What movies have you found to be the most "gripping"?

Cafe Society
1

When deciding how to rate a movie, I like to consider something I call the “gripping factor”.

Essentially this is a measure of how strongly the movie grips you and holds you in your seat. A movie with a strong gripping factor will keep you in your seat and you will not want to pause the film and watch the rest of it later. In general, I would say the stronger the gripping factor, the more enjoyable is the movie.

Here are some movies that are not very well known but IMHO, they have a very strong gripping factor and I think that if you give them a chance, you will enjoy them very much. This first one is quite old but it is also most excellent.

  1. Charley Varrick (1973) (7.6) stars Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Sheree North and Jacqueline Scott.
    Charley Varrick (1973) - IMDb

This film was made at a time just before Walter Matthau became a big star. I think this movie was part of the reason why he became a big star. It’s a story about a man who occasionally engages in robberies with his wife. One time, he is wronged by the mob and this is a story of how he tries to get out of a big jam. It is rated by IMDB at 7.6. But I would rate it a little higher - maybe 8.2.

Charley Varrick is one of those very rare examples of a film in which all the actors as well as the director and writers are all “hitting on all cylinders”. That means they were all working at the top of their form and the result is that it all came together in a most excellent way.
2) One False Move (1992) (7.2) stars Billy Bob Thorton, Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams and Michael Beach. It was rated by IMDB at 7.2. I would rate it at 8.0.

This movie is extremely violent and also has some very sexy moments. Cynda Williams is an incredible sexy woman. If you have never seen her in a role before, this is one of her most powerful.
3) Thursday (1998) (7.2) stars Aaron Eckhart, Thomas Jane, Paulina Porizkova and James Le Gros. If you have never seen Paulina in a movie before, you are in for a real treat.
If you like beautiful nude women, she has a scene in this film that will just blow your mind. This movie is extremely violent at times. But the violence is in service of the plot. If you have ever been given a hard time at a convenience store, you will appreciate this movie a whole lot.
4) What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993) (7.2) stars Angela Basset, Laurence Fishburn, Chi McBride and Kandi Alexander
This movie has a very strong gripping factor and it tells the story of the rise of Tina Turner. If you have never seen this film before, get set for a real treat. If you have seen it before, prepare yourself for a very enjoyable experience. I think you will really love watching it whether it’s for the first time or the 100th time.

5) The Guns of Navarone (1961) (7.6) is a war movie starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quale and Irene Pappas. It is one of my most favorite war movies. The next movie is another one.

6) The Eagle has Landed (1976) (6.9) is a personal favorite starring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald Pleasance and Larry Hagman. It is a fictional story of an attempt by the Nazis to kidnap Winston Churchill from a remote English coastal town near the end of WW2.

7) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (9.3) is well worth its 9.3 rating. If you’ve never seen it before, it is definitely one of the top ten best movies of all time. It’s the story of a prison escape like you have never seen before.

8) 12 Monkees (1995) (8.1) stars Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt in a futuristic sci-fi adventure

9) Fargo (1996) (8.2) stars William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi. It is probably the very best performance ever made by both Macy and McDormand.

10) Coming Home (1978) (7.4) stars Jane Fonda, Jon Voight and Bruce Dern.

11) Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) (7.3) stars Michael Caine, Steve Martin and Glenne Headly. It is probably my most favorite comedy ever made.

12) Spartacus (1960) (8.0) stars Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. Some people say that Kubrick was the greatest director of all time and I agree with them.

14) Dr. Strangelove (1964) (8.5) stars Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones and Tracy Reed

2

I ran out of editing time. Sorry.

  1. Dr. Strangelove (1964) (8.5) stars Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones and Tracy Reed
    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - IMDb
    This is an amazing movie, in part, because Peter Sellers plays 3 different leading roles and also because if you like beautiful sexy women, Tracy Reed is just an incredible goddess. She is an English actress and never got many parts in movies. I seem to recall that Stanley Kubrick had a crush on her and used her in some of his films. But she didn’t get much work aside from that. She appears quite early in this film. Keep an eye open for George C. Scott’s secretary and that is Tracy Reed.
3

Those are good ones. By “gripping”, I’m not sure there would be consensus on what is meant by that term. Dr.Strangelove has always been a favorite for it’s dark, weird humor.
“A Clockwork Orange” was sort of like that, only even darker but with interesting elements about behavior modification and anti-social and violence issues. Plus, it had female nudity, which was shocking in that time. I like that your list encompasses a pretty broad time spectrum.
“Silence of the Lambs” was gripping as hell, to me. "Scoundrels "was very funny and the surprise ending was, if not gripping, clever and fitting. I can think of so many life decisions and experiences that can be related to some film or bit of dialogue in one. Film really is an American art form, and a global one more and more. Many countries produce great films, not just the US. British, French, German, Italian and other nations make some great ones, as well. India, Australia,…I’ve seen great films from all those places. And some bad ones too, of course.

4

One still playing in a lot of theaters is Locke, with Tom Hardy.

5

“Bridge on the River Kwai” was very gripping. If you’re a younger person and haven’t seen it, you should. The ending is fabulously suspenseful. (“My God…what have I done ?”-Alex Guinness.)
“Run Silent Run Deep” was similar to the German film “Das Boot”; both tension-wracked, taut war dramas. “Hunt for Red October”, another tight submarine drama.
The first 20 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” is the most intense war scene I think I’ve ever witnessed, brilliantly staged and shot. Scary movies seldom scare me, but “The Exorcist” came damn close. Good thing I’m a fallen-away Catholic and could be objective of the book and the film.
Oh, and “The Shining” was creepy-good, as was “Rosemary’s Baby”.

6

I’ve always found the Indiana Jones and (original) Star Wars movies to be gripping, in that, before I’ve registered that they’ve begun, they’re over. They’re hypnotic.

Also Pitch Black. That’s just a really good movie.

7

Terminator

The tension is palpable.

Run Lola Run

8

Oh my! I just came across that movie for some reason. But I don’t remember.

I will have to take a second look. Thank you very much!

9

Fairly recent ones are Prisoners and All is Lost. The original Straw Dogs. K2.

10

Okay, so we’ve got Davey, Peter, Mike, and Micky…who are the other eight?

:smiley:

11

Gravity was probably the most “gripping” movie I’ve ever seen. That movie just would not let you get a moment of rest!

12

Jacob’s Ladder had me pretty much transfixed. Jacob's Ladder (1990) - IMDb

13

For a whole movie, start to finish, I gotta go with Terminator.

Someone mentioned Saving Private Ryan. I have to agree the whole D-day opening is insanely compelling, but the movie scales back the “grip” after that.

Honorable mention to Minority Report. I think this film suffered from having too big a budget; if the glitzy, unnecessary special effects had been cut back some I think people would take it more seriously. I had no idea how it was going to end, and wasn’t about to leave my seat and risk missing something.

Another honorable mention: The Four Musketeers: the Revenge of Milady. The second part of John Lester’s vision of the musketeers is much darker and more dramatic than the first (The Three Musketeers: the Queen’s Diamonds). Not as funny, but more compelling.

I want to say The Hunt for Red October, but actually I had read the novel it was based on, which I think kind of spoiled it. I knew what was going to happen before the movie started. I kinda regret that, as I honestly feel the movie was actually better than the book it was based on, a rare occurrence.

14

Run Lola Run

Memento

A Clockwork Orange

15

“Aliens” is the stand-out for me. Real sweaty palms all the way and the rescue of Newt against the ticking clock of the fusion reactor was almost unbearable.

16

I am pretty amazed by all the excellent films you all have referenced. All of them are very gripping too.

I remember the first time I saw Terminator. I was knocked out. It had me panting all the way through. I thought it was wonderful.

But for some reason, now I tend to think of it as a kind of joke. I’m not sure why that is. Could it be because of all the public scandal and humiliation that Arnold has been through? I really do see Arnold as more of a joke now than a serious actor.

I feel the same way about a lot of Mel Gibson films. But not all of them. I can still watch Patriot any time at all and I still like Edge of Darkness - but not as much as I did before.

I guess that when an actor suffers some public scandals, it must detract from the popularity of their films.

Aliens and Hunt for Red October were both excellent. I am a sucker for Sean Connery. I stiil love to watch Goldfinger (1963) if you can believe that.

17

There is a thread about it. Sorry, I can’t link, but it’s within the past few days.

I agree with you, all of these are great suggestions. If you get a chance to see Terminator on the big screen again, such as at a retrospective or midnight show, try it again. Seen BIG, I’d bet you’d you’d get sucked right back into it. Scandals or not, AS was born to play The Terminator.

18

Here are some more gripping films in my list. I hope you will enjoy these. Many of these star Denzel Washington or were directed by Stanley Kubrick.
15) The Boys from Brazil (1978) (7.0) stars Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason in a gripping WW2 thriller. It combined a history lesson involving Dr. Joseph Mengele and the SS organization that aided Nazis after the war.
As usual, James Mason was wonderful in this movie.

16) The Enemy Below (1957) (7.6) stars Robert Mitchum, Curt Jurgens and Theodore Bikel in a highly entertaining WW2 submarinemovie. I like to compare this movie to Run Silent Run Deep (1958) which starred Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster and Jack Warden. I prefer The Enemy Below even though it didn’t have the higher budget and the higher quality of actors. There is just something about Robert Mitchum as the captain of a Destroyer. I suggest you try to view both of these films and compare them for yourself.

17) Rising Sun (1993) (6.2) stars Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes in a film that combines a criminal whodunnit and a lesson in the sociology of the Japanese culture. I am a real sucker for Sean Connery and there is just something really fascinating about this movie.

18) Saboteur (1942) (7.3) stars Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane in a WW2 era film about Nazis trying to infiltrate and control the US government. It was the first of several films directed by Hitchcock and I hope to have several more on this list before it’s finished.

19) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (8.3) stars a group of largely unknown actors as well as the HAL 9000 computer in a truly epic masterpiece. It is amazing just how well this movie holds up considering it was made in 1968. This is another film directed by Stanley Kubrick.

20) George Harrison Living in the Material World (2011) (8.2) for anyone who was a fan of The Beatles, this movie documents the life and times of George Harrison. It is a wonderfully made film.

21) Spartacus (1960) (8.0) stars Kirk Douglas, Laurence Oliver and Jean Simmons in a Stanley Kubrick epic about Roman slavery and the struggle of one man to put an end to the slave system.

22) Remember the Titans (2000) (7.7) is the first of many Denzel Washington movies. It also stars Will Patton and Ethan Suplee in a combination high school football movie and a history lesson in the 1960s American civil rights. Remember the name Ethan Suplee. He will appear in several other movies in this list. He is a rather amazing actor. In the beginning of his career, he weighed close to 400 pounds but then shed almost all that excess weight and took on many other varied parts. I have found many of the films in which he appeared to be quite superb.

23) Deja Vu (2006) (7.0) is another Denzel Washington movie. It also stars Paula Patton, Val Kilmer and Adam Goldberg. This one is a combination Sci/Fi and crime caper about a policeman who can travel back in time and who does that to solve a murder of a very beautiful lady.

24) Man on Fire (2004) (7.8) stars Denzel Washington, Christoper Walken and Dakota Fanning in an excellent crime movie featuring the kidnapping of Dakota Fanning.

25) Inside Man (2006) (7.7) is another Denzel Washington movie starring Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. This movie is really excellent and if you like Denzel, you will almost surely like this movie.

26) Out of Time (2003) (6.5) is another Denzel Washington movie. It also stars Sanaa Lathan, Eva Mendes and Dean Cain in a crime caper.

27) Unstoppable (2010) (6.8) is another excellent Denzel Washington movie. It’s a thriller about a freight train that cannot seem to be stopped. It also stars Ethan Suplee (remember him from Remember the Titans)?

28) Flight (2012) (7.3) is one of Denzel Wasington’s very finest films. It also stars Nadine Velasquez and Tamara Tunie. It begins with a thrilling sequence about an airline pilot trying to land a plane that is out of control.

19

I’m surprised we’ve had Run Lola Run mentioned twice and no one said Momento yet.

20

Post #14