Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 7, 2015 19:06:55 GMT -5
88. Star Wars Year: 1977 Director: George Lucas Writer(s): George Lucas Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Peter Cushing Studio: 20th Century Fox Country of Origin: USA Language: English Running Time: 121 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 You know, when I was 12 the idea of a top 100 movie list that didn’t have the Star Wars trilogy taking up three of the top ten slots would have been unthinkable. As time goes on and I gain experience both as a film lover and as a person the series’ accomplishments are put into a bit of a different perspective and its cartoony thrills seem less and less special. Still, it’s easy to go too far with that and for the accomplishments of the franchise to maybe be forgotten and oddly enough it isn’t the ostensibly more mature sequel The Empire Strikes Back which really stands out to me. Rather, it's the original film that George Lucas dropped on an unsuspecting public yearning for escapism back in 1977 that probably shines the brightest. The film tells a simple but timeless story about a young man from modest origins becoming a hero in a dangerous world. It’s an archetype but a well rendered one and it caught on with the public for a reason. The film also holds up pretty damn well after all these years, especially its climactic attach on the Death Star which is still one of the most thrilling dog-fights in film history. In making the movie Lucas pulled from everything from Lord of the Rings to Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress but at the end of the day what stands out most is obviously the film’s affinity for 1930s serials of the Buck Rogers variety. Ultimately it’s a movie with a mixed legacy, on one hand it undeniably played a role in the dumbing down of American cinema, on the other hand it did leave audiences with a spectacular bit of entertainment that people of all ages have enjoyed for decades.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 7, 2015 19:33:44 GMT -5
when I was 12 the idea of a top 100 movie list that didn't have the Star Wars trilogy taking up three of the top ten slots would have been unthinkable. If my memory is correct, when AFI released its Top 100 movies of the 20th century, they posted an alternate list on their website based on votes from the public. If it wasn't them, it had to be some other high-profile company. Either way, I remember reading the list and being upset that The Empire Strikes Back beat Star Wars. |
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Post by Jibbs on Nov 8, 2015 0:40:46 GMT -5
Ooooo, you called it "Star Wars." Good call.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 8, 2015 1:28:44 GMT -5
Ooooo, you called it "Star Wars." Good call. I refuse to call it A New Hope. George Lucas and his weird neck/chin can go fuck himself. |
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Nov 8, 2015 9:58:37 GMT -5
Me too. Its Star Wars.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 8, 2015 10:40:00 GMT -5
87. JFK Year: 1991 Director: Oliver Stone Writer(s): Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar Based on: The books "On the Trail of the Assassins" by Jim Garrison and "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" by Jim Marrs Starring: Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, and Sissy Spacek Distributor: Warner Brothers Country of Origin: USA Language: English Running Time: 206 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 The more I learn about the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy the less convinced I am about the case being put forward by Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone’s film JFK, but that doesn’t really change much about how I feel about the film. Whatever the true facts of the case may have been there’s little doubt in my mind that Stone believes there was a conspiracy going on and over the course of the film he presents a very vigorous and energetic case. Though the film runs well over three hours long it moves incredibly fast, in no small part because it is one of the most aggressively edited dramas ever released. The film expertly cuts away both to flashbacks and to documentary material and also just moves from shot to shot with expert precision. This kind of MTV inspired cutting is usually reserved for action films, but it works great with this film’s investigative format as well and never really feels like an out of place distraction either. Beyond that the film also has a remarkably accomplished cast and a surprisingly martial score by John Williams. This was a film made at the height of Oliver Stone’s prowess as a filmmaker and at a moment where he was finally able to use Hollywood’s money to bring his unique worldview to the screen.
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Post by IanTheCool on Nov 8, 2015 13:11:04 GMT -5
I remember watching this way back and liking it a lot. I should check it out again.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 8, 2015 13:24:18 GMT -5
I love JFK. And I expect to see Malcolm X around the corner.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 8, 2015 20:50:31 GMT -5
It’s a theme that he would expand upon with his 2011 film The Tree of Life |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 8, 2015 22:26:14 GMT -5
86. The Lord of the Rings Year: 2001-2003 Director: Peter Jackson Writer(s): Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Stephen Sinclair Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis Based on: The novels "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien Studio: New Line Country of Origin: USA/New Zealand Language: English Running Time: 558 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 You know, it’s really pretty crazy that one of the biggest and most expensive epics of all time was made by a semi-obscure New Zealander who got his start making movies about profane puppets. I certainly had never heard of Peter Jackson when he somehow landed the dream gig of mounting a full-scale adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and I’m willing to bet that even the biggest admirers of Dead/Alive and Bad Taste never quite thought he had this in him. But then this particular project would have seemed like a fairly impossible ask even if it was being helmed by someone with impeccable effects experience like Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott. Making a trilogy of effects heavy three hour epics out of notoriously difficult and nerdy source material back to back to back had to have been one of the most outlandishly difficult productions in film history and it has to have been some kind of miracle that Jackson not only managed to finish the film but also unquestionably knocked it completely out of the park. In their extended versions the three films collectively run damn near twelve hours and yet none of them drag in the slightest. The action scenes with CGI armies have (for better or worse) been extremely influential but the films don’t feel like they’re completely drowned in CGI either. They function quite effectively simply as action movies but Tolkien’s much celebrated story is all there and is brought to life with some very canny adapting and by an incredible cast that also seems completely in touch with the mission at hand.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 9, 2015 7:38:37 GMT -5
85. Walkabout Year: 1971 Director: Nicolas Roeg Writer(s): Edward Bond Based On: The novel "Walkabout" by James Vance Marshall Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, and David Gulpilil Studio: 20th Century Fox Country of Origin: Australia/UK/USA Language: English Running Time: 100 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Nicholas Roeg is a filmmaker who… well he certainly hasn’t been written out of film history but he’s been left on the sidelines in a number of ways. He doesn’t really fit perfectly within any film movements and while he certainly had a unique style it wasn’t always the easiest one to describe. His best and most famous film is probably his first solo directorial effort, 1971’s Walkabout. The film in many ways seems like a British/Australian take on a Terrence Malick film (even though it predates Malick by two years). It tells a story of a pair of siblings who are left stranded in the Australian outback and meet a young aboriginal who guides them. There are a million corny bullshit directions that a story like that could go in, but Roeg cannily takes a much more interesting and honest route with it. First and foremost, the way the film depicts this outback setting is fascinating. It’s hard to describe how exactly he does it but he makes this setting really palpably set a mood and accentuate the adolescent psychology in the film. The film is also unflinching about the serious and ultimately insurmountable culture clash that builds a wall between the white Australian children and the aboriginal boy. All of it leads up to an ending which is quietly cynical but also pretty true.
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Post by Jibbs on Nov 9, 2015 9:16:05 GMT -5
Walkabout. That was an odd one.
I noticed Jenny Agutter was in The Winter Soldier.
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Post by PG Cooper on Nov 9, 2015 13:13:21 GMT -5
85. Walkabout First film in your list I haven't seen. I'll keep an eye out for it. |
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Nov 9, 2015 13:41:33 GMT -5
Walkabout is awesome, especially visually. Nicolas Roeg is such a good filmmaker, Drac is right that he's criminally underrated. It seems like if it wasn't for Criterion pushing his films people still wouldn't know much about him. Don't Look Now is probably his most well known, but Walkabout is better in my opinion.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Nov 9, 2015 21:10:34 GMT -5
84. On the Waterfront Year: 1954 Director: Elia Kazan Writer(s): Budd Schulberg Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint Distributor: Columbia Country of Origin: USA Language: English Running Time: 108 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 If you look at movies from early in the sound era, roughly 1929 to 1950 or so, you find that film acting was in its infancy. Actors trained for the stage would exaggerate lines and play into melodrama and generally wouldn’t play out scenes naturalistically. Over time they took on a certain stylization which worked within the artificiality of the old Hollywood style but which still didn’t necessarily feel “real.” Then came Marlon Brando. Honestly, things probably didn’t happen that simply, there were probably steps along the way but most would agree that it was Brando who really brought “method acting” into the mainsteam and paved the way for the De Niros and Hoffmans who would emerge in the ensuing decades. Of course Brando could only change Hollywood acting because Hollywood was making movies that called for that kind of gritty performance, movies like On the Waterfront which tried to capture a more real working class milieu. The film has an authenticity that was rarely seen at the time and its story about corruption on New York’s docks was extremely topical and mature.
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Post by PG Cooper on Nov 9, 2015 21:58:56 GMT -5
Haven't seen it since I was a teenager. Another film I'd like to revisit.
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Post by Dracula on Nov 10, 2015 6:54:30 GMT -5
83. The "Before" Trilogy Year: 1995, 2004, and 2013 Director: Richard Linklater Writer(s): Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy Starring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy Studio: Columbia, Warner Independent, and Sony Pictures Classics Country of Origin: USA Language: English Running Time: 290 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 What’s amazing about the "Before Trilogy" is that it could have stopped after the first film and still been amazing. In the decade leading up to its sequel, Before Sunrise had already earned a place in film history as one of the great depictions of youthful romance. It was a really smart and oft imitated film that managed to do a whole lot simply by showing two young people walk through a city and talk about life and culture while clearly falling for each other over the course of a single night. The movie ended on a point of ambiguity and it seemed like absolute madness to answer that final question by making another film and then another, but not only did that work out it led to one of the great trilogies in film. Following the two characters Into adulthood and middle age, the three films seem to capture so much about life and love over the course of three or so days in these characters’ lives. Many films have tried to do the “two characters walk and talk for a day” format but almost none have done it as successfully and the fact that Linklater managed to pull off this trick three times is kind of a miracle. It remains to be seen if this series will continue from here, if it does I’m a little worried that they might ruin their streak of success, but then again Linklater has been doubted before and has proved the doubters wrong twice before.
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Post by Dracula on Nov 10, 2015 22:10:28 GMT -5
82. Andrei Rublev Year: 1966 Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Writer(s): Andrei Tarkovsky and Andrei Konchalovsky Starring: Anatoly Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Grinko, Nikolai Sergeyev, Nikolai Burlyayev, and Irma Raush Distributor: Mosfilm Country of Origin: The Soviet Union Language: Russian Running Time: 205 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Andrei Tarkovsky was a cinematic master of the same caliber as many of the great directors of the golden age of world cinema but unlike many of the acknowledged masters he was stuck on the other side of the Iron Curtain and had to deal with a lot of nonsense. In the case of his 1966 masterpiece Andrei Rublev that resulted in massive cuts by Soviet censors which made it so that the unaltered version of the film wasn’t seen in his home country for years. Tarkovsky’s unflinching depiction of the brutality of medieval Russia was part of why these cuts were made but what really angered the censors was the political allegory at the film’s center. The film, a biography of a 15th century Icon painter who lived through a time of great tumult in Russian history, was all about what it meant to try to create art while living in a repressive regime. It’s probably not too hard to see how that could be viewed as subversive. But one doesn’t need to be too enmeshed in the film’s politics to appreciate its greatness. The whole film walks an interesting line between epic sweep and bitter historical reality and Tarkovsky fills the film with almost surreally bleak period detail that creates a rather hypnotic tone for the whole film.
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Post by Dracula on Nov 11, 2015 9:59:53 GMT -5
81. Barry Lyndon Year: 1975 Director: Stanley Kubrick Writer(s): Stanley Kubrick Based On: "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" by William Makepeace Thackeray Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Diana Koerner, and Gay Hamilton Studio: Warner Brothers Country of Origin: UK Language: English Running Time: 187 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Barry Lyndon is not one of Stanley Kubrick's more popular films, which is unfortunate because it’s a real gem on many levels. Based on a relatively obscure William Makepeace Thackeray novel, the film covers the entire adult life of an Irishman as he rises in the ranks and finds himself in the English aristocracy. The film has a rather unusual structure in which its first act moves at a breakneck pace as Lyndon fights in duels, flees his home, goes off to war, takes part in a gambling scheme and eventually marries into wealth. After the intermission though, things abruptly slow down as Lyndon settles into domesticity. This might seem jarring and the deliberate pace of this second half is probably what’s responsible for the misconception that the film is “boring” and “stuffy” but I feel like this abrupt shift in tempo says a lot about this character and about what usually happens as people age into middle age. It also may be something of a sly commentary on Kubrick’s own migration to the United Kingdom: despite taking place in Europe the film’s first half has a decidedly American feel to it with its Horatio Alger-like rags to riches narrative while the film’s second half is every bit the class obsessed costume drama that one expects coming out of Britain. Lyndon himself remains something of a bastard through both stages of life so if Kubrick saw any of himself in the character’s trajectory it is almost certainly a very cynical commentary. What’s not cynical is the care and effort that Kubrick out into the film on a technical level. He famously acquired a special lens from NASA in order to film scenes lit only by candlelight and the results are pretty stunning.
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Post by IanTheCool on Nov 11, 2015 10:17:13 GMT -5
I thought Ryan Oneal was awful in this movie.
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Post by PG Cooper on Nov 11, 2015 11:20:48 GMT -5
I adore the Before trilogy, didn't get much out of Andrei Rublev, and want to revisit Barry Lyndon. It's one of the few Kubrick films I've only seen once and it's been a few years since my original viewing.
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Post by Neverending on Nov 11, 2015 11:23:26 GMT -5
If you ever have trouble falling asleep, put on Barry Lyndon.
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Nov 11, 2015 13:51:04 GMT -5
Barry Lyndon isn't boring at all. I found the story and characters to be fascinating, I couldn't believe a costume drama had me so engaged. Plus the cinematography in that movie is stunning, a must for anyone who wants to pursue it for a career. The shots literally look like paintings, incredible. Barry Lyndon is awesome, way under appreciated in film circles. It's a 10/10 in my book.
I like this list a lot more than Vader's.
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Post by IanTheCool on Nov 11, 2015 14:37:51 GMT -5
I like this list a lot more than Vader's. Take. That. Back. |
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Nov 11, 2015 14:56:23 GMT -5
I like this list a lot more than Vader's. Take. That. Back. You're right, that list has 500, this one only has 100. It's really not even close. |
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