10) Fargo (Gramercy Pictures)
1996 - This clip isn't the best or flashiest of the film, but it's certainly one of the most important when you think about how it sets the rest of the story in motion. Winning two Oscars at the 1997 Academy Awards (Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay), Fargo - written, produced and directed by the great Coen brothers - should be seen by anyone interested in either screenwriting, directing, and (or) even cinematography. That moment you see in the clip when Jerry walks to his car, surrounded by nothing but snow, captures the isolation and harsh reality of his life beautifully. Throw in a first rate cast and one a script that would make Alfred Hitchcock himself proud, and you have one of the greatest, if not the greatest, murder mystery ever.
9) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Columbia Pictures)
1977 - No alien invasion film will ever touch the greatness of this Spielberg classic. Instead of a special effects, action packed bonanza (although there still are some superb visuals here, one being the iconic child abduction scene), Spielberg focuses more on the narrative of Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) and his obsession with tracking down the images that haunt him following a UFO encounter one night. He's desperate to find out what it is he saw, even if it comes at the expense of whether or not his family stays together. The performances are excellent. The cinematography is brilliant, and the ending provides us with a unique, different take on the alien encounter moment.
8) Gone With the Wind (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
1939 - One of two movies in this top 10 to be nominated for Best Picture at the 1940 Oscars, Gone With the Wind took home eight of them including Best Picture. Both a Civil War epic and a romantic tale centering on the greatest Hypochondriac in the universe, the spoiled Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), Gone With the Wind's greatest achievement is the fact that at nearly a four hour running time, this film somehow manages to hold the viewer's attention for all of it. Whether it's the beautiful costumes or the magnificent set designs, this film is in fact epic in every aspect. Plus, the ending is the greatest middle finger moment in the history of film. Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), you not only remind me somewhat of my Grandpa Marlatt, you're my personal hero, but I'm fairly certain you don't give a damn. Shockingly enough, this film wouldn't have been my pick for Best Picture. You'll soon find out why.
7) Raging Bull (United Artists)
1980 - This is, without a doubt, director Martin Scorsese's greatest film, and when you look at his entire body of work, that's not an easy task to accomplish. This is also Robert De Niro's greatest performance ever. At times Raging Bull is not easy to watch, but both Scorsese and De Niro paint a searing portrait of the rise and heartbreaking downfall of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta with uncompromising perfection. De Niro along with Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty are phenomenal in the three primary roles, and Scorsese's decision to film this in black and white adds so much more to this gripping film.
6) Casablanca (Warner Bros.)
1943 - In my opinion, the greatest romantic film ever made, Casablanca tells the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) who runs a nightclub in Casablanca around the beginnings of World War II. Upon being reunited with an old flame, his one true love Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), Blaine must make the tough decision of whether or not to rekindle that flame or help her and her new husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) escape back to America. The chemistry between Bogart and the gorgeous Bergman is downright electrifying and that alone is more than worth the watch. As far as onscreen couple chemistry goes, it's hard for me to believe it'll ever get better than those two, and that final scene between the two of them is by far one of the most beautiful yet bittersweet moments ever caught on film. If you've seen this movie, you know it's not the ending we'd all like... but it's the ending that had to happen or else we'd regret it... Maybe not today... Maybe not tomorrow... but soon and for the rest of our lives. "Here's looking at you, kid."
5) Pulp Fiction (Miramax Films)
1994 - This is the final film of the three nominated for Best Picture in 1995, and with all due respect to both Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption (two films worthy of "Best Picture" status; otherwise, they wouldn't have made this list), this film should've won Best Picture. This film turned Quentin Tarantino into a household name. This film revitalized John Travolta's floundering career. This film made Samuel L. Jackson (as great as Martin Landau was in Ed Wood, Jackson should've won Best Supporting Actor) into the superstar we know of today, and most importantly, this film is what got me interested in writing (I actually looked up the script online). Starring a plethora of talent too long to even list, Pulp Fiction is complex, convoluted and will certainly take more than one viewing to get the big picture. Ultimately, this is a film about redemption, and with every time I watched it, I always took away something new with each viewing. The characters are vibrant and full of life and I can't stress enough about the dialogue. It's violent, vulgar, exciting, rude, crude and one of the most original movies ever made.
SPOILER ALERT: In the highly unlikely - I'm hoping - event you have not seen the original Star Wars trilogy, the next clip contains some major plot spoilers within the dialogue.
4) Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (20th Century Fox)
1980 - Very few scenes contain the impact as this one. When I first saw it, my mouth hit the floor and for some reason, every time I watch it afterward I still act like Luke Skywalker when it happens. "That's impossible!" George Lucas, who honestly isn't much of a screenwriter, handed over the writing responsibilities to Lawrence Kasdan. The result is the greatest sci-fi epic ever made. The story is darker, more sinister and certainly more involved than it's predecessor, A New Hope. What makes this film the greatest out of all the Star Wars films is that by this one, we've come to care about these characters so much, when Darth Vader drops a verbal atom bomb like he does we can feel Luke's pain and despair upon finding out the truth. It's films like these that prove sci-fi films don't have to be just mindless action. It can also contain an enthralling and thought provoking story.
3) Jaws (Universal Pictures)
1975 - This is the fifth, count it, fifth film of Steven Spielberg's to make this series. A film like Jaws proves my theory that you can scare the living shit out of people without having to show the monster involved hardly at all. The end of that clip with the mother looking for her son is a perfect example. We see no monster but an empty swim toy torn to shreds wash up on shore. That is all you need to strike fear in the hearts of the audience. Although technically a "monster flick", this film is more than that. It's about the three central characters: Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and Quint (Robert Shaw). Their chemistry together is as good as it gets and Shaw's performance in particular was deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his speech on the USS Indianapolis (completely improvised, by the way) alone. Plus, John Williams's (Is there really anyone better?) score during the opening credits sets the tone for the entirety of this film in just the first measure. We rarely see the shark, but it's the fear of what we cannot see, yet it's most certainly out there that makes this film a truly frightening and entertaining time.
2) The Wizard of Oz (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
1939 - With all due respect to Gone With the Wind (just a few spots back), this film should've won Best Picture. Appealing to all ages, The Wizard of Oz is more than just a magical story. It's a technological marvel. The clip posted above, where it transitions so seamlessly from black and white to vibrant color, is so beautifully done. That would be difficult to pull off just right today. This was 1939 though! Every character here is full of imagination and life. Margaret Hamilton (who cracked the top 10 in my greatest villains post as well) is superbly cast as the Wicked Witch, and I don't care how many times they remake or reboot this film. No one, and I mean NO ONE - and I say that as obstinately and adamantly and dogmatically as I can get - will ever capture the sweet innocence of Dorothy Gale better than Judy Garland.
Well, we've finally reached the top spot after five weeks. Here it is, the number one film of all time. Drum roll, please... White Chicks... Wait a minute. That can't be right. Let's try it again. Drum roll, please...
1) The Godfather (Paramount Pictures)
1972 - Did you really think this film was gonna miss out on the top 50? Where to begin? The Oscar level cast (Along with Marlon Brando winning Best Actor, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, and James Caan were all nominated for Best Supporting Actor)? Coppola's Oscar worthy direction (to be fair, he ending up winning Best Director for Part II)? Mario Puzo and Coppola's Oscar winning script? The cinematography? The score? The editing? This is the masterpiece of all masterpieces, and is the ultimate portrayal of innocence destroyed through Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). The hearts of men truly are corrupted. At the beginning of the film Michael's an honorable, decorated war veteran who tells his girlfriend Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) in reference to his family's mob dealings, "That's my family, Kay... That's not me." At the middle of the film, we see Michael hesitantly getting his feet wet in the family business at that restaurant. He says nothing, but you can tell by his perfectly acted expressions he's thinking, "What am I getting myself into?". By the end of the film and from there on out, Michael's gone all in. This is storytelling excellence and it is this film that is responsible for shaping my thinking on not just film, but story and direction as well.
There you have it, the top 50 movies of all-time. If there is any film out of the entire 50 that you haven't seen that somehow sparked your interest in seeing it, I've clearly done my job here. Whether it's Inigo Montoya fighting Count Rugen, Andy Dufresne standing jubilantly in the rain as a free man, Superman and Lois flying across Metropolis, Chief Brody witnessing the shark for the first time, Dorothy entering the Land of Oz, or Vito Corleone uttering the line, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.", great films offer a great escape from the doldrums of everyday life. That is what I love most about film. Feel free to comment on what you think is the greatest movie ever. Also, and I'm not sure why I waited this long to bring it up, but tell your friends about this site. It's free, and I welcome differing opinions. Another great aspect of film is that it's all subjective. Until next time, here's to great films!
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