15 Best Films I Saw in 2011

Exceptions: 2011 releases seen, and 2010 catch-ups early in the past year don’t count.

1. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Directed by Sergio Leone, Year: 1966

“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” 

2. Paths of Glory

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick, Year: 1957

“I apologize… for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you’re a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!”

3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Directed by: John Huston, Year: 1948

“This is the country where the nuggets of gold are just crying out for you to take them out of the ground and make ‘em shine in coins on the fingers and necks of swell dames.”

4. Sweet Smell of Success

Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick , Year: 1957

“Mr. Falco, let it be said at once, is a man of 40 faces, not one – none too pretty, and all deceptive. You see that grin? That’s the, eh, that’s the Charming Street Urchin face. It’s part of his helpless act: he throws himself upon your mercy. He’s got a half-dozen faces for the ladies. But the one I like, the really cute one, is the quick, dependable chap. Nothing he won’t do for you in a pinch – so he says. Mr. Falco, whom I did not invite to sit at this table tonight, is a hungry press agent, and fully up to all the tricks of his very slimy trade.”

5. The Bridge on the River Kwai

Directed by: David Lean, Year: 1957

“One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity.”

6. Barry Lyndon

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick, Year: 1975

“If ever I should meet him again you will find out who is the best man of the two. I’ll fight him sword or pistol, captain as he is.”

7. Young Mr. Lincoln

Directed by: John Ford, Year: 1939

“I may not know much of law Mr. Felder, but I know what’s right and what’s wrong. And I know what you’re asking is wrong.”

8. Straw Dogs

Directed by: Sam Peckinpah, Year: 1971

“ No. I care. This is where I live. This is me. I will not allow violence against this house.”

9. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Directed by: John Ford, Year: 1962

“When the truth becomes legend, print the legend.”

10. Duck, You Sucker!

Directed by: Sergio Leone, Year: 1971

“A revolution? Seems to me the revolutions are all over the world. You know, they’re like the *crabs*! We had a revolution here. When it started, all the brave people went in it, and what it did to them was terrible. Pancho Villa, the best bandit chief in the world, you know that? This man had two balls like the bull. He went in the revolution as a great bandit. When he came out, he came out as what? Nothing. A general, huh? That, to me, is the bullshit!”

11. Catch Me If You Can

Directed by: Steven Spielberg, Year: 2002

“Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.”

12. Winter Light

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman, Year: 1963

“It may sound presumptuous of me – but in my humble way, I’ve suffered as much physical pain as Jesus. And his torments were rather brief. Lasting some four hours, I gather? I feel that he was tormented far worse on an other level. Maybe I’ve got it all wrong. But just think of Gethsemane, Vicar. Christ’s disciples fell asleep. They hadn’t understood the meaning of the last supper, or anything. And when the servants of the law appeared, they ran away. And Peter denied him. Christ had known his disciples for three years. They’d lived together day in and day out – but they never grasped what he meant. They abandoned him, to the last man. And he was left alone. That must have been painful. Realizing that no one understands. To be abandoned when you need someone to rely on – that must be excruciatingly painful. But the worse was yet to come. When Jesus was nailed to the cross – and hung there in torment – he cried out – “God, my God!” “Why hast thou forsaken me?” He cried out as loud as he could. He thought that his heavenly father had abandoned him. He believed everything he’d ever preached was a lie. The moments before he died, Christ was seized by doubt. Surely that must have been his greatest hardship? God’s silence.”

 

13. Badlands

Directed by: Terrence Malick, Year: 1973

“He needed me now more than ever, but something had come between us. I’d stopped even paying attention to him. Instead I sat in the car and read a map and spelled out entire sentences with my tongue on the roof of mouth where nobody could read them.”

14. Le Samouraï

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville, Year: 1967

“I never lose. Never really.”

15. Cinema Paradiso

Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore, Year: 1988

“Get out of here! Go back to Rome. You’re young and the world is yours. I’m old. I don’t want to hear you talk anymore. I want to hear others talking about you. Don’t come back. Don’t think about us. Don’t look back. Don’t write. Don’t give in to nostalgia. Forget us all. If you do and you come back, don’t come see me. I won’t let you in my house. Understand? Whatever you end up doing, love it. The way you loved the projection booth when you were a little squirt.”

Best Films Seen in November

Attack the Block

Directed by: Joe Cornish

Year: 2011

One of my favorite surprises of the year. Knowing nothing of the plot besides assumptions of it being about hood negroes in london, I did not expect the Spielbergian and genre homage’s. Cleverly balanced between influences and originality, it’s a fun, even rather refreshing film.

Coffee and Cigarettes

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Year: 2003

I’ve always found in experience that the conversations that you might strike up with someone while drinking a cup of joe and smoking a cigarette can be illuminating, or awkward, or straight up bizarre. That, more or less, is the premise of the film. Being one who appreciates such leisures, I rather enjoyed this.

Orson Welles: The One-Man Band

Directed by: Oja Kodar & Vassili Silovic

Year: 1995

Offering a rare, intimate look at the genius behind some of the 20th century’s greatest films, Welles’s widowed wife brings us into the world that surrounded Welles in his last days. Contrary to perceptions, Kodar shows that Welles’s ambition never layed to rest. Made in the vein of Welles’s penultimate masterpiece F For Fake, the doc is brief, but filled with insight. A must-see for all fans of the late master.

Cinema Paradiso

Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore

Year: 1988

I love a good, original take on a coming of age tale, and for one that is so deeply rooted in growing up around the power of cinema that carries well into the protagonist’s adulthood, the resonance rings even truer.

Hugo

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Year: 2011

Decadently adorned, filled to the brim with cinema expertise, and richly layered this marks a new pinnacle of Scorsese’s career. The 3D is absolutely luscious, drawing the viewer not just into a fully immersive world, but also uses the technique as a storytelling device only to enhance the film’s narrative and themes. This is a love letter to film, both the art of appreciating and creating it.

Best Films Seen in October

The Quiet Man

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1952

I should say first that it’s a shame for such a gorgeous film it has yet to recieve a proper restoration. A film like this is one that earns your viewing devotion. Exploring his irish roots, Ford examines the difference between American and Irish cultures in regards to marriage, which love knows no such rules or boundaries. Thematically the characters are richly characterized in their pride, commitment, and obligations.

Batman: Year One

Directed by: Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery

Year: 2011

Simply put, the best animated Batman film since Mask of the Phantasm. True to it’s source, it’s more of a Gordon-centric drama while Bruce’s evolution into the dark knight appropriately sits in the background building to establish the relationship between the cop and the outlaw vigilante. While extremely faithful to the material, there are expansions, largely in bringing the comic’s panels to visual life. With Bruce Timm’s involvement in an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns next year, one can hope that this bodes well for how that will transition to screen.

Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig

Year: 2011

To be honest, I’m surprised at how much I really enjoyed this. Wiig truly does break out in her role with the character and the material given. Playing off the character’s insecurities, the film effortlessly goes from uproarious laughter to resonating on the viewer, no matter the gender.

Melancholia

Directed by: Lars von Trier

Year: 2011

I’m still trying to process all my (many) thoughts on it. But it’s fantastic, and no matter how many times I saw trailers and clips for this, I wasn’t prepared for the magnitude effect the film would have on me. I love how decadent the first half is, it’s deliciously melodramatic, and the disfunctional family & relationships was established well for the dreary turn the second half takes. The second half feels so much more claustraphobic, and the paranioa of the planet approaching culminates to a breathtaking final act. When Trier described the film as a “beautiful film about the end of the world” (paraphrasing if I don’t have the exact words), I was intrigued, and that’s an apt way to sum it up shortly. The film has a greater sense of terror than any other disaster film you could name, and unlike many, Trier lives up to what he sets up. This is a top-notch disaster film made elegantly, deeply characterized, and with none of the excess that others indulge on. This is a real film of it’s kind that others should take note from, even though they probably won’t.

Best Films Seen in September

Paris, Texas

Directed by: Wim Wenders

Year: 1984

Le Samourai

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville

Year: 1967

Drive

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

Year: 2011

My Darling Clementine

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1946

Straw Dogs

Directed by: Sam Peckinpah

Year: 1971

Best Films I Saw in August

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Directed by: Sam Peckinpah

Year: 1974

I need more Peckinpah in my system. He was not just an excellent storyteller, but technically effecient. His violence explodes ferociously on the screen, and I might even prematurely say he was the best user of slow-motion ever in his movies (The Wild Bunch being another prime example). He also gave his characters the space for them to grow for you as the viewer, and Oates carries the film through its sometimes zany twists and turns.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Year: 1988

The imagination can be a wonderous thing, as is this film and Gilliam’s take on the legend. When given free reign, nothing can hold it back, as nothing is refrained from in this delight.

Zombieland

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Year: 2009

Fun. Lots of fun. From Harrelson and Eisenberg’s chemistry, to Stone’s banging hotness, to surprise cameo’s and flashy gory violence, it adds up to a fun movie if nothing else. Though not necessarily requiring of much else either.

Paths of Glory

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Year: 1957

Without a doubt one of Kubrick’s very finest films. From a technical standpoint, it’s impeccably shot, moments will leave a burning aftermath in your memory. It’s a powerful story, and one that will at times have you in a furious state of anger. Kirk Douglas gives what I would easily call one of the best performances ever.

Blue Valentine

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance

Year: 2010

As joyful as love can be, it can also be equally evil. Devestating, and very real, story of love and it’s sometimes traummatizing effects it leaves on those involved. Whether it be directly, or indirectly. Nobody is left unscathed.

Best Films I Saw in July

Sweet Smell of Success

Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick

Year: 1957

Simply put; one of the best, and coolest films I’ve ever seen. Witness the passive ferociousness in the actor’s faces and sharp dialogue.

Duck, You Sucker!

Directed by: Sergio Leone

Year: 1971

Leone’s most underrated. Startingly poignant and typically killer score by Morricone. Coburn turns in what is one of my favorite Western characters.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Directed by: David Yates

Year: 2011

‘It All Ends’, and everything comes down to this. A magnificent finale to the saga. With tight pacing and strong emotions, this completes the Deathly Hallows installment triumphantly.

Badlands

Directed by: Terrence Malick

Year: 1973

Of the clones that followed Bonnie and Clyde, this stands not just as the best, but goes even further to examine the psyche of the reckless youth in its characters.

Blow Out

Directed by: Brian DePalma

Year: 1981

Meticulous storytelling and filmmaking.

Raising Arizona

Directed by: Joel Coen

Year: 1987

I don’t believe anybody understands dumb comedies like these two brother’s, this being no exception, dumb people have rarely acted dumber. And not oftenly as hilarious either.

How Green Was My Valley

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1941

Pure delight and beautiful memories reflected upon in its story of a family through the years of harsh economic times.

The Tree of Life

Directed by: Terrence Malick

Year: 2011

An astonishing meditation on life, nature, spirituality, and one’s place in the grand universe. Every single frame is deliberate and detailed. Behold what is one of the most gorgeous films you’ll ever see. There’s much to digest and take in all at once.

Best Films Seen in May and June

The Night of the Hunter

Directed by: Charles Laughton

Year: 1955

A harrowing tale of Faith vs. False Prophets who attempt to use the words of God as justification for their evil deeds. Indeed, Mitchum’s Harry Powell is among the most memorably threatening screen presence’s of all time. Lillian Gish’s Rachel Cooper is the opposite of everything Powell represents, she presents a genuine grace touched hand to any lone wandering child in need of the loving care she provides.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Directed by: David Lean

Year: 1957

Occasionally you get the chance to experience watching a movie that you know as soon as you finish it that it’s among the best films you’ve ever seen. That’s the euphoria I felt at the end of this. As Lean opened up each character, I took their motivations in and followed their journeys with investment, all building to a (literally) breathtaking finale where the characters odds all find themselves facing against one another. Magnificent film.

Rififi

Directed by: Jules Dassin

Year: 1955

Taut and masterfully crafted, and never unsuprising. A near hour might pass without a word spoken but you’re so wrapped up in the tensity of the moment to care nor notice.

The French Connection

Directed by: William Friedkin

Year: 1971

Tightly structured and ferocious in execution. I’d expect myself to build an even stronger appreciation of it over rewatches. I especially found the gritty-approached cinematography and jarringly fast paced editing effective.

The Last Waltz

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Year: 1978

Beautiful and intimate. Scorsese never allows the camera to leave The Band’s stage presence, this is not a concert film meant to capture the experience of seeing a show live amongst hundreds of other fans, but rather a bittersweet swan song to an end of Rock’s most creative and timeless contemporary eras.

Barry Lyndon

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Year: 1975

This is another that I knew as I was watching it that I was watching one of the best films I’ve seen in my life. Bitterly cold characterization might put some off, yet resonate with others in surprising ways. It’s a gorgeously filmed, and depicted film. Each frame is composited flawlessly, and Kubrick crafts painterly images. Cruelly satirical in nature, at one moment to one’s amusement, another to sheer embarrassment of another. Barry Lyndon is Stanley Kubrick at a peek of a filmmaker, where 2001: A Space Odyssey was an accomplishment in abstract, visceral filmmaking, Lyndon displays Kubrick at his finest as a storyteller.

Midnight in Paris

Directed by: Woody Allen

Year: 2011

In a summer of big bang blockbusters, Allen’s latest feels like a refreshing breeze on a hot summer afternoon. Likely to go down as one of the year’s finest, this is a film where its filmmaker lets his imagination flow. The film oozes love for cinema, and indulges on the nostalgia treatment of believed past glory days, or ‘Golden Ages’ if you want. Gil is another proxy character for Allen, and I found myself frequently throughout the film muttering under my breath “this is so… me!”, and the scenario’s Gil finds himself in is delightfully, dare I say, cool? The less you know about the film, the better, as I knew nothing besides the director and Owen Wilson. The film has more than just a few surprises up its sleeve, and if you allow yourself to be given over to it, it will take you to another place, resonate with any cinema lover or ambitious person truncated in the pressures of being a dreamer in social living. One of the year’s biggest must-see’s, and pure enjoyment promised to anyone who looks at art as something more than just pretty pictures on a wall but as something of expression.

L.A. Confidential

Directed by: Curtis Hanson

Year: 1997

With my love of Noir as a genre, it’s kind of baffling that I haven’t seen this until now. More than just an ultimate homage, but made as a noir itself. It’s gripping storytelling, and each performance is nuanced and engaging. Plenty of surprises abound in the twists and turns the plot of the film takes, never knowing who to completely put your trust in as a viewer. Guy Pearce and Russel Crowe own the film, Pearce is a shamefully underappreciated actor, and Crowe brings enough intensity to just about fear the character’s temperament. And it’s a reminder that once, a while back, Kevin Spacey used to be in good, even great movies.

Best Films Seen in April

127 Hours

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Year: 2010

One of 2010′s heaviest impacting films, I would say. Despite not caring for Boyle’s preceeding Slumdog Millionaire, this would join 28 Days Later and Sunshine as my favorites from the filmmaker. Much has been talked about Boyle’s aesthetic approach, some not caring for it and finding it unnecessarily overdone like in Slumdog Millionaire. I wouldn’t agree, I found the approach appropriate to the frequently visceral journey that Aron experiences. Particularly digging the use of split screen, at different moments we may see parallels of his lows next to his highs, or in the case of the cap above, the draining energy. Franco’s performance is fantastic and his best to date by far, I don’t know how much is actually improvised, but Franco brings sometimes even a faint aura of charisma to get himself through the hell he endures.

Lost In Translation

Directed by: Sofia Coppola

Year: 2003

When talking about this one, its impact on me was more gently touching. Its characters are not so much lost in a different world from their own, but lost in their emotions. The meanings of love, how that effects one and its evolutions throughout time and the giant canvases of our lives. How sometimes a shortlived relationship can be one of the most meaningful ones you share with someone. Perhaps it’s my own wanderings through many of these feelings and thoughts recently, but the film’s moodier tone (than perhaps suggested in advertisement) struck a chord with me. Likely to be enjoyed in even greater depth on repeat viewings, Lost In Translation affected me in more personal ways than most have recently, a complete succession on Coppola’s part.

Minority Report

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Year: 2002

No doubt one of the finest sci-fi action thrillers of the 21st Century, noirsy in atmosphere and mood, Spielberg’s Minority Report ranks amongst his greatest sci-fi films that contain all the necessary trademarks of his filmography, while yet also offerring something fresh and startingly different from anything else prior to it. Cruise, when the call demanded, has proven himself to be more than the average action star, as one whom is capable of emotional range to equal the physical challenges. This is a prime example where Cruise is both the renowned action star and dramatic actor to carry an equal character piece. What stood out to me the most however, beyond just the thrills and compulsively watchable evolution of its plot, is its rather ingenious screenplay. Expanded from its original short story, it contains implausible elements handled in a intelligent and masterly crafted manner.

5 Best Films I saw in March

I didn’t see as many films this past month as I had in February, and by extent, not as many great films as I would have liked having under my belt. But I did see a few films that left impressions on me, even huge impressions in some cases. Like before, this is not ranked in order of preference but in the order of how I saw them…

Toy Story 3

Directed by: Lee Unkrich

Year: 2010

I hadn’t seen the first two Toy Story films since I was a kid, I had planned rewatching the first two before seeing this, but things didn’t quite work out that way, despite that, did that affect my enjoyment of this highly nostalgic threequel/finale? Not one bit, I might have not fully bawled my eyes out as most did, but there were moments where I came pretty damn near tearing up hard. Standing right with WALL-E as Pixar’s greatest efforts since their first Toy Story films, I found myself more taken with some of the darker directions it took in its second act, and its very emotional third act where I was honestly taken back and had no expectations of  where it would go (something that I didn’t find in common with Up, where I was taken out of the experience of that film by its surprising lack of interesting directions and, well, unoriginality despite its concept). Some have expressed disdain at the redundant rebooted Buzz Lightyear sub-plot, I honestly hadn’t remembered that from the second film, so it didn’t bother me as much, despite its contrivance. Despite issues like that, which I honestly find minor overall to the film, Toy Story 3 was a deserved continuation, and finale of the story, it ends in a way that perhaps it could be continued further, but there’s honestly no point in it, so why bother? Hopefully with unnecessary sequels like Cars 2 on the horizon, Pixar will leave this series just at that, which I think they will despite a couple shorts here and there.

Young Mr. Lincoln

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1939

If there was any film I saw this month that would likely make it as one of the best films I saw this year, it’d be this one. Sitting right along with Stagecoach as my favorite from Ford, this has already become one of my favorite films. Noticing that both films were released the same year, it’s for completely different reasons that each is a favorite of mine. Where Stagecoach is entertainment in its purest form and a quintessential western, despite it’s western setting, Young Mr. Lincoln isn’t the high octain entertainment that some of Ford’s other films are known to be. But it’s just as rousing of the spirit, its courtroom scenes sent my spirit soaring and often came to dramatic and surprising conclusions. But it shares in common with some of the other Ford’s I’ve seen and expressed before, its impressionistic simplicity in Ford’s approach to the film’s themes, many that are profound and find themselves relevant to this very day. A simple scene of Abe hanging from a tree limb reading a book of law that expresses the passion that Lincoln had discovered in Law and his relationship with a lover that inspired him to pursue it. I love that, of all the periods of Lincoln’s life that it chose to explore, it was his years as a lawyer that the film chose to cover, which is what lead to the great man he later became in the famed years as President and his eventual demise. I should also note that Fonda’s transforming performance as Lincoln is another quality that adds to the brilliance of this picture.

Winter Light

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

Year: 1963

I’ve only seen a few Bergman’s, but something that I’ve found in common with all his films is his ability to emotionally, mentally, and spiritually affect you as the viewer. This is no exception, as it’s a meditation on the nature of existance, and the uncomfortable stabbing poke of doubt in moments of desperation within the soul. As a christian, I didn’t find my stance ever offended (I think film, as an art form, is open to challenge), but actually towards the end found myself rejuvenated despite its such bleak outlook. As a member of the church debates on what were the true ‘Passion’(s) that Christ endured, it’s in scenes like this that when even I fall into despair, I take faith in interprations like that. That Christ’s worst sufferring was doubt, doubt of his father, and doubt of everything he had done as his followers had forsaken him and most of the world around him passionatedly despised him. It’s portrayals like this that I’m more fond of, where I prefer films like Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ to Gibson’s The Passion of Christ, faithfulness to the gospels doesn’t matter to me, I’m more compelled when a filmmaker is willing to step outside of those boundaries and make (sometimes controversial) interpretations from it.

Hot Fuzz

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Year: 2007

Talk about thrills, chills and bang bang shoot ‘em up action here! Hot Fuzz is overall more of a crime film homage, but I often found myself enjoying its dips in horror, mystery/thriller, and slasher just as much. Tarantino is often more known as a director who relishes in paying homage’s to his favorite films and genres, but Wright is catching up, and has a style and taste of his own. References run wild from Scorsese-esque editing to the Man With No Name walking horseback alone into a town suspected of private devilry. I can only expect that enjoyment of the film, and stumbling upon many of its references that are deeply blooded in the film will come out in future rewatches. It’s a fun hybrid homage, fun to drink with, and I’m sure just as fun sober. Expected rewatches to come in the perhaps near future, may just very well become a favorite of mine upon repeats.

The Maltese Falcon

Directed by: John Huston

Year: 1941

A landmark the the film-noir genre, and the first of Huston/Bogart’s collaborations (Huston’s debut feature as well), I’m personally more of a fan of their latter effort The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (made my favorites of February list), but that holds nothing against this. As a quintessential film-noir, it contains many elements best familiarized with the genre, an intoxicating atmosphere next to a mysterious plot, but what also struck me about its intrigue is the mythology boiling under the surface of the film’s, shall I say, macguffin? Bogart is typically excellent here, playing the perfect asshole of a detective, as is the cast surrounding him with much less clever characters. Spade never sees the endgame, and only knows as much as the audience does, but despite the unpredictability that lays in his behaviour at times, he always has spare tricks up his sleave to pull when the time calls for it. Likely to benefit from rewatches, it contains a sharp script, piercing in its delivery of vital lines and the many turns the story takes.

5 Best Films I Saw in February

Note: Films are listed in the order I saw them, not ranked by personal preference.

 

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Directed by: Sergio Leone

Year: 1966

With being on a western kick as I was this past month, if one hadn’t seen them already, there is no finer place to kick one off than with Leone’s epic Spaghetti Western trilogy. A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More are both great films, but capping off with the threequel, which is also something of a prequel, is without a doubt the strongest film of the bunch. And not just that, but I’d go as far as to say it’s arguably the best western ever made (at least from what I’ve seen). In order to obtain such a title, you’d have to assume it contains many of the best elements that go into a film of the genre. It’s action packed, filled to the brim with breathtaking suspense (many a times in the film you’d find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, unaware as to what could possibly happen next, and the result never disappointing), but of all those things, what stands out the most is its characters and Morricone’s glorious score. Like the other films in the ‘Dollars’ trilogy, there’s money to quest and fight for, and the way all of this is done is unspeakably flawless. The film, like it’s other siblings in the saga, once more follows the ‘Man with No Name’ (Clint Eastwood) who finally has a nickname to go by, Blondie, given by Tuco (Eli Wallach), the treachorous, often foolish, and unpredictable (yet predictable at the same time, dangerous… yet harmless as Blondie mostly outwits him) mexican semi-sidekick partner. Lee Van Cleef plays yet another character (in the previous film For a Few Dollars More he played Col. Mortimer), this time the villian ‘Angel-Eyes’ who only operates on his own agendas. These three characters all happen to be looking for the same thing however, and each needing each other in various ways (except Blondie, who is the biggest key in the game, really doesn’t have to depend on the others, he lets Tuco play along for his own amusement, and Angel-Eyes who seems a worthy opponent). One could go on for hours on this film, but the best recommendation would be that if you somehow haven’t seen it, do so as soon as possible, and if you have, the film’s greatness speaks for itself. It’s a long film yes, but never did I feel its length, and with all it’s characters in place, the story builds to a climactic showdown that, as Quentin Tarantino enthused, is a moment where everything possible in a film; the editing, cinematography, and score reach a level of perfection rarely matched, and never topped.

 

 

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Directed by: John Huston

Year: 1948

There’s a simplicity to this film I find remarkable, not just in how it covers its themes, but the conservative use of locations that aren’t just cheap, but effective in portraying the characters lonliness and isolation. The message of the film can be condensed to what a man would risk for wealth and all that comes with it, even losing one’s own sanity. It’s here that I believe Humphrey Bogart gives his best performance, portraying a mans descent into madness through paranioa and obsession. To counter this, you have Tim Holt’s Curtin who is instead loyal to his partners and their equal work, the film begins with these two men finding company in each other’s presence as they’re both unemployed americans searching for any work that could bring them considerable fortune. They frequently allow themselves to be screwed over in work, in one instance, without ever being payed. But then comes the older, wiser Howard (Walter Huston) who talks about mining for Gold one evening. It’s Dobbs (Bogart) who takes interest to the stories the old man tells and suggests it to his friend Curtin. But Dobbs arogance looks past the horrors that Howard also tells of, men who he has witnessed in his lifetime also descend into madness and would commit genocide all for wealth, a path that Dobbs falls prey to much later in the film.

The film is a tense character examination, it sometimes becomes even uncomfortable to watch as Dobbs delusions lead him to attempt mutiny on his partners to gain all the wealth for himself. Live together, die alone never rings truer when Dobbs cuts himself free of his partners and dies when facing Bandits, who are not even interested in the gold. One of the most effective endings I’ve ever seen is the final shot of a bag of Gold caught on the thorn of a cactus as the gold blows away in the wind. What I like about this, and is true of the entirety of the film itself, is that the themes are not spoon fed to the viewer. It’s not explained in dialogue the meaning of any of these things, but rather shots embody these messages, themes, and character developments in action. It’s a simplicity that is rarely seen in Hollywood anymore, but achieved ever so well with as little.

 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Directed by: Mike Nichols

Year: 1966

In some regards, I would call this one of the most horrifying films I’ve ever seen. A struggling married couple take out their issues on a younger, also troubled marriage. The result is one of the most devilishly entertaining brawl of words between the woman and her husband, to which he takes to his advantage by further playing games that threaten everything about them, and the younger couple as they get dragged down in the maelstrom of alchohol-fueled fury. The brilliance of the film lies not just in its screenplay, but also Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s performances. Each feeding off the other, and it’s a shame that Burton didn’t win the oscar like Taylor, who at the time was also his real life wife. The other two are also adequate, but it’s Burton and Taylor who command the screen at every moment, it’s almost hard to believe there was even a director, the way the two fed off each other had to be with much improvising for it to come across like it did. Nichols fittingly allows his cast to run with it until they drain every ounce of the story and their characters will. It’s a difficult film to write about, but it’s a film that I think demands to be experienced, as long as the viewer is willing to let the characters jerk you around through its story.

 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1962

If there had been anyone who understood the traditional, classic western, it would have been John Ford. And he was certainly one of the biggest contributors to the genre, and unlike alot of films in the genre, his filmmaking was identifiable. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is able to stand right next to other greats such as Stagecoach and The Searchers (I should add that these are the only Ford films I’ve actually seen). And like those films, alot of what stood out to me in those also stood out here. Ford’s ability to create stirring depth in his characters and story, whether it be commentating on society and human nature, or as debated in this film, the meaning of true justice in a world that relies on violence to accomplish what is needed. The film is aptly titled in representing the story, it starts with a Senator (James Stewart) and his wife (Vera Miles) visiting a former town they resided in and to attend the funeral for a man that the newspapers had never even heard of. The Senator sits down to an interview and tells the story of how he had come to Shinbone, and met his wife Hallie and the deceased Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), and ultimately how he became acquainted with the outlaw Liberty Valance. The film presents and tells its story well, and at the end of what is actually a remarkable story to tell in the newspapers, the Publisher tears up the interview and retorts with “When the truth becomes legend, print the legend”. Perhaps telling the entire truth of the story allowed Ransom to come to his own personal resolve with it.

 

Catch Me If You Can

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Year: 2002

I’m not real familiar with Spielberg’s work over the past two decades (honestly haven’t seen Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Munich), but Spielberg’s light and breezy tale of the youngest and one of the most successful con-men (Frank Abignale Jr.) in history is pure fun and one of his best films. I believe this is one of the first performances that Leonardo DiCaprio gives that showed he had acting chops and was more than just the pretty-boy image that post-Titanic‘s success had given him. The film also stars Tom Hanks as the FBI Agent Carl Hanratty in charge of chasing Abignale Jr. down, Christopher Walken as Abignale Sr., Martin Sheen as Frank’s would-be father-in-law Roger, and Amy Adams as his love interest Brenda (whose presence in Frank’s life gives him the motivation to attempt settling down and live a normal life, all that he ever really desired, but his track of lies including her not knowing his real name as he lived under a fake persona of being a doctor and lawyer, but as the truth begins to creep back up it leads to a crushingly heartbreaking end for their relationship). At the end, the film is a triumph of humor effortlessly balanced with real-life drama, and sometimes crushing tragedy. At points you wonder if there could even be a happy ending, and yet, it still manages to pull one out through swift turns in the story. The film is such a delight that keeps you with a smile on your face.