Resonant Movies, Tier One

Submitted by jim on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:13
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  • A Midnight Clear [ Perhaps my favorite war movie. ]
  • Almost Famous [ jblack's review sums this one up pretty well for me. ]
  • The Blair Witch Project [ I think critics that didn't find this movie scary missed the point - to me it didn't seem to be about making the audience jump - it was more an accurate portrayal of real fear and panic. This movie makes most other cinematic portrayals of fear feel stylized. ]
  • Das Boot [ Another wonderful war movie. The tension created during the depth charges scenes is just perfect. ]
  • Erin Brokovich [ A fairly typical feel-good plot elevated much higher by excellent performances and terrific script (being based on a true story helps too). ]
  • Fight Club [ Terrific. Dark and exhilerating at the same time. A simultaneous criticism of modern society and an extremist reaction to that society (but tons of fun the whole way through). ]
  • Henry V (1989) [ My vote for best "traditional" Shakespeare-to-film translation. ]
  • The Insider [ TBA ]
  • LA Confidential [ TBA ]
  • Lone Star [ TBA ]
  • Nobody's Fool [ TBA ]
  • Raise the Red Lantern [ TBA ]
  • The Seven Samauri [ TBA ]
  • Shakespeare in Love [ TBA ]
  • The Sixth Sense [ TBA ]
  • Sling Blade [ TBA ]
  • To Live [ TBA ]
  • Truly, Madly, Deeply [ TBA ]
  • The Truman Show [ TBA ]
Author Comments: 

These movies are indefinably important to me. Stirring. They're all excellent, and they've all stuck with me.

06/21/1999

Hey Jim, I havent logged in, but this is Christopher (mildew). I like your lists a lot, especially the off-beat one; if you enjoyed Delicatessen, a favorite of mine, then you will adore City of Lost Children. Taryn is also quite a fan.

Rhaam01/25/2000

I'll second the vote for 'City of Lost Children' it's so visually stunning that you won't realize it's a fairy tale until it's over. It's by the same guys that did 'Delicatesin' which I also loved.

badenoch10/15/1999

I can't believe you didn't include The Highlander.

jim11/22/1999

How 'bout if I file that one under my Guilty Pleasures list?

swjf01/14/2000

have you ever seen "3 Days In The Valley" or "Choose Me" ? both offbeat, both good.

sk02/24/2000

Regarding the Henry V selection, are you referring to the 1944 version starring Olivier or the 1989 film starring Branagh? I thought overall the later version was the best (although I wish Branagh had lips) but I still believe the Crispin's Day speech by Olivier is one of the best Shakespearean soliloquies ever filmed. There is an informative article by Anthony Lewis that compares the two films to actual events published in "The Past Imperfect" edited by Mark C. Carnes.

jim02/25/2000

1989, thanks for the catch. While I haven't seen Olivier's Henry V, I've seen other plays with him, and I've never been particularly impressed. But to be fair, that is probably because I've never seen him live. I imagine he shines onstage, but watching him do Shakespeare on video leaves me cold.

Branagh's liplessness never bothered me before, but now I won't be able to watch his stuff without thinking of it. Thanks alot. :-)

pbrice08/23/2000

I'd like to nominate Peter Weir's "Fearless". From it's dreamlike opening, to its joyess realization of the beauty of life at the end, I find that just the decision to pop that tape in takes me to another place.

jim11/03/2000

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to watch it again. I remember really liking it, but being slightly disappointed. If I recall correctly, my expectations were quite high.

timepiece11/03/2000

I find it odd that so many in your Tier 1 list are very recent. Looks like 9 from the last 3 years or so. I would think you would have more of a time spread, with a mixture of classics, recent, and not-so-recent. Is it just that those films are fresher in your memory?

jim11/06/2000

A number of factors are at work here:

  1. My mind doesn't seem wired right to accept older movies. I watch them, I enjoy them, and then they rapidly blend together in my mind. A deficiency on my part, I'm sure.
  2. Despite my efforts to the contrary, I subconsciously attach greater value to things I've experienced recently.
  3. I only started actively maintaining this list a couple years ago, so it has been colored by what came to mind when I created it, and what I've seen since.


That said, I really should add some older movies to this list. There are some that stand out in my mind. I'll have to work on it.

jim11/06/2000

Another factor is that I try not to duplicate entries (I have a few duplicates, but not many). It turns out that many older movies that leapt immediately to mind are on other lists of mine already. For example, The Sting, Casablanca, The Thin Man, Singing in the Rain, and Mary Poppins are all here.