Top 10
Most Memorable Pool Scenes
Stuck at home with serious wanderlust, longing for sun-kissed days? Then fire up your streaming services—we're counting down our favorite cinematic pool scenes, from the ones that defined a generation (hello, Mrs. Robinson!) to the French classic, La Piscine.
Best Pool Party — The Great Gatsby (2013)
Decadent, extravagant, an over-the-top bacchanalia—no one does party pageantry quite like director Baz Luhrmann. His take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the freewheeling Twenties absolutely roars (pun intended), a glittery spectacle on steroids. Plus, fireworks!
Decadent, extravagant, an over-the-top bacchanalia—no one does party pageantry quite like director Baz Luhrmann. His take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the freewheeling Twenties absolutely roars (pun intended), a glittery spectacle on steroids. Plus, fireworks!
Best Pool Party II (Rated R) — Boogie Nights (1997)
The pool scene in this film was coolly shot in one take, from the moment a guest pulls up at the door to a dive under the water and back up again. Fantastically set to the song, "Spill the Wine" by Eric Burdon & War, it's a glance back at the Seventies leisure life, all long limbs and drug-fueled debauchery. But what else would you expect from a party hosted by a porn honcho played by Burt Reynolds?
The pool scene in this film was coolly shot in one take, from the moment a guest pulls up at the door to a dive under the water and back up again. Fantastically set to the song, "Spill the Wine" by Eric Burdon & War, it's a glance back at the Seventies leisure life, all long limbs and drug-fueled debauchery. But what else would you expect from a party hosted by a porn honcho played by Burt Reynolds?
Best Underwater Tea Party — Somewhere (2010)
A tea party, in a pool. Starring a young Elle Fanning and Stephen Dorff, who plays her father. Set at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Enough said.
A tea party, in a pool. Starring a young Elle Fanning and Stephen Dorff, who plays her father. Set at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Enough said.
Best Eighties Pool Moment — Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
We love you Phoebe Cate, but our heart belongs to Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller. When it comes to pool scenes in movies about high school in the Eighties, we'd prefer to idle Bueller style vs. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Remember this gem: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
We love you Phoebe Cate, but our heart belongs to Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller. When it comes to pool scenes in movies about high school in the Eighties, we'd prefer to idle Bueller style vs. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Remember this gem: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Best Pool View — SkyFall (2012)
We're talking about the best view from a pool. While in Shanghai, Daniel Craig's James Bond character goes for a swim in the hotel pool—and located high in the sky, against the sparkling cityscape, the floor-to-ceiling window view is breathtaking. Fun fact: The pool in question was actually in England, not China. The scene was shot at London's Canary Riverside Health Club and Spa.
We're talking about the best view from a pool. While in Shanghai, Daniel Craig's James Bond character goes for a swim in the hotel pool—and located high in the sky, against the sparkling cityscape, the floor-to-ceiling window view is breathtaking. Fun fact: The pool in question was actually in England, not China. The scene was shot at London's Canary Riverside Health Club and Spa.
Best Pool Opener — Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The movie opens with a bang—or, rather, seconds after one—with the shot body of screenwriter Joe Gillis floating in a swimming pool. A meta commentary on Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard is a tour-de-force film, which nabbed multiple Academy Awards, with an electric performance by Gloria Swanson as silent star Norma Desmond.
The movie opens with a bang—or, rather, seconds after one—with the shot body of screenwriter Joe Gillis floating in a swimming pool. A meta commentary on Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard is a tour-de-force film, which nabbed multiple Academy Awards, with an electric performance by Gloria Swanson as silent star Norma Desmond.
Best Pool Seduction — La Piscine (1969)
This 1969 French cult classic stars Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin and Alain Delon at their height. But if you think it's all European sexiness in the French Riviera, think again. La Piscine is a gripping psychological thriller where… wait, no spoilers. Just know that it's as beautiful a film as it is hauntingly tense.
This 1969 French cult classic stars Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin and Alain Delon at their height. But if you think it's all European sexiness in the French Riviera, think again. La Piscine is a gripping psychological thriller where… wait, no spoilers. Just know that it's as beautiful a film as it is hauntingly tense.
Best Pool Scenes for Twilight Zone Lovers — The Swimmer (1968)
Would you prefer your pool scenes with an extra dose of existential dread and class commentary? Do you like your movies to leave you reflective rather than relaxed, unsettled rather than content? Then have we got the film for you. The Swimmer, based on a 1964 John Cheever story, stars Burt Lancaster as a man who realizes that all the pools in his neighborhood connect, much like subterranean cenotes. So he leaves a pool party in affluent suburbia to swim from pool to pool, all the way home; each stop is a story in itself.
Would you prefer your pool scenes with an extra dose of existential dread and class commentary? Do you like your movies to leave you reflective rather than relaxed, unsettled rather than content? Then have we got the film for you. The Swimmer, based on a 1964 John Cheever story, stars Burt Lancaster as a man who realizes that all the pools in his neighborhood connect, much like subterranean cenotes. So he leaves a pool party in affluent suburbia to swim from pool to pool, all the way home; each stop is a story in itself.
Best Dive — Almost Famous (2000)
"I am a Golden God!" screams rock star Russell Hammond before he leaps off a rooftop and into a pool, surrounded by cheering partygoers who jump in, one by one, after him. He is high, of course. (For more on how much we love this film—and its fashions!—click here.)
"I am a Golden God!" screams rock star Russell Hammond before he leaps off a rooftop and into a pool, surrounded by cheering partygoers who jump in, one by one, after him. He is high, of course. (For more on how much we love this film—and its fashions!—click here.)
Best Pool Ennui — The Graduate (1967)
Who hasn't felt like Benjamin Braddock, like they're just… drifting? As Dustin Hoffman's character puts it, "It's very comfortable just to drift here."
Who hasn't felt like Benjamin Braddock, like they're just… drifting? As Dustin Hoffman's character puts it, "It's very comfortable just to drift here."
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