My 100 Greatest Movies
My 100 Greatest Movies
I used to love going to the cinema, but the truth is that now its a pretty rare occurrence. In fact, I'm struggling to remember my last visit. For quite some time I put this down having the Movie channel at home and like a lot of other things, the expense and the finding the time.
The following is my list which I originally posted on a daily basis on Facebook back in 2013. It took me an age to compile, racking my memory, checking internet lists, going through my own DVD / BluRay collection etc. However, as we're now four years down the line I need to make the following points:
(a) I've only seen one movie since that would trouble this list and that is 'Django Unchained' which I think would sit around half way
(b) Despite the wailing and knashing of teeth described above I made an absolute glaring error and left out 'Withnail & I' which should really have been around about the Top Ten.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy the read. I expect any unintentional inaccuracies will be pointed out, although nobody said anything back in 2013.
As usual, any comments will be gratefully received.
Anyway to begin, at No. 100 is RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), the third (or now sixth) film in the
‘Star Wars’ saga. As a stand alone movie it’s pretty good, but explaining the
plot is slightly pointless as you really need to watch the other films in the
series in order to get a real grasp of what’s going on. The main point in this
one being that Luke Skywalker finds out that he’s some kind of intergalactic
Cornishman as it turns out he’s related to just about everyone else in the
film. Funnily enough, I was never a big fan of these films as a youngster but
now I do appreciate them a lot more.
Fact: Nominated for 4 Oscars, has taken $475million at the Box
Office.
Director: Richard Marquand
Standout Performance: The Ewoks.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 99 – BRAVEHEART (1995)
Back in the mid 1990’s before Mel Gibson evolved into a wife
beating, fundamentalist Catholic anti-Semite, he was actually a Hollywood superstar. In Braveheart he plays William
Wallace, the 13th Century Scottish warrior, famous for kicking the
arses of the English, specifically that of Edward Longshanks (brilliantly
portrayed in this by Patrick McGoohan). Although about as historically accurate
as Robin Hood: Men In Tights, it’s a
good story, well written and Gibson made a good job of directing as well to be
fair.
Facts: Won 5 Oscars, once described by Billy Connolly as “…a
piece of pure Australian shite.”
Director: Mel Gibson
Standout Performance: Patrick McGoohan.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 98 – THE THING (1982)
From the mid 70’s to mid 80’s John Carpenter made some
decent and original horror films. In my opinion this is the best. Having
established star Kurt Russell in the main role helped (this was the former
child stars 28th movie, despite only being 31 years old) although
the film was unfortunate to be released only 2 weeks after E.T., so probably suffered at the Box Office as a result of cinema
goers expecting their aliens to be cute. In classic horror style, the plot
centres around a remote American Antartic research station being terrorised by
an unknown evil entity. Gory deaths follow, and for this kind of film an
unusual ending.
Facts: Once voted the 17th scariest movie ever,
took only $15million at the Box Office.
Director: John Carpenter
Standout Performance: Kurt Russell.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 97 – QUADROPHENIA (1979)
Loosely based on The Who’s 1973 opera of the same name,
Quadrophenia has become one of the cult movies of the era. Set in 1965,
although the notoriously low budget meant street scenes with 1970’s cars in the
background, it tells the story of disillusioned young Mod Jimmy (Phil Daniels)
and his descent into drug fuelled mental illness. The film covers many social
issues of the time and features literally loads of actors / actresses who went
onto star in many a film and / or TV series. Obviously, the soundtrack is
brilliant and it’s worth buying the DVD
for the subtitled version, especially the bit where he gets knocked off his
scooter by the Post Office van.
Fact: John Lydon was screen tested for the role of Jimmy,
but could not get insurance for the part.
Director: Franc Roddam
Standout Performance: Phil Daniels
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 96 – BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
This is the first of three entries for the directorial
genius that was David Lean. Quite controversial at the time, the film tells the
story of a chance meeting between a happily married but bored housewife and a
young doctor, who is also married. Despite paying attention to the etiquette
and convention of the era, they find themselves drawn together. It’s certainly
a story of its time, released only months after the end of World War II and
seems quite tame by modern standards. However, this doesn’t detract from the
quite brilliant acting of the main protagonists Trevor Howard & Celia
Johnson.
Facts: Nominated for three Oscars, original story by Noel
Coward
Director: David Lean
Standout Performance(s): Trevor Howard & Celia Johnson
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 95 – GLADIATOR (2000)
Gladiator is another Hollywood
historical epic that doesn’t pay too much attention to historical accuracy as
it doesn’t put bums on seats. What does is action, big name cast lists and
fantastic special effects courtesy of the Dreamworks studio. Russell Crowe
takes the star turn as General Maximus
Decimus Meridius or ‘Max’ to his mates, who bludgeons his way around ancient
Rome, in a story encompassing love, betrayal, anger, violence, loyalty,
revenge, politics, sacrifice, greatness, more violence and much much more
besides. Huge fun, a film to settle down to with a large bucket of popcorn but
not to be taken too seriously.
Facts: Winner of
5 Oscars, took $457million at the Box Office, but sadly Oliver Reeds last film
(he died during production)
Director: Ridley
Scott
Standout
Performance: Russell Crowe (amazing levels of ham)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 94 – McVICAR (1980)
At one point, the subject of this movie John McVicar was the
most wanted man in Britain .
Once a prolific armed robber, after doing his time he turned his life around
and became a respected criminologist and author. The film is based on his own
book about his prison experiences. Whether it’s a co-incidence that Roger
Daltrey played the lead role in a film financed by The Who’s own film company
can be debated, but what cannot be is the fact that he made a fine job of it.
Special mention to now sadly departed actor Brian Hall who played prisoner
Terry Stokes and spent most of the film winding up the northern prison
officers. Like Quadrophenia it’s low
budget and has attained cult status mainly amongst people of my generation (see
what I did there). All in all, well worth viewing especially after a few beers.
Fact: Producer Bill Curbishley is the brother of former West
Ham manager Alan, fellow prisoner ‘Cody’ is said to have been based on the
‘Moors Murderer’ Ian Brady.
Director: Tom Clegg
Standout Performance: Roger Daltrey
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 93 – ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
These days a film carrying the description ‘romantic comedy’
is enough to send shivers down my spine. However, back in the more innocent
times of the early 1950’s this would not have been the case. The main parts in
this one are filled by the effortlessly suave and sophisticated Gregory Peck
and the never bettered beauty, with no little talent, of Audrey Hepburn.
Basically, Peck is an American reporter stationed in Rome , Hepburn a Princess who slips out from
her normal cosseted existence to sample a little of the outside world. After a
chance meeting, much merriment and to be honest, quite a bit of sillyness
ensues but it’s all done so beautifully you can’t help but love it. It’s a real
throwback to a bygone age.
Facts: Winner of 3 Oscars, Peck’s part was written for Carry
Grant who turned it down because he felt he was too old.
Director: William Wyler
Standout Performance: Audrey Hepburn.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 92 – THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
A small clue to something that’s coming later in the list is
the fact that this was the best movie about the Vietnam War for nine years. A
real harrowing and eye opening account of the experiences of a group of
Pennsylvanian steelworkers, the film is split into three distinct parts. Their
home life, the war, and the aftermath. This film sees the first appearance in
my list for Robert De Niro, but the star of the show was Christopher Walken
whose portrayal of ‘Nick’ won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. If you
recall, the ‘Russian Roulette’ scene was even parodied in an advert for Revels!
Along with composer John Williams amazing musical score it’s a memorable movie,
but to Michael Cimino the director I have one question..why is part one so
long?
Facts: Winner of 5 Oscars, the directors cut runs for three
and a half hours.
Director: Michael Cimino
Standout Performance: Christopher Walken.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 91 – FORREST GUMP (1994)
Have to start this one by saying that I’d usually avoid
anything with Tom Hanks in as he’s not my favourite actor. There’s something
about him that irritates me. But fairs fair, his career reached its zenith with
his portrayal of the American boy with low intelligence, but with a heart of
gold. The film tells his life story, which is a real rollercoaster ride of
triumph and disaster, happiness mixed with tragedy. Screenwriter Eric Roth won
an Oscar (as did Hanks) which is not surprising as the script is absolutely
superb. There is of course the usual Hollywood sillyness but in a movie like this it’s
perfectly acceptable.
Facts: Winner of 6 Oscars, it took $657million at the Box
Office, rapper Ice Cube turned down the role of ‘Bubba’ (what a dipstick)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Standout Performance: Tom Hanks (said through gritted teeth)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 90 – CASINO (1995)
Hot on the heels of me including a movie with Tom Hanks,
I’ve found myself selecting something starring the quite awful Sharon Stone.
Fortunately, although her part is integral to the story, her particular brand
of characterless, wood like acting doesn’t ruin this one completely. Scorsese
appears five times in my top 100, this one being the last time (to date) that
he worked with De Niro. Bobby, as he’s known to his friends, plays Sam
Rothstein, a Jewish bookies handicapper so good at his job he’s placed in
charge of one of the mobs Casino’s in Las
Vegas . Much aggro ensues, especially when mob enforcer
Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) is sent as protection for Rothstein. Mixed in with
all the goings on involving the Casino itself, the movie covers Rothsteins
disintegrating relationship with his now wife, Ginger (Sharon Stone). It’s
typical Scorsese fair, which obviously is a good thing but I feel that it
suffers a little because of the incredibly high standards set by his other
work.
Fact: Based on the life story of Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal who
ran Casinos during the 1970’s.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Standout Performance: Joe Pesci
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 89 – TOY STORY (1995)
Aaaaargh, Tom Hanks again! At least this time it’s only his
voice as he takes the part of ‘Woody’ the cowboy in what someone of my vintage
would say is the second best ‘cartoon’ movie ever made. This is an important
movie in as much as in subsequent years there have been many more very
successful CGI projects, including
two sequels to this one. The three movies between them have taken just shy of
$2billion at The Box Office and God knows how much for DVDs / Blu Ray. The
plot…..look, it’s a cartoon about some toys and their adventures and not Ingmar
Bergmans The Seventh Seal, so just
sit back and enjoy some great family entertainment with a few adult references
thrown in for good measure.
Fact: Over 25 million Buzz Lightyear / Woody dolls have been
sold.
Director: John Lasseter
Standout Performance: The computer geeks who created the CGI .
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 88 – NIL BY MOUTH (1997)
Whatever the tagline is for a movie that’s the opposite to ‘feel
good’ it would most definitely be used to describe this one. Written and
directed by Gary Oldman, it’s said to be the semi-autobiographical account of
his upbringing on a south London
estate. Ray (Ray Winstone) is the abusive husband of Valerie (National
treasure, the brilliant Kathy Burke) .It charts the drinking, drug abuse,
domestic violence and low level criminality that surrounds life in that
environment and certainly pulls no punches whilst doing so. If you haven’t seen
it, you will feel like you need a shower or bath afterwards but that doesn’t
take away from the fact it’s a brilliant production. The acting, direction and
script are first class. Ray Winstone has done a lot in film, but I don’t think
he’s ever bettered this.
Fact: BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, the word ‘fuck’ is
used 428 times in this film.
Director: Gary Oldman
Standout Performance: Edmonton School
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 87 – THE PINK PANTHER (1963)
Despite being a comic actor of unparalleled talent, it’s
fair to say that Peter Sellers will be mainly remembered as the bungling French
Detective Inspector Closeau. In this movie, the first of the franchise, Blake
Edwards directs Sellers as he tries to solve the mystery of the theft of the
‘Pink Panther’, the world’s biggest diamond. It also stars David Niven and
Robert Wagner. To be perfectly honest each ‘Pink Panther’ film featuring
Sellers is as good as another but I selected this because nearly fifty years
down the line it’s still as funny as ever. The humour must have been amazing in
1963. When Sellers died as the result of a heart attack in 1980 at the age of
only 54, the world lost a comic genius but fortunately the legacy lives on
through these movies. Please avoid watching the Steve Martin remake of this
film at all costs.
Fact: Peter Sellers son died aged 52, 26 years to the day
after his father, also of a heart attack. Sellers once appeared on ‘The Michael
Parkinson Show’ dressed as a member of the Gestapo.
Director: Blake Edwards
Standout Performance: Peter Sellers, strangely enough.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 86 – THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)
This is the third movie in the ‘Bourne’ series and as of yet
the last released. (Number four is due later this year). Similarly to the ‘Star
Wars’ movies, its obviously better to have watched them in the correct order
but even if you haven’t seen the two previous outings, this is still an
excellent effort. With Matt Damon in the lead role as Jason Bourne, it’s a fast
paced action thriller, to me a kind of ‘James Bond’ updated for the 21st
Century. The plot follows the common thread of the franchise in as much as
Bourne is still searching for the answers to how he became what he is today and
that generally everyone seems to be trying to do him in, whether they’re on
allegedly on his side or not. Great entertainment, it’s just a shame its taken
them five years to make the forthcoming part four.
Fact: Winner of 3 Oscars, took $69.3m at the US Box Office
in its first weekend a record at the time.
Director: Paul Greengrass
Standout Performance: Matt Damon
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 85 – DIE HARD (1988)
OK, so John McClane (Bruce Willis) a New York cop arrives in L.A. to attend a Christmas party at the
office of his estranged wife. Sadly for Brucie boy, at the same time a bunch of
ne’er do wells led by Hans Gruber (played deliciously by Alan Rickman) have
plans to take over the building and hold the attendees hostage in the name of
political terrorism but actually as a cover for stealing hundreds of millions
of dollars worth of bonds. What followed was a swashbuckling trailblazer for
the action genre. It’s hard to think this was made nearly 25 years ago. Its
success ($140m at the Box Office) certainly set a trend in Hollywood , with every actor worth his salt
(or not in Steven Seagal’s case) wanting to make action movies. Although
enjoyable, none of the sequels quite hit the heights of the original.
Apparently, despite Willis approaching 60 years old, there’s another one in
production due for release sometime in 2013.
Fact: In 2007 Willis donated the vest he wore during filming
to National Museum Of American History
Director: John McTiernan
Standout Performace: Bruce Willis, by a whisker from Alan
Rickman.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 84 – FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965)
The second in the ‘Dollars’ trilogy and the first of six
Westerns to make my 100, you have to like your films “slow” to appreciate this
one. In that sense its classic Sergio Leone. He was certainly not a man who could
have directed a fast paced action blockbuster. Nicknamed ‘Spagetti’ westerns
due to them generally being financed and made by Italians, but ironically
mainly filmed in Spain ,
these films are beautifully shot with brilliant use of light. In this the Man
With No Name (Clint Eastwood) and Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) who is
possibly the coolest man ever in cinema history, play bounty hunters in pursuit
of vicious outlaw ‘El Indio’ (Gian Maria
Volante), initially against each other but eventually joining forces. It’s also
worth noting the brilliant musical score by Ennio Morricone which adds to the
atmosphere.
Fact: Eastwood was paid $50,000 for this part, Van
Cleef just $17,000. Clint Eastwood is
allergic to horses.
Director: Sergio Leone (we are not worthy)
Standout Performance: Lee Van Cleef
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 83 – THE ITALIAN JOB
(1969)
Culturally speaking, Britain had spent most of the
1960’s earning and keeping its position as the number one place on earth.
Music, fashion, television, comedy, theatre, art, we were top of nearly every
tree. So as the decade drew to a close it’s fitting that this movie should be
released, encompassing all of the above, plus a good old fashioned bit of
Cockney humour. We all know the story of the gang of British criminals,
planning a robbery in Turin
under cover of the Italy
v England
football match. Brilliantly written by Troy Kennedy Martin, fantastic stunt
driving in those iconic Red, White & Blue Mini Coopers and quite literally
the best ‘cliff hanger’ ending to a film of all time. How many other films can
boast performances from theatre royalty like Noel Coward right through to TV
funny man Benny Hill? Michael Caine excels in the main role of Charlie Croker,
although to be honest there’s too many great performances to single out anyone
in particular. Just like The Pink Panther,
the remake (2003) is pants. Avoid at all costs.
Facts: Nominated for a Golden Globe. It was actually an
already written off Lamborghini Muira that the bulldozer pushes down the
mountain chasm. What a waste.
Director: Peter Collinson
Standout Performance(s): The stunt drivers in the Mini
Coopers.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 82 – BLADE TRINITY (2004)
I don’t suppose for one minute that this would appear in
anybody else’s top 100 movies. In fact, it’s probably not even in star Wesley
Snipes’ top 100 movies, but please bear with me. Lifted from the Marvel comic
stories of the same name (somewhere at home I’ve got a copy of the first
edition), Snipes plays ‘Blade’ a hybrid vampire known as a ‘Daywalker’ as he’s
able to move around in daylight without being burnt to a frazzle. In this, the
third movie in the series, vampires are creating human farms for blood
production with the help of ‘familiars’ (human workers). The vampires have also
discovered Drake (the original Dracula) and managed to raise him from a tomb in
Iraq .
All believable stuff I’m sure you’ll agree. Humour comes mainly from Hannibal
King (Ryan Reynolds) who’s very good (can’t believe I’ve actually typed that)
whose group of Vampire hunters include Whistler (Jessica Biel) who along with
Blade must destroy Drake. Of course, it all works out in the end, but its great
entertainment on the way.
Facts: David S.Goyer, the director, filmed three endings and
selected what he considered to be the best. This film wasn’t nominated for any
Oscars, Golden Globes or BAFTAS.
Director: David S. Goyer
Standout Performance: Parker Posey as curiously attractive
vampire Danica Talos who has her fangs in a place you would not normally expect
to find them.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 81 – EASY RIDER (1969)
When a movie is written by one of its stars and directed by
the other its bound to be a real labour of love. Peter Fonda had the idea to
make a modern version of the traditional western and roped his pal Dennis
Hopper in to direct. It was so successful in fact taking $41m at the US Box
Office on a budget of just $350,000 that it helped to pave the way for other
films to be made in Hollywood
that reflected America ’s
growing counter culture. It tells the story of two bikers, who having
successfully smuggled cocaine in from Mexico , take a trip (literally)
across the States with the aim of arriving in New Orleans in time for the Mardi Gras and to
‘find themselves spiritually’. Along the way they encounter much prejudice from
‘small town America ’,
a hippy commune, an alcoholic lawyer (fantastically played by a young Jack
Nicholson) and a couple of prostitutes. Of course, it all ends tragically but
not before Wyatt “Captain America ”
(Peter Fonda) realises that although its been a financially rewarding journey
he’s discovered nothing spiritually.
Facts: Nominated for 2 Oscars, Toni “Oh Micky You’re So
Fine” Basil plays one of the prostitutes.
Director: Dennis Hopper
Standout Performance: Jack Nicholson
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 80 – DELIVERANCE (1972)
I think it would be obvious to say that this movie did
absolutely nothing for the tourist industry of North
Georgia . It tells the story of four businessmen who take a classic
American male outdoor trip to an area that is soon to be flooded as part of a
dam project. Sadly their presence and city ways upset the locals (it’s inferred
that they’re a bunch of inbreeds) and things start to go badly wrong. It’s
probably most famous for two things (a) the ‘duelling banjos’ scene which has
been parodied on many occasions and (b) having a male rape scene including the
infamous “make him squeal like a pig” line. Unsurprisingly, the film doesn’t
make particularly pleasant viewing, but it is certainly gripping. You’re really
not sure what’s going to happen right up to the final scene. It’s beautifully
shot by director John Boorman, who managed to show the contrast between the
amazing scenery and the carnage that was happening within it.
Fact: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Voted No 45 in Channel Fours
100 Best Movies Of All Time (so what do I know?)
Director: John Boorman
Standout Performance: Jon Voight
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 79 – SNATCH (2000)
Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine that director Guy
Ritchie was once considered famous and talented enough to marry and eventually
impregnate Madonna. This was his second movie as writer / director and in my
opinion he’s done nothing of any consequence since. Even Madonna elbowed him when
she realised his ‘Toto Schillaci’ moment was over. None of that though can
distract from the quality of this fast paced crime thriller. Two stories
intwined, one regarding the theft and pursuit of a stolen diamond, the other
illegal bare knuckle boxing involving the gypsy community. Famous people were
literally begging to be in this after the success of Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels so we see Brad Pitt, Benicio
Del Toro, Vinnie Jones and even a fabulous performance from the late Mike Read,
playing a jeweller who pretends to be Jewish as its good for business. Mixing
humour with violence was definitely a recipe for success in this case.
Fact: Guy Ritchie was born into a very ‘well to do’ family
in Hatfield, Hertfordshire which curiously is a bit of a dump.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Standout Performance: Brad Pitt (mainly for the mastering
the language of pikey)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 78 – THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)
It’s a bit strange that director Brian De Palma’s second
best film has aged a lot better than his best film, which is to come later.
This stylish movie tells the story of FBI Agent Elliot Ness’ (Kevin Cosner in
his best role) attempts to smash the organised crime rackets controlled by Al
Capone (deliciously over the top performance from Robert De Niro) ably assisted
by Police Officer Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) who won his only Oscar to date as
best supporting actor. This is of course a true life tale, being based on the
autobiography of Elliot Ness himself. Unfortunately, Ness
died 20 years before the movies release but it’s of such good quality that I’m
sure he’d have been very happy with the production. Unsuprisingly, it was also
nominated for Best Costume Design as they are truly excellent.
Fact: Robert De Niro put on 30lbs in weight for this role.
Director: Brian De Palma
Standout Performance: Sean Connery
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 77 – TRUE ROMANCE (1993)
There are some great ingredients in the pie that is True
Romance, namely it’s written by Quentin Tarantino and stars Christian Slater,
Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walkern, Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer. The show is well
and truly stolen though by Gary Oldman in his brief but stupendous appearance
as drug dealing pimp Drexl Spivy.
Plot-wise store clerk Clarence Worley (Slater) meets Alabama (Patricia Arquette) only finding out
later that his boss hired her as a call girl for him as a birthday present.
They fall in love, marry and Worley goes to see Spivy to tell him that she’s
off the game. This doesn’t go down well and events see Worley and Alabama doing a runner
to California
with a case half full of cocaine. There’s one particularly brilliant scene
where Worleys Dad (Hopper) realises that he’s about to cop it off of henchman
Cocotti (Walken) and decides to go out shouting. Like in all good Tarantino
stories, when things come to a head there’s a little twist. All in all, well
written and well acted.
Fact: Flopped at the Box Office, taking only $12m dollars.
Director: Tony Scott
Standout Performance: Has to be Gary Oldman
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 76 – KILL BILL VOLUME 2
(2004)
I’m happy to accept that the Kill Bill movies are very much
‘marmite’ movies. People, whether fans of writer / director Quentin Tarantino
or not will either love these or hate them. Obviously, I love them, but I do
have to say that this one would be higher up the list if the ending scenario
had been played out a little quicker. Its hard to explain the plot as the
audience is totally dependant on having seen volume one, but basically the
Bride (Uma Thurman) continues working her through the Deadly Viper Assasination
Squad, the group she walked out on when she found out she was pregnant,
eventually getting to Bill (David Carradine) for the films climax which again
has an unexpected twist. The film(s) certainly pay homage to martial arts
movies and Japanese cartoons.
Facts: Nominated for 2 Golden Globes, Tarantino has
re-edited the movie into one four hour long version subtitled “The Whole Bloody
Affair”
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Standout Performance: Uma Thurman closely beating Gordon Lui
(Pai Mei)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 75 – TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY
(1991)
So back came Arnie as the charismatic cyborg from the future
in this excellent sequel, only this time charged with protecting John Connor
(Edward Furlong) and not knocking him off. Unfortunately, he was trying to
protect him from an even more advanced cyborg T-1000 (Robert Patrick) who was
able to morph into what he liked as he was made from a super advanced liquid
based metal. Director James Cameron (his only film in my Top 100, sorry Titanic fans) spent an unprecedented
$94m on special effects which paid off as to an audience in 1991 they seemed
amazing. It’s a real swashbuckling adventure containing the usual one-liners
associated with a Schwarzenegger movie but with a strangely sad ending. I’m
pretty sure that Schwarzenegger would have been mooted to be US President in
the period after this film where it not for the fact he was unlucky enough to
be Austrian by birth. Points are also earned for use of Guns ‘n’ Roses
brilliant ‘You Could Be Mine’ on the soundtrack.
Facts: Winner Of 4 Oscars, James Cameron originally wanted
Billy Idol to play T-1000
Director: James Cameron
Standout Performance: Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 74 – THE GRADUATE (1967)
Twenty year old student returns from college and has an
affair with the wife of his fathers lawyer, is set up for a date with his
lovers daughter who he falls in love with, stopping her marriage at the last moment
so they can run off together. Sounds like the plot of a soft porn film but it’s
what happens in The Graduate, the movie that launched the career of Dustin
Hoffman, who secured the lead role despite being a virtual unknown. Its curious
casting as its easy to believe the diminutive Hoffman could have been
academically successful, but a little harder to believe he could have been the
all American sports jock the part demanded.
It’s interestingly shot by director Mike Nichols (recipient of the films
only Oscar) with lots of almost Hitchcockian camera angles. Anne Bancroft in
the legendry role of seducer Mrs Robinson is excellent. Adding in the Simon
& Garfunkel soundtrack completes the late 60’s vibe of the movie.
Fact: At the point of filming Hoffman was actually only six
years younger than Bancroft, in the story their age gap was 20 years.
Director: Mike Nichols
Standout Performance: Close but Anne Bancroft.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 73 – THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
I expect that everyone who has seen this movie will claim
that they knew what the twist was going to be at the end. I don’t want to spoil
it if you haven’t seen so therefore won’t divulge too much of the plot. The
main star is eight year old Cole Sear (brilliantly portrayed by Haley Jo Osment)
a troubled youngster who claims that he can see dead people. Dr Malcolm Crowe
(the excellent Bruce Willis) is his child psychologist, but is equally
troubled. I’ve seen it described as a horror film but given the background of
the main characters I’ve never seen it like that. It’s more of a psychological drama in my
opinion. It’s not surprising it was such a hit at the Box Office due to the
unusual subject matter and the great job director M. Night Shyamalan did of
building the atmosphere of the movie.
Facts: Nominated for 6 Oscars but didn’t pick up any. Ex
‘New Kid On The Block’ Donnie Walberg lost over 40lbs in weight for his minor
role in this movie.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Standout Performance: Haley Jo Osment, should have had an
Oscar.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 72 – THE LONGEST DAY
(1962)
Anybody who was anybody was in this movie (just Google it
for the cast list), probably the most spectacular War film ever made. It tells
the story of The Normandy Landings on D-Day, June 6th 1944 . As everyone knows
it’s a very important day in our history. The studio used four different
directors for the films four sections each filmed from a different point of
view, English & French / American / German / the parachute drop. You could
say that it’s almost documentary in style, with historical accuracy being
somewhat more important than it was in Braveheart
for example. Obviously it helps if you’re interested in World War II. It’s also
good to remember that this was made a long time before CGI ,
all those extras are actually people and not computer generated.
Fact: Winner Of 2 Oscars, this was Sean Connery’s last movie
before taking up the role of James Bond.
Directors: Ken Annakin / Andrew Marton / Bernhard Wicki /
Gerd Oswold.
Standout Performances: Impossible to select an actor so Jean
Borgoin & Walter Wottitz for the cinematography
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 71 – AIRPLANE! (1980)
You either get the humour of this movie or you don’t.
Written and released as a parody of all those 1970’s disaster movies which
often involved planes and / or airports, it tells the story of washed up
fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hayes) and his attempts to win back air
stewardess ex-girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hegarty) by overcoming his fear of
flying and boarding her plane. In this case the plot is somewhat irrelevant as
the main reason for making this movie was to showcase the jokes. Every scene
contains one liners, visual gags, cartoon style situations. Watching it once is
absolutely pointless, definitely worth getting the DVD
because you will miss stuff left, right and centre. In the middle of most of
this merriment is Dr Barry Rumack (Leslie Nielsen), in the role that really
re-launched his career, who gets to deliver most of the movies best lines. It’s
a riot.
Facts: Nominated For A Golden Globe, filming was completed
in only 34 days.
Director: Jim Abrahams
Standout Performance: Leslie Nielsen
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 70 – ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
If my favourite director Sergio Leone hadn’t gone and died
in 1989 I’d say to him “Look Sergio me old son, I know you love making slow,
intense, atmospheric movies, but why did Once Upon A Time In America have to be
269mins?” And therein lies the reason this film is not a lot further up the list.
An epic tale of the life stories of a group of boys from their humble
beginnings in New York ’s
Jewish Ghetto in the 1920’s, right through to the conclusion at the tail end of
the 1960’s. Main characters are David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De
Niro) and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz (James Woods) who changes his
name during the course of the movie for reasons that are well explained. It’s a
movie that searches deep into the characters with nothing left undiscovered. If
it was any other director that made this baring Spielberg or Ford Coppola I’d
probably describe as their ‘masterpiece’ but the fact that Leone made two
better films that this confirms how highly I rate him as a film maker.
Fact: Massive flop at the Box Office taking only $5m after
having a budget of over $30m. Who would have wanted to sit in an 80’s cinema
for four and a half hours?
Director: Sergio Leone, the master.
Standout Performance: Robert De Niro, with a mention to Amy
Ryder (Peggy).
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 69 – THE WICKER MAN
(1973)
British horror movies from this era are always worth a
viewing despite the criminally low budgets many filmmakers of the time had to
work with. This is the best of them, with classic ingredients including
religion, strange locals, busty women and of course Christopher Lee. Lee stars
as Laird Summerisle, community leader of the Hebridean Island
Fact: They used a body double for Britt Eklands naked dance
scenes.
Director: Robin Hardy
Standout Performance: Edward Woodward.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 68 – SE7EN (1995)
This is the first appearance in my top 100 for two fine
actors, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. In this tense thriller, Detective William
Sommerset (Freeman) and Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) find themselves
hunting a serial killer whose Modus Operandi bases his killing on the seven
deadly sins from the Bible. Its pretty gory stuff and their investigations lead
them to number one suspect John Doe (Spacey), a real weirdos weirdo, who of
course at one point gives it the failsafe “God told me to do it” excuse. For a
while he leads them a merry dance but the film climaxes in a fine and somewhat
unexpected way. Having three massive stars obviously helped the film to be a
success commercially but the only Oscar nomination came for the film editor,
which was surprising given the quality of the main performances.
Fact: Official soundtrack bizarrely includes ‘Love Plus One’
by Haircut 100
Director: David Fincher
Standout Performance: Kevin Spacey
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 67 – TRAINSPOTTING (1996)
Channel 4 put up the money to finance the making of this
movie version of the Irving Welsh novel of the same name and they must be
pleased they did. It was a massive hit with audiences both in the UK and the US and provided
star Ewan McGregor (Mark ‘Rent Boy’ Renton )
with his international breakthrough. It tells the story of a group of heroin
addicts and their struggles for survival in 1980’s Edinburgh . Again, it doesn’t sound too
attractive a watch and indeed one scene in a particularly dirty toilet could
turn a person’s stomach. However, it was so brilliantly written, directed and
acted along with a cracking soundtrack that captured the musical flavour of the
mid 1990’s it’s pretty much unmissable. As well as the scenes that capture the
depths to which people with addictions can sink to, there is also some great
humour. It’s worth watching alone for the glorious performance of Robert Carlyle,
as ‘Francis “Franco” Begbie’ who for want of a better phrase, is an absolute
nutjob.
Fact: Before release in the United States , the first 20 mins
were re-edited with alternative dialogue so Americans could understand it.
Director: Danny Boyle
Standout: Robert Carlyle by a whisker from Ewan McGregor.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 66 – STAND BY ME (1986)
This one is the classic American ‘coming of age’ movie.
Based on Stephen King’s short story ‘The Body’ it tells the tale of four
friends and their trip to find the body of a missing boy from their hometown
over the Labor Day weekend in 1959. It is narrated from the point of view of
one of the boys Gordie Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss as an adult / Wil Wheaton as
the 12 year old) and deals with the problems faced by the boys due to their
differing backgrounds and family lives. Also staring the sadly departed River
Phoenix (can’t believe its 18 years since he died), Corey Feldman and Keifer
Sutherland as the sinister town hard man ‘Ace’ Merrill, it’s a really well made
and thoroughly enjoyable movie.
Fact: In 2010, Brownsville , Oregon
Director: Rob Reiner
Standout
Performance: River Phoenix
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 65 – THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
Twenty years before Sir Alec Guinness introduced himself to
a whole new audience of cinema goers as Obi-Won Kenobi in Star Wars (more of that later), he rightly won an Oscar for the
performance of a lifetime in this, yet another classic from director David
Lean. Guinness’s portrayal of Colonel Nicholson the POW leader whose men were
charged building the bridge from the movies title was nothing short of awe
inspiring. I’ve watched this again for the first time in ages since compiling
the list and to be honest it should be higher up. In short, captured Allied
troops from Singapore
are in Burma
being used as slave labour to build a bridge for their Japanese captors. Col
Nicholson thinks this is good as it gives focus to the men and will prove the
British soldier is the worlds best, even using British engineering know how to
move the bridge to a more suitable spot. Meanwhile, as Nicholson drives his men
on to finish the bridge on schedule, an Allied plan is hatched to destroy it
and the first train over which will be carrying Japanese dignitaries. I won’t
spoil the ending for anyone that wants to watch it for the first time, but you
won’t be disappointed.
Facts: Winner of 7 Oscars, over 13,000 POW’s died during the
construction of the Burma
railway plus an estimated 100,000 civilians.
Director: David Lean
Standout Performance: Sir Alec Guinness
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 64 – BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
The ultimate ‘teen’ movie from the 1980’s, I was never a fan
of Ferris Buellers Day Off, this
Robert Zemeckis movie spawned two sequels, various video games, an animated
series and even a theme park ride. It has actually aged quite well, and it
certainly thrusted star Michael J.Fox into the limelight. Fox’s character Marty
McFly is transported back thirty years to 1955 in a De Lorean sports car that’s
been turned into a plutonium powered time machine by his friend, scientist Dr
Emmet “Doc” Brown (the marvellously bonkers Christopher Lloyd). Sounds
ridiculous, but it works as whilst back in 1955 McFly has to make sure that his
parents definitely get together to ensure his own existence in the 80’s.
Fortunately, Doc is able to get them back to 1985 where Marty awakes to find
everything has changed for the better. Not usually my kind of film but great
nostalgia for people around my age.
Facts: Michael J.Fox was born in Edmonton ………..the one in Canada . The
film took $383m at the Box Office on a budget of only $19m
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Standout Peformance: Christopher Lloyd
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 63 – ENTER THE DRAGON (1973)
Obviously it’s impossible to prove but you can imagine this
martial arts movie has been seen by more people than any other. It’s not my
favourite genre of film, in fact there’s only one other to come in this list
but this one is certainly the most important. For a start it was the first
martial arts film produced in Hollywood
but is also significant due to the fact it was released only six days after the
premature death of its star and cultural icon Bruce Lee. In this Lee plays an
undercover agent trying to infiltrate the world of international crime lord Han
(Shih Kien) via his annual martial tournament on his exclusive island. The
movie provides an excellent showcase for several different forms of martial
arts and there are good performances from fellow American stars John Saxon
(Roper) and Jim Kelly (Williams). The highlight being the climatic fight scene
between Lee and the claw handed Han.
Fact: The finished film differs from the original screenplay
as Lee re-wrote quite a bit. In nearly 40 years the film has grossed over
$200m.
Director: Robert Clouse
Standout Performance: Bruce Lee
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 62 – CARRY ON CAMPING (1969)
This ‘Carry On’ is the 17th in the series of
films that started in 1958 with ‘Sergeant’ and ran right through to 1978 with
the frankly dreadful ‘Emmanuelle’. In between the franchise produced some of
the most popular and well loved British films ever made. Basically cinematic
versions of the saucy postcard, they are quintessentially English and although
some may say dated, are still as popular as ever. I don’t know if this is the
best (I’m sure everyone has their own), but it’s my favourite so I’ve included
it amongst this very worthy company. This one follows the trials and
tribulations of Sid (Sid James) and Bernie (Bernard Bresslaw) as they attempt
to get their rather staid girlfriends away on a camping holiday to hopefully
rid them of their ‘inhibitions’. Chuck in a coach load of schoolgirls
(including the then 32 year old Barbara Windsor) with teachers Dr Soper
(Kenneth Williams) & Miss Haggerd (Hattie Jaques), plus various other
characters including the incredibly miserly camp site owner Mr Fiddler (the
brilliant Peter Butterworth) and much merriment ensues. A real classic.
Fact: 1992 saw the release of ‘Carry On Columbus’ but to be
fair its time had gone.
Director: Gerald Thomas
Standout Performance: Mr Fiddler’s hens. It didn’t take much
to put them off their laying.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 61 – THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
I have to start by saying that this is a brilliant movie and is fully
deserving of being higher up anyone’s list of greats. It’s a brilliant story,
well written, superbly acted and directed, especially the imperious Morgan
Freeman (has he ever been bad in anything at all?) and was fully deserving of
the seven Oscar nominations it received at the time. However, on a personal note,
I just didn’t enjoy this as much as possibly nearly everyone else on the planet
did and for no real obvious reason. In this, Andy (Tim Robbins) is a banker who
is sent to prison on a false murder charge. He gets to know a life-term
prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman).As the film progresses Andy is shown as a
calm and collected character, so Red comes to admire this in him despite
originally thinking he was unfit for prison life. The movie builds impact as it
mainly avoids the usual prison scenes of violence, riots etc to show its story
of friendship, honour and survival. Fact: In March 2011 listeners to Radio 1 & Radio 1Xtra voted this the Best Movie Of All Time
Director: Frank Darabont
Standout Performance: Morgan Freeman
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 60 – HENRY V (1989)
At the time of writing, screenwriter, director and star of
this movie Kenneth Branagh has just been knighted in the Queens
birthday honours list, and may I say that it’s richly deserved. Branagh is
British theatrical royalty, very worthy to inherit the mantle left by the likes
of Sir Laurence Olivier. It speaks volumes for his talent that the work on this
movie (the best Shakespeare adaptation) I’ve mentioned above was all done at
the tender age of just 28. Having been forced to study Shakespeare at school, I
stumbled across this a few years back but was immediately drawn in to the story
through the quality of the acting (lots of use of familiar British actors) the
direction and the drama created. You’d
like to think that if Shakespeare himself could have seen what Branagh has done
with his original story he’d have been well pleased. And to top it all, we give
the French a good pasting as well.
Facts: Sir Kenneth Branagh is the only person to be
nominated for an Oscar in five different catagories. Amazingly, there’s only
one Oscar for this movie though to Phyllis Dalton for her Costume Design.
Director: Sir Kenneth Branagh
Standout Performance: Sir Kenneth Branagh (shock)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 59 – THE EXORCIST (1973)
I can remember watching The
Exorcist at Barnet Odeon. It was a midnight
showing on a Saturday. Some of us went down there after the Stag & Hounds
had shut. It’s most definitely the best way to see this, in an old fashioned
picture house after having had a few sherberts, although still great at home
with the curtains pulled and the lights out. William Peter Blatty adopted his
own novel to the screenplay which set new levels of screen terror with its
depiction of a young girl (Linda Blair) who is possessed by an evil spirit.
Jason Miller and Max von Sydow were cast as the priests who risk their sanity
and their lives to administer an exorcism. Ellen Burstyn plays the girls mother,
who can do nothing to help her child as Satan takes her body over. Not many
movies in the intervening years have been as frightening. To add to the
mystery, production of the movie was plagued by troubles.
Fact: The character ‘Burke Dennings’ dies mysteriously in
the film. Actor Jack McGowran who played Dennings died shortly after filming at
the age of 54 from influenza.
Director: William Friedkin
Standout Performance: Linda Blair. Amazing effort for
someone aged only 14 at the time.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 58 – THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)
This is one of those movies that tends to get lumped into
the ‘lets show it at Christmas’ bag along with The Sound Of Music, The
Wizard Of Oz and ITV’s collection of Bond films staring Roger Moore. That
does this classic a disservice in my opinion. In fact, the only bad thing you
can say about this is that the dreadful ‘England Band’ have adopted the theme
tune as their own and now spend international games pissing everyone off by
repeating it over and over. The title is a dead give away as this star studded
adventure is based on the story true of a group of Allied POW’s and their
attempts both successful and not so successful to escape from a supposedly
inescapable Nazi prison camp. There can be few images in cinema history more
iconic than the effortlessly cool Steve McQueen astride his motorbike. Also
staring Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson,
David McCallum, James Coburn and Gordon Jackson there were certainly no lack of
talent involved or indeed machismo.
Facts: The
films Chicken Run, Reservoir Dogs, The Parent Trap, Top
Secret, and Charlie's Angels all contained references or homages to
the movie. In a ‘made for TV’ fictional sequel Donald Pleasance switched sides
and played an SS Officer.
Director: John
Sturges
Standout
Performance: Everyone was brilliant to be fair, but love the Donald Pleasance
portrayal of Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe, "The Forger”, who was
slowly going blind.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 57 – APOCALYPSE NOW
(1979)
Produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this movie
took so long to make and get released it was nicknamed in filmatic circles as
‘Apocalypse Never’. But as we know, good things come to those wait and this is
certainly a good thing. In fact, Coppola approached the making of Apocalypse
Now as if it he was on a mission.Set in Vietnam but shot in the Philippines , it
follows a war weary Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) on a secret mission to find
and execute the renegade Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who it is thought has
gone insane. His journey is fraught with danger and shows the action on an epic
scale. Lots of it has entered cinema history such as the use of Wagners music
playing over the strike of helicopter gunships on a Vietnamese village and the fearlessness
of the surfing Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who speaks the line
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Funnily enough, for someone
who thinks that some films are too long I would recommend watching the Redux
release which contains about 50mins that were cut from the original movie.
Facts: Winner of 2 Oscars. In 2009, the London Film Critics' Circle voted Apocalypse Now the
best movie of the last 30 years.
Director: Francis
Ford Coppola
Standout
Performance: Marlon Brando, quality craziness.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 56 – BULLITT (1968)
I wonder what Robert Vaughn (Chalmers) would have said if
you’d have told him that 42 years after starring in the movie that perhaps
epitomised “60’s cool” more than any other, he be starring in ‘Coronation
Street’? Anyway, Bullitt is a perfect star vehicle for Steve McQueen,
who stars as the determined and slightly maverick detective determined to track
down the killers of the star witness in an important trial. This movie of
course includes arguably the finest car chase in cinematic history (worth watching
it for alone), and was beautifully directed by Peter Yates using a variety of San Francisco locations.
Jacqueline Bisset (Cathy) and Robert Duvall (taxi driver Weissberg) appear in
early roles although this really is all about McQueen. It’s a real ‘mans’ film
so probably not one to watch with the missus to be fair.
Facts: Won one Oscar for Editing. During the car chase the
cars actually reached speeds of over 110mph on normal San Franciscan streets.
Director: Peter Yates
Standout Peformance: Steve McQueen, ice cool.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 55 – LIFE OF BRIAN
(1979)
“He’s not The Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy” is just one
of the many overly repeated quotes that have gone into popular culture from
this Monty Python classic. The movie tells us the story of Brian Cohen (Graham
Chapman) a Jewish boy born on the same day as Jesus, only a few doors down the
same street, who as he grows older gets mistaken for the new Saviour. Chapman,
along with all the other Python regulars (Michael Palin, John Cleese, Eric
Idle, Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam) play a multitude of characters between
them, all which adds to the general zaniness of the story. Eventually, Brian is
captured by the occupying Romans and put to death. Even that has hilarious connotations
as the movie plays out with a very famous song sung by Eric Idle. It’s more
than likely that this comedic masterpiece but highly controversial film
wouldn’t have got made if it wasn’t for ex-Beatle and all round great bloke
George Harrison who invested £3m of his own money in the production.
Facts: This movie was banned in Norway . And they say the Europeans
don’t have a sense of humour. It was filmed in Tunisia , using the set from Franco
Zeffirelli’s ‘Jesus Of Nazareth’.
Director: Terry Jones
Standout Performances: Has to be shared amongst all the
Python regulars.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 54 – UNFORGIVEN (1992)
Anything that’s both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood
is going to be worth a watch and this is certainly no different. In fact it’s
probably no exaggeration to call this one of the greatest Westerns ever made. At
the time of release Eastwood was quoted as saying "The movie summarised
everything I feel about the Western genre." Eastwood stars as a retired,
once-ruthless killer-turned-gentle-widower now farmer. To help support his two
motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission, to find the men
who attacked and disfigured a prostitute. Joined by his former partner Ned
Logan (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky young cowboy The Schofield Kid (Jaimz
Woolvett), he takes on a corrupt sheriff (the marvellous Gene Hackman) in a
showdown that makes you feel the full impact of violence and its effect on the
human condition. Eastwood also earns big ticks for dedicating the movie to Sergio
Leone and Don Siegel and finding a role for Richard Harris. Unforgiven
is arguably Eastwood's crowning glory as a director.
Facts: Winner of 4 Oscars, Eastwood first conceived the idea
in 1976 but wanted to wait until he was old enough to play the main character
himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Standout Performance: Clint Eastwood. Full house.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 53 – MAD MAX 2 (1981)
In a way, this follow up to the first Mad Max movie is like
a post modern western. There’s been some kind of world apocalypse, most likely
a nuclear war and in this now lawless society ex Policeman Max (Mel Gibson)
leads a nomadic existence moving around basically trying to stay alive, whilst
garnering enough gasoline to keep his knackered looking V8 interceptor on the
road. He’s the ultimate loner (we’ve seen his wife and baby killed by crazy
bikers in the first film) and has only his dog for company. When he finds a
civilised community pumping oil in their highly fortified refinery surrounded
by the outlaws that control the wilderness, he rescues a member who had tried
to make a break for it and had been badly injured in the process, only wanting
gasoline in exchange. When he is then attacked and rescued by the excellent
Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) he joins their escape plans ultimately ending up
back as he started. Its nothing too heavy but good entertainment nevertheless
and certainly better than Mad Max 3:
Thunderdome which whilst watchable was rather silly.
Fact: Soundtrack composed by Brian May, fortunately some
Australian and not the curly haired bloke from Queen.
Director: George Miller
Standout Performance: Mel Gibson
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 52 – BLUE VELVET (1986)
It has dawned on me that I don’t think I’ve watched this
movie for about ten years, the only David Lynch in my top 100, but it’s
certainly left an impression. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rosselini,
Dennis Hopper & Laura Dern, it’s set in the US small town environment of Lumberton . Kyle
MacLachlan is clean cut Jeffrey Beaumont, who whilst returning home to visit his
hospitalised father, makes the shocking discovery of a severed human ear in the
car park. After reporting his discovery to a local police detective, he decides
to pursue his own line of enquiry, helped by the detective's daughter, Sandy (Laura
Dern). This takes him on a voyage of discovery that reveals to him the reality
of Lumberton 's
seedy and sinister counter culture and brings him into contact with a
collection of weirdos, which obviously has a deep effect on him. This includes
star turn, drug dealer Frank (Dennis Hopper).
Fact: Only nominated for one Oscar but Rolling Stone
magazine voted it the Best Movie Of The 1980’s.
Director: David Lynch
Standout Performance: Dennis Hopper.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 51 – THE CONVERSATION (1974)
Here’s yet another movie in the list starring the brilliant
Gene Hackman. In this psychological thriller he plays Harry Caul, an absolutely
obsessive surveillance expert who really does let his work effect his life. For
example, his apartment is almost threadbare, is triple locked, alarmed and he
only uses public phones through fear of being tapped himself. Along with other
freelance operators his takes on the task of monitoring couple Mark (Fred
Forrest) & Ann (Cindy Williams) but during their conversations they admit
to the fear of being murdered. Caul tries to act as professionally as possible
but cannot help getting dragged into the mystery and refuses to hand over the
tapes to the aide (Harrison Ford) of the man who commissioned the surveillance
(Robert Duvall). As in all the best thrillers, there is a cracking twist and we
are left to witness Cauls reaction to the final situation he finds himself in.
Facts: Nominated for three Oscars. It is thought that the 1998
Hackman movie ‘Enemy Of The State’ is a continuation from this.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Standout Performance: Gene Hackman.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 50 – THE PRODUCERS (1968)
This movie gave us the directorial debut of Mel Brooks and remains
his best film (not that there’s much wrong with his other efforts) In this
classic comedy, con man theatre producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) teams up
with auditor Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) in a scheme to sell a 25,000% investment
in a new broadway musical which is to be so bad that it immediately flops
whilst they abscond with the money. Drawing on Brookes near obsession with the
Nazis, the production is called ‘Springtime For Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf
& Eva At The Berchtesgaden’, their interpretation of what would have
happened if Goebbels had worked with Busby Berkeley. Of course, instead of
being the disaster they envisaged the musical becomes a massive hit meaning the
investors they’ve attempted to con are now expecting increased payouts. Panic
sets in, and the old phrase ‘when you’re in a hole, stop digging’ most
certainly applies and they get themselves deeper and deeper into trouble. An
original comedy that now shows what you could get away with in pre PC 1960s
cinema ie contains homophobic and sexist jokes, it remains an essential watch.
Facts: Winner of One Oscar. Poor performance at the UK Box
Office meant the film was never released in Germany which is a real shame.
Director: Mel Brooks
Standout Performance: Impossible to split Zero Mostel &
Gene Wilder.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 49 – STAR WARS (1977)
So this is the first (now fourth) in the franchise that
currently sits as the third most successful at the box office of all time
behind Harry Potter and James Bond. I’d hazard a guess that if you chucked in
merchandising and ‘off shoots’ it would easily be top of the tree. Its also the
movie out of the whole list of 100 that I was least looking forward to writing
about as its probably been reviewed, analysed and debated more than any other
in history meaning there is absolutely nothing new I could add or say that
would make someone who has never seen it to watch it or someone who has seen it
a 1000 times watch it again. It’s the classic battle between good and evil,
contains fast action, top quality special effects for its time and Carrie
Fisher. I also wonder if I’m the only bloke of my age that has never seen this
movie at the cinema?
Fact: George Lucas has made a f**king fortune from this.
Director: George Lucas
Standout Performance: Mark Hamill
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 48 – FARGO
A bit like the mess the heroes from ‘The Producers’ found
themselves in, failing car salesman Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy) ends up
in well over his head in this Coen brothers thriller. After arranging for Carl
Showalter (Steve Buscemi) to kidnap his wife to force her rich parents to pay a
ransom, things go badly wrong when Showalters frankly psychotic partner Gaear
Grimswud (Peter Stormare) kills a traffic cop during a routine stop. Lundegard
had tried to abort the plan before it happened because his bottle had gone and
he soon finds himself sinking into despair as the kidnap plot lurches from one
disaster to another, usually involving Grimswud committing another murder.
Local police call in Marge Gundersund (the brilliant Oscar winner Frances
McDormand) a heavily, and I mean heavily pregnant Police Chief to lead the
investigation during which we are introduced to some bizarre characters, the
plot cleverly interveaving with Gundersunds personal life. Although the Coen
brothers movies are not always the most successful commercially, they’ve
probably been the most interesting US film makers around for the last
20 years or so.
Facts: Winner of two Oscars. The film claims to be based on
true life events, but it’s actually a combination of bits taken from different
cases.
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Standout Performance: Frances McDormand, a deserved Oscar.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 47 – BUTCH CASSIDY AND
THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
Like me, this movie arrived in 1969 but unlike me it still
looks as good today as it did then. It’s never lost its popularity as a star-driven
Western that mucks about with the genre's normal plot lines and conventions and
comes up with something that’s both entertaining and has a touch of ‘Vietnam ’
paranoia. Paul Newman plays the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy who is eternally
optimistic and sees himself as a bit of a visionary, dreaming of banks all over
the world that can be robbed. Robert Redford plays his more down to earth
partner, the sharp-shooting Sundance Kid. The film, written by William Goldman and
directed by George Roy Hill (who also
did The Sting), basically begins as a story about robbing trains
but soon becomes a chase as a relentless posse, who always seem to be just far
enough behind, like a remote authority but still manage to force Butch and
Sundance into the hills and, finally, to Bolivia. Despite a couple of silly
scenes eg a scene involving bicycle tricks, there is the iconic tune "Raindrops
Keep Falling on My Head", the film maintains the audiences interest, and
the chemistry between Redford and Newman is fantastic.
Facts: Winner of four Oscars. Jack Lemmon turned down the
role of ‘Sundance’
Director: George Roy Hill
Standout Performance: Paul Newman
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 46 – THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980)
This is a strangely prophetic movie, given what has happened in
Facts: Top man George Harrison saved this film from being desimated by ITV by buying back the rights and giving it a cinema release. Paul Barber (Denzil from Only Fools & Horses) has a minor part.
Director: John McKenzie
Standout Performance: Bob Hoskins
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 45 – DR STRANGLOVE or HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING
It is testament to the genius that was Peter Sellars that Colombia Studios who made this movie refused to finance it unless Sellars played four different roles. In the end, due to a sprained ankle (a story for another day) he played only three parts in this, comfortably the best black comedy in cinematic history. The ultimate satire of the nuclear age, Dr. Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity. It all starts when General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," starts an individual war against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the
Fact: Nominated for four Oscars. The release was delayed from November 1963 due to the assassination of President Kennedy.
Director:
Standout Performance: Peter Sellars
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 44 – UP (2009)
I don’t usually make any effort whatsoever to watch these animated films. In fact the only reason I’ve seen this is that when I bought a Blu Ray player it was one of the six free discs that came with it (some of the other five are appalling, ‘Bruno’
Fact: Winner Of two Oscars. It’s the third highest grossing Pixar movie of all time.
Directors: Pete Docter & Bob Petersen
Standout Performance: As with all these films, it’s hard to look beyond the team of animators.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 43 – SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
Recently there has been quite a bit of debate as to whether or not John Travolta is a bit ‘light on his feet.’ Well he certainly was in the other sense of the word in this his breakthrough movie, although he had already had a top ten hit single in the US a couple of years before. Travolta stars as Tony Manero in this must-see movie for a whole generation of adolescents. The movie was quite controversial for the strong language and clumsily realistic sex scenes which moved teenage cinema onwards into a new era. One major effect of the movie was to revive, if not completely save the career of the Bee Gees taking them onto previously unreached heights, thanks to the legendary soundtrack which now embodies the disco age. But Saturday Night Fever was always much more than a movie about what happened inside a
Fact: Nominated for one Oscar, took $282m at the Box Office from a budget of only $2.5m
Director: John Badham
Standout Performance: John Travolta
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 42 – ALIEN (1979)
In a way, director Ridley Scott made this Sci-Fi classic like one of those ‘Abbott & Costello’ style haunted house comedy / kids movies, only a version set in space. Working together with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, he produced a genuinely original movie that despite the passing of the years and many, many inferior rip offs, remains amazingly fresh even if you’ve seen it a hundred times. Scott is known to be obsessive with attention to detail and that ensures that the setting is thoroughly convincing, while the Gothic-style set design and the eerily unsettling music produced make the audience feel uncomfortable from the outset. Funnily enough, nothing much to speak of happens for the first half an hour or so, but that I reckon adds to the film's success. Because it is gripping, it makes the audience look nervously around every corner for so long that by the time the Alien claims its first victim, you actually feel a sense of relief, making it all the more effective. Obviously, Sigourney Weaver takes centre stage, but rest of the cast is excellent. Given it was made in 1979, the special effects still look good. Being a Box Office smash has of course, led to several sequels which have ranged from very good to slightly ridiculous.
Facts: Winner of 1 Oscar, the design of the ‘chestburster’ was inspired by Francis Bacons painting “Three Studies for Figures at the base of a Crucifixion”. (That’s possible the most ‘high brow’ fact I’ve ever written)
Director: Ridley Scott
Standout Performance: Sigourney Weaver.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 41 – SCARFACE (1983)
“Say hello to my little friend,” is one of the quality one-liners from this classic ‘rise and fall’ movie which has probably dated as much as any other from around this era, not that that takes anything away from what is a fine production. There’s certainly plenty of bloodshed gratuitous drug use if you’re into that kind of thing. Director Brian De Palma approached the movie as an update of the classic 1932 crime drama and it certainly sparked controversy over the aforementioned violence upon release. Scarface is a real car crash of a movie, giving the first appearance in my list for Al Pacino who is quite brilliant, although at times a little incomprehensible, as the poorly educated Cuban refugee who rises to the top of Miami's drug fuelled underworld, only to fall dramatically into the deadly trap of addiction and almost inevitable assassination. It was written for the big screen by Oliver Stone who went on to make good movies of his own and runs for nearly three hours. It includes early roles for Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio both of whom are excellent.
Fact: This was the first movie to break the 200 barrier for uses of the word ‘f**k’
Director: Brian De Palma
Standout Performance: Al Pacino, over the top but great.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 40 – THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
It’s only since I began collating this list that its dawned on me how brilliant Gene Hackman is and how many cracking movies he’s been involved with. The French Connection is a trailblazer of a crime thriller. It’s gritty, its an authentic, believable story about a couple of
Fact: Winner Of five Oscars. Director William Friedkin originally opposed giving the lead role to Hackman.
Director: William Friedkin
Standout Performance: Gene Hackman
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 39 – HEAT (1995)
Writer / director Michael Mann displayed all of the skills
he’d learnt making 80’s TV drama ‘Miami Vice’ in this intelligent thriller
which is the first onscreen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The
two great’s only scene together is brief, but it's the riveting highpoint of
this classic ‘cops and robbers’ scenario. De Niro plays a master thief
along with partners,Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore, whose latest crime draws the
attention of Pacino, a long in the tooth Los
Angeles detective. As the movie progresses it becomes
apparent that although on separate side of the law cop and criminal lead
similar lives. Both are devoted to obsession with their work and both have
disastrous personal lives. Pacino's wife
(Diane Venora) cheats on him out of boredom; De Niro leads a lonely life
with no close relationships; and Kilmer's wife (Ashley Judd) has accepted her
husband will never go ‘straight’. These are men that will do whatever they can to
bring the other down. Mann's fantastic screenplay explores these characters and
their lives with incredible insight, and the tension mounts with some brilliant
action sequences, especially the siege
that turns downtown Los Angeles into a war zone. At just shy of three hours, Heat qualifies as an epic,
and it certain to leaves the audience wanting more, but thats all part of
Mann's skill. To sum up, Heat is a great movie that makes a wonderful
showcase for the talents of De Niro and Pacino.
Fact: Since the movie was released there have been ‘copycat’
robberies in Denmark ,
Norway ,
South Africa
and Colombia
that have been attributed to this.
Director: Michael Mann
Standout Performance: Al Pacino, by the narrowest of
margins.
I have to confess to a bit of a cheat here. With a running time of only 30 minutes you can’t really class this Laurel & Hardy classic as a movie, but I’m using the excuse that in 1932 people had no choice other than going to the cinema if they wanted to watch it. Having said that, it did win that years Oscar for Best Short Film. The plot is simple beyond belief. Our heroes are employed as delivery drivers and they have to get a piano to a house that’s at the top of a large flight of steps. Of course, this proves more than difficult, in fact the writers manage to come up with several ways of getting the piano to slide back down the steps, usually with Hardy either hanging on to it or trapped underneath. Once they finally get the thing into the house, unsurprisingly they manage to wreck the place. Personally, I believe Laurel & Hardy are the greatest comedy act of all time. You have to bear in mind that this film was made 80 years ago and was so far ahead of its time it’s untrue, and the fact that there’s still so much love for their work around the globe would deem my opinion to be correct.
Facts: Winner of one Oscar. The steps used in the movie still exist and are in the
Director: James Parrott
Standout Performances: Laurel & Hardy, simply the greatest.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest Movies No 37 – THE DEPARTED (2006)
Director Martin Scorsese made a welcomed return to form with
The Departed, which was hailed by many as his best film since Casino.
The Departed is technically a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong
thriller Infernal Affairs, meaning it was subject of intense scrutiny by
critics. Fortunately, it more than stands up to it. But then it doesn’t matter where you sit as a
Scorsese fan, its hard to deny that The Departed is a signature work
from a fine director. It’s a real impact movie with breathtaking twists, turns,
and violent surprises. It's a fast moving ‘cat-and-mouse’ game, but unusually
the cat and mouse are both moles. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is an ambitious
cop, planted in the Boston
police force by underworld boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Billy Costigan
(Leonardo DiCaprio) is a fiery police cadet who's been set up and then planted
into Costigan's organisation as a seemingly trustworthy footsoldier. As the
plot unfolds Costigan and Sullivan conduct a volatile search for each other
while both trying to pull psychiatrist (Vera Farmiga) who’s been assigned to both
their cases. This kind of silly coincidence might ruin a lesser movie, but The
Departed is that exciting that you don’t notice the minor holes in the
plot. Jack Nicholson is a great watch plus there are memorable supporting roles
for Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg. There’s also clever use of the mobile
phone, so much so that the plot couldn't exist without them. There’s an
excellent and varied soundtrack to this, which at the time was Scorcese’s
biggest grossing movie.
Facts: Winner of four Oscars. Took $289m at the Box Office.
Director: Martin Scorcese
Standout Performance: Jack Nicholson, after much
consideration.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 36 – THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
(2009)
This movie is probably most famous for the fact that original
star Heath Ledger unfortunately died whilst it was in production, causing a
major re-write and significant change to the story. Originally, I only watched
this because there was literally nothing else on TV. Whilst director Terry
Gilliam’s movies are generally visually amazing they are somewhat strange to
say the least and quite difficult to follow. I’m well pleased I did watch it
though because I thought the story, acting, effects and general presentation
were excellent. To be honest the plot can be pretty confusing especially the
opening twenty five minutes or so, but it was a clever idea after Heath Ledgers
passing to employ three famous actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law & Colin
Farrell) as a kind of physical representation of the character Tony. Briefly,
Dr Panassus, excellently played by Christopher Plummer and his daughter (Lily
Cole), have a travelling circus included in which is an attraction that can
transport people into their own imaginations. There is also a sub plot
involving the relationship(s) between his daughter, Tony and one of the circus
performers Anton (Andrew Garfield). Overall, it’s definitely worth a watch if
you can get through the first half an hour or so.
Fact: Winner of two Oscars. One of the scenes was filmed in
the Homebase store in New Southgate.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Standout Performance: Christopher Plummer
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 35 – JAWS (1975)
This smash hit horror / thriller probably has the most
famous tag tune in cinema history, written of course by the brilliant composer
John Williams. It really helps to build up the tension leading to the
appearances of the infamous killer shark in this early Spielberg blockbuster.
The shark of course is terrorising New England
beach resort Amity
Island
Facts: Winner of three Oscars. Took over $470m at the Box
Office from a $9m budget.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Standout Performance: Close, but will go for Roy Scheider.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 34 – THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
This cracker was based on Thomas Harris's novel, and
Director Jonathan Demme's adaptation of Silence of the Lambs really only
contains a couple of genuinely shocking moments. The thing is that the rest of
the film forces the audience to join in with the psychological descent into
hell, tempered by an unlikely relationship between a monster and a haunted
young woman. In probably his most famous role, Anthony Hopkins is quite
brilliant as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter, living in a
cave like cell in a subterranean prison for the criminally insane. At the
behest of the FBI, rookie Agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) approaches
Lecter, looking for his help and advice into discovering the identity and
explaining the methods of a serial killer nicknamed Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).
In a weird exchange of information, Lecter demands the right to probe Agent
Starling's most painful memories, which helps to create a bizarre but
believable intimacy that eventually frees them both of them but under
completely different but equally horrific circumstances. The movie was a
massive success both sides of the Atlantic ,
taking approx $300m at the Box Office.
Facts: Winner of five Oscars, including Best Actor for
Anthony Hopkins despite him only spending approx 16 minutes on screen. Country
singer Chris Isaak had a minor role as a SWAT Team Commander.
Director: Jonathan Demme
Standout Performance: Jodie Foster, a well deserved Oscar.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 33 – KILL BILL VOLUME 1
(2003)
It seems a bit strange having to write about part one of
this movie after having done part two (number 76 in my list). Obviously, the
movie is made in exactly the same style, as was pointed out before Quentin
Tarantino wanted this work released as one very long saga. The main reason for
me that this ranks so highly above the other part is the fight scene with the
‘Crazy 88’,the private army of O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), which has to be one of
the most spectacular and at the same time hilarious in all cinema history. The
Bride (Uma Thurman) really is someone that you would not want to get on the
wrong side of, which is never better illustrated than by the way she sorts out
pervy hospital porter Buck (Michael Bowen) for whom headache tablets are just
not going to do the job. Quite brilliant, but at the same time very cartoonish
in its execution it certainly warms the audience up for part two.
Fact: Those laugh-a-minute Norwegians were at it again,
releasing a parody in 2007 called “Kill Buljo”.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Standout Performance: Uma Thurman
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 32 – GOODFELLAS (1990)
Some people might be more than a little surprised that this
movie isn’t higher up in my list but there is a decent reason for this. I
really don’t like the ending, in fact I’m really disappointed by the last
twenty five minutes or so. It’s a crying shame to be fair because the previous
two hours are nothing short of a masterpiece. Ray Liotta plays the main
character Henry Hill whose rise and fall is documented. He can never be a true
Mafiosi as he is half Italian half Irish but we see him make his way through
the ranks alongside Jimmy Conway (the typically excellent Robert De Niro) and the complete mentalist Tommy DeVito
(played in his usual style by Joe Pesci) . Of course, as is the way with these
stories, they don’t realise when they are well off and things start to go
horribly wrong. Tommy bumps off a ‘made man’ and is subsequently disposed of,
and despite old school Mafia boss Paul Ceciro (Paul Sorvino) warnings Hill becomes
involved in the potentially lucrative but highly dangerous world of drug
dealing and of course becomes addictive. All the time he is supported by wife
Karen (Lorraine Bacco) who puts in a sterling performance. The film is based on
the 1986 non fiction work ‘Wiseguy’
Facts: Winner of one Oscar. The real Henry Hill
trousered a $480,000 pay day for letting
his story be used in this production.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Standout Performance: Ray Liotta, having his ‘Bobby Stokes’
moment.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 31 – SOME LIKE IT HOT
(1959)
I don’t suppose any movie could ever be 100% perfect, but
this Billy Wilder classic must have seemed pretty close to that on its release
all those years ago. Set in Chicago ,
during the period of Prohibition, two womanising musicians Joe and Jerry (Tony
Curtis and Jack Lemmon) accidentally witness the St Valentine's Day Massacre.
In order to escape certain death at the hands of underworld boss Spats Colombo
(George Raft), the boys, in drag of course, join an all female band heading for
Florida .
Despite looking to all intense and purposes like Hinge & Brackett they
compete for the attention of the bands lead singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn
Monroe), an often let down songbird who sings sadly "I'm Through with
Love" but remains vulnerable and possibly available to yet another
unreliable saxophone player. The script by director Billy Wilder and I.A.L.
Diamond is beautifully delivered and everything in the production works like clockwork.
The bulk of the comedy is handled by and at the expense of Lemmon and the
fantastic Joe E. Brown, who plays the retiree that falls hook, line &
sinker for Jerry's feminine charms. Some Like It Hot is such a
delightful and bubbly movie, it's hard to believe the shooting of the film was
beset with problems, caused mainly by an unhappy Monroe on her worst diva type behaviour. The
overall result, however, is outstanding.
Facts: Winner of one Oscar. In 2002 Tony Curtis starred in a
stage version of the film, this time playing the character originally played by
Joe E. Brown.
Director: Billy Wilder
Standout Performance(s): Can’t separate Tony Curtis &
Jack Lemmon.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 30 – RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
Quentin Tarantino was pretty
much an unknown in 1992, when he got to direct this movie on a spartan budget.
He did a superb job, creating a crime film born of alternative cinema, giving
reference to art house movies that Tarantino had clearly loved for years. Despite
that, there’s a brilliant cast, featuring Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel, Tim
Roth, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn and Tarantino himself. There’s a planned
diamond robbery, to be carried out by seven men, but things soon go badly
wrong, and it becomes clear that one of their number is not what they seem. The
performances by Roth, Keitel and Buscemi (as usual) are all excellent, but it’s
Madsen who steals the show as 'Mr.Blonde', a sadistic and unbalanced ex-convict
who has no respect for human life. This eventually culminates in the movies
most memorable scene, the 'ear-cutting' scene, in which Madsen brutally
tortures a police officer, whilst 'Stuck In The Middle With You' by Gerry
Rafferty plays on the radio in the background. Elsewhere, the friendship
between Roth and Keitel is strangely touching. Here Tarantino proves he is not
just a director, but an appreciative observer of the human behavior. The film
was split into different sections, a pointer towards Tarantino's unique
trademark, and is shot in a grim, realistic style, slow in periods but pacy and
inventive at others. It’s fair to say 'Reservoir Dogs' is a revolutionary piece
of cinema which set Tarantino apart. The acting is fantastic, the violence is
stomach churning at times yet the plot is intricate. Its incredible to think
that Tarantino would improve on this within such a short amount of time.
Fact: A ‘Reservoir Dogs’ video game was released in 2006 and
banned in Australia for being too violent.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Standout Performance: Michael Madsen
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 29 – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
So in this the 2nd /
5th movie in the series (and the best), Luke, Leia and Han are
fighting with the rebels in the hope of defeating the Imperial forces. But Luke
gets a call to study under the Jedi Master, Yoda, hoping to become a Jedi
himself. This brings him closer to his and Leia's destiny. It’s pretty much
accepted that The Empire Strikes Back is a better film than Star Wars, although
perhaps without the impact of the former. Technically, it holds up well today
and warrants being included in ‘best ever sequels’ debate. With Empire Strikes
Back we get all the fast moving adventure of Star Wars, but George Lucas also added
to the story with a dark tone that works well alongside the fun on offer, with new
and engaging characters adding positively to this epic tale. Aided by the
famous writer Leigh Brackett (The Long Goodbye, Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep),
Lucas took the ingenious course of giving the bad guys the upper hand, in fact
it could be argued that he was taking a considerable risk with his ending.
Forcing us to wait three years for the final chapter, after setting us up with
a corker of plot twist, Lucas pulled perhaps one of the cheekiest carrot
dangles in cinema history. Despite the dark undertones, Empire is still a fun movie,
with C3PO going into camp overdrive and Han Solo upping his quota of ‘one
liners’. Plus there is Yoda, now sadly reduced to doing ads for mobile phone
networks. The action sequences are marvellous, the battle on the ice planet
Hoth being a fine example and the choreography for Skywalker's fight with Darth
Vader is top draw. Thirty years on, The Empire Strikes Back is still quite an
experience, and I think that will remain for generations to come.
Fact: Winner of one Oscar. After
the success of Star Wars George Lucas financed this one himself, the clever
boy.
Director: Irvin Kershner
Standout Performance: Plumped
for Harrison Ford in this.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 28 – TAXI DRIVER (1976)
If you were being
fairly high brow you would say that Taxi Driver is the definitive
cinematic portrait of loneliness and alienation manifested as violence. As a
partnership, director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader managed to
tap into the same source of psychological inspiration. Scorsese would later
confess, "I just knew I had to make this film". Its release combined
perfectly with America ’s
post-Watergate expression of personal and political mistrust and anxiety. It
shows the talent of Robert De Niro, (magnificent, but still not his best ever performance
in my opinion) as the tortured, ex-Marine cab driver Travis Bickle. He made
movie history with this chilling portrayal as one of the most memorably intense
and vividly realised characters ever committed to film. Bickle is a self-appointed
vigilante who sees his native city as an intolerable cesspit of the lowest form
of humanity. He plays guardian angel for a young prostitute (the brilliant Jodie
Foster), but not without violently devastating consequences. This movie, which
is not for everyone, is sure to horrify some of the audience, but few could
deny the film's lasting power and importance in America ’s cultural history.
Facts: Nominated for 4 Oscars. The 1976 Oscar for Best Actor
went to Peter Finch for ‘Network’ (No, I’ve never heard of it either)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Standout Performance: Robert De Niro, quite magnificent
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 27 – AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
I was fortunate enough to see the star of this movie Kevin
Spacey on stage at The Old Vic theatre a few years back, surrounded by actors
that had in the main been in ‘The Bill’ or had minor parts in ‘Eastenders’. It
was a bit like Lionel Messi signing for Watford . Of course
he is brilliant in
American Beauty, amazingly the first film by
theatre director Sam Mendes. It was written by Alan Ball (the US TV script
writer, not the sadly departed ex Man City manager), and starts off a bit like
a sitcom depicting typical suburban hell, but progresses to show a world of
normal people trying to convince themselves they're not as miserable as they really
are. There’s tragedy, we find out straight away that there’s a fatality on the
way. For a first attempt, Mendes makes great use of the possibilities of
cinema, as it’s always interesting and inventive. He makes an artistic use of “American
beauties”, the variety of red roses that Lester Burnham’s (Spacey) wife Carolyn
(Annette Bening) grows and which he links into his fantasies. Annette Bening is
convincing as always as a successful career woman whose facade is falling apart.
Thora Birch is perfect as her confused daughter Jane, and so is Mena Suvari as
her highly attractive friend. Suvari is highly desirable, but as soon as she opens
her mouth she gets obnoxious, however as you get to really know her character
it turns out she's just another sad kid. It has to be said that Kevin Spacey
fully deserved his Oscar for his portrayal of a man whose life just seems to be
going on around him without any control whatsoever. Spacey’s career is a
catalogue of great work, and I’m sure lots of people will remember him for this
part. He goes through so many different states of mind during the movie, yet he
makes everything seem so natural, the mark of a wonderful actor.
Facts: Winner of five Oscars.
Took $356m at the Box Office on a budget of only $15m
Director: Sam Mendes
Standout Performance: Kevin
Spacey
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 26 – LEON
Léon (Jean Reno) is a deadly assassin and a ruthless killer
for hire. The interesting thing about him is that he looks so damn ordinary. He
lives an ordinary routine life, alone in his New York apartment with only his pot plant
for company. Then completely out of the blue, one day a twelve year-old,
Mathilde (Nathalie Portman) rings his doorbell in desperation and thus becomes a
massive art of his life. Mathilde has only just had a very narrow escape from
being murdered alongside both her parents and her little baby brother by the ruthless,
and completely bent cop Stansfield (Gary Oldman) and his hooky colleagues. Very
reluctantly Léon takes Mathilde under his tutelage, and the two go on the run. What
make this an interesting situation is the maturity shown by Mathilde, almost
two grown up for her appearance. Part of this maturity means that instead of
running away from the horror she has witness Mathilde wants revenge, and as she
soon finds out, Léon is the man who can teach her exactly how to do it. On the
face of it the weird situation of a twelve year old girl’s relationship with a
lonely middle aged man could be construed a bit on the weird side, but part of
the magic of this is that they converse as equals, lots of the time like two
old friends that used to work together and hadn’t met up for years.
Incidentally, since I decided this list, I’ve only seen one film that would make
it in and its Jean Reno’s magnificent ’22 Candles’ or to give it its original
title ‘L’immortale’. Fantastic.
Fact: There’s a Bollywood version of this called ‘Bichhoo’
if anyone’s interested.
Director: Luc Besson
Standout: Nathalie Portman is pretty amazing for someone so
young.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 25 – CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)
Obviously it’s only
my humble opinion but Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is
comfortably the greatest martial arts movie of all time. It’s made up of so
many things. Its an historical epic on a grand scale, it has brilliant special
effects and the most fantastic fight scenes (choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping who
did the same job on The Matrix.) It’s a story involving magic, revenge and
power played out along with star-crossed lovers all thrown in for good measure.
It’s set during the Qing dynasty, basically the late 19th century, and follows
the fortunes of warriors Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle
Yeoh) whose love for one another has lain dormant and undiscussed for too long.
When Li Mu Bai's legendary sword ‘Green Destiny’ is stolen by wilful
aristocrat's daughter Jen (Zhang Ziyi), who has been trained by gangster by Li
Mu Bai's arch-rival Jade Fox, our heroes set upon a quest to gain its return.
Their journey takes us across all China , from the lowest dens of
inequity to sumptuous palaces through to the stark bleakness of the Western
desert. The protaganists chase each other up walls and across roofs and
treetops to incredibly breathtaking effect, all to the background of Tan Dun's
Oscar-winning musical score. Directed by Ang Lee and co-written by longtime
collaborator James Schamus, what really sets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
apart is the quality of the cinematography. That’s probably only ever been
bettered in three movies (all to follow). It really needs to be watched in HD
to be fully appreciated. Magical.
Facts: Winner of four Oscars. Director Ang Lee worked
solidly for eight months without taking anytime off, and consequently came close
to a breakdown.
Director: Ang Lee
Standout Performance: Has to be the amazing Michelle Yeoh,
closely followed by Peter Pau, the man responsible for the cinematography (not
the ex Radio 1 DJ)
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 24 – THE SHINING (1980)
Mmm…based on a Stephen King novel, directed by Stanley
Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, its not surprising that The Shining turned
out to be a bloody good horror movie. Of course, The
Shining is thoroughly watchable right from the beginning through to the finish.
Nicholson steals the show(as usual) as Jack Torrence, the ex-alcoholic,
ex-teacher who is looking for solitude to work on his 'writing project', and
the Overlook Hotel appears to be just what he is looking for as he takes the
position of caretaker during the snowbound winter months. Joining him at the
Overlook are his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his talented son Danny (Danny Lloyd),
whose special ability to 'shine' causes him to fear (as it turns out correctly)
the dark secrets that the hotel hides in its murky past. With The Shining,
director Stanley Kubrick brilliantly created an intellectual horror movie
rather than merely played it as a frightener. His skill in pacing the movie
builds the tension up gradually. There are so many memorable parts (including
the often parodied ‘Here’s Johnny’ knife through the door scene), it makes you
want to return to it time and time again. I’d also have to say that the
‘endgame’ is fantastically played out in the hotel maze and that even in death
Nicholson still looks both frightening and at the same time completely loopy.
Facts: The Kate Bush song ‘Get
Out Of My House’ was inspired by this story, and strangely trousered pop mogul
Simon Cowell worked as a ‘runner’ on this movie.
Director: Stanley
Standout Performance: Jack
Nicholson
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 23 – THE GODFATHER (1972)
Most of us who enjoy cinema would have to acknowledge The
Godfather as a bona fide classic. This particular Francis Ford Coppola film is
one of those rare movies that feels perfectly right from the very beginning
right through to end. In fact you almost feel as if everyone involved had been
born to act in it. It’s based on Mario Puzo's brilliant bestselling novel about
a Mafia dynasty (well worth a read if you get the chance). The movie got to the
bottom of and took and then enhanced the universal themes of the immigrants
experience in developing America ,
the path of hope and wanting the chance to live the American dream for your
family, including the raising of children to carry on the legacy. Another movie
to be made and released in the midst of generational strife during the Vietnam
years, it cleverly struck a chord with a nation fascinated by the metamorphosis
of a conformist son Michael (Al Pacino) into the keeper of his father's criminal
dream. Marlon Brando put his own interpretation against Puzo's own idea of the
character of patriarch Vito Corleone, and the passing of the years has
certainly proven the actor to be correct. The rest of the cast, particularly
James Caan (Sonny), John Cazale (Fredo), and Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen) are
fantastically cast and put in quality performances. Special mention also goes
to Diane Keaton (Kay Adams-Corleone) as the non Italian wife of Michael,
playing out the difficulties her character faced with consumate skill.
Fact: Winner of three Oscars, somehow not including Al
Pacino. Amazingly, Coppola’s first choice to play Vito was Sir Laurence
Olivier.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Standout Performance: In a sea of brilliant individual
performances by some of the finest actors of all time, Al Pacino.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 22 – RAGING BULL (1980)
Another movie from Robert De Niro’s golden period as an
actor and without question his finest individual performance for which he was
quite rightly awarded an Oscar. Again under the direction of Martin Scorsese, few
people (including me) would argue that Raging Bull is the best example
of his filmmaking skills. It strikes an almost perfect balance between experimentation,
as its shot in black and white and features heavily stylised, slow motion fight
sequences plus the amazing emotional content, presented through the compelling
true to life story of legendary heavyweight boxer Jake La Motta.
Unsurprisingly, it frequently scores high on both critics and audience polls of
the best films of the 20th century. The traditional rise and fall theme serves
as a vehicle for a brutal story packed with most of the director's favourite
themes (male violence, sexual jealousy, ambition and failure). Onscreen, alongside
Robert De Niro (whose incredible physical exertions and chameleon like body
changes definitely contributed to the Academy Award), is Joe Pesci, brilliant
as his brother Joey. These poorly educated siblings are continually trapped in
a world of emotional and verbal inarticulacy, constantly bickering, as a
classic example being the scene that includes Jakes constant repeating of the
question "Did you fuck my wife?" to Joey, completely undaunted however
many times Joey denies it. Jake La Motta is a frankly horrible character
outside of the ring but the movie counterbalances this by its portrayal of his
eloquence in the ring, truly the only place where he can express himself. As
the title suggests, La Motta is an animal, a real anti-hero in satin shorts.
Cathy Moriarty gives another brilliant performance as long-suffering wife
Vickie. Included as well are a whole bunch of Scorsese regulars. Scorsese got
lots of help along the way with Taxi Driver veterans’ screenwriter Paul
Schrader and cinematographer Michael Chapman and his ‘rock’ Thelma Schoonmaker
who edited almost every Scorsese movie before and since. In terms of the skills
involved in filmmaking, they don't come much better than this.
Facts: Winner of two Oscars. The movie didn’t perform well
at the Box Office, so much so that Scorsese actually worried it would affect
his future chances of getting films funded.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Standout Performance: Robert De Niro, his greatest
performance.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 21 – FULL METAL JACKET
(1987)
Just a couple of places above The Shining in my list comes
my favourite Stanley Kubrick movie, his third to make my top 50. It is also
undoubtedly the finest movie made about the American war in Vietnam . The
story is
split into two parts linked by a number of characters. It follows new recruit
Joker (Matthew Modine) and his fellow soldiers through their basic training and
then into combat in Vietnam .
The first half is what I would imagine to be a pretty accurate portrayal of
military brutality and de-humanisation, mostly at the hands of Sgt Hartman,
played quite magnificently by ex-Marine Lee Ermey. This part really centres
around the tragic character of Private Pyle, a young man pushed to the edge of
his endurance due to his lack of physicality, but ironically fantastic with an
assault rifle in his hands. The tone of the film is no less intense when transported
to the combat zone when we see the results of the training process in action. These
innocent young men are turned into unquestioning killing machines. Joker though
is the one exception, he has "Born to Kill" written on his helmet and
sports a peace sign on his lapel. Kubrick has to deal with the usual problem of
this kind of movie, in as much as he has to make the audience have sympathy
with characters that are essentially acting pretty horribly. The fact that he
pretty much succeeds is what puts this above the other ‘Vietnam ’ movies
of the period. It also has to be remembered that it was made in the days before
CGI meaning the battle sequences
which were filmed in London 's
Docklands are realistic and are probably the key moments of the movie, again
accurately portraying the disorientation and fear felt by the soldiers. Kubrick
also leaves any judgement the whys and wherefores of the war to the audience
and by not revealing the fate of all the characters we have to imagine what
becomes of them.
Facts: Only nominated for one Oscar. When asked by Kubrick,
Lee Emery actually came up with 150 pages of possible insults that could be
included in the script.
Director: Stanley
Kubrick
Standout Performance: Not in it for all that long but Lee
Emery was incredible.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 20 – THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
(1966)
This production is probably the
most famous of, and the movie which defines the Spaghetti Western. Clint
Eastwood is good guy Blondie and along with the other two main characters, Tuco
(Eli Wallach) and Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) who veer between bad and ugly over
the full two and half hour duration of this film. The plot is long and winding,
but is essentially fairly simple to follow. There are three guys who don't
trust each other trying to get their hands on a consignment of gold. We all
know about the music, and Ennio Morricone's soundtrack is an undisputed
masterpiece. If there is a better marriage of sound and vision in cinema than
in the last period of this film, I have yet to see it. But it's more than just
an elongated music video as the direction from the legendary Sergio Leone (yes,
him again) is out of this world. This is an epic in every sense of the word containing
all the required elements including the battle of good against bad, a cast of
hundreds in the amazing Civil War scenes and camera work which makes no
concessions to TV and uses the entire available dimensions of the screen.
Marvellous.
Fact: Eli Wallach nearly died on
three occasions during filming after (a) accidently drinking acid (b) he was
left with hands bound on the back of a horse that ran wild for nearly a mile
and (c) filming the scene where he uses an oncoming train to severe the chains
attaching him to Mario Brega, he was nearly decapitated.
Director: The one and only
Sergio Leone
Standout Performance: Clint
Eastwood
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 19 – CONSPIRACY (2001)
To be honest, anyone who has even the slightest interest in
the Second World War and the processes and reasonings behind it should set
aside the 96 minutes it takes to watch this movie. It basically reproduces the
real event of the 1942 Wannsee Conference, a secret meeting between high
ranking members of the German Army, Nazi officials, public figures and
industrialists sympathetic to the cause held in an attempt to provide the
answer to the ‘Jewish Question’. Kenneth Branagh plays ‘host’ Reinhard Heydrich
(Himmlers right-hand man at the head of the infamous SS) who cajoles and
attempts to persuade the attendees, and therefore sets the wheels in motion for
the ‘final solution’. Incredible historical accuracy is assured as the script
is taken from actual documentation discovered after the war was over. It’s
incredible to think that highly educated supposedly civilised people were able
to sit around an enormous table in a beautiful building and discuss the
extermination of a whole race of people as though they were calling in
Rentakill to get rid of an infestation of bed bugs. Lots of familiar faces from
TV programmes mix in with established stars like Stanley Tucci (Adolph
Eichmann). A sad and thought provoking story, brilliantly acted and presented.
Fact: Winner Of A Golden Globe.
Director: Frank Pierson
Standout Performance: Kenneth Branagh, deserved his Emmy.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 18 – PULP FICTION (1994)
Can it really be the best part of twenty years since this
movie was released? With Pulp Fiction writer & director Quentin
Tarantino stunned the movie making world, exploding into prominence as a
cinematic heavyweight contender after his initial success with the earlier Reservoir
Dogs. But Pulp Fiction was more than just the follow-up to an
impressive first effort, or indeed the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film
Festival, or infact a script stuffed with the sort of wonderful dialogue actors
just love, or the vehicle that re-established John Travolta on the A-list, or
the relatively low-budget (only $8 million) independent showcase for an
ultra-hip mixture of established marquee names and rising stars from the indie
scene (among them Samuel L Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames,
Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Julia Sweeney,
Kathy Griffin and Phil Lamar). It was more even than an unprecedented
$100-million-plus hit for independent distributor Miramax. Pulp Fiction
was a sensation. It packed so much energy and invention into telling its
non-chronologically interwoven short stories (almost biblically featuring
temptation, corruption and redemption among modern criminals, both major and
petty) it left the audience both exhilarated and exhausted with hearts racing
and knuckles still white from the ride. Plus the excellent soundtrack is as
good as the well mentioned Royale with Cheese.
Facts: Winner Of one Oscar. There has never been an official
explanation of what was in the briefcase.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Standout Performance: Despite some memorable acting
performances, Quentin Tarantino for both writing & directing such a great
movie.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 17 – CHINATOWN (1974)
Sexcase director Roman Polanski's brooding film noir certainly
exposes the dark side of the land of sunshine, namely Los Angeles in the 1930s, where power is the
only currency and therefore only real thing worth buying. The ever reliable Jack
Nicholson is J J Gittes, a private eye in the Chandler mould, who during a routine
straying-spouse investigation finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a
jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. The glamorous Evelyn Mulwray (a dazzling
Faye Dunaway) and her titanic father, Noah Cross (John Huston), are right bang
in the centre of this tale of treachery, incest and political bribery. The
cracking, hard-biting script by Robert Towne won a well-deserved Oscar, and the
muted colour cinematography makes the goings-on seem both bleak but at the same
time impossibly vibrant. Polanski himself has a brief, memorable cameo as the
thug who tangles with Nicholson's nose. Chinatown
is one of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time and
certainly one to be watched on more than one occasion.
Fact: Winner of just the one Oscar, despite being nominated
in ten catagories.
Director: Roman Polanski
Standout Performance: Faye Dunaway
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 16 – PSYCHO (1960)
With hindsight taking ‘Film Studies’ as an ‘O’ level option
was a smart move for two reasons (a) I actually managed to pass it and (b)
amongst some of the dross we were forced to watch (‘Mildred Pearce’ anyone?)
studying Alfred Hitchcock meant we got to watch this classic. Many, many slasher
pictures that followed have ripped off Psycho (and particularly its
classic set piece, the "shower scene"), but nothing has ever matched
the impact of the real thing. More than just a first class shocker full of
thrills and suspense, Psycho is also an engrossing character study in
which the aforementioned director skilfully seduces you into identifying with
the main characters and then pulls the rug (or the bathmat) out from under you.
Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates, the mummys boy proprietor of
the Bates Motel; and so is Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, who makes an impulsive
decision and becomes a fugitive from the law, hiding out at Norman 's roadside inn for one fateful night.
At this point I could probably go on for hours about Hitchcocks strict catholic
upbringing that affected his film making, or his unique use of light and dark
but its easier just to recommend a night in, curtains shut, lights off and
Psycho in the DVD player. PS,
whatever you do, do not watch the remake. The people responsible for that
should have been banned for life from film making.
Fact: Nominated for four Oscars. Hitchcock was born in
Leytonstone, East London and has a pub in the
area named after him.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Standout Performance: Anthony Perkins in the role of a
lifetime.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 15 – MILLERS CROSSING (1990)
Despite this movie being released in 1990, I actually only
saw it for the first time last year and immediately regretted those wasted
years. Those fine film makers the Coen Brothers are responsible here for a
brilliant movie, superbly written, directed and with some real outstanding
performances, notably from Albert Finney and Gabriel Byrne. The movie is set
during the Prohibition era with crime boss Leo (Finney) involved in a turf war
with his major rival, Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito). Tom (Byrne) works for Leo and
despite being involved in criminality considers himself a man of principle, but
nevertheless gets romantically involved with Leo's lover (Marcia Gay Harden),
whose loose cannon brother (John Turturro) escapes a hit ordered by Caspar only
to become a real pest for Tom. To complicate matters, Tom has outstanding
gambling debts he can't pay, which means he comes into regular conflict with
not very nice debt collectors. In typical Coen style there’s lots of energy put
into the film and it showcases their focused appreciation of genre conventions
and rules. Plus all their efforts help turn their movies into ironic
appreciations of stereotypes in American fiction mixing humour with some pretty
dark subject matter. It has to be said creatively they hit the nail firmly on
the head with Miller's Crossing. With its class leading dialogue and
complicated but easily understandable plot and the moral chaos perpetrated by
one mans personal code, the movie has rightly become a classic crime thriller.
Fact: The plot has many parallels to the 1942 crime movie
‘The Glass Key’.
Director(s): The Coen Brothers
Standout Performance: Gabriel Byrne
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 14 – THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
Getting to this point in the list means that I’m now
generally writing about each directors best movie, and this is certainly no
exception. I’m a fan of Sam Peckinpah in general and I’m sure if it was a case
of doing a list of 250 films there’d be considerably more of his work involved.
His ‘signature’ of showing certain action sequences in slow motion, namely when
people are shot is certainly unique and adds something especially to
swashbuckling stories like this one. Set
in the year 1913 an ageing band of thieves known as the ‘Wild Bunch’ led by Pike
(William Holden, not Ian Lavender) decide to pull one last job before
retirement. But they are ambushed and this foils their plans, so Peckinpah's
film becomes an epic yet intimate tale of betrayed loyalties, furious rivalry,
and the gangs dogged determination to maintain their fading code of honour despite
their world collapsing around them. The story enhances the theme of male
bonding that occurs in many of Peckinpah's films, explaining clearly to the audience
the situation of the friendship turned rivalry between Pike and his former
friend Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), who now leads the posse in pursuit of the
bunch, a dimension that adds resonance to an already classic American film. Interestingly,
this movie is acknowledged as a major step in the escalation of on screen
violence. In many genre’s The Wild Bunch would be regarded as the best
in its class, and indeed I can only find one Western that betters this masterpiece.
Brilliant stuff.
Fact: Nominated for two Oscars. When asked what his
motivation was to make The Wild Bunch Peckinpah said “I was trying to tell a
simple story about bad men.”
Standout Performance: William Holden
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 13 – GET CARTER (1971)
Even if this film was utter garbage I would have put it at
number 100 in the list for the simple fact that the bloke who played ‘Alf
Roberts’ for years in ‘Coronation Street’ gets thrown off of the top of a multi
storey car park in Newcastle. Surely it’s worth watching any film simply for
that scene alone. Fortunately, that scene is part of the greatest wholly
British film ever made, a brilliant story that touches as many do on the seedy
underworld of low level criminality and even lower moral standards. I know
Michael Caine has played many a decent role (The Italian Job, Alfie, Harry
Brown, Zulu to name but a few) but I believe this is his finest performance. He
plays Jack Carter, London
based gangster, who returns to the town of his birth to attend the funeral of
his brother, apparently killed in a drink-drive accident. However, Carter isn’t
happy and searches through the criminal underworld for the truth discovering on
the way a frankly awful story involving corruption, turf wars and pornography
specifically involving his brothers daughter. This send him over the edge as it
where and then the retribution begins as Carter systematically takes out nearly
everyone involved, the story ending tragically on a remote beach somewhere in
the North East of England. Fabulous fayre, no matter how many times you watch
it.
Fact: The Human League had a cover version of the theme tune
to this movie on their ‘Dare’ album.
Director: Mike Hodges
Standout Performance: Michael Caine, superb.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 12 – CITIZEN KANE (1941)
There are many movie buffs world wide who would argue until
the cows came home that is the greatest of the American films. Earlier in this
list I noted that one of my cinematic heroes Sir Kenneth Branagh starred in and
directed Henry V at only 29 years
old. Well, step forward Orson Welles, writing, directing and starring in this
masterpiece when he was only 26, he created a movie that unfurls like a dream
and carries the audience along the mysterious currents of time and memory to
reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion. It shows that people are the sum of
their contradictions and that can't always be discovered easily. Welles plays
newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made
the ward of a rich industrialist. The result of this is that every well
meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life
appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding psychological event.
Thanks to co-writer along with Welles, Herman J. Mankiewicz, and beautifully photographed
by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions, showing
what he wanted to achieve as an artist in Hollywood .
He pushes the limit of the available technology to create a truly magical show,
a visual and aural feast that certainly set the bar at a new level. This is
genuinely a one-of-a-kind work, and despite now being over seventy years old is
still the most modern of modern films.
Facts: Winner of One Oscar. Welles admitted that in
preparation for making this movie, he had sat through John Fords ‘Stagecoach’
over forty times. Having seen that only once, he deserves an award for that
feat alone.
Director: Orson Welles
Standout Peformance: Orson Welles.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 11 – LAWRENCE ARABIA (1962)
On any given day, this or any of the ten films that follow
could have been number one in my list. Where this one scores above all that are
to come is in the performance of the lead actor Peter O’Toole who gives what I
regard as the finest acting display in cinema history (no Oscar though!!).
Combine that with the skilful direction of Sir David Lean plus world class
cinematography this one is a winner all the way down the line. Also staring Sir Alec Guiness, Omar Sharif
and Jack Hawkins it is of course a biopic of T.E.Lawrence, the British Army
Officer made famous by his exploits during the Arab revolt against the Turkish Empire during World War I. The aforementioned
cinematography was produced by Freddie Young who went on to work with Lean on
Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryans Daughter (1970). It includes Robert Bolt’s
outstanding screenplay and the soundtrack produced by Maurice Jarre
(Jean-Michels Dad), which all adds to the atmosphere and realism delivered to
the audience. A fully restored widescreen version was released in 1989 and
quite honestly its worth purchasing on blu-ray for the famous ‘Lawrence appearing from the desert’ sequence
alone. Breathtaking entertainment.
Facts: Winner Of seven Oscars. Lawrence ’s death in 1935 from a motorcycle
accident is directly attributed for the widespread introduction of safety
helmets for both military and civilian riders.
Director: Sir David Lean
Standout Performance: Peter O’Toole
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 10 – MONTY PYTHON AND
THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)
Into the top ten with the funniest film ever made, a series
of sketches telling the story of King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail.
An historic epic in the hands of normal film makers but plonked into the trust
of Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John
Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin & Eric Idle it becomes a
riotous assembly of ridiculousness and general idiocy. So many memorable
moments including The Knights Who Say “Ni” who demand a shrubbery before
allowing Arthur and his Knights to pass, The Black Knight who wants to fight on
ever after Sir Lancelot has chopped off both his arms and his legs, “Brave” Sir
Robin (who certainly wasn’t) the lack of horses meaning that coconuts are used
to make the sound of the hoofs, the Camelot song and dance routine, the
reasoning used to determine whether a woman is a witch or not, the Holy hand
grenade of Antioch, I really could go on but find myself pissing myself
laughing while writing at the sheer stupidity of it all. The fact it finishes
in a punch up with the police from 1975 kind of sums it all up. Why did the
Python team make this film? Because they could. Comedy magic.
Fact: The Killer Rabbit was dyed with what was thought to be
a washable dye but it wasn’t. The rabbits owner went mental apparently.
Director(s) Terry Jones / Terry Gilliam
Standout Performance: I’ll give it to Michael Palin for his
part in the ‘Politicalised Serf Sketch’.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 9 – L.A.
This one was released during a period in time when it
appeared that every other movie seemed to be attempting to cash in on the
fashion of being a film noir. However, LA Confidential is the
real thing, its gritty, its sordid, the classic tale of sex, scandal, betrayal
and corruption involving just about everyone (the police, politicians, the
press (no change there, then) and of course normal individuals) in 1940s Hollywood . The
Oscar-winning screenplay was based on several titles in James Ellroy's series
of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, The Big
Nowhere and White Jazz) which in themselves give a comprehensive and
compelling blend of LA history and the pulp (cheap, mass) fiction that has
assisted in earning the movie comparisons to the greatest of all noir
films, Chinatown (obviously this is
better in my opinion as Chinatown only made no17 in my list). Kim
Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the
conflicted femme fatale. Unfortunately for the male stars, they are so
uniformly excellent that they may have cancelled each other out with the
Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell play
LAPD officers of varying abilities, rank and character. Pearce's character (Lt
Ed Exley) is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood
morals and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental
legend) whose career goals outweigh all other ethical and legal considerations.
If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a
promotion. Crowe (Bud White) is head strong and violent but gets results,
Spacey (Dt Sgt Jack Vincennes) operates as legally as a three pound note.
Special mention must also go to Danny de Vito (‘journalist’ Sid Hudgens) who
hits the nail square on the head with his character portrayal.
Facts: Winner of two Oscars. Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe
spent two months in Los Angeles
before filming began in order to soak up the atmosphere.
Director: Curtis Hanson
Standout Performance: Kim Basinger was superb.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 8 – HEREAFTER (2010)
I came across this brilliant Clint Eastwood directed movie
totally by accident when flicking through the movie channels trying to find
something to watch. I was so impressed by it that I watched it again straight
away. It’s a really unusual story, magnificently written and contains possibly
the finest child acting I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness. All of the characters at the heart of Peter
Morgan's screenplay, which feels more like a European art film than a Hollywood
blockbuster, have suffered a dreadful loss or survived a terrible ordeal. They
feel disconnected from those who can't relate to these situations, making most
other people outsiders. George Lonegan (the excellent Matt Damon) is an
ordinary factory worker who developed psychic powers after a childhood illness
and just wants to lead a normal life. Despite this, his brother Billy (Jay
Mohr) wants to turn him into a Colin Fry type celebrity. Marie LeLay (Cécile De
France), a TV reporter, emerges unharmed from the 2004 Boxing Day Indian Ocean
earthquake, only to find her Parisian existence slipping away from her. The
tsunami sequence that opens the film is incredibly convincing. Meanwhile, in London , soft-spoken
12-year-old Marcus (the frankly magnificent Frankie McLaren) loses his twin,
Jason (George McLaren) in a road accident, only to end up in foster care as
their addict mother cannot cope. While George reaches out to a lovely, if insecure
woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) he meets in a cooking class, Marie writes a book
about her experience, and Marcus seeks spiritual guidance but finds that
so-called ‘Psychics’ are not what they promise to be. In a Hollywood style like
turn of events, all three find themselves in the London, where their paths
cross, which sounds contrived but plays out in a surprisingly believable
fashion. The scene where George gives a reading to Marcus is perhaps one of the
most touching and beautiful in cinema history, an out standing, tearjerking
moment. In conclusion, Eastwood and Morgan don't presume to know what happens
to us after death, suggesting instead that those who search for answers deserve
something other than disrespect and derision. Wonderful stuff.
Fact: Nominated for one Oscar. Some of the London scenes were filmed on the Heygate
Estate in Bermondsey, which was used over 70 times for TV and film before
demolition began in 2011.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Standout Performance: Frankie McLaren, simply fantastic.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 7 – BLADERUNNER (1982)
It’s seems that over the years there have been about 743
versions of this movie released on VHS, DVD
and now Blu-ray, The Directors Cut, The Directors Sisters Cut, The Directors
Sisters Next Door Neighbours Budgies Cut etc etc. None of this however can take
away from what is (in whatever version you watch) a brilliantly atmospheric
science fiction masterpiece. It’s loosely based on the novel ‘Do Androids Dream
Of Electric Sheep?’ written by the wonderfully named Philip K.Dick, is set in
Los Angeles 2019, and tells the story of retired police officer Rick Deckard
(Harrison Ford) who now works as a ‘Bladerunner’, employed to “retire”
replicants (bio- engineered synthetic humans, designed as tools to be used for
labour but extremely lifelike). The particular group that Deckard is chasing
includes advanced models Roy (Rutger Hauer) and Pris (Darryl Hannah) who have
returned to Earth illegally and are attempting to find out from their designer
Tyrell (Joe Turkel) the way to ensure a longer life. It sounds pretty
complicated but is worth sticking with. Its beautifully shot, its funny to
think what people thought the world would be like in 2019, L.A. being portrayed
as a permanently dark cesspool of human depravity. Eventually, Deckard catches up with the escapees and eliminates
them one by one, but the wonderful twist is provided by Rachael (the gorgeous
Sean Young) whom Deckard has fallen ‘hook, line & sinker’ who of course
turns out to be, you’ve guessed it, a replicant herself. There have been
different endings depending on which version you’ve seen so you’ll need to make
your own mind up as to what was the best of those. Excellent first Hollywood effort from Director Ridley Scott.
Facts: Nominated for two Oscars. In 2007 Bladerunner was
named the 2nd most visually influential film ever by The Visual
Effect Society (I bet they’re a right laugh)
Director: Ridley Scott
Standout Performance: Harrison Ford, pushed closely by
Rutger Hauer.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 6 – THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)
When The Usual Suspects was released to amazing reviews,
critical acclaim and box office success, thirty year old producer / director
Brian Singer had the cinematic world at his feet. A quick scan of his output
since those halcyon days show that sadly he has never again been able to get
anywhere near this level of quality, although the X-Men films are good
entertainment. Singer admitted that the premise for the film had come from a
magazine article he’d seen discussing what ‘usual suspects’ actually meant. Here,
they are the five expert criminals and the crippled con man in what we all
imagine the stereotypical American police line-up looks like The winding story
is told via flashbacks, interrogation scenes punctuated with first-class
dialogue and explosive sequences showing a heist gone wrong and the aftermath, and
is a labyrinth of sub-plots and red herrings. Kevin Spacey at his brilliant
best derservedly won a best supporting actor Oscar for his intriguing, blank-eyed
turn as the crippled "Verbal" Kint. But Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak,
Stephen Baldwin and Benicio del Toro are equally fascinating as the mismatched
misfits, creating interesting worlds the audience wants to learn more of for
their characters. The severely underated Chazz Palminteri playing Dave Kujan,
the special agent, is the viewers representative working tirelessly trying to
solve the puzzle, but there are so many twists it's really a case of the blind
leading the blind. The sadly departed Pete Postlethwaite's bizarre accent, as
the sinister legal agent Kobayashi, adds its own layer of mystery to a film
that earned cult status entirely on its own merits. Definitely one of the all
time greats, although of course everyone will claim to have worked out who is
Keyser Soze was before the end.
Facts: Winner of two Oscars. On release, the Chicago Sun
Times gave it 1.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “confusing and uninteresting”.
Americans, hey?
Director: Brian Singer
Standout Performance(s): Can’t split Kevin Spacey &
Chazz Palminteri
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 5 – THE GODFATHER 2 (1974)
It’s a general rule in cinema that sequels are not as good
as the original movie. There are a few exceptions, and I’ve had a couple of
those in my 100 already but this would have to be the best of them. Directing
again Francis Ford Coppola took some of the deep background detail from the
early life of Mafia chief Vito Corleone, obviously again from Mario Puzo's
bestselling novel and built around it a magnificent movie sequel to his
Oscar-winning 1972 original hit film. Yet another outstanding performance from
Robert De Niro as plays Vito as a young Sicilian immigrant in turn of the century
New York City 's
Little Italy. Coppola skilfully weaves in and out of the story of Vito's
transformation into a powerful crime figure, contrasting that evolution against
efforts by son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) to spread the family's business
into pre-Castro Cuba .
As memorable as the first film is, The Godfather 2 is an amazingly
intricate, symmetrical tragedy that touches upon several chapters of
20th-century history and makes a strong case that our destinies and in some
cases fate, are written long before we're born. This was De Niro's first
introduction to a lot of filmgoers, and he left an enormous impression, his
performance surely confirming he’d never be short of work in the future. But
even with him and a number of truly brilliant actors, this is ultimately
Pacino's film and a masterful performance which inexplicably was not rewarded
with an Academy Award. Mystifying to be fair.
Facts: Winner of six Oscars. James Caan earned the same
money for appearing in just one scene in this as he did for the entire part he
played in part one.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Standout Performance: Al Pacino
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 4 – CASABLANCA
Possibly the most iconic movie of the last century and of
course, the quintessential love story, the 1942 classic Casablanca still
wows viewers today and for good reason. It features the classic love triangle
set along with terribly high stakes in the war against a monster that was the
marauding German Reich but despite the restrictions of the time is
sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey
Bogart plays Rick Blaine, the American but allegedly neutral night club owner
in the unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis;
Ingrid Bergman is Ilsa the lover who mysteriously deserted Rick years
previously in Paris ;
and Paul Heinreid (Lazlo) is her heroic Eastern European resistance leader
although slightly bewildered, husband. Brilliant casting means that Claude
Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be
the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood
movies. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever
made. Obviously, being produced and distributed during the war itself, the idea
would have been to make something to keep up the spirits in America which
had entered the war during the previous December. The tagline for the movie was
‘Casablanca :
easy to enter, but much harder to leave’. Fortunately for what has turned out
to be cinematic history Rick Blaine the classic cynical American, who up until
this point had stuck his neck out for no one, showed that he did have a heart
helping Mr and Mrs Lazlo on their way from Casablanca and out of the Germans
grasp, proving that he had a heart after all. Incidently, I believe this would
be a great movie to actually watch in the cinema itself where of course it was
intended to be seen so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that.
Fact: Winner of three Oscars. Actor Paul Heinreid had
expected top billing in this, thought Bogart was a ‘mediocre actor’ and was
described by Ingrid Bergman as ‘a prima donna’. So he was well ahead of his
time.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Standout Performance: Humphrey Bogart, the star of a truly
stellar cast.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 3 – SCHINDLERS LIST (1993)
I can clearly remember the day that I saw this movie for the
first time. There are two reasons for this, firstly because of course its one
of the greatest ever made and certainly the most moving but also because it was
March 13th 1996 ,
which you may not remember was the day of the Dunblane School Scotland .
I think that director Steven Spielberg had reached the point in his career
where he felt comfortable enough to make this film, on a subject matter that is
obviously very close to his heart. The genius of this that meant it was both an
artistic and a
commercial triumph was the decision to film vitually all of it in black
and white, adding to the depressive atmosphere. Somehow though it manages to
find some small glimmer of hope for the human spirit amid the abomination that
was the Holocaust. Based on the true
story of German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) and his attempts
(very successful to be fair) to save Jewish lives under the very noses of his
Nazi associates gave Spielberg a focal point of conscience and humanity in an
otherwise unrelentingly grim depiction of mankind's worst traits, embodied by
the magnificent Ralph Fiennes as the sadistic Nazi commandant Amon Goeth. As with nearly all great movies Spielberg's vision
is supported by a cracking score from an old favourite and regular collaborator
John Williams. The evocative black and white cinematography by Janusz Kaminski,
which alternates between a semi-documentary feel for the harrowing ghetto and
concentration camp sequences, to an altogether more decadent environment for
the Nazis. The single symbolic use of colour brings home the horror more
shockingly than words would normally be able to convey. It's fair to say that
towards the end Spielberg gets sentimental but in a project that was so
personal its understandable, but otherwise this is filmmaking of the highest
order: compelling, educational, and unfailingly emotive in the very best sense.
Facts: Winner of 7 Oscars. Oskar Schindler is credited with
saving the lives of 1000 people.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Standout Performance: Ralph Fiennes, evil personified.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 2 – GANDHI (1982)
Didn’t think about this until now but that’s two consecutive
biopics at nos 3 and 2 respectively. I suppose when this project was first
mooted, somebody at the production company would have said “Well, he was a
great bloke, but will it make a great film?” Well undoubtedly it turned out to
be one, not least because it is one of the last old school style epics ever
made, a glorious visual treat featuring tens of thousands of extras (real
people, not digital effects) and sumptuous cinematography. But a true epic is
about more than just amazing photography and employing half of the Indian
nation as actors, it concerns itself with noble subjects too, and the life
story of Mahatma Gandhi is one of the noblest of all. Both the man himself and
the film have profound things to say about the meaning of freedom and racial
harmony, as well as how to achieve them. Ben Kingsley, in his first major
screen role looks like he was born for this part, he bares the heavy
responsibility of the central performance and carries it off magnificently
because I reckon that without his magnetic and utterly convincing portrayal the
movie would founder in the very first scene. Sir Richard Attenborough surrounds
his main character with an incredible cast of distinguished actors (Trevor
Howard, John Mills, John Gielgud and Martin Sheen, to name but four), none of
whom do anything but provide the most sympathetic support. John Briley's
beautifully constructed screenplay achieves the almost impossible task of
distilling the bewildering complexities of Anglo-Indian politics in this period.
Attenborough's treatment is openly reverential, but, given the saint-like
character of his subject, it's hard to see how it could have been anything
else. He doesn't flinch from the implication that the Mahatma was naïve to
expect a unified India ,
for example, but instead lets Gandhi's actions speak for themselves. The
outstanding achievement of this labour of love is that it tells the story of an
avowed pacifist who never raised a hand in anger, of a man who never held high
office, of a man who shied away from publicity (loved the fact that when he
visited London to discuss Indian independence with Prime Minister Ramsey
McDonald, he stayed in a community hall in East London), and turns it into
three hours of utterly mesmerising cinema.
Facts: Winner of eight Oscars. This was Attenborough’s third
attempt to make this movie and had been a labour of love for over thirty years.
Director: Sir Richard Attenborough
Standout Performance: Ben Kingsley, the performance of a
lifetime.
Graeme’s 100 Greatest
Movies No 1 – ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968)
When I was deciding on the order for this list, there was a
lot I wasn’t sure about. But one thing that was never in doubt is that I would
have this at the top of my movie watching tree. All of the ingredients are
there, my favourite director, my favourite genre, brilliant casting, wonderful
acting, incredible script and glorious cinematography. Obviously I’m biased but
for the reasons mentioned you can only describe this as monumental movie
making. The movie is set in the last real days of the Wild West, as technology
in the form of the trans American railway was changing lives forever and bringing
civilisation. Centred on a small developing desert town its all about control
of not only land, but that other precious commodity, water. The three main
characters are Frank played by Henry Fonda, a completely amoral cold blooded
murderer, in my opinion the best (or should that be worse?) ‘baddie’ in Western
history, Cheyenne (Jason Robards) an infamous bandit reknown for his love of
mass slaughter as a way of achieving his goals and The Man (Charles Bronson)
one of the coolest MF’s in cinema history, who is driven by the need for
revenge, principally against Frank, that burns him up inside. Throw into the
mix Mrs McBain (Claudia Cardinale) who turns up in the town to begin her newly
arranged life only to find her new husband and adopted children slaughtered.
What follows is an epic struggle, each character fighting for their own reasons
and survival as their paths cross intricately. It’s an immense story, but
director Sergio Leone’s genius is best shown in the cutting of the scenes,
which provides an almost documentary style. It makes you feel as though you are
actually part of the action. You have to mention the ‘slowness’ of the movie,
helping to build the atmosphere towards the final end game. In my humble
opinion this is the cinematic masterpiece by which all other movies, let alone
Westerns should be judged.
Fact: As if to emphasize the tempo of the movie, at the time
the opening title sequence was at the time the longest in cinema history.
Director: Sergio Leone
Standout Performance: Impossible to split Charles Bronson
& Henry Fonda.
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