My All-Time Best Films
Read my short reviews as I watch films here: http://jerrysmovieblog.blogspot.com/
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
A mysterious monolith, which first appears to primitive humans during the "dawn of man" sequence which opens the film, is uncovered on the moon near an American space base. It sends out an intense radio signal to Jupiter, and 18 months later the Americans are on their way to investigate. The trip gets sidetracked by a faulty computer named HAL, who murders most of the crew before they ever arrive. The sole survivor manages to disconnect the computer, but finds more than he bargained for at Jupiter. Kubrick's best film, and my selection for the best film ever made, is an intense, open-ended exploration of the meaning of life in the universe, and beyond. Kubrick's attention to detail is amazing and reflects a strict adherence to science and technology which holds up even today. As for that ending... I've seen it dozens of times, and have a different interpretation every time. - DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsMonica VittiRichard HarrisCarlo ChionettiIn an industrial area, unstable Giuliana attempts to cope with life by starting an affair with a co-worker at the plant her husband manages.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsAnthony QuinnGiulietta MasinaRichard BasehartA care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowGunnar BjörnstrandBengt EkerotA knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsDavid BennentMario AdorfAngela WinklerIn 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Three-year old Oskar decides to stop growing after watching the behavior of the adults around him. His mother is having an affair with a cousin while her husband apparently does not know or care. Oskar, his mother and two lovers take a vacation on a beach, where a fisherman retrieves eels out of a dead horse's head. She binges on fish and eels for a few days, reveals that she is pregnant, then apparently kills herself. His other father gets involved in a firefight with Nazis at a Polish post office, is wounded, then executed. His lone remaining parent hires a sixteen year old girl to help him, and Oskar promptly falls in love and seduces her. However, his father is also sleeping with her, and when she gets pregnant Oskar is convinced he is the father. Oskar decides to get away from it all by joining a circus of traveling dwarfs, where he becomes a star attraction due to his ability to shatter glass with his voice. However, the Nazis ruin that as well, forcing him back home to his father in their ruined city. The Russians find them hiding in the basement of their bombed out home, and his father chokes on his Nazi party pin. The orphaned Oskar decides to start growing again at his father's funeral, put passes along the ability to his son. Schlöndorff's adaptation of the Günter Grass novel is the high mark of the New German Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. Steeped deeply in symbolism, it is a stinging rebuke of Nazism and of the so-called adults who were complicit. A surreal fantasy, a grotesque nightmare, a coming of age story; it has many layers that demands multiple viewings to even begin to unravel. The soundtrack by Maurice Jarre is haunting, playful, unforgettable. A modern masterpiece of the cinema. - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaSandra MiloMario PisuVisions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMagali NoëlBruno ZaninPupella MaggioA series of comedic and nostalgic vignettes set in a 1930s Italian coastal town.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsGabriele FerzettiMonica VittiLea MassariA woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. During the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 9/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 9/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonGunnar BjörnstrandMax von SydowRecently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family in their island home, only to slip from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 9/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 9/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 9/10
nostalgia factor: medium
The privileged son of the head of a futuristic city is moved by the mysterious appearance of a strange woman surrounded by poor children. His search for her leads to the underground, where hoards of workers are sacrificed to the machines which keep the above ground city running. He switches places with one of the workers to learn more about their way of life. He follows them deeper into the underground, where they worship a saint, Maria, the same girl he saw earlier, who portends of the coming of the "Mediator" who will save them from their hellish life. Meanwhile, his father consults with a mad scientist who has invented a "machine man" in the image of his dead wife. The scientist kidnaps Maria and transfers her "heart" to the machine. Maria's double returns to the underground and incites the workers to a violent revolution. Meanwhile the real Maria is held prisoner. It is up to Freder, The Mediator, to save the girl and negotiate peace between the two sides. The new "complete version" adds 25 minutes to the running time, most of it for a subplot about the "Thin Man" and his pursuit of the worker with which Freder exchanged places. It also extends scenes here and there, none of which are particularly necessary. In fact, I found the final action sequence gets a bit too long with the extra scenes and was restless for the resolution. As a result, I actually prefer the shorter cut that has been around for the last 80 years or so. - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsMichael SacksRon LeibmanEugene RocheBilly Pilgrim has mysteriously become unstuck in time. He goes on an uncontrollable trip back and forth from his birth in New York to life on a distant planet and back again to the horrors of the 1945 fire-bombing of Dresden.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonKaren BlackBilly Green BushA dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Jack Nicholson is a trained pianist from a cultured background who chucks it all to work in the California oil fields while living with girlfriend Karen Black. He despises everyone around him, including Black, but doesn't have the courage to do anything about it. Instead, he drinks, has affairs and tries to hide his boredom. While visiting his sister in LA, he learns about his dying father and takes a road trip to an isolated island where he lives with family members. The trip provides the opportunity for some comedy, including the famous chicken salad sandwich routine and hilarious remarks on the nature of man by Helena Kallianiotes. At their destination, he's just as bored in the cultured atmosphere, and soon seeks out his brother's wife for an affair. It ends badly of course, and things get even worse when Karen shows up. Nicholson has several outbursts and always seems one step away from erupting into violence. He finally reveals his true feelings to his father, who is debilitated by a stroke and cannot understand or respond. The final scene is one of the best in all of American cinema. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
A disturbing descent into the mind of loner and social outcast Travis Bickle, a career-defining role for Robert De Niro. He drives a taxi on the overnight shift in NYC, going places other drivers avoid. His encounters with pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and other low life instill a deep-seated hatred which comes to fruition when he is rejected by pretty campaign worker Cybill Shepherd. He buys a small arsenal of weapons with which he intends to assassinate the presidential candidate for which she works, but when the secret service intervenes his vendetta is redirected towards the men exploiting an underage prostitute he befriends. Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman capture breathtaking views of the underbelly of New York City, Bernard Herrmann's final work is one of his finest and Paul Schrader's screenplay builds palpable dread. - DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Marlon Brando is the head of one of New York's five mafia "families". He grants requests from family members during his daughter's wedding, ranging from jobs to murder, in return for "favors" when he needs them. He triggers a gang war between the families when he refuses to get involved with narcotics. Barely surviving an assassination attempt himself, he grooms his son to replace him. Al Pacino as Michael undergoes a remarkable transformation: from reluctant war hero to ruthless Don, and his story anchors the film. A relentlessly violent yet fascinating portrait of a family that demands loyalty at any cost, seemingly at odds with their deeply religious Italian heritage. The ensemble cast assembled by Coppola is one of the best in cinema history, while Gordon Willis' cinematography reflects the dark, somber mood. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Michael Corleone, now firmly in control of the family after his father's death, survives an assassination attempt in his home. He vows revenge on those responsible, first to Florida and Cuba where he suspects a corrupt Jewish business partner, but then within his inner circle. The story of his father's early days as an immigrant in New York City is seamlessly interwoven with the more modern one, mirroring his own rise to power and subsequent betrayals. More or less a continuation of the first film, although the violence this time around is less jarring, but no less effective. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGene HackmanJohn CazaleAllen GarfieldA paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Security expert Gene Hackman makes his living by secretly recording conversations. He is hired by a mysterious "director" to record conversations between a man and a woman at a park in San Francisco. He does not know what they are suspected of doing or why he has been hired, however when he overhears them saying they might be killed he begins to fear for their safety. A brilliant character study of a lonely man unable to connect with people despite a job in which he listens to their most intimate conversations. It is also a shocking thriller with a clever plot twist that revolves around the inflection of just one spoken word. - DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsBrigitte MiraEl Hedi ben SalemBarbara ValentinA lonely widow meets a much younger Moroccan worker in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonLiv UllmannKari SylwanWhen a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsVictor SjöströmBibi AnderssonIngrid ThulinAfter living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low
Misfit British officer O'Toole is sent to unify the Arabs in their conflict against Turkey in the early days of WWI. He leads them in an epic desert crossing for a surprise attack on a key coastal city. Along the way, he risks his life to save a man that others want to leave behind, and earns not only their respect but becomes a sort of prophet. At first he relishes the attention, but when he also begins to relish the bloodshed of war he begins to doubt himself. It all takes place against bigger-than-life, windswept desert locations, beautifully captured by director Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young. - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorTerrence MalickStarsRichard GereBrooke AdamsSam ShepardA hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorRobert BressonStarsClaude LayduNicole LadmiralJean RiveyreA young priest taking over the parish at Ambricourt tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsMaksim MunzukYuriy SolominMikhail BychkovThe Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsMargarita TerekhovaFilipp YankovskiyIgnat DaniltsevA dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsArlettyJean-Louis BarraultPierre BrasseurThe theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan in 1830s Paris and the four men who love her.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'artistic: 9/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
The last utterance of a dying newspaper mogul, "rosebud", becomes the object of a reporter's search. He interviews former acquaintances, friends, enemies, wives and mistresses, all in search of the meaning of the word. Along the way, he pieces together the life story of the larger-than-life figure of Charles Foster Kane. As a youth in snowy Colorado, his parents find gold, only to send him away to live with their banker! He inherits wealth in his early twenties and proceeds to buy a struggling New York newspaper. He turns it into a great success and uses it to destroy enemies and pursue his own political ambitions. It all comes crashing down when rivals discover he is having an affair with a lowly cabaret singer. He spends the next few decades using his enormous wealth to buy her a career in opera, which she fails at miserably. He spends his last years alone in his mammoth mansion. We finally learn the meaning of "rosebud" in the final scene, a symbol of innocence lost. Quintessential American film broke all the rules of the time, from the fast cuts, the untrustworthy and multiple narrators, montages, and more, although many of these techniques were lifted straight from old German expressionistic films. Nonetheless, it is rightly regarded as one of the best, if not influential, films of all time, bolting its star and director to heights he would struggle to maintain. - DirectorJames AlgarSamuel ArmstrongDavid HandStarsHardie AlbrightStan AlexanderBobette AudreyThe story of a young deer growing up in the forest.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: high
Young fawn Bambi lives under the protection of his mother deep in the woods. Unknown to him, he is to be the new "prince" of the forest, a position currently held by his father. All the forest animals show up soon after his birth to greet him, including Thumper, a shy but lively rabbit, and Flower, a lazy but friendly skunk, who remain lifelong friends. After an idyllic first year, Bambi's mother is shot and killed by "man", portrayed off screen as an invading evil presence in the forest. Another year passes, and the trio of friends are now lovesick teenagers, with Bambi falling for a doe named Faline. However, a nearby campfire gets out of control and soon the forest is in flames. Bambi manages to escape with the help of his father. Disney's fifth, and best, animated feature is an incredible technical achievement in addition to being an emotional plea for the sanctity of the forest and its inhabitants. - DirectorWilliam CottrellDavid HandWilfred JacksonStarsAdriana CaselottiHarry StockwellLucille La VerneExiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.A young princess named Snow White is relegated to wearing shabby clothes and working as a maid by her jealous stepmother the Queen. When her "magic mirror" informs her that Snow White has become the fairest in the land, she sends her huntsman to murder her. He can't go through with it, but sends her into the forest to escape the Queen. She is befriended by the forest animals who lead her deep into the woods for shelter at a house inhabited by seven dwarfs who work in a nearby mine. After seeing the state of their household, Snow White mistakes them for children and proceeds to clean it up. After the initial shock, they accept her into their family. However, the Queen soon discovers her hideout and comes after her disguised as an old hag. Disney's first animated feature is still the best. The hand-drawn animation is simply astounding, with unparalleled attention to detail. The story can be dark when it needs to be, drawing on influences from silent horror films and German expressionism, with someone genuinely creepy moments.
- DirectorNorman FergusonT. HeeWilfred JacksonStarsDickie JonesChristian RubMel BlancA living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.Wood craftsman Geppetto wishes that his latest marionette creation Pinocchio was a real boy to end his loneliness. A "Blue Fairy" visits during the night and grants his wish. On his way to school the next morning, the living puppet is approached by a couple of scoundrels who convince him to perform for a local sideshow. A huge success, the owner of the show locks him up for the night, but the Blue Fairy sets him free. However, before he can get home he meets the same two scoundrels who convince him to take a "vacation" to Pleasure Island. It turns out to be anything but, and Pinocchio is almost turned into a donkey and sold as a slave. He manages to escape and gets home, only to discover Geppetto has gone in search of him and ended up in the belly of a whale. Pinocchio sets off to find him and set him free, leading to a spectacular finale against Monstro the whale. Disney's second animated feature after Snow White is another eye-popping animated masterpiece that has not dated at all. It works on multiple levels: the music, story and characters all combine to transform a simple morality tale into a timeless classic.
- DirectorSamuel ArmstrongNorman FergusonWilfred JacksonStarsSterling HollowayEdward BrophyHerman BingRidiculed because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential.A baby elephant in a circus is ridiculed for his big ears. When his mother defends him from hecklers during a parade, she is deemed mad and locked up alone in wagon. The abandoned Dumbo is befriended by a mouse determined to cheer him up by making him the star of the show. He does just that after discovering his big ears allow him to fly. An early Disney animated classic which includes the psychedelic-tinged "pink elephants" segment.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJack NicholsonMaria SchneiderJenny RunacreUnable to find the war he's been asked to cover, a frustrated war correspondent takes the risky path of co-opting the identity of a dead arms-deal acquaintance.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 8/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorRoland JofféStarsSam WaterstonHaing S. NgorJohn MalkovichA journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsRyan O'NealMarisa BerensonPatrick MageeAn Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorRobert Downey Sr.StarsAlbert HendersonMichael SullivanLuana AndersA strange man named Jesse who can revive life and walk on water comes into a surreal and cruel western town.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPaolo BonacelliGiorgio CataldiUberto Paolo QuintavalleIn World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMakiko EsumiTakashi NaitôTadanobu AsanoA young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsJames CaanJohn HousemanMaud AdamsIn a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium - DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruno S.Eva MattesClemens ScheitzIn Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Actress Ellen Burstyn concludes that her young teenage daughter is possessed after medical doctors cannot find a reason for her increasingly bizarre behavior. She resorts to asking for an exorcism by a Catholic priest struggling with his faith after the death of his mother. The priest enlists help from an elderly yet experienced Max von Sydow. Together they face an onslaught of profanity, sacrilege and vomit in their epic confrontation with the devil himself. Intelligent, and most of all convincing, portrayal of possession that gets my vote as the best horror movie of all time. - DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: high - DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Two young couples and their wheelchair-bound friend travel to a remote Texas town where someone is vandalizing the local cemetery. They unwisely pick up a hitchhiker who briefly taunts them with a knife. They ditch him just in time, but soon run out of gas. They decide to explore a nearby old house and stumble on the rest of the hitchhiker's family. They are mentally deranged ex-slaughterhouse workers who keep a house full of bones and body parts, albeit artfully arranged. "Leatherface" is the worst of the bunch who wears a mask of human skin while terrorizing the group with a chainsaw. The chase scene between him and the girl, which takes up a good part of the final act, is one of the best ever put on film. Moody electronic music by the director and Wayne Bell perfectly complements the setting. - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Young housewife Mia Farrow and her struggling actor husband John Cassavetes rent a posh apartment in an old NYC building. Her husband befriends the elderly neighbors next door, who happen to be witches, little realizing that he has also made a bargain with them for her baby. He finds sudden stage success while the elderly couple dote on her during her pregnancy. An old family friend uncovers the truth, and is able to get it to Rosemary before he is killed. She desperately tries to save herself and her baby from the ruthless members of the witches coven. Polanski's classic unfolds slowly, like a good novel, with well developed characters and an intricate plot. Mia Farrow's descent into uncontrolled paranoia is convincing and unnerving. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Secretary Janet Leigh absconds with $40 thousand in cash and drives to meet her lover. She ends up at the Bates Motel on a rainy night. Clerk Anthony Perkins offers her food, conversation and a room. His elderly mother lives in a Victorian mansion behind the hotel, and we hear them arguing about Leigh before she is brutally murdered by a shadowy figure while taking a shower. Leigh's sister and boyfriend show up a few days later looking for her, as does a private detective looking for the cash. Perkins, supposedly covering up for his mother, murders the detective when he gets too close to the truth, which turns out to be more shocking than anyone imagined. After the frenetic North by Northwest, Hitchcock returned to darker themes in this, his most notorious, and disturbing, film. It was shot in black and white and with a low budget using the crew from his TV show, giving this a more personal, grittier feel. Bernard Herrmann's tense score ratchets up the intensity even more. - DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter experiencing tragic personal losses, a music professor rents a Seattle mansion, haunted by a slain boy.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Distraught after the accidental death of his wife and child, composer George C. Scott moves to Seattle to resume his career in academics. He rents an opulent mansion from the local historical society at a bargain. He soon finds out it has sat vacant for a dozen years for a reason when strange sounds and occurrences draw him to a walled-up attic room. This leads him to uncover a hundred-year old mystery involving a powerful politician. A nearly perfect horror film pulled off with a minimum of blood or gore, just good, old fashioned scary with a compelling story. Turn off the lights and turn up the sound... - DirectorKen RussellStarsVanessa RedgraveOliver ReedDudley SuttonIn 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.artistic: 8/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: medium - DirectorMarcel CamusStarsBreno MelloMarpessa DawnLourdes de OliveiraA retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorPaul LeniStarsMary PhilbinConrad VeidtJulius MolnarWhen a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorGrigoriy AleksandrovSergei EisensteinStarsBoris LivanovNikolay PopovVasili NikandrovA large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsSergio CorrieriSalvador WoodJosé GallardoFour vignettes about the lives of the Cuban people set during the pre-revolutionary era.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorJean CocteauStarsJean CocteauFrançoise ArnoulClaudine AugerThe Poet looks back over his life and work, recalling his inspirations and obsessions.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsDelphine SeyrigGiorgio AlbertazziSacha PitoëffIn a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsGaston ModotLya LysCaridad de LaberdesqueA surrealist tale of a man and a woman who are passionately in love with each other, but their attempts to consummate that passion are constantly thwarted by their families, the Church, and bourgeois society.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorVíctor EriceStarsFernando Fernán GómezTeresa GimperaAna TorrentIn 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsEiji OkadaKyôko KishidaKôji MitsuiAn entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFritz LangStarsPaul RichterMargarete SchönTheodor LoosSiegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, sets off on a treacherous journey to the Kingdom of Burgundy to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFritz LangStarsMargarete SchönGertrud ArnoldTheodor LoosPrincess Kriemhild vows to avenge her husband's murder but must overcome her brothers who swore allegiance to Hagen. She marries Etzel, King of the Huns, and persuades his army to attack Hagen, but she loses more than she bargained for.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorLotte ReinigerCarl KochA handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJean CarmetJacques DufilhoCatherine RouvelDuring World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.artistic: 10/10
entertainment value: 7/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRobert DuvallDonald PleasenceDon Pedro ColleyIn the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.In a dystopian 21st century, the population is controlled by a combination of drugs and religion. They work at dangerous factories where accidents and deaths are common. Video cameras monitor every moment of their lives. LUH works at one of the monitoring stations and is the roommate of factory worker THX. She secretly switches his drugs, causing him to undergo confusion at work and have a sexual encounter at home with LUH, which is strictly forbidden. Authorities arrest both of them. He is convicted and sent to prison, a sort of white nothingness with spare furniture. LUH briefly visits, tells him she is pregnant, then disappears for good. THX and another prisoner decide to escape and explore the boundaries of the white nothingness. In one exhilarating moment, they break out into the mass confusion of the city commute. They eventually steal some futuristic vehicles and take to the freeways, pursued by the ever-present android police. THX manages to break out of the city and witness a sunset for the first time ever. Lucas' feature debut, an expansion of an earlier student film, is like Star Wars on drugs. The sound collage of computerized voices, soothing religious phrases and public announcements is as mesmerizing as it is disorienting. An opening sequence from H.G. Wells' 1936 film Things to Come (replaced by a Flash Gordon serial in the 2004 director's cut) are his obvious cinematic inspirations. Add a heavy dose of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and some Kafkian bureaucracy, and you've got Lucas' masterpiece. Still waiting for the original, unaltered version to become available, but meanwhile the 2004 director's cut apparently does not make any major changes to the story.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: high
George Lucas updates old Saturday matinee serials with slick special effects and an epic, galaxy-spanning story to create one of the most influential, and successful, films of all time. His hero is Luke Skywalker, a bored teenager on a remote desert planet, who reluctantly joins a rebellion against the evil Empire in possession of a weapon capable of destroying planets. He is joined by a pair of wisecracking robots who sound a lot like Laurel and Hardy, an aging Jedi knight with mystical powers and a hot shot pilot with a fast spaceship to get them around. First, they have to rescue a princess from the hands of Darth Vader, a towering, sinister figure who is the ultimate villain. Lucas populates his story with an imaginative variety of alien creatures, some of whom are major characters despite speaking no recognizable language. The soundtrack consists of assorted synthesized sounds, chatter, and bleeps, with a soaring score by John Williams. Incredibly, Lucas has disowned the original version in favor of a souped-up, CGI-ridden "special" edition which is anything but special. Luckily, you can still see the original version if you look hard enough, and that is the only way to see the film. - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsCharlton HestonRoddy McDowallKim HunterAn astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: high
Charlton Heston is the leader of a group of astronauts whose spaceship crashes on an unknown planet in the future. After a trek through the desert, they stumble upon a tribe of primitive humans, but are soon captured by the real rulers of the planet, apes. Heston finds himself at the center of a controversial theory by one of their leading scientists: that apes evolved from man. The intellectual orangutans, who apparently control both religion and science, try to suppress the theory, while the pure scientists, chimps, are accused of heresy. Rod Serling and Michael Wilson's screenplay brilliantly turns the evolution debate on its head to expose its fallacies. They also manage to work in an anti-nuclear message in one of the best endings of all time. Incredibly, both topics are still as relevant today as they were in 1968 and the film has not aged at all. - DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJon VoightBurt ReynoldsNed BeattyIntent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Jack Nicholson may or may not be faking mental illness to get out of jail and into a psychiatric hospital. He ends up in a ward run by the stoic Louise Fletcher, with whom he immediately clashes. He tries to inject some normalcy into the otherwise depressing routine by stealing a bus and taking the other patients on a joyride or watching a baseball game on tv. However, he takes things too far when he sneaks in alcohol and women one night. Hilarious and well-acted, but also a scathing indictment of the mental health system, as it is clear Nicholson is the only sane person yet receives the ultimate corrective treatment. - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorMike NicholsStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonGeorge SegalA bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: high
Farm girl Dorothy is knocked unconscious during a tornado and wakes up in Technicolor. She is greeted by Munchkins who proclaim her a heroine after landing on a witch and killing her. However, Dorothy can only think about getting back home to Auntie Em, but must travel to a distant city and its great Wizard to ask for help. She picks up a trio of friends along the way, each hoping to fulfill their own desires. They overcome great obstacles to reach the wizard, but he demands they kill another witch before granting their wishes. The wizard is revealed to be a fraud, but a resourceful one who still finds a way to satisfy everyone. Dorothy wakes up back in dreary black and white Kansas where she recognizes the characters of Oz as people in her every day life. The enduring classic works on multiple levels: everything from escapist musical to psychological symbolism, each viewing seems to reveal something new. - DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are long-haired hippies who complete a drug deal for a large sum of cash and then travel across the desert southwest to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Along the way, they encounter discrimination based on their appearance and lifestyle. A prophetic statement comes from Jack Nicholson, an alcoholic lawyer they meet in jail along the way and who tags along, when he says one night in front of the camp fire: "don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are". It's the definitive cinematic treatment of the late 60s counterculture, moodily photographed by Laszlo Kovacs and set to a soundtrack by The Byrds, Steppenwolf and others. - DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium - DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaWolfgang SchenckUlli LommelIn the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town. She soon bears a daughter, Annie, and hires the lapsed Catholic Roswitha to look after her. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business, so she spends time riding and walking along the shore with Major Crampas. Instetten is promoted to Ministerial Councillor and the family moves to Berlin, where Effi enjoys the social life. Six years later, the Baron is given letters from Crampas to Effi that convince him that they had an affair. He feels obliged to challenge Crampas to a duel and banish Effi from the house.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsAlfonso MejíaRoberto CoboEstela IndaA group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Street urchins in Mexico survive, rather than live, in the streets. One of the older boys bullies the others into helping him rob and steal, even from the blind and crippled. Just out of reform school, he takes revenge on the boy he believes turned him in, killing him in the process. He bribes a younger boy who witnessed the murder. He stays quiet but is racked with guilt which festers inside him and threatens to take over his life. Framed for theft by the same boy, he is sent to reform school himself where a kindly director almost manages to turn him around. However, the streets are unforgiving leading to the unforgettable final scene. A brutal, hopelessly pessimistic film with occasional touches of Bunuel's surrealism. - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaKlaus LöwitschIvan DesnyMaria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low - DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: medium
Two upstart reporters for the Washington Post turn a routine story of a break-in at a Washington hotel into the biggest political scoop of all-time. Their reliance on unnamed sources, including the infamous "Deep Throat", irks their superiors who at first don't want to print the story. However, their tireless efforts to uncover the truth ultimately lead to their vindication, and the downfall of a president. Redford and Hoffman are perfect in their roles, vividly bringing to life their disbelief and horror at the facts as they uncover them. You can't help but root for them. Incredible attention to detail and a crisp screenplay that is all brought together by Pakula's direction and cinematography by Gordon Willis make for an American classic. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.artistic: 7/10
entertainment value: 10/10
nostalgia factor: low
Ad executive Cary Grant is mistaken for a government spy and kidnapped. They attempt to murder him by forcing him to drink a bottle of alcohol and putting him behind the wheel of a car, but he manages to steer the car to safety. He goes to the UN to find the man who tried to have him killed, but someone else answers to that name and is assassinated before he can get more information. Accused of the crime, Grant goes on the run to prove his innocence. He meets pretty Eva Saint Marie on a train and they spend the night together. However, she turns out to be working with the kidnappers and sends him on a wild goose chase to the middle of nowhere. He survives another attempt on his life, this time by crop duster plane, in perhaps Hitchcock's best known scene. He soon discovers Eva's real identity and confronts her at an art auction, where once again he uses his wits to escape. However, when she turns out to be a secret agent working undercover he tries to convince her to leave with him. She refuses and plans to leave with the killer, but when her cover is blown Grant must save her life in a spectacular ending taking place on Mount Rushmore. Perhaps the ultimate Hitchcock film, with multiple false identities, a perfect hero in Grant and incredible but still somehow plausible plot twists. Hitchcock manages it all with a steady hand and perfect pacing.