It’s Oscar night, so I quickly compiled my list of Top Ten Movies as a way to start a discussion. Forgive the limited write-ups. I am sure you have seen some of them, others probably not. Either way, next time you have a free night, curl up with your Netflix account and try to view some of these all-time classics. Please let me know of a few movies you would add to the list. See you at the movies!
10. JFK (1991) – I know that Oliver Stone’s screenplay was controversial, and that Kevin Costner is wooden and laconic; still, the cinematography is great, and the role played by Joe Pesci is worth seeing all by itself. I don’t believe Stone’s theories, but this is a gripping movie that will hold you through the end.
9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) – This movie caught me and the country off guard three years ago. It has all the great elements – the likeable star, romance, a seemingly unwinnable plot that manages to not become unraveled in the end, and beautiful music and scenery from India.
8. Annie Hall (1977) – I’m a huge Woody Allen fan, and it all starts with Annie Hall. Quirky, clever and fun to watch, this Allen piece also features the classic scene where Allen argues about rhetoric with Marshall McLuhan in the theater line. A cameo by Christopher Walken is the icing on the cake.
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998) – One of two great movies produced in 1998, Tom Hanks stars as the WW II captain asked to save young, Private Ryan (Matt Damon) after all of three of his brothers were killed in action. The Normandy scenes are like a Life magazine photo shoot, and Hanks is excellent as the cerebral soldier leading his men on an incredible mission of mercy.
6. A Simple Plan (1998) – Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton answer the question of what happens when a downed airplane, filled with drug money, crashes in the remote upper Midwest, and is discovered by a pair of lower to middle class white guys. A great morality tale with a surprise ending.
5. Amadeus (1984) – F. Murray Abraham stars as Antonio Salieri, a talented composer and musician who has the only misfortune to be born as a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Abraham won Best Actor for his portrayal of a religious man who was driven to insanity – mostly by jealousy – and who openly questions why God would gift an unregenerate like Mozart.
4. Gandhi (1982) – I regret that I did not see this movie until 2008, when I finally got it on Netflix and watched all three hours in one sitting. I recall as a high schooler hearing about Ben Kingsley’s performance as the peaceful Indian leader, Gandhi. His acting is one for the ages, and this is an important story about a very influential man in the 20th century.
3. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – An all-time classic with Frank Sinatra. The basic plot revolves around soldiers in the Korean War who were kidnapped and brainwashed to believe propaganda and to unleash crimes against their own government years after returning home. Bennett Marco (Sinatra) must fight his belief that Sergeant Raymond Shaw is the “kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.” You’ll never see the Queen of Hearts the same way after seeing this movie. Don’t bother with the remake starring Denzel Washington…this is twice the movie.
2. The End of the Affair (1999) – Based on Graham Green’s novel of the same name, Ralph Fiennes is a writer who falls in love with a married woman; she also falls in love with him, but after a near-fatal accident, she prays for his recovery, and when God answers her prayer, she is forced to confess her sin and leave her newfound love. Set in WW II Britain, it is an amazing story of true love and true grace.
1. Apocalypse Now (1979) –This movie remains tops on my list for a variety of reasons; it was the first Rated R movie I ever saw (I snuck out with a friend in high school), and it was also one of the early movies which showed war for what it was without seeking to glorify it. Martin Sheen is fabulous as the captain of a U-boat heading into the heart of the Viet-cong jungle to muzzle a renegade American colonel who has gone rogue (Marlon Brando). All-time great cameo appearances by Robert Duvall (“I love the smell of Napalm in the morning; it smells like victory”) and Dennis Hopper (“Did you know the middle two words of life are if?”) make this a classic. A violent ending and an eerie soundtrack (with Jim Morrison) make this an uncomfortable but moving piece of cinema. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola on a budget that crept north of $15 million, which was unheard of 1979.
I have a list of 5-8 foreign films (mostly German) that I can also recommended. Let me know if you’re interested. Talk to you After Words!
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