Very nice list. Lots of movies I haven't seen, especially the earlier ones.
I wouldn't personally have put either E.T. or the latest Star Wars movie on the list. Can't say that I've ever seen whatever it is people see in E.T ... it just seems incredibly simple and almost entirely an exercise in emotional manipulation of the audience. And to me, the latest Star Wars movie is easily the worst of the bunch ... totally overrun by special effects, cliches, and stereotypes. The first Star Wars movies were good because the stories and characters were engrossing. Not so this time.
Titanic is hugely overrated, of course. Best picture? Come on! It's just a collection of the easiest cliches and bluntly stereotyped characters. I would call it one of the worst movies of the year.
I'm not sure you really need to include the Matrix on the list, though. It didn't get much critical acclaim, though it was pretty popular.
I would drop Pulp Fiction, Vertigo, and Annie Hall from the list ... and add one or more Stanley Kubrik films ... perhaps Dr. Strangelove and/or 2001.
Dr. Strangelove is clearly (to my mind) one of the greatest films ever. It makes a humorously brilliant statement about a major era in world history -- the Cold War -- and draws out so many of the real ironies (and incredible dangers) of that time.
I had cause to think about Dr. Strangelove as I was going through graduate school in political science. I took a Defense and Strategic Studies course ... where you study all the war and defense related topics ... and I have to say both the course and the movie have kind of haunted me ever since. Virtually everything in the movie has a counterpart in the real issues of the time ... from the fact that military commanders in some areas posessed all the codes necessary to launch their missles (they're not supposed to, of course, without permission from the president ... but they were actually *capable* of doing it on their own initiative) ... to the demented and paranoid beliefs of the commander in the film who launches the attack. There's no mention in the movie of the John Birch Society ... but this commander's beliefs and convictions are taken almost verbatim from that ultra right-wing group's views.
And here's an interesting question -- what type of career do you suppose John Birch Society members would be attracted to? The military is kind of a natural fit for those who are passionate and wanted to work against the Soviet threat.
The thing about the film is that it's all so very plausible. It's completely crazy ... but very plausible. The basic cinematic device the film uses is to place things that are completely crazy (but plausible) next to things that are totally whimsical and unreal ... and dare you to try to sort them out. It's a brilliant device that works on oh so many levels.
So there you have it -- my nomination for one of the 10 best films ever ... Dr. Strangelove.
2001 is one of the greatest movies ever made. True, it does start out slow ... and you only get a few clues as to what's going on ... but all the pieces of it build and fall together toward the end.
A movie to watch at night ... and when you're in a mellow (and perhaps a bit reflective) mood ... but probably not something to watch when you're sleepy.
I think this site would be more fun if we could all nominate/add items to the list.
I'd suggest the move The Hunger for this particular list. I've never seen any review of the movie that wasn't completely negative, beginning to end ... and yet it's a very emotionally compelling, evocative film. It's viewed as a complete shlock by the critics ... just a collection of gratuitous scenes of sex and violence.
One (among many) interesting aspects of the film -- the song they play in the opening scene is Bella Lugosi's Dead, by the 80's alternative band Bauhaus. The rest of the soundtrack is all classical music ... and yet, the music all seems to fit together seemlessly.
Very nice list. Lots of movies I haven't seen, especially the earlier ones.
I wouldn't personally have put either E.T. or the latest Star Wars movie on the list. Can't say that I've ever seen whatever it is people see in E.T ... it just seems incredibly simple and almost entirely an exercise in emotional manipulation of the audience. And to me, the latest Star Wars movie is easily the worst of the bunch ... totally overrun by special effects, cliches, and stereotypes. The first Star Wars movies were good because the stories and characters were engrossing. Not so this time.
Titanic is hugely overrated, of course. Best picture? Come on! It's just a collection of the easiest cliches and bluntly stereotyped characters. I would call it one of the worst movies of the year.
I'm not sure you really need to include the Matrix on the list, though. It didn't get much critical acclaim, though it was pretty popular.
I would drop Pulp Fiction, Vertigo, and Annie Hall from the list ... and add one or more Stanley Kubrik films ... perhaps Dr. Strangelove and/or 2001.
Dr. Strangelove is clearly (to my mind) one of the greatest films ever. It makes a humorously brilliant statement about a major era in world history -- the Cold War -- and draws out so many of the real ironies (and incredible dangers) of that time.
I had cause to think about Dr. Strangelove as I was going through graduate school in political science. I took a Defense and Strategic Studies course ... where you study all the war and defense related topics ... and I have to say both the course and the movie have kind of haunted me ever since. Virtually everything in the movie has a counterpart in the real issues of the time ... from the fact that military commanders in some areas posessed all the codes necessary to launch their missles (they're not supposed to, of course, without permission from the president ... but they were actually *capable* of doing it on their own initiative) ... to the demented and paranoid beliefs of the commander in the film who launches the attack. There's no mention in the movie of the John Birch Society ... but this commander's beliefs and convictions are taken almost verbatim from that ultra right-wing group's views.
And here's an interesting question -- what type of career do you suppose John Birch Society members would be attracted to? The military is kind of a natural fit for those who are passionate and wanted to work against the Soviet threat.
The thing about the film is that it's all so very plausible. It's completely crazy ... but very plausible. The basic cinematic device the film uses is to place things that are completely crazy (but plausible) next to things that are totally whimsical and unreal ... and dare you to try to sort them out. It's a brilliant device that works on oh so many levels.
So there you have it -- my nomination for one of the 10 best films ever ... Dr. Strangelove.
2001 is one of the greatest movies ever made. True, it does start out slow ... and you only get a few clues as to what's going on ... but all the pieces of it build and fall together toward the end.
A movie to watch at night ... and when you're in a mellow (and perhaps a bit reflective) mood ... but probably not something to watch when you're sleepy.
I think this site would be more fun if we could all nominate/add items to the list.
I'd suggest the move The Hunger for this particular list. I've never seen any review of the movie that wasn't completely negative, beginning to end ... and yet it's a very emotionally compelling, evocative film. It's viewed as a complete shlock by the critics ... just a collection of gratuitous scenes of sex and violence.
One (among many) interesting aspects of the film -- the song they play in the opening scene is Bella Lugosi's Dead, by the 80's alternative band Bauhaus. The rest of the soundtrack is all classical music ... and yet, the music all seems to fit together seemlessly.