This is not difficult…this is IMPOSSIBLE!
Oh well, here are ten titles, which probably could have been replaced by ten others. I have a hard time cutting it down to 100
:
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) Well, this one couldn’t be replaced. Gorgeous jungle backdrop filmed on a camera stolen by Werner Hertzog from his Filmschule. Peerless performances from the very reserved all the way up to Kinski’s more mannered than Kabuki, Aguirre, bring to vibrant life the cautionary tale of hubris as man’s ultimate undefeatable opponent. You will talk about it, and long after, its imagery will still haunt you.
Babettes gæstebud (1987) Like almost all these titles, it looks great, the bleakness of Jutland, and the sumptuousness of that feast, perfectly pictured. The actors (even a big star like Stéphane Audran) virtually become these, for the most part simple, ordinary, petty people in this clear-eyed yet moving parable of the all-encompassing mercy of God. Impossible to feel bad after watching this, you’ll want to go out and hug perfect strangers.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) The only one on my list that actually won the Oscar for Best Picture, it also, not surprisingly, won for Best Cinematography. It’s beautiful, but more than that, this David Lean masterpiece has not one wasted moment. Everything is working together, driving toward its final shattering climax. When Alec Guinness’ Col. Nicholson’s eyes at last are opened…… One of
the most unforgettable moments on film. Madness…..Madness…..
The Conversation (1974) A real anomaly for this list because it doesn’t “look good”. Films usually seem to open things up, but here you see just how small a space is actually seen within the camera’s view. Francis Ford Coppola’s film is cramped and mean and unattractive, just like the soul of its protagonist, Harry Caul. Gene Hackman gives the best performance of his career as this cautious, small-minded man, who makes the difficult choice to go against his own rules and become personally involved, with unforeseeable devastating results.
The Court Jester (1955) This has it all. Witty dialogue, fast paced action, sight gags, and unforgettable, comedic fencing routines. The Catskills meet Camelot in a lavishly costumed (Edith Head), campy 1950s musical! Funny the first time you see it, and every time after. Thank God it came out on DVD around the time my tape melted.
Ladri di biciclette (1948) I hesitated with this one because, well, it’s on practically every major “best films” list. But then I thought, that’s stupid, it’s there because it’s great! Not in a big, bombastic way, although it does illuminate larger issues of social justice and inequality, and it’s Italian, so there’s plenty of drama; but because Vittorio de Sica’s slice of life movie, about one man’s hopes and increasingly desperate efforts for a better life for himself and his family, has never been done better, before or since.
Rashômon (1950) Lucky enough to catch this on the big screen at a special museum screening, its gorgeous black and white cinematography lends an otherworldly element to this film. If filmmaking is storytelling, then you are truly in the hands of a master storyteller in Akira Kurosawa’a unforgettable depiction of one event, from three (really 4) different, often completely contradictory perspectives. The charisma of the young Toshirô Mifune jumps off the screen more powerfully than any 1950’s 3-D effect ever could!
Shoah (1985) More like a pilgrimage than a night at the theatre, in this 9 ½ hour documentary Claude Lanzmann brings a clear, unsentimentalized, unhollywoodized account of the Holocaust by talking to real soldiers, survivors, and, uniquely, to the actual people who lived near the camps. Yes, they were still there, many still largely, frighteningly anti-Semitic and in denial. Not for the faint of heart, but horribly powerful.
The Third Man (1949) Another Best Cinematography winner, Carol Reed’s noir nightmare vision of post-war Vienna is the perfect setting for this morality play on the price of friendship and loyalty. Perfectly cast, perfectly acted, fabulous dialogue, with a pervasive sense of danger and “wrongness”. And a score that will get stuck in your head!!!
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) One of the most elegiac films of all time. Filled with iconographic images, unforgettable characters, and immortal dialogue: “I'm sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Was there
ever a scarier line delivery than that? Stanley Kubrick gives us a masterpiece that, while clearly reflecting the time of its creation, transcends the contemporary to reach out toward contemplation of the eternal question of man and his place in the cosmos.
Looking at this list, it occurs to me that, for the most part, I’m not seeing my “top ten” in theatres. Thank heavens for revivals and DVD…Hmm
I did enjoy 300 though. What a BLAST! Anyone else hear echoes of Monty Python in David Wenham’s delivery of that “It’s only an eye,” line?
Now….Can I have another 10?
*edit for spelling...drat
, lol!!
