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Ten Best? That's a Tough One!Jun 11 '01 (Updated Dec 29 '03) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We all have our own favorites. That's the fun part. Picking a Ten Best Movie list is a tough job for me. I've been a movie nut all my life and there are many I think very highly of. Here are the first ten that come to mind in alphabetical order: Citizen Kane- Directed by a young Orson Welles, this movie continues to tower over others after sixty years, with a great script by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and a great score by Bernard Herrmann. What did Kane mean by his final word "Rosebud?" The movie searches for the answer through clever time shifts, flashbacks, and the accounts of those who knew him. I still get a chill as the music swells up over the final shot, as we discover the answer. 8 1/2- Directed by Federico Fellini, this is a movie about a movie maker who wants to make a movie that has "everything" in it. He tries to put as much of his own life experience into the movie as he can. One gets the feeling that Fellini is doing the same thing. This movie is an art movie lover's dream. They don't get any better than this one. It's A Wonderful Life- Directed by Frank Capra, this is "Capra Corn" at its zenith. What would the world be like if Jimmy Stewart got his wish while in a severely depressed state- that he had never been born? Capra takes his time getting you into the mood, then goes for it! He makes a few sociological and political points along the way; as he convinces everyone of us that our lives really do count. La Strada- Directed by Federico Fellini, this movie is the best example I know, of the great power of a very simple story, very well told. It features Anthony Quinn's best performance as a traveling "strong-man" street performer who doesn't recognize the love of his life until it's too late. Lost Horizon- Directed by Frank Capra, this movie has adventure, a sense of wonder, and a beautiful message that gets more timely as the years pass. A world renowned "dove" is kidnapped and taken to "Shangri-La," where he learns just how important his views really are. Without revealing plot details, the final shot on this one gives me a chill too. A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway To Heaven)- Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this movie towers above all others that feature Heaven and Earth as a backdrop. It's the ultimate fantasy/love story, with a very literate script and an all-star cast, including Richard Attenborough and Raymond Massey. David Niven falls in love with Kim Hunter over the radio; but must jump from a crippled aircraft without a parachute! Somehow, he survives, falling into the sea! Was it because Marius Goring lost him in the fog and failed to snatch him into Heaven as he was supposed to? Niven begins to have visions, and while under the knife for required surgery, he experiences a Heavenly Court battle which will determine whether he lives or dies. Is everything he and we see caused by a bump on his head? Or is it really happening? The final scene tells all. Psycho- Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this movie is the darkest comedy ever put on screen. It's so dark, most people don't see the humor in it at all. That's fine too. Seen strictly as a horror movie, it's still at the top of the pack. Pick the most famous sequence in movie history. It's in Psycho, guaranteed. This was a fairly low budget film for Hitchcock; but is considered to be one of his best. Another great Bernard Herrmann score is featured. Touch of Evil- Directed, starring, and written by Orson Welles, this movie is an example of what a master of the medium can do with a pulp fiction story. It's about Police corruption in a Tex/Mex border town. Welles gives it the same respect he gave his Shakespeare films. And Janet Leigh has a bad experience in a motel two years before Psycho. A posthumous director's cut, edited according to Orson Welles' notes, is now available. It actually is an improvement over the original release version, which was great to begin with! A wonderful Henry Mancini score is featured. 2001: A Space Odyssey- Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this is the greatest sci-fi movie ever made. Difficult to summarize, it's really about human violence, where it came from, and how a mysterious alien race take one human and transform him into a superior being with the simplicity of a fetus, in order to transcend that violence. That's one interpretation. Anyway, you won't see Will Smith punch an alien in this one. That's for sure. Vertigo- Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this movie flows like honey. And that's the beauty of it. It features another great Bernard Herrmann score. Jimmie Stewart very gradually becomes more and more obsessed with Kim Novak, in two different guises, right up to the final shot. Well, that's the first ten best list I can think of. Thanks for reading.  |
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