evidence he would clear his name, the widow of his best friend is kidnapped by the same people who framed him. Let’s just say, he’s got more than a couple axes to grind. Staked out on the icy side of the mountain, Swagger coolly – pardon the pun – takes out the other snipers, before completely disabling Jack Payne with nearly impossibly accurate shots. The moral of the story: Don’t betray someone with a telescopic lens and a deadeye.

When Jason Bourne tells you not to move, you damn well better stay put. It’s a lesson that Simon Ross learns the hard way. After gathering information about Bourne and Operation Blackbriar, Ross is followed to London’s Waterloo Station by the CIA and a Blackbriar sniper. Bourne, who’s planning to meet with Ross, soon realizes (as the audience already knows) that something is wrong – a sniper has the drop on Ross. Just as the tension reaches fever pitch, Ross panics and tries to make a run for it, ignoring Bourne’s advice. The end result? A very public execution.

Jim Terrier, an ex-Special Forces soldier, is hired to take out the Congo’s Minister of Mining, who has declared his intention to renegotiate mining contracts with various multinational companies, much to their displeasure. As the Minister’s armored SUV makes its way down the street, Terrier lays in wait. Despite the darkness, and the moving target, Terrier takes the shot, killing not just the Minister but his bodyguard in the front seat as well. The scene is shocking, as a result of both its brutality and brevity. The sudden carnage leaves the audience breathless - proving that it isn’t necessarily a long build-up that brings us to the edge of our seat, but timing.

Stopping to aid a group of security contractors, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit takes a breather away from the tense chaos of war. This respite is short lived though, as the crack of a sniper shot rings out and an ambush begins. Using the contractors’ .50 caliber rifle, James spots Sanborn’s shots as the team struggles to get through this long distance firefight. In a moment of genuine leadership from James, Sanborn is able to engage the enemy targets, making a few of long distance kills. Working as a team, the unit survives.

While making their way through the destroyed French town of Neuville, Captain Miller’s team comes across a desperate family. The father tries to ask them to protect his daughter. Private Caparzo, played by a young Vin Diesel, tries to do the decent thing. As he and Captain Miller fight, a sniper shot cuts through them, hitting Caparzo in the chest. Miller’s men scramble to take cover as a sniper duel unfolds between the German sniper in the church tower, and Private Jackson while Caparzo lays nearby, bleeding slowly to death. The scene feels personal, the sense of helplessness is palpable. Most sniper scenes, by nature, are detached; this one is uncomfortably intimate.

There are many elements that can make a scene great. Sometimes it’s about the emotion, sometimes it’s the set up, and sometimes, it’s a mind-blowing display of skill. The shot alone is what makes this scene incredible. A good sniper and spotter have to factor in so many things: distance, wind, arc – and from a distance of 2,100 yards, because of the amount of time the bullet stays in the air, the rotation of the freaking earth! In a work of fiction, this scene would lose some of its impact – but given that “American Sniper” is a biopic, and this impossible shot was a real event … well, like we said: Mind. Blown.

River Ambush
“Act of Valor” (2012)

Cowboy's Death
“Full Metal Jacket” (1987)

Sniping the Bucket
“Quigley Down Under” (1990)

There are many great sniper moments we could have chosen from in this WWII dramatic thriller, but the nerve-wracking Battle of Stalingrad scene is a true standout. With their entire unit decimated, except for himself and the injured Commissar Danilov, Vassili Zaitsev must take out the nearby Germans if he hopes to have any chance of escape. The first time we see the legendary sniper in action, he certainly doesn’t disappoint. He cleverly waits for explosions before taking each shot, hiding the sound of his rifle and the fact that they are still alive. The German officers are unaware that their compatriots are dropping like flies around them until it is far too late. You’re not alone in your amazement, Danilov.


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