Drama:
** Citizen Kane **
It’s predictable because it’s true. Underneath the innovative visuals and great performances lies one of the tightest, most insightful, and bold screenplays ever written. Kane emerges as ultimately a tragic figure borne high and laid low by his own hubris and drives that he does not understand. The people who tell his story are all well-developed and compelling characters in their own right, and the stucture prefigures masterpieces like Roshomon and Pulp Fiction. Memorable line: “They’ll think what I tell them to think!”
Comedy
** Raising Arizona **
This might be the toughest category of all, and I’m sure to get flamed for my choice, but the incredible dialog carries the day for this one. Almost every line is quotable, and characters manage to be both comically exaggerated and sympathetically real at the same time. Five words: Lone Biker of the Apocalypse.
Action/Adventure
** The Man who Would Be King **
High adventure, great characters, and John Huston! What could possiblly be better? Like all of the great John Huston movies (see below), you can watch the characters get themselves into awful, awful trouble and still say that if you’d been in their positions, you’d act the same way. Notable scene: The two protagonists, trapped on a bridge, facing certain death apologize to each other for getting themselves killed.
Fantasy:
** Brazil **
If, as has been asserted, the prevailing theme of 20th Century literature is the relationship between the individual and society, then ** Brazil ** is film’s greatest contribution. The film effortlessly slips from a surreal yet believable reality to an only slightly less surreal dream state. It’s so good, I even forgave it for borrowing its ending from * Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge *. Favorite character: Freelance revolutionary HVAC tech Harry Tuttle.
Animation
** Waking Life **
While it may not be the * best * animated movie ever, it certainly has the best, most thought-provoking screenplay! No cute animals or monsters, but it does explore the nature of reality much better than ** Dumbo **.
Film Noir
** Out of the Past **
All of the Noir archtypes are present and accounted for–femme fatal, reluctant antihereo, big city corruption vs. the purity of rural life. The real suspense here is not what’s going to happen next, but rather the question of can a man really change his ways, or are we doomed to merely become more fully what we are? And the answer the film presents is ambiguous, at best, but not a cop-out. Memorable scene–the very last, which I will not reveal for those who haven’t seen it yet. A must-see.
Musical
** Singin’ in the Rain **
Normally I hate movies about making movies (with the exception of Adaptation!), but this one is an exception. The best part about this screenplay is that it is so effiecient; it gets the job done in about half the normal time, leaving plenty of room for the singin’ and dancing. best quote: “What’s wrong with the way I talk?”
Romance
** Casablanca **
It’s the standard against which all other “romantic” movies are measured. Fuck ** Sleepless in Seattle**! This is the shit. There’s nothing I can say about this one that hasn’t already been said a thousand times, except that I always–ALWAYS tear up at the end, and I’m a 31 year old male science fiction geek! Quote: “I’m shocked–SHOCKED to find that gambling is going on here!”
Western
** The Searchers **
Ethan’s the good guy. No, he’s the bad guy. No, he’s the good guy. No, he’s…oh hell, I don’t know anymore! Westerns are not the place to look for moral ambiguity, but this one’s got it in spades. Memorable line: “Put an end to it! There’s no more time for praying! Amen!”
tied with
** Treasure of the Sierra Madre **
John Huston’s morality play in the Mexican desert is every bit as relevant today as it was when it was made. One look at the story of Enron or WorldCom tells you that we haven’t learned a damn thing. Memorable line: Howard’s speech detailing why gold is valuable (which drives my economist friend looney!)
Mystery
** The Maltese Falcon **
Yeah, I know it’s a noir, but this little game of button, button, who’s got the button is tight, witty, and filled with tension right up to the end. Memorable line: every time Spade refers to the bird as “The Dingus.”
Horror
** Psycho **
It’s got a serial killer, therefore it’s a horror movie in my book. Manipulative as a trophy wife, this movie sets up a main character and kills her off halfway through the movie! It still wins in a walk despite a couple of points off for the talky, tell don’t show ending.
Science Fiction
** The Empire Strikes Back **
I can hear the sharpening of the knives from here, but I’m sticking by my choice for two reasons: 1) the structure is textbook perfect, and 2) it had the guts to end on an unhappy note. Oh, and there was that little “father” thing, too. Don’t let the wildly uneven prequels taint your memory of this perfect film experience.
Literary Adaptation
** Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring **
The sheer difficulty of the project won this category for Fellowship. Sure, ** The Grapes of Wrath ** or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest might be better movies, but they weren’t adapted from a dense, unfilmable work by an Oxford linguist with two bad guys whose names sound remarkably the same! Quote: “I don’t think he knows about second breakfast!”
Best of All Time:
I’ll have to think about this one some more!