_The 100 Best Films of All Time (64-60) (extended and updated)
64. The Seventh Seal
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Cast: Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson
Genre: Drama
Academy Awards: 0
Year: 1957
Imdb-Rating: 8.3
Critic's opinion (Brian Koller):
Better known by its English translation title, "The Seventh Seal", "Det Sjunde inseglet" is a pensive art film set in the Middle Ages. The success of the film earned international acclaim for director and writer Ingmar Bergman. But today, the fixation with death and rejection of the hereafter, as well as the relentlessly gloomy and overstated imagery, makes for an inaccessible, and worse, overheated film.
63. Bringing Up Baby
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Charles Ruggles
Genre: Comedy
Academy Awards: 0
Year: 1938
Imdb-Rating: 8.1
62. The Gold Rush
Director: Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Mark Swain, Tom Murray
Genre: Comedy
Academy Awards: 0
Year: 1925
Imdb-Rating: 8.2
Critic's opinion (Brian Koller): "The Gold Rush" is an outstanding silent film. It is a comedy and is unusual in that all of the gags work. The film stars Charlie Chaplin, who also produced and directed it. Whether his intentions are to make you laugh or cry, he always gives you a good reason to do so.
61. La Dolce Vita
Director: Federico Fellini
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Alain Cuny
Genre: Drama
Academy Awards: 1
Year: 1960
Imdb-Rating: 8.0
Critic's opinion (Ted Prigge): Yet there's something else about this film that really makes it great. I can't even describe it. Maybe it's the free form direction, the characters, the storyline, or even the music by Nino Rota (which switches between poppy, jazzy, or saddening, but always fitting the mood perfectly). Maybe it's the way that the film has a perpetually fresh look, like it hasn't aged a bit and in fact, looks ahead of even this time. Maybe it's the way Fellini makes quick, non-judgmental, and brilliant observations on life that come from experience and told in such a way that they seem just like life. Or maybe it's all of these combined with the way that this film shows us that "The Sweet Life" doesn't really exist, and the pursuit of it will only make us sadder, though curiously rewarded. The world this film depicts is not entirely good for you, and you know it. But you can't help but want to be a part of it.
Director: Charles Laughton
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lilian Gish
Genre: Thriller
Academy Awards: 0
Year: 1955
Imdb-Rating: 8.2
Critic's opinion (Jerry Savaria): "The Night of the Hunter" is considered a cult film and a classic for many movie lovers, and I can see where the appreciation lies. But its overly melodramatic and unsubtle notes undermine any clarity or suspense for the story to work. I suppose it is too Southern with a capital S for my tastes.
Some critics suck...
Was this comment directed at Jerry Savaria's review of Night of the Hunter? I see Night of the Hunter as overrated exactly as The Searchers is, for exactly the same reasons.
Partly yes, but I most strongly disagree with Brian Koller on The Seventh Seal...
I agree. I felt Night of the Hunter was way overdone. I didn't enjoy it at all.
Really? Oh, actually, I think that The Night of the Hunter is a brilliant film. Robert Mitchum is astonishing, the screenplay genuine, the direction excellent and the whole atmosphere unique...
But, I agree that it is probably a matter of taste.
for what reasons is the searchers overrated?
It's arrogant of me to assume that I can read people's minds, but I suspect that people come away with the impression that The Searchers is better than it is because of the daring and difficult subject matter it addresses. It's a great movie and I love that subject matter, but it's not one of the top 20 movies ever made though it seems to always make that list. Likewise, The Night of the Hunter addresses daring subject matter for the time of its release but has many problems (far more than The Searchers).
On the base where one can compare them, I prefer The Night of the Hunter all the way.
However, I see what you mean, when you say that The Searchers is overrated. My favourite Western by John Ford is (and will probably always be?) Stagecoach.
P.S.: We will also 'meet' The Searchers in this new, updated list, on a very high ranking!
ok, all that makes sense... i guess the reason i didn't understand was because the difficulty of the subject matter doesn't really do it for me... i just love the way it's all done and the simplicity of the story... but now that i think of it you're right, most people(mainly the type of people who will look at a movie for its daring or difficult subject matter) think its great for irrelevant reasons... personally it never crossed my mind.
btw, that is all refering to the searchers... i've never seen the night of the hunter.
You should really see The Night of the Hunter. Nevertheless, I'm rather surprised, because I always thought everybody would like this film (although it is surely a matter of taste).
just saw the seventh seal... and among these other movies in the top 65, it deserves to be ranked much closer to the top of the list imo.
I agree. It is certainly a great movie. The best Bergman I have seen, so far, closely followed by Wild Strawberries.