This week's top 10 is the greatest films of all time. Films are ultimately my passion in life. I am writing a screenplay now and I hope to have it finished by the summer. I absolutely love film and their is no kind of film I will not watch. Just to let you know, I feel a distinct difference between films and movies. Films are original and profound, and they make viewers think. Movies are made for entertainment and may not really have any substance. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of good, even great, movies. However, these are the top 10 films of all time.
Honorable Mention:
Memento (2000)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964)
Psycho (1960)
Seven (1995)
Forrest Gump (1994)
#10 - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is one of the greatest American films of all time and is brilliantly directed by Czech Milos Forman. Its allegorical theme is set in the world of an authentic mental hospital, a place of rebellion exhibited by a energetic, flamboyant, wise-guy anti-hero against the establishment, institutional authority and status-quo attitudes. Forman himself noted that the asylum was a metaphor for the Soviet Union (embodied as Nurse Ratched) and the desire to escape. Expressing his basic human rights and impulses, the protagonist protests against heavy-handed rules about watching the World Series, and illegally stages both a fishing trip and a drinking party in the ward - leading to his own paralyzing lobotomy. Jack Nicholson's acting persona is the heroic rebel McMurphy, who lives free or dies. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a film dramatizing rebellion and insubordination against oppressive bureaucracy and an insistence upon rights, self-expression, and freedom. This film is both thoughtful and amazing, and personally it amazes me.
#9 - Shinchi-nin no Samurai (The Seven Samurai) (1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s martial-art epic Seven Samurai remains one of the great action films of all time. With its massive emotional range, dazzling technical virtuosity, and sensitivity to the natural universe, it remains after nearly fifty years a supreme example of cinema’s power to arouse and astound us. Seven Samurai contains some of the most dazzling battles ever put on film. The movie’s action scenes cover the spectrum of moral and physical complexity, from the waste of life that occurs when Samurai’s pride goads him into fighting a suicidal duel, to the climactic battle staged in a freezing rainstorm as the combatants flounder at each other amidst buckets of mud. The movie breathes with alternating energies, from explosive outbursts to supple silences, from scenes of intense grief (some of the deaths in Seven Samurai don’t bear thinking about) to the vision of a higher community that appears when the samurai share their rice with village’s children. Kurosawa is one of the most under-rated directors of all time and Seven Samurai is brilliant and masterful.
#8 - The Godfather: Part II (1974)
In Part II of the Godfather trilogy the saga of the Corleone Family continues, serving as both a prologue and a sequel, extending over a period of 60 years and three generations. The script was again co-authored by director Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, the author of the popular novel about American organized crime. Many critics believe this film sequel, at a lengthy three hours and twenty minutes, is a superior improvement over the original film, although some of it is confusing and leaves questions unanswered. However, The film has one of the most effective final images ever produced. The flashback ends and the image returns to Michael's face. Middle-aged, prematurely old Michael, now a ruthless, soul-less, power-mad and paranoid gangster, he sits quietly and introspectively on a Tahoe estate lawn chair as the cold winter approaches. He is once again alone, with all family loyalties dissolved. He is wearing his wedding ring, although he has separated himself for his estranged wife Kay. In the disintegrated aftermath, Michael is isolated from everyone and emptied, with dark, brooding, hollow eyes. The camera slowly zooms in for a closeup before fading to black and the film's credits. This is my favorite final scene to a film and it left me with that haunting image.
#7 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
This may be a questionable call for some people out there and I know that some people may consider this a movie rather then a film. However, this fantasy epic is artistic is many ways. The Return of he King is by far the greatest film in arguably the greatest trilogy. This three hour plus film shows life in the world of Middle Earth where elves, dwarfs, orcs and hobbits reign. The direction and story-telling is phenomenally done by Peter Jackson who put about years of his life into making this trilogy and it paid off. The Return of the King won 11 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (which is unheard of) and also grossed over 1 billion dollars world-wide. Even with those honors the detailed world in which Jackson replicates from J.R.R. Tolkien's books is the most amazing thing to me. With beautiful landscapes and precise cinematography a world of wonder, despair and hope is captured and put on screen for our enjoyment. The Return of the King could very well be the greatest achievement in film history and at least the most important since Citizen Kane.
#6 - Taxi Driver (1976)
It may have taken Martin Scorsese forever to get his Oscar that he deserved, but he should have won in 1976 for this great film. Taxi Driver is the most thought-provoking film I have ever seen. Every time I see this film it stirs up many ideas and interests that this film covers. For example, the scene in which Robert De Niro is in the grocery store when it is being robbed and he shoots and kills the robber, I wonder what would I do in this situation (not kill the guy would be my answer by the way). But still Taxi Driver makes us wonder about our actions and how other people portray those actions as heroic or questionable or downright insane. This film is incredibly original and amazingly well done. The Departed may have won Scorsese the Oscar and De Niro may have gotten his for Raging Bull, but this is both of their masterpieces. They both show their gifts on and off the screen which makes Taxi Driver one of the greatest films ever made.Honorable Mention:
Memento (2000)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964)
Psycho (1960)
Seven (1995)
Forrest Gump (1994)
#10 - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is one of the greatest American films of all time and is brilliantly directed by Czech Milos Forman. Its allegorical theme is set in the world of an authentic mental hospital, a place of rebellion exhibited by a energetic, flamboyant, wise-guy anti-hero against the establishment, institutional authority and status-quo attitudes. Forman himself noted that the asylum was a metaphor for the Soviet Union (embodied as Nurse Ratched) and the desire to escape. Expressing his basic human rights and impulses, the protagonist protests against heavy-handed rules about watching the World Series, and illegally stages both a fishing trip and a drinking party in the ward - leading to his own paralyzing lobotomy. Jack Nicholson's acting persona is the heroic rebel McMurphy, who lives free or dies. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a film dramatizing rebellion and insubordination against oppressive bureaucracy and an insistence upon rights, self-expression, and freedom. This film is both thoughtful and amazing, and personally it amazes me.
#9 - Shinchi-nin no Samurai (The Seven Samurai) (1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s martial-art epic Seven Samurai remains one of the great action films of all time. With its massive emotional range, dazzling technical virtuosity, and sensitivity to the natural universe, it remains after nearly fifty years a supreme example of cinema’s power to arouse and astound us. Seven Samurai contains some of the most dazzling battles ever put on film. The movie’s action scenes cover the spectrum of moral and physical complexity, from the waste of life that occurs when Samurai’s pride goads him into fighting a suicidal duel, to the climactic battle staged in a freezing rainstorm as the combatants flounder at each other amidst buckets of mud. The movie breathes with alternating energies, from explosive outbursts to supple silences, from scenes of intense grief (some of the deaths in Seven Samurai don’t bear thinking about) to the vision of a higher community that appears when the samurai share their rice with village’s children. Kurosawa is one of the most under-rated directors of all time and Seven Samurai is brilliant and masterful.
#8 - The Godfather: Part II (1974)
In Part II of the Godfather trilogy the saga of the Corleone Family continues, serving as both a prologue and a sequel, extending over a period of 60 years and three generations. The script was again co-authored by director Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, the author of the popular novel about American organized crime. Many critics believe this film sequel, at a lengthy three hours and twenty minutes, is a superior improvement over the original film, although some of it is confusing and leaves questions unanswered. However, The film has one of the most effective final images ever produced. The flashback ends and the image returns to Michael's face. Middle-aged, prematurely old Michael, now a ruthless, soul-less, power-mad and paranoid gangster, he sits quietly and introspectively on a Tahoe estate lawn chair as the cold winter approaches. He is once again alone, with all family loyalties dissolved. He is wearing his wedding ring, although he has separated himself for his estranged wife Kay. In the disintegrated aftermath, Michael is isolated from everyone and emptied, with dark, brooding, hollow eyes. The camera slowly zooms in for a closeup before fading to black and the film's credits. This is my favorite final scene to a film and it left me with that haunting image.
#7 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
This may be a questionable call for some people out there and I know that some people may consider this a movie rather then a film. However, this fantasy epic is artistic is many ways. The Return of he King is by far the greatest film in arguably the greatest trilogy. This three hour plus film shows life in the world of Middle Earth where elves, dwarfs, orcs and hobbits reign. The direction and story-telling is phenomenally done by Peter Jackson who put about years of his life into making this trilogy and it paid off. The Return of the King won 11 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (which is unheard of) and also grossed over 1 billion dollars world-wide. Even with those honors the detailed world in which Jackson replicates from J.R.R. Tolkien's books is the most amazing thing to me. With beautiful landscapes and precise cinematography a world of wonder, despair and hope is captured and put on screen for our enjoyment. The Return of the King could very well be the greatest achievement in film history and at least the most important since Citizen Kane.
#6 - Taxi Driver (1976)
#5 - Citizen Kane (1941)
The fresh, sophisticated, and classic masterpiece, Citizen Kane, is probably the world's most famous and highly-rated film, with its many remarkable scenes and performances, cinematic and narrative techniques and experimental innovations. Its director, star, and producer were all the same genius individual - Orson Welles (in his film debut at age 25!), who collaborated with Herman J. Mankiewicz on the script. The thrills of Welles' breathtakingly exciting debut picture are multifarious. For one thing, there's the exhilaration of watching a cocky 25-year-old genius explore the possibilities of the medium for the first time, playing provocatively with the properties of film as if he'd been doing it all his life. Visually and aurally -- from Gregg Toland's celebrated deep-focus cinematography to Robert Wise's crisp, complex editing to the multi-layered impressionistic/expressionistic soundtrack -- Kane is as stunning and sophisticated as any movie ever made, and it crackles and whizzes along at a pace that can even keep the MTV generation riveted to the screen. Citizen Kane is the American Film Institutes #1 and probably a lot of other people's #1 as well.
#4 - Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002)
This high-paced, thrilling tale of the deadly ghetto in Rio de Janeiro known as "City of God" is on this list for a million reasons. First of all, this ground-breaking film changed the way I look at films forever and made me branch out and look at foreign films. Second of all, City of God is remarkable in its unique technique of telling the story of Rocket, a boy growing up among the gangs in the ghetto but trying to force himself out of the dangerous neighborhood in which even cops dare not venture.City of God is based on a true story that I could not imagine surviving. This film explores a world in which people rarely live past twenty years-old, murder is a coming occurrence, and drug dealers reign as kings. I love this film with a sincere passion and if you have not seen it do not let the subtitles scare you, its simply amazing.
#3 - The Godfather (1971)
Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece contains some of the most memorable moments in film history. The horse head in the bed scene, Sonny at the tollbooth, and of course Marlon Brando saying, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." This memorable achievement is considered by many critics as the greatest film of all time and I can certainly see why. The Godfather has everything: directing, writing, cinematography, music, and of course acting with legends like Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, James Caan, Al Pacino and the master, Marlon Brando. If I could choose one film that everybody has to see it would be The Godfather because everyone can enjoy some aspect of this incredible film about family, friends, and the mafia.
#2 - Schindler's List (1993)
There have been many films that have been made about the horrors of this world, however one stands above them all: Schindler's List. This disturbing, yet moving film is about Oskar Schindler's heroic attempt to save Jews from going to concentration camps during World War II. Steven Spielberg's direction is absolutely flawless and he undeniably deserved the Academy Award for Best Director in 1993, which he won. Spielberg's most ingenious idea for the film is that he filmed it in black and white while only letting one thing show color, that being the red coat of the little girl throughout the scene in which the Nazis forced Jews from their homes. In some mysterious way the black and white film brings the haunting terrors of the holocaust to life in this emotional masterpiece. With the sensational acting of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley this brilliant tale is full of unyielding sadness yet it has hope at the end of the long journey.
#1 - Lawrence of Arabia (1964)
Throughout my film watching days I have struggled to determine which film I think is the greatest and it has been between these top two for about the last 10 years or so. However, after watching both again on the same day last year I had to say it was Lawrence of Arabia. This amazing World War I epic of Thomas Edward Lawrence and how he tackled the Arabian Desert is beautiful and profound. Peter O'Toole gives a powerful preformance that brings the audience into the world in which he is trying to conquer. David Lean's direction is only paralled by the extreme beauty of the landscape in which the film is shot. The desert is the perfect backdrop for this compelling story of one man's struggle to find his place in the world. With the outstanding supporting role of Prince Feisal played brilliantly by Alec Guiness and the greatest cinematography ever captured on film it is a remarkable achievement. Lawrence of Arabia is a breath-taking story that is visually incredible and emotionally stirring. This film is without a doubt perfect, which is hard to say of any other film.
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