There are a lot of movies out there, and there are tons of people that have their own lists of what movies you “absolutely have to see.” Rather than be pretentious and make my own list, I’ll trust the masses and go with IMDb’s top 10. I know a good number of people that haven’t seem some of these, so I have to assume that some of my regulars might not have either. The list may have changed since this post was made, but this is what’s there to date:
1. The Godfather
Most people who haven’t seen this that I’ve known have had two common reasons as to why they have put it off. a) The hype; and b) Francis Ford Coppola’s other works. To address a), the fact of the matter is that the hype exists for a reason. If it were only truly hype without merit the hype should have died down in these 32 years, don’t you think? As for b), everyone makes mistakes. Then again, some people do start off with genius, then burn it into the ground.
As for the actual movie, I’d say that it’s the best role that Al Pacino has had, as it’s not the Al Pacino that everyone knows now. He wasn’t the loud and cocky guy that he typically plays now. The entire cast delivers outstanding performances, the story is well played out, and the whole package melds well together.
2. The Shawshank Redemption
From a short story by Steven King entitled “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” this jewel took me by surprise. When I first saw this I had only seen Tim Robbins in Bull Durham and Top Gun, and neither performance was really noteworthy. This role pushed his talents into the light, and they are truly spectacular. Though the main characters are prisoners, we relate to them easily, as they are just simple men living their lives. The story is easy enough to follow, and it’s a good one, and the ending is one of those that will make you watch the movie again just to be sure that they didn’t pull one over on you. Besides, any movie with Morgan Freeman can’t suck all that bad, right?
3, 8, and 9 The Lord of the Rings
The films were rated in reverse order (The Return of the King, The Two Towers, The Fellowship of the Ring), whic hI suppose should be noted, but it really doesn’t matter for the same reason that I’ve placed their titles together. They’re one movie. They’re one really fucking long movie, but they are all one film. Peter Jackson filmed them all in one go, going back to New Zealand here and there to fix a few things, but for all intents and purposes he did them all at once.
Let’s start by saying that making a movie based on the best fantasy novel series ever is a good starting block. Getting true diehard fans of these books to write the script is also a good idea. Getting these same diehard fans to produce the movie also helps. Then, having one of these people to direct tops it all off. So, they were automatically off to a good start.
The casting was impeccable. The diehard fans of the series were altogether generally pleased. There are always the grumpy types that criticize chapters/characters/plot lines being cut, but they would only be pleased with a 12 hour movie, so screw them.
The ingenuity in creating all of the effects in this movie were astounding. Four of the main characters are to appear that they are 4 feet tall, and you have to remind yourself that the actors playing them are all the same height throughout the film. Several tricks were used to make the illusions seamless. Change the trick.
Really, it’s a basic story of good and evil. The weak against the strong. Winning against all odds. The story is pakced full of excitement, action, lovable characters, and just about every emotion on the spectrum. I could, and have, watch each movie over and over.
4. The Godfather Part 2
I didn’t lump this with the first as I did with the LoTR because this film is a seperate film. For one, it’s two stories being told, that of a father’s struglle to the top, and that of his son to maintain that greatness if not inrease on it. The latter was supposed to be in the original story, but would have made the film too long, so it was added here. This film makes you question your own convictions when it comes to power. Would you sell out your own family? Would you kill your brother? Each of the actors in this film gives what are arguably their best performances of their careers. Having watched this and the first, many references and jokes from pop-culture will suddenly make sense.
5. Seven Samurai
This is the inspiration for this entry, as I hadn’t seen it until recently. What most of the people I’ve talked to have said about this film is that it is really long, or it drags. Though I understand, what with 3.5 hours and an intermission, I can’t imagine what could have been cut. Each character is developed perfectly. Each moment of action and each moment of silence are absolutely necessary. This movie should be approached like a piece of art, not as a movie. This has been the inspiration for many films, and for good reason. “Like Kurosawa I make mad films. ‘Kay I don’t make films, but if I did they’d have a samurai.” True dat.
6. Schindler’s List
A film that helps you remember that there are still good people that are amongst the most evil of people in the most evil of places. I find myself relating to this theme very much. It’s also a good history lesson about the Holocaust. I couldn’t say watching it more than once or twice would be necessary, though. The use of black and white is well done, and the color used on that canvas plays out well as well. Kind of a downer.
7. Casablanca
Confession time… haven’t seen it. I guess I’ll have to come back to that some time. *Hangs head in shame*
10. Star Wars
I used to rant about the “Travesty of ’77,” as this lost the Best Picture to Annie Hall. I have later gone back on this, as Annie Hall was a better movie. There, I said it. Star Wars, however, opened our eyes to what science fiction could be. Backed with an awesome score, this basic struggle between good and evil easily found it’s way into the hearts of adults and children alike.
The rest of the 250 on their list are decent enough. To date I’ve seen 138 of them. I’ll get there.