The 20 Greatest Swimming Pool Scenes In Film

There's an unsurprising dearth of British-based films in this list. Thanks to our 'varied' climate, our outdoor pools are only usable for three days of the entire year, while our indoor pools are so littered with joy-sapping rules that only the fitness swimmers persevere.

In Hollywood, though, they could perhaps do with a few more poolside guidelines. Rules covering the carrying of handguns, the use of mind-altering drugs and intentional drownings of entire groups of friends, for example.

Still it's not all bad. From the funny, to the scary, to the downright sexy, here's the 20 greatest swimming pool moments in movies...

(Images: All Star)

LAND OF THE LOST

Not known to be the greatest work of comedy demi-gods Will Ferrell and Danny McBride (the film led the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards with seven nominations), Land Of The Lost has one standout, genuinely superb scene. And this is it. Danny McBride, take a bow.

Final Destination 4

Ah the old urban myth that involves massive suction, some poor chaps back passage and a lot of left over skin. Usually it's set on an aeroplane, but we've heard it on oil rigs and submarines. Either way, if picturing it was proving difficult, the kind people at Final Destination 4 filmed it and slapped it on the big screen for you. Brilliantly horrible.

HOT ROD

Watching Danny McBride and Bill Hader drown Andy Samberg is a wonderful moment in a truly wonderful film. Interesting fact klaxon: The movie was originally intended for Will Ferrell to play the hapless stuntman. He receives executive producer-credit, but of course, did not star.

BOOGIE NIGHTS

The epically cool one-shot pool scene showing all the pornstar party-goers before the world seems to cave in on them was influenced by a similar one in I Am Cuba (a long-lost Cuban-Soviet propaganda film from 1964) which features a shot that begins on a rooftop and goes down into a swimming pool. Having watched both we reckon Paul Thomas Anderson has the edge.

OLD SCHOOL

Ferrell taking "one in the jugular" is cause for instant guffaws, but seeing the poor fool stagger through and child's party before plunging into the pool to the tune of The Sound Of Silence, is unforgettable. We love that Simon & Garfunkel's masterpiece featured in the soundtrack alongside The Dan Band's herculean interpretation of Total Eclipse Of The Heart.

OBLIVION

Infinity pools are cool, but Oblivion pools are better. Not a great film, granted, but whoever dreamed up these huge rectangular glass basins suspended over a mountain that has been rendered barren by nuclear doomsday, is on to a golden ticket. Just got to wait for armageddon.

THE GRADUATE

Reams and reams have been written about the significance of Ben's swimming pool. That it's symbolic of the womb, that his inflatable lounger provides the transport between childhood and adulthood. We don't know about that. All we know is that the pool is a vehicle for cool and this scene is the pick of the bunch.

BEVERLY HILLS COP II

Only one man has the ability to steal a house, and that man is Axel Foley. A when Axel Foley steals a house, he takes a good'un.

GARDEN STATE

A wonderful scene from a truly heartwarming film. The moment the camera cuts to Largeman's friends watching him attempt to swim is superb. Interestingly the fog was not there for effect. The site was originally chosen because the Manhattan Skyline was clearly visible but it just happened to be incredibly foggy on the day of filming. (Jump to 1 min 20)

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

This Swedish movie was the first to win the Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival. A touching, amusing, heart-warming and terrifying story about friendship and marginalisation, this particular scene certainly falls into the "terrifying" category.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMOUNT HIGH (NSFW)

In the DVD commentary, director Amy Heckerling tells of how Phoebe Cates was initially reluctant to carry out her character's poolside topless scene at the house in West Hills because she thought the neighbours might be spying on the set from the surrounding rooftops.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

This scene wasn't in the book, but is an alternate scene, rather than an added one. It takes the place of a moment in the book where Moss talks to the girl who hitchhikes with him on the road to el Paso. It doesn't end well in both circumstances.

SCARFACE

Filmed right here at the Fountainebleau Hilton, Miami. By the looks of the pics things haven't changed a huge amount. Other movies filmed there include Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988), The Bodyguard (1992), and The Specialist (1994).

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

This scene boasts a wealth of classic lines, but for us the best bit isn't even spoken. It's Phillip Seymour Hoffman's incredible awkward laugh when Bunny offers to give The Dude oral pleasure for a thousand dollars.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Having read the script Jesse Eisenberg wasn't sure about just one scene. This one. Originally Zuckerberg, instead of just filming it, was supposed to join in, hurling himself off the roof. Eisenberg couldn't imagine Zuckerberg having that kind of fun, but by the time it came to shooting he was relieved that the script had been changed so he stayed behind the camera, dishing out low scores.

SKYFALL

Amazingly this is the swimming pool at the Virgin Active Canary Riverside Club in Canary Wharf, London. The view of Shanghai was added digitally, which only serves to make the whole thing even cooler.

MEET THE PARENTS

It's a cold heart that doesn't chuckle throughout this scene. "It's only a game , Focker!". Glorious stuff.

LETHAL WEAPON

Riggs agrees to Murtaugh's 'No killing' rule seconds before putting two bullets into a guy's chest and watching on as that crim falls into the plastic cover on top of a pool. Drowning and bleeding, yeah, that guy's dead. Good job, Riggs.

SINISTER

This is about as harrowing as it gets. The eerie change of pace from enjoyable partying to systematic murder, carried out as a nightmarish soundtrack plays on. You've got to wonder about the people who come up with these scenes, haven't you?

SEXY BEAST

A stunning opening scene with Ray Winstone in full Ray Winstone mode. If that's possible. The boulder that narrowly misses Gal was made of fibreglass and a huge net was erected the other side of the pool to catch it, if it over shot and tumbled towards the village below.