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My Top 10 Favorite Films
1. L'AVVENTURA (1960, Michelangelo Antonioni, Italy)
I think this film has grown on me more then any other film I've ever seen. The first time, I liked it,
but just barely. The second time, I loved it. And the third time, I was so amazed by it, I was just
overwhelmed. Like Gene Youngblood said, the film is like a novel. It shows us it's character's
feelings and souls, but it shows them through the images we see on the screen. And they are some
of the most beautiful images ever put to film. When a bunch of rich, young men and women go on
a yachting trip in the Agean Sea, one of the women goes missing. Her boyfriend Sandro, and best
fried Claudia search for her across Italy in Antonioni’s haunting, hypnotic tale of love and
self-discovery.
2. ANDREI RUBLEV (1966, Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR)
This is such a perfect film. From the cinematography (this is the most visually stunning film I've
ever seen), to the perfect pacing, to the structure of the film, where the focus often lifts from
Rublev, to the brilliant acting, and it's ending, one of the most uplifting I've ever seen, everything
about it is nothing but astounding. This is my pick for the best film ever made. You can read my
full thoughts in the reviews section of my site.
3. THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928, Carl Th. Dreyer, France)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC is a film where both style and substance coexist equally. In
fact, were it not for the visual style, it would not be half the film it is. This is the single most
intense film I have ever seen, but would not be so were it not for the cinematography, which is
almost exclusively close-ups. Extreme close-ups of judges screaming, devices of torture, and Joan
(played my Maria Falconetti in the best female performance ever) trying to remain strong
while tears run down her face leave the viewer shaken. Along with being the most intense film I
have ever seen, it is also one of the most heartbreaking and emotionally devastating films ever
made.
4. THE SHINING (1980, Stanley Kubrick, USA)
Besides being the scariest film I have ever seen, THE SHINING is also a deeply symbolic allegory
for the white man’s cycle racist and misogynist violence, the destruction of the family,
dehumanization, and the destruction of horror films. Kubrick uses his trademark cold, distant
style, the use of music, and unsettling cinematography to make the mood terrifying, leaving us
feeling thuroughly disturbed by the time the film reaches it’s finale. Jack Nicholson, giving his best
performance, is, despite the tone of the film, a joy to watch. Kubrick’s films almost always display
an acting style that is either completely over-the-top, or restrained to the point of being wooden.
This film displays the over-the-top Kubrick, which is always more fun to watch, and is just one of
the reasons that this is my favorite of Stanley’s films.
5. FARGO (1996, Joel Coen, USA)
This is the film that made me fall in love with film, and for that it will always have a special place
in my heart. Not to mention that it’s a friggin’ masterpiece. The Coen brother give us a great,
lovable character in Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), a pregnant cop investigating a
double homicide. The cinematography was beautiful, and the dark humor perfect.
6. DO THE RIGHT THING (1989, Spike Lee, USA)
DO THE RIGHT THING takes place on the hottest day of the year. As the heat rises, so does the
racial tensions that eventually end up in a murder and a riot. The film breaks from it’s plot, in one
of its best scenes, to show people from all different races hurling insults straight into the camera,
showing that we all have our bigotries. When the tension finally reaches its boiling point, it erupts
into a riot in response to a murder. This is what racism does: it causes nothing but death and
destrucion.
7. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979, Francis Ford Coppola, USA)
APOCALYPSE NOW is the deepest, most haunting, visually stunning, disturbing, and best war
film ever made. Capt. Willard is given, “for his sins,” a mission to assassinate Col. Kurtz, a man
who has set himself up as a god in the jungle. Willard’s journey, in which the best war sequence
ever filmed takes place, is a journey into the human heart of darkness. It culminates in Willard
meeting Kurtz, where we learn what “the horror” is. This third act is the film’s best, and its final
scene left me in utter awe.
8. WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957, Ingmar Bergman, Sweeden)
After seeing a bunch of films by Ingmar Bergman, I’m convinced that he’s one of the greatest
directors ever. This is my favorite film by him. It tells the story of Isak Borg, who is about to be
given an honorary degree from a university. One thing I love so much about WILD
STRAWBERRIES is the score, which is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes by itself. The
dream sequences are both haunting and beautiful, and the entire film leaves the viewer emotionally
drained.
9. THE 400 BLOWS (1959, Francois Truffaut, France)
In one of the most powerful scenes in any film I’ve ever seen, Antione lies in his bed as his
parents, thinking he is sleeping, discuss sending him away becuase (as his mother puts it) “He
aggrivates me.” Watching this film again recently, I nearly wept during this scene. The whole film,
and Antione’s whole life, seem to be like that. Becuase he “aggrivates” them, adults won’t give
him a chance, and he eventually has to turn to crime. The story is simple, yet more touching than
almost any film could ever hope to be.
10. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998, Joel Coen, USA)
When the funniest, most entertaining film you’ve ever seen is also one of the most visually stunning, it’s simply priceless. In Los Angelas, there are two Jeffery Lebowskis. One of them is one of the richest men in town, and the other is the laziest man in town, who prefers to be called The Dude. When The Dude is mistaken for “The Big Lebowski,” and his rug is defecated on, he figures that he is owed a rug. His quest for a new rug gets him involved in a kidnapping plot. The plot - zany, wild, and labyrinth - goes everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and by the end of the film I always feel so relaxed that I just want to sit back and do nothing for hours and hours. The Dude (Jeff Bridges) is without a doubt the coolest character in any film I have ever seen, and it’s comforting to know that he’s out there, taking it easy for all us sinners. *Note: I do not think that THE BIG LEBOWSKI is one of the 10 greatest films of all time. However, It is one of my favorites, and, for me, it’s the most entertaining film I’ve ever seen.
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