"Whole ocean of oil under our feet"
10. There Will Be Blood (2007, Paul Thomas Anderson, US)
The single, greatest masterpiece of the last decade is a wildly ambitious and grandiose epic on a relatively small scale. A two and a half hour character study about Daniel Plainview, a power hungry oil baron who begins to build a small civilisation run on his money, but his control of this town is put to the test by a evangelical preacher. Can be read as an allegory which pits capitalism against religion or as a fascinating microcosm of America. Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely astounding in the central role, his rolling voice reverberates in your head and commands your attention. It is confidently directed, beautifully shot and has a minimalist but great set design. A supremely intelligent modern classic, which will be discussed and written about academically for decades to come.
De Niro punching above his weight
9. Raging Bull (1980, Martin Scorsese, US)
A depressed, drug addled Martin Scorsese was pulled back into employment by Robert De Niro after the critical and commercial battering received by New York, New York. Based on the life of a boxer, it is, like There Will Be Blood, a fascinating character study of an essentially flawed, nasty and complex man. De Niro plays Jake La Motta as a violent, abusive character but at heart is emotionally stilted and finds interaction difficult. He is brilliant. Equally brilliant is Scorsese’s command of the camera and the boxing scenes, which are visually and aurally astounding, also successful are the emotional moments which both pull you in and break your heart. Amazing film.
A child's fascination and imagination
8. Fanny & Alexander (1982, Ingmar Bergman, Swe)
Bow down to the only foreign language film to reach my Top Ten. Bergman’s flawless, exquisitely crafted story of the lives of two children, whose lives drastically change when their father dies and they move in with a stern Bishop. An odd move for Bergman, in that while his trademark cool and emotional detachment is there, the overriding factor is much warmer touch. Bergman finally feels something for his characters his outlook is less bleak and more optimistic. It’s sumptuously photographed and beautifully designed, and filled with great performances of nuance and subtlety.
The greatest film family hug
7. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra, US)
Often defined as one of the most optimistic and feel good films of all time. Odd considering that this actually a dark film which is about one man’s descent into suicide. James Stewart is an always watchable screen presence and here he is better than ever and pulls off his finest performance. Stewart embodies the everyman, not your typical hero, he isn’t suave and he’s a little rough around the edges, but the is sympathetic and plays a beautiful character. Capra despite threat never drops into over egged sentimentality and keeps a good lid on it until the end, where both the audience and our hero gets the big family hug they deserve.
It only hurts when he breathes
6. Chinatown (1974, Roman Polanski, US)
2o years after the death of film noir, Euro filmmaker Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne, craft a classic tale draped in what was then new techniques with astounding cinematography and pinnacle of design. Featuring one of the darkest endings ever of film noir, Chinatown leaves a nasty taste in the mouth but entirely appropriate one. Jack Nicholson is great (when is he not?) and this is one of his finest, if not the finest hour of his career, playing the hard boiled detective Gittes, who is unravelling a deep murder plot at the heart of California’s water companies in the early 30′s.
Neeson and Kingsley write eponymous list
5. Schindler’s List (1993, Steven Spielberg, US)
Still the definitive account of the most terrible event of the last century and no film has come close in depicting the raw emotion and degradation of the Holocaust without slipping into either exploitation or documentary realism. Despite whatever pretentious arsehole Jean Luc Godard says who sees fit to criticise anyone’s film which has serious subject which happens to be a hit when none of his films are because he is more interested in the art than engaging an audience, instead he accuses others of picking up the check and selling out Holocaust survivors for cheap thrills. [Mini rant over] No one could deny Spielberg’s intentions are ENTIRELY sincere. Too many criticise him for being sentimental, this is nonsense. He is honest, his camera in this is often uncompromising, not afraid to show pointless massacres down to the brutal liquidation of the ghetto, he never exploits this, he shows it for what it was. Also when the film does fall into sentimentality it is highly justified and he’s earned. It’s the Holocaust, if there was a subject with which to be sentimental with those who were victims, this is it. A great film which really shows Spielberg to everyone he is a GREAT filmmaker and not just a popcorn director.
The definitive gangsters
4. Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorsese, US)
Scorsese is constantly listed amongst the finest filmmakers who ever lived, not just those who are still living. Film scholars may faun over the likes of Bergman and Tarkovsky and Kubrick, but Scorsese knows how to do everything right and entertain a huge audience, unlike those filmmakers who pander to the elitist sensibilities of so-called experts. Goodfellas is the crowning point of his career, a big yet always contained mob film which tells the real life story of gangster Henry Hill ‘as far back as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a gangster.’ There is nothing which isn’t superbly crafted, as a construction the pacing is pitch perfect: a testament to the tight collaboration between Scorsese and long time editor Thelma Schoonmaker. It’s very well shot with some complex camera moves and sequences which never draw attention to themselves. It is also a very hard depiction of gangster life and never glamourises it. It’s honest, there is a certain attractiveness to it, but where it ends is in drugs, violence and fear for your life. Scorsese is saying this life is risk. But enjoy it, and the film does that just with his great images and superb editing. Wrongly losing out top Oscar honours to Kevin Costner’s sugary, and frankly very worthy Dances With Wolves, it rightly swept the board at the BAFTAs. We Brits know a good movie when we see one.
A day old cliche: Cons have a heart
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Frank Darabont, US)
I have often said this is my favourite film of all time, and if I were compiling a list of favourites it wouldn’t be so different. Other than this would be number one. Darabont shows us effortlessly how to adapt for the screen, taking a small novel and keeping it fairly faithful but changing it in order to make it more cinematic. It is a wonderfully simple melodramatic story of the relationship between two men in prison which then shifts seemlessly into an escape film without us knowing it. It does have hard edges, but all it’s explicit violence takes place largely offscreen and is left for us to imagine. Morgan Freeman pulls out a top notch performance and wonderful voice over which draws us right in and manages to make us feel very comfortable. The reason why it deserves to be this high on the list is because of the remarkable nature of the success and how it has struck with people years on.
The majestic Welles as the enigmatic Kane
2. Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles, US)
The Greatest Film Ever Made, I mean what is there to say. Other than it is the classic, masterpiece, great film everyone tells you it is. Now nearly 70 years and people still prattling on about its greatness, it is easy to go into watching it with a fairly skeptical head on. But it washes over you beautifully and engrosses you right from the very first dark Welles frame and Hermann’s brooding strings playing over the image. The level of craft for such a young director is mesmerising, he plays with techniques and camera moves not yet experimented and are still impressive now. Most impressive being the opera sequence as he takes us up into the gallows to see the grotty stage hands peering down on the titular Kane’s mistress. A beautiful sequence and a beautiful film.
This is a really good list. Three are a lot of films I personally don’t like that much (Raging Bull) and movies I wouldn’t put nearly so high (Chinatown, Goodfellas). But its a respectable list. Thanks.