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As a fan of talking anything Bond, I feel like I need to see it to remain as informed as possible in my perceptions of the character and his influences. I'll be running through the films beyond DAF and doing full on reviews for them (including NSNA), so I might as well hit on Casino '67 after that journey to complete the set. If I don't like it, I can work to forget it. Believe me, I've had to repress far worse!
Indeed. You'll either shock yourself by enjoying it and kick yourself for not having seen it sooner, or in a worst case scenario, you lost two hours of free time, but at least you'll then know you never have to sit through it again! That's the positive I always walk away with after watching a bad movie.
I'll have to get around to it too sometime soon.
"The author of all your pain."
@Master_Dahark, these other masochists really have the edge on us. We need to show them we can take self-torture just as much as the rest of them.
1.) Casablanca (1942)- A must-see, by anyone. A war film and romance meet, and out of it comes one of the most piercing stories in cinema with the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman giving career defining performances. Go into it as blind as possible, as with all of this list.
2.) Chinatown (1974)- Possibly the greatest neo-noir film ever, and the perfect representation of everything a noir should be in every place in time: labyrinthine, desperate, uncompromising and above all, honest. Strap in for this one, because once you're done you'll not soon forget it. This one haunted me for weeks after my first watch, but the pain told me I'd witnessed something spectacular.
3.) Citizen Kane (1941)- It's just one of those movies everyone has to see, and that everyone tells everyone else to see (I'm being made to do this, understand). For me it's one of those films that has a legend greater than the final work itself, but it's an important movie to experience if you're serious about being a connoisseur of the medium. It's crazy what a young 25 year old Orson Welles was able to pull off, all whilst facing the wrath of Randolph Hearst and an entire propaganda machine to create his art. "Rosebud" is everything and anything.
4.) Apocalypse Now (1979)- Based on Joseph Conrad's haunting novella Heart of Darkness, this film ranks highly as one of the greatest adapted works not only for keeping the soul of its source intact, but having another soul of its own in a hyper-original way. The novel's African Congo shifts to the American fight in Vietnam as a soldier wades further into the jungle to confront a man who used to share his principles, colliding with all the misery, consequence and bloodshed of wartime conflict along the way. The film goes a long way to paint a very real picture of human conflict and the many faces savagery can own. Important for any time period, it also shows us what we lose sense and respect of when we go to war.
5.) Some Like it Hot (1959)- A premier comedy back when they were more than sex jokes. In an all-star cast led by Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, this film is black comedy and physical humor at its finest, depicting a surreal story where cross-dressing lotharios and the mob's biggest brutes collide. No, I'm serious.
6.) The Maltese Falcon (1941)- A film that can't be adequately put into perspective, no matter how much it is watched and appreciated. In a film that is called the springboard of the entire cinematic genre of noir film, Humphrey Bogart takes the lead as private eye Sam Spade in a definitive movie for history as a man is lied to by everyone around him-and does some lying of his own-in order to probe the effects that a mysterious falcon statue has had on a set of interconnected lives. This one did for noir what Bond did for spy films, to give a bit of context.
7.) The Conversation (1974)- The second Francis Ford Coppola film on this list after Apocalypse Now, where surveillance and paranoia intersect to tell a fascinating story that makes you question all you see or hear, much like the main character himself.
8.) The Mad Max series (1979-)- George Miller's Mad Max films represent some of the most effective lore we have to enjoy in our modern age, much like the Greeks heard tales of the gods. Mel Gibson takes the lead as Max Rockatansky across three films that depict a man's attempts to keep order amidst the chaos of an apocalyptic world flipped upside down, first as a troubled lawman and then as a road warrior, unrestrained by any rules but his own. Surreal, bizarre, haunting, beautiful.
9.) The Sergio Leone westerns w/ Clint Eastwood (1964-1966)- Another trio of films that everyone simply has to see for their massive influence and impact, this time from the western genre. These movies took the great conventions of cinema, from camera composition, choreography, music/sound and drama to another level, depicting some of the finest made films period. It's cowboys and criminals taking shots at each other, but at its heart it's also a lot more.
10.) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)- Humphrey Bogart and all-star director John Huston team up to tell a story of deceit and greed, where man goes against man and the human error of desire and dreams are shown in unrelenting consequence. Bogart's performance is a particular standout, as we watch a man's brain possessed by notions of wealth and glory in real-time.
11.) The Big Sleep (1946)- Humphrey Bogart plays the second of the classic private detectives following his part in The Maltese Falcon, this time as Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe. This film is almost as famous for what it doesn't do as for what it does, or maybe that's an equal measure. It's a classic for the chemistry of real life lovers Bogart and Lauren Bacall as the quintessential detective and femme fatale compete presences in a talent show we get a front row seat to. Half the fun of this film is trying to understand what the hell is going on at any point in time, but Bogart and Bacall are the gravity that keep you from floating away.
12.) Halloween (1978)- This is where contemporary horror and independent film intersect, and a young John Carpenter reveals himself as an auteur of an under-appreciated genre. As one of the foremost influencers of what we think horror is as a genre, a bunch of adolescents are chased after by a monster of a different kind in a once-quiet small town. To frame this monster, Carpenter keeps him from our view, giving us only shots of him in third person perspective and through far away shots caked in shadow until he's ready to reveal him in full. The movie is a great example of strong story structure, and how you present a monster for an audience: if you don't show them where your monster is or why he's acting as he is, what they scare themselves into thinking will always be worse than anything your imagination could come up with. A young Jamie Lee Curtis-daughter of famous Psycho Scream Queen Janet Leigh-stars in the lead role that revealed to the world that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
13.) Psycho (1960)- I had to have at least one Alfred Hitchcock film on here, and few could be better than his horror masterpiece from 1960. In a film that pressed the limits of what cinema could be at the time with its emphasis on sex, lust and gore and Hitchcock's own drive to hide all the twists from unsuspecting viewers, we have a story that has transcended the medium and become unforgettable. What other movie allows you to appreciate the joys of maternity (mothers are our best friends, after all), taxidermy of the finest quality and the relief of warm showers alongside the then-shocking image of Janet Leigh in a black bra as dark as her morals. The film also depicts the first time a toilet is flushed in a film, so there's that too.
14.) Ben-Hur (1959)- Like Citizen Kane before it, we may have a film with a legend bigger than it could be itself. It's a film that simply has to be seen, however, because even if you want to leave for the preachy religious subtext you stay for the riveting chariot race, grand cinematography in wide film and location shooting. It's no secret why it's classed as an epic-the genre, not the adjective. A tip for consuming this one: DO NOT try to watch it in one sitting as a pubescent Brady once attempted and failed to do via taking a small nap mid-way to replenish his energies. The intermission is placed in the middle of the film for a reason, and I think the best course is to consume this particular film in two nights, one viewing for each part. Your sanity may well thank you.
15.) Point Blank (1967)- European filmmaking styles meets American genius in an old fashioned revenge film that holds nothing back. The grandfather to Liam Neeson's favorite current-day roles is Lee Marvin, who stars as a brutal and unrelenting force of nature that just so happens to wear the face of a man. Through the carnage, conspiracy and trauma of love and trust lost, a man's quest for the return of his money-and his ego-puts him on a track that may see him lose his life along with the rest of it.
16.) The Third Man (1949)- Carol Reed's post-war noir film of 1949 remains one of the most profound pieces in the genre. A man heads to the aftermath of a war-wracked Vienna to meet an old friend, but nothing is as it seems to be. Over the course of a mad journey of lies, deceit and corrupted values, there's iconic dialogues to take in alongside more dutch angles to shake a stick at and a sequence in the Viennese underground that remains a cinematic highlight to this day.
17.) The Detective (1968)- Frank Sinatra stars as a troubled and weary detective (if you couldn't guess from the title) in a film that you quite shamefully wouldn't find on a lot of "must-see" films lists. This film is a forgotten gem from a time in cinema history where brave films were breaking away from the restrictions of the Hayes Code to tell uncensored stories that held nothing back. In its effort to bust out of convention, The Detective tells a story that is as frightening and consequential for us now as it was in the late 1960s. Sinatra's detective is one of the most upstanding and likable men in cinema and we find ourselves drawn to his cause as he faces a world of supreme oppression and hate from behind a badge. Scenes depict the murder of a gay man to the tune of the depicted society's anti-homosexual hate speak alongside the murder of unarmed black men by the police as racial tensions between citizens and law enforcement reach crescendo. Reading the headlines of today's news stories after experiencing the content of this film goes a long way to show you that some things never change.
18.) Good Will Hunting (1997)- Because the vast majority of the films on this list were from the 40s to the 70s (in short, my preferred area of cinema), I thought I'd also include a final film from the 90s to our current time that represents a classic example of modern moviemaking done right that can stand up to the greats.
A young Matt Damon and Ben Affleck worked with their team to craft a script that remains one of my all-time favorites, and through this text a film was born that depicted a smart and emotional coming of age story for a youth with more brains than sense. The lives of a troubled Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and that of an equally troubled professor (Robin Williams) intersect as they both find an understanding and clarity through their shared experiences-and their differences, too. It's a film that always hits me hard, not only because I'm a youth like Will trying to find my path with all the weight of the world and decision resting on my shoulders, but also because it's simply a profound and powerful story.
The last time I watched Good Will Hunting was just weeks after Robin Williams had passed away and I was looking for the right way to pay tribute to a man who'd unconsciously given so much meaning to my life. The tears flowed as they always do at certain parts of the film, but some extra emotion was added on top of the usual that time around. Watching Robin play and give one of the finest performances I'll ever see as a fan of film, I was reminded of the genius and honesty we'd lost in his passing. To keep myself in check would've been impossible.
I didn't like it at all.
I'll add any Hitchcock film from the 50s/60s but definitely the famous Vertigo, as well as To Catch A Thief & North By Northwest (for sheer entertainment value, and because if anyone hasn't seen them yet they are truly missing out on greatness that no doubt inspired Fleming).
I will also add Gone With The Wind for its epic and grand scope (and for a character that inspired the name of a staircase), but that's another one which is probably best viewed over two nights (patience is definitely a requirement). I've only seen it once as a kid, and it's another film that I must revisit shortly.
I think we need to get @Birdleson in on this, to give us his definitive 15 to 20 films to see before you die. He's our resident expert on cinema here and would offer up some fascinating insights.
Kingsman
Neighbors
Neighbors 2
Fright Night (2011)
,MI Rogue Nation
My guilty pleasure.
I love Seller, Allen , Niven and Daliah Lavi and Mata Bond.
Yeah, haven't seen it in a while, but there was thst whole look of love sequence in both movies.
I normally love David Niven, but he wasn't the highlight of this film. Daliah Lavi had better roles and appearances. Mata Bond as a character was a stellar one. A femme fatale working for the good side. And Peter Sellers was the best part of all!
Ursula Andress was on and off in it. Some parts were great with her, some others weren't.
Probably because you weren't high! That's the key to that movie.