Galt's Address is my favorite moment in the book. He speaks to the creators, the innovators, the ones with the intellect, the vision and the courage to enter the arena and risk all. We forget that the founding fathers of the American Revolution despised and abhorred democracy. It had failed in Athens and would ultimately fail wherever it might be attempted. The dull, the greedy, the poor not of wealth but ability and integrity will always outnumber the men and women of true achievement, intellect and talent. The ballot box becomes an instrument of tyranny, the inevitable descent to the lowest denominator. The founding fathers rather saw a Republic that represented not only a majority of voters but every segment of society, every region. The nation was to be insulated from the passions of the mob, yet giving every citizen a voice, not a veto in the body politic. The system of checks and balances they created was designed to protect the numerical minority from the tyranny of the majority.

Their genius was to see men and women's rights and obligations as rooted in themselves, as individuals not as members of a class, a political philosophy, a race or religions affiliations. The tyranny of the few of over the majority was no less odious then then that of the majority over the few. The system of checks and balances they created was wisely crafted. Sadly that instrument has been corrupted in the name of greater "democracy" The Republic they envisioned still speaks to us. Their enduring legacy is to uphold the rights and liberty of the individual above all. my guess is Ayn Rand and Franklin would have been good company....

Henry at the trial was my favorite part of the film.
My second was Frisco on the Money the Root of all Evil speech at Jim's Wedding.

I disliked that we did not keep all the same actors in all three films, and we were not able to have them for 3 hours each.

I guess on a per-word basis, my favorite line would be where Dagny says to Cheryl, "I'm the man."

That brings me to my least favorite scene in the book: Cheryl's suicide. On its own terms, it just doesn't fit. She's already found out her husband is a phony, and is recovering from that shock with Dagny's help and support. On finding out that he's "a killer to no purpose" (her words), her reaction should be to get away from him and work to bring him down--not to jump in the river and drown.

When Dagny meets John Galt. Best part of any book ever for me.

Great question, you all have good answers and prompt me to read it again again but for me the time in the valley is far and away the big climax.
A community free of moochers , a real utopia surrounded by the worst of us outside the magic image machine. COOL and I still think it's doable but time is running out.

JB- as an aside, I have not thought of it before- the passage that you quote
" .. The better the mind, the longer the range. " is much the same as the
Time span of control theory of management guru Elliott Jaques, a contemporary of Rand.

I have so many favorites. This little sub-story is inspiring-

Satan, in the guise of Dr Statler, soft talks Dagny by saying,
you can claim this brilliant motor as yours.
Dagny recoils, she will not steal.

I loved that scene when Dagney first entered the shanty town that remained around the old motor company factory. Ayn Rand's description of the people - the lady that looked twice her age, and the follow-on story of how people were paid by their needs...very impactful writing. I was upset that wasn't covered in the AS1 movie. As it approached, in the theater, I said to my wife, "Watch this...This is very interesting." Then, nothing burger...

hope...