Let’s play our own version of Desert Island. Let’s supposed that Netflix decides to institute a new policy that reduces your streaming que to only 10 films, upon watching which your subscription will terminate. All of the sudden you can’t just throw any old thing into your que so, the question is which 10 films are you going to watch. All of us would have our own answer to that question and nobody’s wrong, as long as you’re watching the films you want. There is no definitive list. But some films stand apart. Some films endure the test of time and represent an achievement in film; The art form, the entertainment, the medium of thoughts and feelings and the expression of dreams and aspirations. Out of all the films available in streaming these, perhaps most of all, deserve to be seen.
10. Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
If there was such as thing as a cautionary comedy Dr. Strangelove would fit in that category. It might be a relevant caution against war and the proliferation of nuclear weapons if it wasn’t so deliberately absurd. The film is perfectly and completely goofy, committed to it’s spoofery with a kind of total sobriety that makes the whole thing that much funnier and this is the real genius of Dr. Strangelove. It’s a lark, but a deadly serious one. The film concerns the initiation of nuclear war at the hands of a delusional military officer and stars George C. Scott and Peter Sellers (who plays two roles). Both actors give great performances and the film provides plenty of opportunities for them to thoroughly enjoy the comedic posturing of their respective roles. The writing is superb and supplies several classic lines (“…you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.) Dr. Strangelove is one of the iconic classics of comedy.
9. Casablanca (1942)
So well known, it’s easy to take Casablanca for granted or even dismiss it as an over appreciated antique. However the stature of this film is warranted and so to the enduring memory of it’s images not out of posterity for a cherished relic but for it’s brilliance as a film which still holds up today as an example of sublimely perfect film-making. The efficiency of the screenplay is one of the first things I noticed re-visiting the film. The way it shuffles a deck of characters, sub-plots and back-story deftly blending them together as an endearing drama and cultivates them within the antiquity of it’s setting and that of Rick’s Cafe is amazing. It works on practically every level and deserves credit for it’s performances, writing and technical precision, the culmination of which result in a dream of a picture. It’s easy to let the unanimity of certain classics can sometimes exhaust their appeal and deplete our interest in them.They’re great. We know it. Next. We don’t deny their quality, but we often forget about it. Casablanca might be the most universal classic of them all. Watching it again more recently I was reminded why. It’s a stirring tribute to heroism, chivalry and patriotism. It deserves the respect and status it has attained and as well as a second look, and naturally a first should that be the case, as a funny, moving, romantic, highly entertaining and unforgettable film.
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
Elia Kazan’s classic tale of guilt and redemption emanates with the grit, texture and desperation of it’s setting. Brando’s performance as Terry Maloy is one of the greatest in cinema and Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb give equally potent performances as two sides of an emotional and spiritual conflict vying for his soul. The heaviness of a troubled conscious weighs heavily on the film. The penetrating realism and passionate suffering depicted is remarkable. It is very similar to the tormented laments of Scorceses with it’s preoccupation with the guilt and sin of those trapped by the social systems of class and status. Similarities also abound in the admirably realistic portrayal of the urban underworld and the criminality that exists within the fabric of everyday life. It has a look and feel permeated with the primal yearning of the oppressed and those trapped by themselves and the depravity they succumb to. The film’s wounded heart and soul culminates in Brando’s unforgettable “Contender” speech that is one of the most iconic moments in film.
7. Singing in the Rain (1952)
Gene Kelly is at his best in the classic, comedically affectionate, satirical tribute to Hollywood and the glorious studios and stars. As with other enduring classics, such as Casablanca, it’s easy to take Singing in the Rain for granted and forget just how brilliant it is. Featuring some of the most memorable dance sequences captured on film and the extravagance of Kelly’s theatrical set pieces, it is also one of the most superbly crafted motion pictures in history. The “Gotta Dance” sequence is signature of Kelly and reminiscent of the extravagant Ballet in An American in Paris in it’s Operatic overtures and romantic treatment of a classic story (the sequence itself references the character arc of Kelly’s Don Lockwood). In addition to it’s memorable songs and comedy Singing in the Rain is a visual delight, a flourishing amalgamation of special effects and technique. Note for instance one of the very best examples of montage transition in all of cinema during the “Would You” number, as a multitude of graduating scenarios and progressive cuts and are masterfully elevated to poetry. The screenplay is marvelous, the acting, dancing and songs unforgettable and the technical aspects of the camera work, editing and special effects all coalesce into one of the most perfect cinematic confections ever made.
6. Vertigo (1958)
Though Psycho is his most iconic and best known, Vertigo is widely considered the finest example of Hitchcocks genius. Less obvious than some of his other masterpieces such as North by Northwest, is has gained traction lately as the greatest from a director who brought us countless classics. When detective John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart), disturbed by a recent traumatic experience, is hired by an old friend to find out the truth behind his wife’s strange behavior, his diligent surveillance and observation of the troubled woman (Kim Novak) leads him into a spiral of debilitating obsession. As he grapples with his own inner demons, John pursues catharsis through his fixation with the haunted woman. Vertigo is not about international espionage, innocent men wrongly accused or cross country chases. Hitchcock utilizes his mastery of mood and his remarkable talent for subversion to craft his most potent and brilliant film. As he did throughout his career and most apparently in Pyscho, Hitchcock is able to conjure an extraordinary amount of suspense, fear and anticipation with the genius of his camera and the patience of his technique, weaving psychological tapestry of Freudian complexity. The deep, anxious undertones that run beneath the surface are expressed in the brilliant musical scoring by the great film composer Bernard Herrmann. Hitchcock is known for the psychological depths with which his characters are steeped (The Birds, Marnie, Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt…) With Vertigo he composes a symphony of subversion, a masterpiece of subconscious presence.
5. Breathless (1960)
Considered by many to be acclaimed director Jean Luc Godard’s finest, About De Suffle (french title) took first place on the British Film Institutes de-centennial survey of the greatest films of all time the only time Citizen Kane hasn’t (That was 1952). A seminal work of the French New Wave it practically defines it and to this day is perhaps the finest example of it’s self-liberation, youth, social anxiety and boldness. The film and it’s revolution has influenced the course of cinema and it’s contemporary form with it’s liberating approach to story, characters and technique as well as it’s self awareness and angst. The rebellion of it’s young couple is reflected in Dunaway and Beatty’s Bonnie and Clyde and echoed again in Pierrot Le Fou (also available in streaming) which Godard made years later. To watch it now is to look back on a film that reverberates with the nerve and passion of a movement in which film was being rediscovered as a medium as well as a social statement. There is a violence, not only in subject matter (the New Wave drew from the provocative cool of earlier gangster and crime films) but in the recklessness with which it is told. The French New Wave was a time of discovery, and necessarily as a result, one of letting go.
4. Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
Kluas Kinski stars in the title role as a Spanish conquistador who’s self ennobling obsession to lead a band of soldiers and natives to the fabled Mayan city of Gold borders precariously on the edge of madness before tumbling in. One of Werner Herzog’s very best, the unconventional director shot on location in the inhospitable jungles of South America, arduously transporting film equipment and actors through the mud, rain and swamplands. As with many of Herzog’s films the story behind it’s production is as fascinating as the movie itself. The density and isolation of the jungle envelops the actors and the reality of the setting overtakes the film. Characteristic of the great Director’s work he evokes passionate performances and realistic spectacle of men pushed to the limits are fascinating to behold. Kluas Kinski again demonstrates fervent dedication and commitment to his role as the demented Don Lope de Aguirre Comparisons between this film and the story Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now can be made as the adventurers’ single-minded pursuit down a river becomes a descent into madness and self destruction. An ethereal score pervades the film with it’s otherworldly presence, like the fog and mystery of the jungle itself. This is one of those strange period epics, like Andrei Rublev, whose production seems to take on an almost historic quality and the power of which commands the fascination and respect of the viewer.
3. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
The seminal classic of Neorealism Vittoro De sica’s masterpiece has become one of the darlings of film connoisseurs, a requisite favorite of the cinema intelligentsia. However you don’t have to be a movie snob to appreciate the story of an impoverished man’s search for a stolen bicycle he desperately needs to keep his job and support his family. The naturalistic appeal of Neorealism (the use of non actors and real locations) ads to the film’s texture and character. The man’s quest through the streets and lives of Rome is a profoundly effective and touching journey and, given the authenticity of the style, nearly documentarian in nature. Joining him in his pursuit of the thief is his young son Bruno. The father son dynamic is one of the films greatest charms and fundamental attributes as the search becomes a struggle not simply to survive poverty but to maintain basic human dignity. The Bicycle Thief is one of the cornerstones of cinema one of the most enduring and humane tales ever committed to film. (Also check out De sica’s Umberto D.)
2. 8 1/2 (1963)
The consummate movie about movies by master director Federrico Fellini. Often regarded as his best work (though some would argue La Dolce Vita) 8 1/2 is the first full fledged expression and purest incarnation of the carnival eccentricity, whimsy, indulgence, and autobiography that came to define the great Director’s style. Guido Anselmi (Fellini’s favorite on screen persona, Marcello Mastroianni) is a successful Director facing both a midlife crisis and the stifling expectations of a public awaiting his next big production. Typical of Fellini, 8 1/2 follows the disheveled director through the encounters of nightlife, parties and his own whimsical imaginings in his pursuit of emotional and intellectual clarity, absolution and purpose. A profound culmination of Fellini’s directorial pursuits and social, intellectual commentary, 8 1/2 is a magnificent condensation of his artistic essence. The opening sequences and the last rivalry are two of the most magnificent and brilliant sequences ever shot and express the film’s poetic conceptualism. 8 1/2 was one of his first to completely embrace Fellini’s unique style of films, later dubbed Felliniesque, and probably the best representation of the man himself. It is one of the fundamental landmarks of cinema.
1. 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
A peerless sci-fi classic and example of the power of images, Stanley Kubrik’s uber cerebral Neitsiche think piece and meditation on human enlightenment is one of the cornerstones of cinema. With only 45 minutes of dialogue throughout it’s 2 1/2 hours and none whatsoever during the first and final 20 minutes it is a testimate to the power of images as a conveyance of ideas, communicating complex theories on the progression of civilization and the nature of enlightenment with the measured span of cinematography, putative leaps and some highly unusual visuals. The film’s slow deliberate pace might bely the expectations some have towards Sci-fi and the tedious procedural nature of the story and screenplay might seem plodding and dull to some. Eschewing the action element of other classics of the genre such as Star Wars or Blade Runner, 2001 is an immaculately crafted, deliberately paced work of intellectual filmmaking that argues the validity of film as a platform of profound literary power. Kubrick’s use of symbolism and the orchestration of images and sound as a language of thought is simply brilliant. There are lots of great films, but there are some, like Last Year at Marienbad, 8 1/2, or Apocalypse Now, that achieve something beyond the ordinary and remind us of the possibility of film as an art and a medium of ideas. 2001 perhaps more so than any other is an achievement of this caliber. The computer Hal is one of the best villains in film and every evil computer from thenceforth from I-Robot’s V.I.K.I. to Skynet, owes a debt to this movie. Even though the film was drastically different than most Sci-fi it has had a definite influence on the genre and films such as Andrei Tarkovsky’s similar masterpiece Solaris, and the recent Moon. Everyone should see it at least once. There’s nothing else quite like it.
