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August 01, 2003

The Top 25

Well, I missed the chance to have my selections included in John Hawkins' list of great movies, but here they are nonetheless; my picks for the 25 best movies ever made.

So what makes a great movie? For me, it has to have several characteristics:

Character; the characters have to be interesting. If I don't care about them, nothing else matters. Boring people are boring, regardless of the circumstances. Conversely, characters that you care about can lift an average story to greatness.

Music; good music is crucial to a good film, for my money. The best movie music sticks with us forever, and a good soundtrack makes the difference between good and great. You can't enjoy a film if you're listening to the music trying to figure out what the Hell it's supposed to mean.

Drama; movies rarely offer characters that make a choice we wouldn't expect them too, but they can offer characters who have to make a truly difficult choice. This was one of the great features of Pirates of the Caribbean for me; although there was no doubt who the heroine would end up with, her choices were real, not a hero and a dud. This is what separates Casablanca, for example. It's no surprise Bogie and Bergman decide to make personal sacrifices for the greater good...but you can't ignore the magnitude of their sacrifice, and wonder if you could do the same. That's drama.

So, in alphabetical order, here they are:

The African Queen—Hepburn and Bogart…what else is there to say?

Bull Durham—the ultimate movie about life…from Costner’s soliloquy about what he believes in to the most important lesson in life he gives to Nuke, Bull Durham is Grade A from start to finish.

Casablanca—quite possibly the best movie of all time…one of the only true dramas on the list; Bogie’s decision to leave the woman he loves to fight the Nazis is an obvious decision, but it’s by no means an easy one.

The Cowboys—Wayne was at his best in this coming of age tale; his classic toughness is supplemented perfectly by Roscoe Lee Brown’s understated menace and Bruce Dern’s absolute evil.

The Empire Strikes Back—The best of the films, Empire matched a very well-written story with great characters for the perfect blend of story and adventure.

Fantasia—it’s unique in the annals of film…how often can you say that? Further, each piece is a good selection of music matched to some of the best animation ever to come out of Disney studios.

Glory—sure, it’s a feel good tale, but it’s also a brutal look at the horrors of the Civil War and the hell blacks went through simply to have the chance to be slaughtered.

The Green Mile—Stephen King is the premier storyteller of our generation, so all a filmmaker really needs to do to make a great movie is to tell King’s stories on the big screen…The Green Mile pulls this off in spades. Although it can be a brutal film to watch, it’s too good not to make the list.

The Hustler—Newman is fantastic as ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson, and George C. Scott is the perfect villain for this story of pool sharking and what can happen when you try to win the wrong game.

L.A. Confidential—some of the best acting in any film tied to a marvelously convoluted story make this film one of the best…too bad it had to face up with Titanic for the Oscars.

Lilies of the Field—Sidney Poitier tends to get too much attention for his having broken color barriers throughout his career, and not enough attention for his superlative acting skills…Lilies showcases Poitier at his best.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—the greatest story ever told finally made it to the big screen, and it opened with a bang…Fellowship captures the spirit of the book and the menace of the Ring perfectly, and it’s a great movie all on its own.

The Magnificent Seven—it’s a simple story, but the tale of seven strangers joining up to defend a small town against bandits speaks to what can be great in all of us.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance—a different role for Wayne, more an anti-hero to Jimmy Stewart’s hero, and he makes it look easy…Wayne’s unsung sacrifice also stands as a highly atypical ending to a western, helping to make it great.

The Philadelphia Story—fun, romantic, and pairing Hepburn, Stewart and Cary Grant…a superb film.

The Princess Bride—‘This is true love…you think this happens every day?’ I think of this line every time I see my wife, and that alone explains what makes this a great film…pirates, adventure, true love and a great cast.

Rocky—underrated because of the crap it inspired, but the original is an absolutely stunning film…the brutality of the opening scene, the filth of Philadelphia, and Stallone’s excellent performance make this one of the best of all time.

The Shawshank Redemption—another King story done right…Shawshank captures the horrors of prison, both physical and mental, as well as the indomitable power of the human spirit…and it’s got Morgan Freeman.

The Sixth Sense—you never had a clue, admit it…and who knew Bruce Willis could act?

The Sting—the ultimate caper film, Newman and Redford pull off the perfect crime and top it off with the admission revenge is an empty dish.

Titanic—I’ll hear about this, but I stand by it…yes, the love story had plenty of flaws, but it helped to personalize the horrible tragedy of the Titanic in a way the more staid “A Night to Remember” failed…Titanic is a fitting memorial to the 1,500 lives lost that cold April night.

To Kill a Mockingbird—the AFI recently named Atticus Finch the greatest hero of all time, and for good reason…and what does it say about the changes America has seen over the past fifty years that Brock Peters could play a black laborer falsely accused and convicted of rape in Mockingbird, then play the Chief of Staff for Starfleet in the Star Trek films?

Unforgiven—life can be nasty, brutish, and short, and Clint Eastwood’s tour de force captures that as no other western with a magnificent cast and a gritty, nasty story…’We all have it coming,’ Eastwood reminds the young gun midway through the film…and you feel that truth.

We Were Soldiers—another pick I expect to hear about, but Soldiers does a better job than any other war movie I’ve ever seen of capturing the spirit of military service and the burden of command…Gibson is perfect as Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore, as is Greg Kinnear (a highly underrated actor) as Major Bruce Crandall…I find it often difficult to watch, but it’s worth it.

When Harry Met Sally—if you’re looking for one film to sum up the relationship between men and women, look no further…Billy Crystal has a knack for explaining the war between the sexes that is at once funny and accurate, and Harry does it best.

These didn't make the cut, but they also are quite worthy of consideration:
Beauty and the Beast
Black Hawk Down
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Bridge on the River Kwai
Dead Poets Society
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Field of Dreams
The Full Monty
The Godfather
Gone With the Wind
In the Heat of the Night
It's a Wonderful Life
The Maltese Falcon
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Oscar
Patton
Philadelphia
Seabiscuit
The Shootist
The Silence of the Lambs
The Sound of Music
Star Wars
To Sir With Love

Be sure to check out John's compilation; there are some interesting choices there.