#20: Harold and Maude
1971
1971
Forget Romeo and Juliet. Harold and Maude gets my vote for the greatest tragic love story of all time. Harold is a nineteen-year-old emo obsessed with death; he stages theatrical suicides for attention, attends the funerals of strangers for fun, and he drives a hearse. Maude is a 79-year old eccentric obsessed with life; she loves music, art, nature, inventing, and breaking the law. What starts as an unusual buddy film becomes an even more unusual love story. H&M is a deliberately offensive film that throws the finger at societal norms, intentionally appalling the faint of heart and closed of mind. But it’s also an unusually quiet film. Harold’s decisions are constantly belittled by the adult figures in his life, yet he never offers so much as a defense for his actions. And somehow, his silence speaks louder than any monologue on how “love knows no age” ever could. About halfway through the film, there’s a shot that only lasts for one second: a close-up of a barcode tattoo on Maude’s arm, a mark given to concentration camp prisoners in the holocaust. It’s a powerful image that explains everything about her character and adds a whole new layer to the story -- all done without a single word. Cat Stevens provides an uplifting soundtrack, with a mix of previously written hits and originals, including the wonderful theme song, “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out.” The few who didn’t walk out of the theater were rewarded with one of the greatest endings ever put on film: a miraculously moving montage that covers a passage of time in a chaotic, scrambled order while Stevens’ beautiful ballad “Trouble” wails along. Heartfelt, hilarious and mind-opening, this is definitely one of those “love it or hate it” films, and you’ll probably have to be at least a quarter emo to love it.
#19: Amadeus
1984
In reality, the prodigal Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart mysteriously died at the age of 35. This fictionalized biopic poses a possible explanation: what if he was murdered by a rival composer? Told from the villain’s perspective, Amadeus tells both the story of Mozart’s life and success, as well as his "assassin" Salieri’s jealousy and loss of faith. Music buffs take note. This is a film about composers for composers. Mozart was truly a genius, and this film really does him justice. You get to hear all his “greatest hits,” learn all the stunning facts and see the amazing methods behind his composing. It’s a shame Mozart wasn’t born two-hundred years later. He would have been a millionaire and the most popular celebrity in the world. But back in the eighteenth century, there were no LP’s, no CD’s and no MTV. Concerts were a good temporary source of income, but the bulk of a classical composer’s income came from teaching pupils, which Mozart had no patience for. All he wasted to do was compose… and party. Mozart was incredibly talented yet incredibly reckless. He was history’s first rockstar. Despite creative liberties made in the story, the film is a great biography, as well as a fabulous period piece. It was shot in the city of Prague, which, thanks to the Communist government, looks nearly identical to how it did in the 1700’s. The period set designs, costumes and makeup are all top-notch. It took four hours to apply the “old Salieri” makeup to F. Murray Abraham. This is also a great film for agnostics/atheists. It aims a lot of critical questions at religion. Normally, churches are very reluctant to let you shoot anything sacrilegious inside them, but since the Prague communists were all atheists, they were happy to comply. My only criticism of the film is the title. Why “Amadeus” over “Wolfgang” or “Mozart?” What’s next, a biopic on Ludwig van Beethoven called “van?”
#18: The Jungle Book
1967
The last film personally supervised by Walt Disney was also his best. Bagheera the panther discovers Mowgli, a mancub left in the wild, and delivers him to a pack of wolves (to be raised, not eaten). Ten years later, a man-eating tiger, Shere Khan, returns to their end of the jungle, which prompts the wolfpack to order Mowgli be escorted back to the man village. I love movies like this: there’s a simple premise in the beginning, and the rest is just full of episodic obstacles. It has a really fun freedom to it, like a Star Wars or Indiana Jones film. The rich animation hasn’t aged a bit. I love how in these old animated films, you can differentiate cells from the backgrounds, anticipating which objects are going to move within the shot. But even better than the visuals are the songs. Oh, baby, what a soundtrack! Who woulda thought the Indian jungle had such swingin’ jazz?! En route to the man village, Mowgli boogies with Baloo, a carefree bear, Kaa, a hypnotic python, a parade of war elephants, a vulture quartet who take after the Beatles, and (my favorite), King Louie, an ape who wants to evolve into a human. The menacing Shere Khan is only spoken of until the third act, which builds him a great reputation, and also serves as a looming threat behind all the fun. It all comes together with a trademark Disney silly-yet-serious action sequence, followed by a very clever ending. Sadly, Walt pulled a Bruce Lee and died during production. At least they both went out on top.
#17: Apocalypse Now
1979
Apocalypse now: the motto of a group who believe technology has come too far and dream of starting over. Consider me one of them; I believe a society that’s created the power to destroy their own planet deserves just that. The story follows Captain Willard, a special ops soldier obsessed with war. In return for his great accomplishments in Vietnam, the army offers Willard anything he wishes. All he asks for is another mission. Boy, does he get it. He’s hired to assassinate Colonel Kurtz, a renegade U.S. soldier who’s gone “completely insane” and formed an alliance with the Viet Cong in the Cambodian jungle. But as Willard journeys up the Nung river to find him, he begins to wonder if it’s Kurtz who’s gone insane… or the American army. The intrigue and anticipation surrounding Kurtz is fantastic. We only see pictures of him and hear a recording of his voice. When we finally meet Kurtz, we see him on only teasing glimpses of light. He’s often regarded as one of film’s most interesting characters -- an enlightened man full of insight and wisdom. But I actually found Willard even more interesting: a cold, distant and troubled man who gets a rude awakening. The poetic screenplay really depicts the horrors of war, and Coppola’s direction gives the film an eerie, nightmarish vibe that makes you feel a bit crazy yourself… or is it enlightenment? Apocalypse Now is, hands down, the greatest anti-war film of all time. In fact, it’s such an anti-war film that it doesn’t even culminate with a big battle scene. A conventional ending would have Willard teaming up with Kurtz to defend his Buddhist temple against Kilgore’s awesome helicopter assault. But instead, what we get is a symbolic, anticlimactic ending that’s bound to leave the average moviegoer mystified.
#16: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
1971
Yum. Just thinking about this movie gives me a sweet tooth. International frenzy erupts when Willy Wonka, the world’s most enigmatic candy man, hides five golden tickets in his Wonka bars, announcing that five lucky winners will win a chance to tour his magical factory, a lifetime supply of chocolate, and a special surprise. All the kids turn out to be spoiled, rotten brats, except for a kind boy named Charlie. This was the Wizard of Oz of the 70’s: a colorful musical-fantasy for audiences of all ages. But if you ask me, the Oompa Loompas could kick the Munchkins’ asses any day! Underneath the edible imagery and catchy songs, the film is actually very sick and twisted. Wonka is, in essence, a sadistic murderer who preys on the weaknesses of the children. He remains careless and calm while the selfish, naughty children systematically succumb to bizarre and tragicomic fates. His factory is a world of its own, full of wonderful things like a chocolate river and fantastic inventions, as well as terrible things like a horror ride and dangerous temptations. It’s all very Seussian, complete with Gene Wilder as the “cat in the hat.” The songs are great, especially "Pure Imagination." My only complaint is that Charlie never gets a turn at the mic. His mom has a song, his grandpa has a song, his local candyman has a song, Wonka has a song, the Oompa Loompas have songs; even one of the other kids has a song, but for some blimey reason, they didn’t bother to give a song to the protagonist! What gives? Other than that, Willy Wonka a scrumdiddlyumtious film that always leaves me in a great mood. And it’s infinitely better than Tim Burton’s version. Why does he keep remaking films that were already classics?! Oh, right, because that's what every director does nowadays.
#15: North by Northwest
1959
This was like the original Bond film, predating Dr. No by three years. And no offense, James, but none of your twenty-some missions have retrieved anything as valuable as NxNW. Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, an ordinary insurance salesman that gets swept into deadly spy games due to a case of mistaken identity. Before he knows it, he’s on the run from spies (who think he’s a government agent), and the government (who thinks he’s a spy). Thornhill himself is a lot like Bond, a wisecracking, smooth-talking counterspy. James Mason plays the theatrical villain, Martin Landau is his cold but feminine henchman, and the gorgeous Eva Marie Saint plays the babe-a-licious blonde Thornhill meets on a train. Screenwriter Ernest Lehman spins a terrific mystery full of great twists, lovably cheesy romance and thrilling tension. Hitchcock was truly the master of suspense, and this film was his best! There’s a creative car chase in which our hero has no choice but to drive drunk in order to escape his would-be assassins. Later, the badguys attempt to off Thornhill from a biplane Kong-style. My favorite part was a ninja-like infiltration into the villain’s posh, mountaintop house, including the most intense “edge of your seat” moment ever put on film! And of course, the film ends with a famous mountain-climbing chase across the faces of Mt. Rushmore. Hitch storyboarded every shot before production, he had a great eye for cinematic storytelling, and he was quite daring. When denied permission to shoot at the United Nations, he disguised the film truck as an icecream truck and shot the desired footage from across the street anyway. When denied permission to film at the real Mt. Rushmore (apparently, staging murders on the presidents’ faces was deemed too offensive), Hitch constructed his own faces out of replicas and enormous paintings. He even snuck some sexual symbolism into the film’s final shot that the censors didn’t catch. The tension is heightened by an amazing score by Bernard Herrmann. As much as I love the film, it has another one of those titles I don't care for. “North by northwest” isn’t even a real compass direction. Although it would be an easy title to draw in Pictionary...
#14: Back to the Future
1985
Great scott! This is heavy: Marty McFly is your average guitar-shredding, skateboarding teenager living in 1985 until the mad scientist, Doc Brown, accidentally sends him back to 1955 (in a souped up, time-traveling DeLorean, no less). As if being stuck in the past isn’t bad enough, Marty runs into his parents when they were in high school, and inadvertently gets his own mother to fall for him instead of his dad, threatening to erase his very existence. This sci-fi-high-school-adventure-comedy is not only endlessly entertaining, it’s one of the greatest screenplays ever written. Every single little itty-bitty thing becomes important later on. It’s full of what us writers call “plants” and “payoffs,” many of which you won’t even notice the first viewing. The whole mother-son infatuation sounds grodey, and it was the reason Disney refused to back the picture, but director Robert Zemeckis executes it so well that the attraction comes off as comical and suspenseful instead of tasteless. The dialogue is priceless, especially the doc’s techno-babble -- who doesn’t know how many gigawatts of electricity the flux capacitor needs to break the time barrier? I can’t imagine anyone playing the leads beside Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Fox is such a likable, believable teenager, and Lloyd gives the most delightfully over-the-top performance since Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. But it’s easy to forget how good the supporting cast is. Lea Thomson and Crispin Glover excel as Marty’s parents (in both ‘85 and ‘55), and seeing them in the past after seeing them in the present really is like seeing your own parents back when they were in high school. Last and least, there’s Biff, the big, buttheaded bully, who was voted the #1 “baddest bad guy” by one of my favorite fellow film critics, James Rolfe. BTTF is one of the all-time great sci-fi films, and there’s hardly even any CG in it. But it’s full of that good old-fashioned movie magic. Through great storytelling, a little makeup and those wonderfully mysterious musical cues, the film evokes more awe and wonder than special effects can. If you’re one of the few people on the planet that somehow haven’t seen this one, I’d say it’s about time.
#13: Little Shop of Horrors
1986
Little shop… little shoppa horrors! Little shop… little shoppa terror! Bob sh’bop, doo-wop a-scooby-dooby du-bop! Ahem. Sorry. I adore musicals, and this is one of my all-time favorites! It’s a campy, rock ‘n roll monster-movie-musical-comedy about a flower shop on the verge of bankruptcy until a nerdy employee, Seymour, discovers a “strange and unusual new plant,” which brings him fortune, fame, and the attention of his dream girl. But there’s one little catch: the plant feeds on blood. Little Shop is adapted from an off-Broadway musical play, which was adapted from a non-musical B-movie from 1960. The story went from the film to stage and back again, and in the process grew into something amazing. The 50’s-style songs were written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who would later compose the soundtracks for many of the neo-Disney films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. The Little Shop soundtrack may not be their most popular, but I actually think it’s their best. The songs are a thrill ride for the ears. It’s the kind of movie you’ll end up watching with a group who sings along with every song because they know all the lyrics. I love love-stories about a nerdy guy vying for a seemingly unattainable girl; they’re so inspirational. Rick Moranis is perfect as Seymour. He’s just so lovably nerdy. Ellen Greene was so good as Audrey in the stage version, she was cast as Audrey in the film, too. The supporting cast is filled with SNL stars, including Steve Martin as a demented, drill-happy dentist. But it’s the plant that steals the show. “Audrey II,” aka “Twoey,” is a marvel of movie monsters. The incredible, CG-like creature was actually an elaborate puppet (you won’t believe it), ran by up to forty puppeteers at once, all running levers beneath the set like frantic exercisers at a gym. Speaking of puppets, the film was directed by Frank Oz, better known as Yoda.
#12: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1984
This severely underrated prequel pits Indy against a Thuggee cult to rescue magical Sankara stones, with the help of a goofy Chinese sidekick and the hindrance of a ditzy blonde. The film features many scenes that were originally planned for Raiders, such as the swordfight (which Ford improvisationally bypassed by simply pulling his gun in Raiders), the daring escape from a doomed airplane and the infamous mine-cart chase that inspired those classic Donkey Kong levels. Now, this film has really a bad rep. It’s widely considered the black sheep of the trilogy, and I think I know why: it was too dark for most people. That’s probably why it’s my favorite. Temple is gross, gory, scary as hell, and it’s the only one that’s centered around a different mythology. Temple is all about dark magic, which probably isn’t as familiar and family-friendly as the Christianity seen in Raiders and Crusade. Instead of God and holy artifacts, there’s voodoo, curses and human sacrifice. The Temple itself is full of Hellish imagery. In my opinion, Temple had the only great villain on the series: the dark magician, Mola Ram. It also had my favorite sidekick, Short Round (played by the goofy Asian kid from The Goonies). Indy’s love interest, Willie, isn’t as cool as Marion Ravenwood or as hot as Elsa Schneider, but she’s definitely great comic relief. The action scenes are spectacular, typically featuring multiple conflicts that are dependent on each other. Indy uses his whip the most in this film, by far. If that isn’t cool enough for you, he also uses a sword on multiple occasions! The MPAA wanted to give Temple an “R” rating. In response, Spielberg argued there should be a rating between PG and R, and thus, Temple was the first film to receive the PG-13 rating.
#11: The Sting
1973
In this classic Disney film, bumblebees fight to reclaim their stolen honey from a pack of greedy bears... Sucker! It's really a documentary on the rock musician Gordon Sumner, aka "Sting." Psyche! See how easy it is to trick people? That’s what The Sting’s all about. It’s actually a heist film about two con artists (Robert Redford and Paul Newman) that plan an elaborate “sting” to get back at a rival crime boss (Robert Shaw). Along the way, they dodge hitmen, cops, and even the feds… but can they trust each other? I love heist films, and this is hands-down the best of the best. The heist is extremely complicated, yet easy to follow and a joy to watch unfold. The plot involves building a phony betting parlor from the ground up, casting dozens of conmen as actors, suspenseful complications, excellent chase scenes and the best card game ever put on film. As complex as it seems, pulling those kinda jobs were actually common in big cities during the Great Depression. The ragtime soundtrack single-handedly revived 30’s jazz, especially its theme song, "The Entertainer." Amazing period detail, great action scenes, classy jazz, old-fashioned title cards, and a phenomenal script are just a few of the reasons this crime caper stole 7 Oscars. It was made by the same cast and crew that made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but in my opinion, that film’s gotten criminally overrated while its little brother’s been shortchanged. The characters pull all sorts of tricks on each other throughout the film, but the best ones are those played on the audience.
Up next: the thrilling conclusion! Click here for Part 5.
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