Apocalypse Now had me gripped all the way through, as did Jaws, all of the Bourne films, Das Boot, and Pulp Fiction.
Presumed Innocent had me riveted right up to the last line -
[spoiler]There was a crime. There was a victim. And there is -
Punishment.[/spoiler]
Regards,
Shodan
My top three have already been mentioned - Ronin, The Hunt for Red October, and Aliens as I have watch all of them several times and never failed to be pulled in immediately and held until they are over. Not already mentioned is Ravenous with Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle. I’m not a big horror fan, but once every couple years I will let this one drag me to a dark place for a couple hours.
Sorcerer. Directed by William Friedkin (who also directed The Exorcist and The French Connection). Stars Roy Scheider. The story: four desperate men running from their pasts end up in a town in Central America. Two hundred miles away, an oil well catches fire. To snuff the flames, they need TNT. The only stuff they can find has been sitting for years in a jungle shack, and all the nitroglycerin has seeped out into the box linings, meaning the slightest bump could set it off. The four men accept the job of driving two trucks, loaded with the volatile TNT, across two hundred miles of insane jungle roads to the fire site.
It’s a remake of a French movie called The Wages of Fear, which I haven’t seen but I hear is good. Trailer for Sorcerer.
First pick: Jeepers Creepers. Had me totally glued to my seat. Sure, part of the ending was crap, but, it sure held me.
**Fail Safe **(the original), since we have already mentioned Dr. Strangelove.
I have to say “Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three.” (Matthau/Shaw) The story is fairly gripping, but toss in the pulsing music, the incredible black comedy and the performances (every single one)–well, don’t drink a Big Gulp before you sit down to watch it.
If not for the vehicles and some of the costumes, that movie could have been filmed last week. Timeless!
^ Big second on “Fail Safe.”