I know this must have been done in the past, but since it hasn’t been done in my SDMB lifetime, I thought it might be fun.
3 simple rules:
Only three films can be nominated (no ties).
Provide a short reason for each of your choices.
No hijacking by Starship Troopers (though it may be nominated and supported as in 1 and 2).
My choice:
North by Northwest - it passes the Number One test: I could watch it again and again. Hitchcock shows a delightful disregard for accuracy and authenticity, and the characters are gloriously undeveloped. Its fun, sexy and exciting. Even its “bad” bits (Grant driving under the influence) are good. My only criticism is that the ending on Mount Rushmore doesn’t match what comes before. They certainly don’t make them like this any more.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - most powerful depiction of what people in authority can do to other people.
The Deer Hunter - a haunting reminder of the ruin caused by stupid wars.
Really hard to nail it down to three, but here go my nominations:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - personal favourite film. Reasons you already mentioned plus great acting not just by jack but by all the cast. Funny and sad in equal measure.
Bladerunner - Scott did some great things with this story (big Phillip K Dick fan) and I can watch it over and over.
And whilst I’m not sure it’d be my 3rd, I’ll nominate It’s a Wonderful Life for the effect it can have upon everyone that watches it.
Fargo. Breathtaking actors, scenery & dialogue mixed in a work of art that gives you a great sense of well-being [even if some of the scenes are gruesome], a sense of nostalgia and a sense of wonderment.
Damn funny too.
[should have won more Oscars]
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. Louise Fletcher and Scatman Crothers shine in this adaptation of Kesey’s work. A land-mark in social awareness.
[couldn’t have won more Oscars :)]
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Certainly deserved more credit. An excellent, goofy, and insightful film with a clever use of ‘the fourth wall’.
*“a-One, a-Two, Three” :: <terrible noise: pfaaaa pfeeeeeee pfaaaaa…</terrible noise:: “Never had ONE lesson” *
I was trying to think of really classic films so that I would seem, I dunno, cultured or smart or something…
Screw it.
Fargo. It had me from the opening music and that wonderful opening bar scene.
**
The Hunt for Red October **. A great guy film. The underwater sub chases, Connery as a russian. “The average Ruskie don’t take a dump without a plan…”
The Shawshank Redemption. Great dialouge, great performances and some truly memerable lines…
The Passion of Joan of Arc. Brought the art of film to an entirely new level. Contains one of the top two or three greatest acting performances ever caught on film. Ever. Demonstrates the synergy of film: how a film can be SO MUCH MORE than the sum of its parts.[ol]
[li]The Passion of Joan of Arc. Brought the art of film to an entirely new level. Contains one of the top two or three greatest acting performances ever caught on film. Ever. Demonstrates the synergy of film: how a film can be SO MUCH MORE than the sum of its parts.[/li][li]Solyaris. The greates SF film ever, and one of the truest depictions of the truths of the human soul ever created. A truly haunting, beautiful essay on the limits of desire and sacrifice.[/li] [li]Sunrise A soaringly beautiful film that also had a big hand in the development of film language. Another masterpiece about the nature of human desire and sacrifice, and of course love.[/li][/ol]
I’m All Right Jack - a tremendous expose of the British class system, trades unions, corporate greed and generally life in England at the end of the 1950’s. And everyone in it is excellent: Peter Sellers as the Stalin-worshipping shop steward; Irene Handl as his cretinous missus; Liz Fraser as their pneumatic daughter; Ian Carmichael the innocent upper-class twit; Terry-Thomas as the put-upon ex-military personnel manager of the factory (“You’re an absolute shower!”); Richard Attenborough and Dennis Price as the unscrupulous businessmen. Sub-flipping-lime.
It’s A Gift - WC Fields, 1934. “Closed owing to molasses”; “Carl La Fong - capital L, small A, capital F, small O, small N, small G. Carl La Fong” etc.
It is simply amazing to me how this film came together. Noted theatre director, Stephen Daldry, searched high and low for the perfect boy, interviewing a couple of thousand, almost giving up, before finally settling on Jamie Bell. He had the perfect accent, could dance extremely well, was the perfect age, and was all boy. The only question was whether he could act, and lord, could he ever! His scenes with Julie Walters were magnificent. The film is perfect in every respect — acting, directing, editing, screenplay, photography, music, set production, and so on. And the story is wonderful.
2. A Streetcar Named Desire — 1951
I love this movie just because it is so damned important! Aside from marking the beginning of the end of Hollywood’s Production Code and the influences of the meddling Catholic Legion of Decency, it also demarcated the end of old hammy style acting and modern method acting. The juxtaposition of Vivien Leigh, with her perfect diction and proper decorum, and Marlon Brando, with his stutters and pauses, is just remarkable. Even though the censors had butchered it, it still came out as emotionally harrowing and sexually charged. It is a milestone film.
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — 1975
I like this for the same reasons as everyone else, plus the characters are positively unforgettable. It’s one of the few films that so captures me from start to finish that when it’s over, it takes me a moment to realize that I’m back in reality. Great movie.
Local Hero 1983
Favorite movie, period.
Quirky characters, gorgeous scenery, and a story which provokes both laughter and heavy sighs. One of my most favorite movie endings. The Mark Knopfler soundtrack is the icing on the cake.
“We have an injured rabbit.”
Hope and Glory 1987
Life goes on in England during the Blitz in the 40’s. I love this movie for a variety of reasons: dialogue, music, original characters. Love the crochety grandpa! One of the main qualities I enjoy is its treatment of the human condition: the kids can be mean, the daughter reckless, the mother frazzled–and all of this is going on during WWII. I loved the scenes with the boy and the neighborhood kids hanging around bombed-out houses, with the swing music in the background. Another movie with a swell ending.
Nashville
It’s too long. Some might find a couple of the musical bits tedious. But there is something about this movie that stands tall for me. It’s just so American.
Once again, (and I didn’t do this on purpose!) another movie with a slam-bang ending which ties the whole story together.
Brazil - I find this to be Gilliam’s bestwork, personally, and I absolutely love it
Dr. Strangelove - Great message, great directing (Phhhhb!), great writing. Beautifully dark.
3.) Ummm… Harold and Maude? Other than the two above this is about the only film I can watch over and over again.
Course, I am not really a cultured folk and haven’t gotten around to seeing to many films. Bite me, I suppose.
Lion In Winter great acting, great plot, great scenery, great music. Peter O’Toole & Kathering Hepburn…who needs anything more?
Snatch brilliant editing, lively interesting characters, an actual plot. Dennis Farina saying the word FUCK about 300 times. Brick Top and his violent ways and coke bottle thick glasses. Benicio del Toro…hummmmmm…Brad Pitt topless & nearly incomprehensible. Woooo. Who needs anything more? Duck Soup & Animal Crackers You can’t have one with out the other. Often imitated, never, never never duplicated. Pure joyful zaniness.
Schindler’s List My all time favorite movie. I thought the use of black and white (with the exception of the little girl in the red coat) was a stroke of genius. Spielberg managed to capture the horror and cruelty of war without being too graphic (as in Kill Bill). Developing the characters and seeing them change over time in the length of a film is quite a feat and Spielberg pulled it off flawlessly.
Rear Window My favorite Hitchcock film. Great cast with Stewart and Kelly. Raymond Burr was masterful while only having a few lines. The building tension laced with bits of humor, and the human interest sidebars like the honeymoon couple and Miss Lonely Hearts were all mixed in just the right combination.
It’s a Gift My favorite W.C. Fields movie. The scene where he’s trying to sleep on the balcony and the man comes looking for Carl LaFong was a classic. And when Baby Leroy dropped grapes onto Fields was pure genius. So many great Fieldsian lines, so many great gags.
To Have and Have Not (1944): often written off as “Casablanca Lite”, it’s got outstanding performances by the usual Warner Bros. suspects, some of the greatest movie dialogue ever written, sparkling direction by the great Howard Hawks, and the temperature goes up 30 degrees every time Bogart and Bacall are in the same room.
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): the “madness…madness” of Total War, embodied by two certifiable military officers in a Burmese prison camp; one captor, the other captive.
Get Carter (1970): Michael Caine’s brilliant portrayal of a small-time gangster who first wins over the audience with his rough charm, only to be revealed himself as a pitiless, stone-cold monster.
The Elephant Man (1980) – Great acting by everybody, and it’s not a movie that gets too schmalzy (being directed by David Lynch helps). It’s just is. And I love how the character of Dr. Treves is not all together a savior, which would be the easy way out.
Beetlejuice (1988) – This movie is more for nostalgic reasons, even though I still think it’s hilarious. I’ve loved this movie since I was a young child, and still do. Tim Burton at his finest, before he had the pressure of HAVING to make Blockbuster movies (Mars Attacks!, Planet of the Apes, etc.).
Amadeus (1984) – Beautiful set, beautiful music, and great acting. Even though it takes huge liberties with the lives of Mozart and Saleri, the excellence of the movie lets you forgive it. Play Saleri!
