Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I’ve spent about five years writing for TTNMC. Throughout most of my reviews and articles during the past years, I have attempted to approach my subjects with a degree of objectivity which, as most journalists will admit, is a fairly futile battle. No matter how great a distance a journalist approaches a subject with, his or her writing will always reflect a figment of their identity. With this being said, I would like, riffing on a quote from “The Wizard of Oz,” to reveal the man behind the curtain.
I wish, however, not to reveal myself in a self-important manner but, as most of us do, through what interests me. Being a film studies student, the choice is quite obvious. Struggling to avoid the rather trite task of coming up with a ranking and the inclusion of “traditional” favorites, the following fifteen films have had a great effect on me and I can feel I can safely assert that at least one of them will greatly affect you.
So, excluding of the two films that have had the greatest influence on my love of film (“Star Wars” and “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”), I present to you, in alphabetical order, my love letter to the cinema in the form of fifteen wonderful films.
8 ½
Many critics and cinephiles have claimed that Federico Fellini’s “8 ½” is the best film ever made about film making. It is not an overstatement. The film follows Fellini stand-in Guido (Marcello Mastroianni), a film director who has lost his inspiration in the midst of a midlife crisis. Next to “Citizen Kane,” “8 ½” is one of the most perfectly structured films around where every aspect of the production (the music and cinematography especially) come together in a completely successful manner.
Citizen Kane
A rather stereotypical choice, Orson Welles’s “Citizen Kane” is to many (myself included) the greatest film ever made. The filmic equivalent to Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” “Kane” is as much about the egomanical newspaper tycoon Kane as it is about Orson Welles himself. Welles, utilizing deep-focus cinematography and a non-linear narrative, would never make another film close to it.
Contempt
While the cinematically punch-drunk “Breathless” is probably the best place for a beginner to encounter French New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Godard, the raw emotion of “Contempt” and its depiction of the film industry as a form of intellectual prostitution makes it more interesting. The film chronicles the disintegration of a marriage as a screenwriter (Michel Poccoli) uses his wife (Bridgette Bardot) as a bargaining chip.
The Conversation
Most movie buffs would put Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” on a must-see list before “The Conversation” and that is the very reason why I put “The Conversation” on mine. Produced in between “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II,” “The Conversation” is just as rewarding of a film in terms of its story, which revolves around a surveillance expert played by Gene Hackman who may be uncovering a murder plot, and its production aspects, especially its sound design. Watch for Robert Duvall and Harrison Ford in supporting parts.
Day for Night
While Godard became coldly intellectual in his later years, his collaborator Francois Truffaut became increasingly joyous about life and the film industry. If “Contempt” was Godard’s depiction of the film industry as a soul-less enterprise, “Day For Night” was Truffaut’s loving salute to the medium and his friends. The film follows a film crew, lead by Truffaut himself, as they deal with the pitfalls of a production (a depressed lead actress, a cat who refuses to act on cue) while attempting to meet production deadlines.
The Decalogue
Polish Krzysztof Kieslowski’s ten-hour miniseries “The Decalogue” is a dissection of the Ten Commandments without resorting to black and white simplistic morality and that is only one of the reasons why it is a great film. The main reason “The Decalogue” is so affecting is because Kieslowski has enough faith in the audience to be able to construct their own conclusions through a masterful use of the film medium’s two main elements: image and sound.
Dr. Strangelove
Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is the funniest film ever made. One of the most interesting aspects of its production is that the film was not originally supposed to be a comedy. After all, it depicts the eve of nuclear Armageddon between the Russians and the United States. However, Kubrick realized that the whole idea of two countries racing to destroy one another and themselves in the process was so absurd that it could not be handled in a serious fashion. While Peter Sellers often takes the acclaim here for stretching his acting muscles by embodying three roles, George C. Scott’s performance as an overzealous general is unsurpassable.
Grand Illusion
Jean Renoir’s “Grand Illusion” is the best anti-war film ever made. Furthermore, without its influence, films like “Casablanca” and “The Great Escape” may have never been made. The plot follows two French POWS who attempt to organize an escape. However, the most endearing aspect of the film is how it depicts class relations, especially in film’s poetic scenes that feature Erich von Stroheim as the German captain.
Network
While, to the contemporary viewer, the production design of Sydney Lumet’s “Network” will appear incredibly dated, the message is timeless: beware of the power of the media and always be wary who is paying their bills. While the whole movie is classic, the scene between the suicidal Marxist broadcaster Howard Beale (Peter Finch) and his Capitalist fat cat boss (Ned Betty) is endlessly viewable.
Out of Sight
Arguably the odd ball on my list, Steven Soderbergh “Out of Sight,” along with “Citizen Kane,” made me want to become involved in film studies. The film stars George Clooney as a bank robber who falls in love with the U.S. Marshall (Jennifer Lopez) he kidnaps. While the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is electric, coming to a climax in the sexiest scene ever put on celluloid, the real attraction here is Soderbergh’s direction and fragmented style which pays heavy homage to the French New Wave.
The Philadelphia Story
George Cukor’s “The Philadelphia Story” is, quite simply, the funniest romantic comedy ever made. How could Cukor go wrong when he cast Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart as two men who are fighting over the incredibly sexy Katherine Hepburn? The script, like Grant’s previous film, “His Girl Friday,” is incredibly tight and has not only one of the funniest scenes ever between Cary Grant and a drunk Jimmy Stewart but one of this journalist’s favorite lines ever written: “I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know one time I secretly wanted to be a writer.”
The Seven Samurai
Akira Kurosawa is the Japanese father of nearly half of American film. Confused? Watch “The Seven Samurai” and “Yojimbo” and you’ll realize that, without Kurosawa, “Star Wars,” action movies, and spaghetti westerns would probably not exist today. “The Seven Samurai” which, in America, was remade as “The Magnificent Seven,” revolves around a band of samurai who pledge an oath to protect a village of farmers from violent thieves.
Singin’ in the Rain
The best musical ever made, “Singin’ in the Rain” also supplies a hilarious and insightful look into Hollywood’s transition from silent films to “talkies.” Gene Kelly stars as a silent film star who, with the help of his friend Cosmo (Donald O’Connor) attempt to turn a terrible talkie into a successful musical.
Strangers on a Train
“Vertigo”? “Psycho?” “Rear Window?” None of the above. My personal favorite of Hitchcock’s films is the incredibly taut “Strangers on a Train,” the story of tennis star who becomes the subject of a murder investigation after he meets a homicidal admirer who proposes that they exchange murders. The film is filled with some of Hitchcock’s best sequences including the infamous “Tennis Match.”
Tokyo Story
Yasujiro Ozu, next to Robert Bresson, is one of the quietest and most thoughtful filmmakers to ever grace the medium. Perhaps his best known film, “Tokyo Story” is a film about shifting family dynamics as an elderly couple go to Tokyo to visit their children and find that their children are too busy with their lives to pay them any mind. The end result is a film that is touching, heart wrenching, and extremely graceful.
