The 10 Best Bar Scenes In Movie History

Few spaces are more cinematic than bars. The low lighting, the softly playing music in the background, and the potential to have a chance encounter with someone who will change your life forever ... No wonder they show up so much in films. They're a writer's dream! Bars in film began becoming prominent in the first half of the 20th century, and during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was hard to escape them on the big screen. As time went on, movies and bars became inextricably linked, particularly as cocktails became emblematic of famous characters (James Bond drinking a martini shaken, not stirred, anyone?).

As a result, there have been a lot of bar scenes in movie history — but only a few have risen to iconic status. Some of the best bar scenes out there, like in "Casablanca" and "Lost in Translation", have captured the loneliness and self-reflection that drinking spaces can develop in the people who dwell in them. Others, like the famous bar scenes in "Coyote Ugly" or "Top Gun," have demonstrated that bars are truly places where we can let our hair down. What all of these scenes have in common, though, is a love of bars and of the people who drink in them.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." With that line, movie history was created. The 1942 film "Casablanca" is known for many things, not least the timeless love story between Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), its classic theme song, and its status as one of the most celebrated films of all time. However, the bar scene in which Blaine knocks back liquor while he stares morosely into the middle distance and yearns for Lund is truly one of its most memorable moments. Here, we see Bogart at his most introspective and tender, his leading man charisma on full display as he shows audiences the softer side of his character. As Sam sits down at the piano and plays a version of "As Time Goes By," Bogart utters the immortal line above, casting this film in gold.

It's pretty incredible to think that this evocative scene was filmed not on location, but on a sound stage in Los Angeles. Rick's Café was built on Stage 7 on the Warner Bros. studio lot and features heavily throughout the film. This was as much due to budget as it was to the war: Casablanca had to be shot mainly indoors to minimize any risk from Japanese attack. It's just a shame that the scene didn't feature Humphrey Bogart's favorite drink; we're sure he'd have loved it. 

As a film franchise, "Star Wars" has catapulted us into new worlds time and time again — but few moments have captured that sense of otherworldliness as well as the cantina scene in "Star Wars: A New Hope." This all-time great sequence sees Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and R2D2 enter a seedy bar on Mos Eisley in search of a pilot. Various aliens and humans alike mingle in this dark drinking den, with everyone's movements backed by an infuriatingly catchy song played by a band of alien musicians. When a fight almost breaks out, Skywalker is defended by Obi-Wan Kenobi ... And then they all go on to meet Han Solo, and the rest is history.

It's worth bearing in mind that this scene was filmed in the 1970s, when AI and computer-generated imagery were just a figment of all of our imaginations. As such, everything, including all of the alien costumes and their glowing eyes, had to be made by hand. Shot in London over several days and involving 42 extras, you can feel that labor of love in every frame. Incidentally, the song playing in the background was subsequently covered in a disco version and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Talk about iconic!

Bar scenes can be a lot of things, but chilling is rarely one of them. However, that's exactly what you get in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," which has, for our money, the most unsettling bar scene in movie history. The movie famously depicts writer Jack Torrance's slow descent into madness, and the bar scene marks this character's point of no return, as he wanders into The Overlook Hotel's ballroom to find a party in full swing. Torrance wanders up to the bar and orders a bourbon on the rocks (paired with what looks like the right ice) from Lloyd, the ghostly bartender, before bumping into the genteel but darkly threatening Delbert Grady.

The party, of course, isn't real, and this scene both injects the film with a burst of life and makes us realize the extent of Torrance's breakdown. It's preceded by another, almost equally iconic bar scene, during which Torrance discusses his relationship with Wendy, revealing the cracks in his psyche. As with so many famous bar scenes, the location here is partly inspired by real life and was based on The Whiskey Bar at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, where "The Shining" author Stephen King once stayed. A nightmare he had while residing at the hotel inspired the classic book, and the rest is history.

For our money, no bar scene has evoked that curious sense of loneliness and connection that drinking spaces can offer as well as the one in "Lost in Translation," where Bob Harris and Charlotte connect for the first time in a hotel bar in Tokyo. In the scene, jaded actor Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) discusses his marriage with Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson), who teases him about his entering a midlife crisis. 

As Harris nurses a glass of Suntory whiskey — the brand that he's being paid millions of dollars to promote, and whose parent company owns Jim Beam — and Charlotte drinks a vodka tonic, she reveals that she's not quite sure what she wants to do with her life yet. They cheer drinks, before they both express regret that they can't sleep.

There's a gentle, beautiful warmth in this scene, in which two unlikely characters find solace in each other, and in the relative anonymity of strangers. The New York bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo serves as the backdrop and oozes a sense of glamor, mixed with all the transience that hotel bars have in spades. Despite the film's title, nothing is lost in translation here. You get the sense that these characters somehow understand each other perfectly, despite barely knowing each other.

"We serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast." With that line from the Nick's bar scene in "It's A Wonderful Life," the catchphrase of thousands of bartenders around the world was born. In this classic scene from the equally classic film, George Bailey (played, of course, by James Stewart) is taken by guardian angel Clarence Odbody to the lively Nick's, which was known in Bailey's former timeline as Martini's. Bailey orders a double bourbon, while Clarence tries to figure out what he wants to drink, first considering a flaming rum punch, before eventually settling on a mulled wine. Bartender Nick has no time for this order, berating Clarence and uttering the immortal line, before Bailey intervenes and orders Clarence the same drink as his.

In a film with so many famous scenes and moments, the Nick's bar scene may not stand out to everyone — but what it captures so well is that sense of a down-to-earth watering hole run by a gruff owner. It also helps the viewer once again mark Bailey's transition from his former timeline into this new one, where he will, of course, learn the true value of life. Above all, though, it's all about that killer line, which will be etched into movie history forever.

Sometimes, in movies, bars feel realistic — and sometimes they feel like what we want them to feel like: Rowdy, raucous, and the place where you'll have the best night of your life. In "Coyote Ugly," that promise is fulfilled. Given that it's set in a watering hole, the movie has no shortage of bar scenes, but few stick in the mind as much as the moment when Violet Sanford, played by Piper Perabo, gets her first glimpse of the nature of the joint she will be working in. She walks into Coyote Ugly to be greeted by a group of women dancing wildly on the bar, while none other than Tyra Banks pours drinks for customers while laughing and shouting into a microphone. The dancers proceed to set fire to the bar, while Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" blares in the background.

Now, this bar scene naturally feels like pure fun, but the people working on the film did a lot of research to ensure that it also rang true for folks working in the hospitality industry. Director David McNally and the cast members put in the time doing their research, heading to various bars around New York (including the real Coyote Ugly) to get a sense of the real people working there. You can feel that familiarity seeping through the screen, even through all of the cinematic fireworks and the literal fire.

They don't come more iconic than this, do they? 1986's "Top Gun" is, of course, one of the most famous films of all time, and its classic bar scene is one of the most well-known moments of a drinking establishment on screen. It's also many other things, including a chance for Tom Cruise to flex his megastar charisma, and a great example of several misconceptions happening at the very same time.

In the scene, Maverick and his pilot buddies (dressed in full uniform, of course) head to their chosen watering hole before Cruise's character is introduced to Iceman, played by Val Kilmer. Not knowing yet that they'd become best friends, they square off with each other before Maverick catches the eye of Charlie Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis. In a bold move, Maverick serenades Blackwood, before she eventually brushes him off ... And is later revealed to be a flying instructor.

This scene was filmed at the Kansas City Barbeque in San Diego, which has since become a tourist destination in its own right. We can understand why: It's a classic moment in Hollywood cinema that feels emblematic of the '80s, and which inspired the subsequent bar scene in the film's 2022 sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick." Full of passion, misunderstanding, and life, this is what bars on the big screen are all about.

We love a bar scene that introduces a character with the cinematic equivalent of fireworks, and nobody does that better than Steven Spielberg. In "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," he shows us how it's done once again. The no-nonsense Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen, whom Indiana Jones is seeking out in Nepal to help him track down the Ark of the Covenant, is first seen knocking back shots (not a Harrison Ford cocktail, which might have been more appropriate) in a bid to drink her competitor under the table. She ultimately succeeds, as the burly gentleman she was drinking with passes out. As her bar clears, Indy reveals himself, with the two of them going on to spar it out.

Why this scene works so well is due to its simplicity: The camera work is steady, but gentle, staying trained on Allen and her drinking opponent as they down glass after glass of clear liquor. It's also a masterclass in how to set up a character without any dialogue. In just a few moments, we understand that Ravenwood is the kind of person who's not to be messed with. Interestingly, although the bar is located in Nepal, the scene was filmed in England, which was also the location of Indy's classroom.

When it comes to portraying alcohol on film, few movies do it better than "Withnail & I" — but in this British classic, it's hardly portrayed as glamorous. Instead, it's seen as a kind of desperate salvation for its characters, specifically for the titular Withnail, played by Richard E. Grant. Withnail, an out-of-work actor, spends his life lamenting his lack of a career with the similarly down-and-out Marwood. The two of them are desperate, depressed, and have little more than each other and booze for company.

This is what drives them to the pub at the start of the movie, where one of its most memorable scenes plays out. Withnail orders two large gins and two pints of cider, and as they drink, Marwood tries to figure out how they can make some money, before suggesting that Withnail call his Uncle Monty. Marwood heads to the bathroom and is called a "ponce" by a thuggish man sitting next to the toilet. Heading back, Withnail confronts the man — before immediately panicking, and claiming that he has a heart condition. It's a scene that sets up Marwood's cowardice and Withnail's erratic nature perfectly, which will see them through the rest of the movie.

There are bar scenes, and then there's the bar scene in "Inglourious Basterds." This extraordinary scene is as famous for its length as it is for its masterful building of tension, and it serves as the centerpoint of the movie. During the scene, the titular Basterds meet with spy Bridget von Hammersmarck, before realizing that the bar that they're in is a Nazi den. As everyone drinks and the tension rises, Lt. Archie Hicox (played by Michael Fassbender) inadvertently reveals that he's British, leading to a bloody shout-out, which leaves few men standing.

This scene is an incredible example of how to create suspense and fear in cinema, and the script, editing, and music are wound as tightly as a spring. Importantly, too, it's also an excellent example of director Quentin Tarantino's hallmarks. Drawn-out cinematic moments? Check. Stylized violence? You got it. A healthy dose of irreverent dialogue? You betcha. At almost 25 minutes long, it's one you have to settle into, but your patience will be richly rewarded.