10 Great Films

[littlebabyjesus]

This has been done before, of course, but not for a while I think.

Not necessarily your top 10 films, but films you'd recommend perhaps to a younger person who may not have seen them. Maybe a bit obscure, maybe just old. Maybe not even 10.

Mine:

Werckmeister Harmonies
Bela Tarr's best film imo, and probably his most accessible. Bleak and poetic. You'll be hooked by the end of the opening scene.

Memories of Underdevelopment
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was always given some leeway to criticise the Cuban Revolution from within, but this is still quite startlingly honest as we follow a well-to-do man whose family have left but who doesn't quite belong in the new society either.

Seconds
Rock Hudson (yes, Rock Hudson!) stars in John Frankenheimer's story of a man who gets a new body and a new life. The. Best. Ending. Ever.

Touch of Evil
Orson Welles at his best. Menacing and sleazy. Charlton Heston as the most unlikely Mexican detective ever. Not a casting that would happen today.

Army of Shadows
Jean-Pierre Melville's film about the French resistance pulls no punches. Brutal stuff. Possibly underrated because they are De Gaullists? Deserves a better reputation.

Onibaba
The Samurai weren't all that.

Night of the Hunter
A more obvious one. The best use of b/w film ever. (Third Man fans may disagree.) Charles Laughton's sole venture into directing.

Harold and Maud
Comparative light relief from most of the above, and my first film in colour.

M
Back to the grimstone for Fritz Lang's classic. The trial scene has never been bettered.

O Lucky Man!
Lindsay Anderson's film is long and uneven and has aged badly. It features a blacked-up Arthur Lowe, which is shall we say a misjudgement, even if you can see the logic. But it's a glorious ride.


Looking at that, it's all male directors and two inappropriate castings! Hey ho.

 

[Humberto]

This kind of thing LBJ ? If not I'll delete?

Little Big Man
Dustin Hoffmann in an early role as an orphan with unlikely (and fictional) links to many historical events of the American frontier and the resulting atrocities and legends. Comedic elements.

Zulu
Epic British movie about a battle in the Boer War. Real carnage and surely problematic now, but still riveting and features an astonishing battle of song and a draining test of courage from both sides. And a shitload of Victoria Crosses.

On the Waterfront
Oscar winning performance from Marlon Brando set in gritty, mob dominated New York City docklands

Angels with Dirty Faces
Jimmy Cagney as a gangster who encounters a group of impressionable youths in depression era America. Loyalties are tested against his lifelong friendship with a priest.

The Producers
Classic Mel Brooks comedy (I believe it's on IPlayer at the moment). A has been and a nobody cook up a scheme to get rich; much hilarity ensues.

Psycho
Hitchcock classic. Fuck, I don't even know what to say about that one.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Don't delete. They're your choices!

 

[A380]

Brief Encounter- best ever love story

Wicker man - top folk horror

Aliens- top action movie. One of the best quotable lines evah.

Barry Lyndon- just beautiful to look at.

Glory - excellent war movie.

Thelma and Louise- brilliant moving road movie.

La-La land. I like it ok! Not sure if it’s a flawed good film or one of he best films ever made. I might decide in ten years.

Singing in the Rain. Top musical, and I don’t like musicals.

Princes Bride. It just is a great film.

In which we serve. Top Noel Coward, Dicky Attenborough and John Mills action with bonus Celia Johnson.

Hard to stick to 10 but there you go.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

Starship Troopers gets better and better the more I read about it.

 

[MickiQ]

Starship Troopers gets better and better the more I read about it.

It's an acquired taste definitely one of those films you want to watch and form your own opinions about. It bears very little resemblance to the book it was suposedly based on (the first book to introduce the concept of powered armour in SciFi, a concept completely missing from the movie). It is riddled with plot holes the most noticeable of which is that our descendants have apparently learned how to build starships but forgotten how to build tanks and armoured vehicles. It spawned 2 live action sequels, the first of which was cobbled together entirely from unused footage from the original film plus 2 full length animated sequels and an animated TV show.
There is a certain tongue in cheekness about which annoyed a lot of people at the time it was released leading to claims it glorified militarism. The human society portrayed in the series is very definitely a militaristic fascist one though the film paints it as one possible future not necessarily the only possible one.

 

[DotCommunist]

a lot of people at the time it was released leading to claims it glorified militarism

this is probably the point where you should clock what you are watching if it missed you to start with

 

[Joe Chi Min]

this is probably the point where you should clock what you are watching if it missed you to start with

The opening scene is a visual quote to a Nazi propaganda movie

 

[Joe Chi Min]

“the Bugs are naturally depicted as the faceless, mindless enemy of humanity, who must be fully eradicated for the sake of peace. To our human protagonists, genocide is a noble, justified pursuit. But while the Bugs may seem like inhuman monsters, the film makes it clear that they’re intelligent beings. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, with one brief scene showing them mourning their dead after a battle. The Bugs may not be human, but they’re still people. But of course, the Federation doesn’t care. One propaganda clip shows a group of children gleefully stomping insects to death to show their hatred of the Bugs, while the film’s final battle ends with the Mobile Infantry cheering triumphantly once they realize that the Bugs are afraid of them. One throwaway line even indicates that the humans are the original aggressors in the war, but it doesn’t matter. The Bugs are the enemy, and are thus treated as vermin.”

Why Starship Troopers Is Still A Sci-Fi Masterpiece 25 Years Later

This satirical cult classic from RoboCop director Paul Verhoeven is even more meaningful in the 2020s than it was back in the 90s.

gamerant.com

 

[littlebabyjesus]

this is probably the point where you should clock what you are watching if it missed you to start with

I tried watching it after people said how great it was but I didn't finish it. I can appreciate everything that's being said here about it, but I couldn't get past the style of the film. I know being Really American is part of its point, but it being Really American is also really annoying.

 

[Griff]

Saw Starship Troopers at the South Bank a couple of months before it came out, so had no idea what to expect.

Absolutely blew me away, loved everything about it.

Pleased to see it on a 'Great Films' thread.

 

[petee]

if a younger person should have a taste for long, slow-moving, black and white, sometimes noiry, often depressing movies, then i'm your man.

the wages of fear
andrei rublev
mr arkadin
touch of evil
other welles films too
the killers (1946)
asphalt jungle
rififi
tokyo twilight

e2a a man escaped (how could i have left that out)

 

[MickiQ]

“the Bugs are naturally depicted as the faceless, mindless enemy of humanity, who must be fully eradicated for the sake of peace. To our human protagonists, genocide is a noble, justified pursuit. But while the Bugs may seem like inhuman monsters, the film makes it clear that they’re intelligent beings. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, with one brief scene showing them mourning their dead after a battle. The Bugs may not be human, but they’re still people. But of course, the Federation doesn’t care. One propaganda clip shows a group of children gleefully stomping insects to death to show their hatred of the Bugs, while the film’s final battle ends with the Mobile Infantry cheering triumphantly once they realize that the Bugs are afraid of them. One throwaway line even indicates that the humans are the original aggressors in the war, but it doesn’t matter. The Bugs are the enemy, and are thus treated as vermin.”

Why Starship Troopers Is Still A Sci-Fi Masterpiece 25 Years Later

This satirical cult classic from RoboCop director Paul Verhoeven is even more meaningful in the 2020s than it was back in the 90s.

gamerant.com

The Bugs have a hive mind something that is made clear in the book but not the film though in the book they were tool users (driving vehicles, using guns) which they don't do in the film. The third live film and the 2 animated ones make a much more notable attempt to paint the Bugs as definitely evil (not that the humans come across as too sympathetic) The second film is complete dross looks like it was shot in someone's garage for a tenner using half a dozen drunks that the producer rounded up in the local pub and paid them with beer. The third film sees the return of Casper Van Dien as Rico now promoted to Colonel and has a big enough budget to run to decent effects. It has an AWESOME theme tune "Good Day To Die" which is well listen to it yourself.



The two animated films are actually better offering than the live ones, they're basically variations on the same theme as Aliens.

 

[Griff]

The Dualists - Great Ridley Scott flick.

Reservoir Dogs - Another one seen early at the pictures which blew me away.

Martyrs - The original French version, a hard watch but had me thinking about it for days after.

Theatre of Blood - Corny Vincent Price seeking revenge on the critics.

Vanishing Point - End of the 1960s with this film.

Apocalypse Now - Everybody should see it.

The Long Good Friday - Bob Hoskins at his best.

A Matter of Life & Death - Fantastic

Annie Hall - Great film about relationships

Day the Earth Stood Still - Hard to think it was made so long ago.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

The Dualists - Great Ridley Scott flick.

Reservoir Dogs - Another one seen early at the pictures which blew me away.

Martyrs - The original French version, a hard watch but had me thinking about it for days after.

Theatre of Blood - Corny Vincent Price seeking revenge on the critics.

Vanishing Point - End of the 1960s with this film.

Apocalypse Now - Everybody should see it.

The Long Good Friday - Bob Hoskins at his best.

A Matter of Life & Death - Fantastic

Annie Hall - Great film about relationships

Day the Earth Stood Still - Hard to think it was made so long ago.

Aliens over Apocalypse Now

 

[Joe Chi Min]

if a younger person should have a taste for long, slow-moving, black and white, sometimes noiry, often depressing movies, then i'm your man.

the wages of fear
andrei rublev
mr arkadin
touch of evil
other welles films too
the killers (1946)
asphalt jungle
rififi
tokyo twilight

e2a a man escaped (how could i have left that out)

Wot no Casablanca ?

 

[DotCommunist]

The opening scene is a visual quote to a Nazi propaganda movie

View attachment 363417

if you enjoy the film you'll enjoy watching the making of, Verhoeven is quite explicit about his intentions lol

I tried watching it after people said how great it was but I didn't finish it. I can appreciate everything that's being said here about it, but I couldn't get past the style of the film. I know being Really American is part of its point, but it being Really American is also really annoying.

Did you watch and enjoy Robocop?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Did you watch and enjoy Robocop?

Yes. But I liked the humour in that.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

if you enjoy the film you'll enjoy watching the making of, Verhoeven is quite explicit about his intentions lol

Did you watch and enjoy Robocop?

I first watched it as an 8 year old when my Nan would rent all those movies we’d talk about in the school playground: Robocop, Candyman, IT.

I then had my interest piqued in Verhoven and went back to rewatch it, and Total Recall, and ST.

So prescient it’s quite remarkable.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I also liked Total Recall. A Marxist sci-fi film with Arnie!

Maybe I should give ST another go. When I'm in the right mood, I will.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

I also liked Total Recall. A Marxist sci-fi film with Arnie!

Maybe I should give ST another go. When I'm in the right mood, I will.

Please do

 

[Knotted]

I also liked Total Recall. A Marxist sci-fi film with Arnie!

Maybe I should give ST another go. When I'm in the right mood, I will.

I've never seen Total Recall myself, but I was intrigued by this recent youtube political/philosophical analysis of it.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Bridge over the river Kwai.
Zulu
Cabaret
The 39 Steps (Robert Donat version)
One flew over the cuckoo's nest
Forrest Gump
Turner and Hooch
The DaVinci code
The green mile
Midnight cowboy (the closing scene makes me cry)

 

[petee]

Wot no Casablanca ?

yes but I'd have to list Ambersons and Kane before Casablanca.

 

[RedRedRose]

Robocop
Total Recall
Starship Troopers

Excellent films

 

[imposs1904]

Not claiming these are my top ten films of all time but I did pick the following ten films for a social media movie challenge a few years back, so they are obviously all films I hold in some kind of high regard:

• Gregory's Girl
• Von Ryan's Express
• Running on Empty
• The Cat and the Canary (Bob Hope's version)
• Another Country
• Flirting
• The Shop on the Corner
• Fever Pitch (Baseball version)
• Fame
• Tremors

Edited to add:
Turns out the movie challenge was to "Post an image, no explanation, from 10 movies that had an impact on you. 10 days, 10 films, 0 explanations."

 

[RedRedRose]

I will do a foreign languages version

The Twilight Samurai
Oldboy
Street Angel
Butterfly's Tongue
The Battle for Algiers
Amelie
Downfall
A Special Day
Belle Epoque
La Haine

 

[ska invita]

Still very funny and not boring, the finnish blues brothers


The best adult fantasy film of all time?


Unique italian western, set in snow, easily on a par with the best Sergio Leonie films - kappow

Rated by some as the alltime greatest indian film and it deserves it. Its 50s B+W so a time and a place but pure poetry.



Cops and robbers Hong Kong raw style - proper believable and explicit action like they dont make anymore

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I love Aki Kaurismaki. Drifting Clouds is also superb, but anything by him really is worth watching.

 

[agricola]

In no particular order:

Yojimbo
The Thin Red Line
The Empire Strikes Back
Ikiru
The Green Mile
A Town Called Panic
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Life of Brian
Dr Strangelove
Dune (the most recent one)