The Wachowski Brothers' tale of cyber-messiah Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his head trip down the alternate-reality rabbit hole introduced cutting-edge technology that sent ancient martial arts (and movie effects) into the 21st century. Reeves trained for four months with choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, and the mano-a-mano finale between Reeves and Hugo Weaving set the standard by which all action scenes will be judged for years. Effects such as the midair freezes and rotating camera angles have inspired Mission: Impossible 2, Charlie's Angels, and even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Meg Ryan's afternoon delight in a crowded New York deli personified man's deepest fear: that it (yes, it) can be oh-so-convincingly faked by the opposite sex. Lovable goofiness gave way to an untapped sexual oomph as Ryan wryly dimmed her good-girl aura for an ecstatic impromptu performance over one hell of a sandwich. Realizing his prowess is no match for a woman waxing orgasmic, Billy Crystal has a look of mortified excitement that says it all.

"Isthat hair gel?" Those four simple words had a nation howling in giddy horror. And while it may be hard to find the highest (or is that the lowest?) point of the Farrelly brothers' gross-out comedy smash (though Matt Dillon electrocuting that poor pooch is right up there), there's no doubt that this hair-raising moment forever redefined the gag in sight gag. The sticky situation, handled with angel-faced purity by Cameron Diaz as the titular marvel, comes together when we finally witness the awesome holding power of Ben Stiller's, um, handiwork. Truly a seminal moment in film history.