Personal Film Favorites

Two clusters of favorite films are listed. The first is the top 10 in no particular ranking (Ranking has less validity than clusters!). The second cluster contains my current runner-ups. One characteristic shared among the 20 films is repeated watchability, even the "who-done-its." There are many other excellent films that don't invite repeat viewing. The dates are for the original and best version of the film.

Cluster 1

The Godfather

This film didn't grab me until several viewings. This romantic fiction is rooted in reality just enough to make it believable and compelling. Why do I care about these people and their lives!? The film did for color, what Citizen Cane did for black and white cinematography. Perhaps not as realistic as Good Fellows, the story is so rich that there isn't a wasted scene in the film.

The Godfather II

Sequels are rarely as good as the original. The argument is that this one is better. No matter. The story telling continues of a transformed son and the tragedy of his family and fortune.

Citizen Cane

Most critics place this film high on the all time list of greats, and I agree. In addition to telling a story around a question (What was "Rosebud?"), it was the first film to be loosely based on an existing tycoon, and the innovations in film structure are legendary.

Casablanca

What can I say!? Like the Godfather films, there are so many memorable quotes in this great love story during World War II. It's hard to believe how chaotic the making of this film was when you consider the final product.

Double Indemnity

This is very best example of film noir. We know the crime from the beginning of the film. The plot of a death for love and money unfolds, while the skeptical claims adjustor, played Edward G. Robinson, keeps us on edge.

King of Hearts

This 1966 French film, directed by Philippe de Broca, combines two favorite themes of mine: Antiwar and the definition of madness. The inmates of an insane asylum take over an abandoned town during World War I, reclaiming their previous lives only to find it necessary to question where madness really resides. Stylish and offbeat.

Doctor Strangelove

Kubrick hit his stride with this film: A topical film at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Humor and satire about the cold war, with a novel ending that really is an ending!.

A Christmas Story

Now a holiday classic, this film is written by Jean Shepherd: My late night radio influence of the late teen/early adult years. Shepherd captures the universal experiences of all male kids, regardless of generation. The screenplay is based on short stories from the book, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," a copy of which he personally inscribed, "To good ol' Nick, Excelsior!," back in 1967.

Annie Hall

As a Woody Allen fan, I think of this film as the pivot between his early loony films and his funny but more serious films. Annie Hall, is autobiographical, funny, trendy, and the first Allen film to examine relationships seriously (well, maybe Play It Again Sam did it also). Excellent editing. It deserved and received the Oscar best film for 1977.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

A good representation of the original story, this film introduces the Rathbone/Bruce characterizations of Holmes and Watson. They were also doing these roles on the radio version about the same time. Dartmoor never looked more mysterious before or after this film thanks to black and white cinematography. The hound isn't that scary any more (is it?), but everything falls into place.

Cluster 2

King Kong (1933)

The special effects were innovative for the time, the black and white is often mysterious, and the story pits the crazy world of entertainment in the 1930s against the natural and humanistic characteristics of a very big animal. But it really wasn't "beauty that killed the beast!"

Gaslight

This film and others in these clusters, (King of Hearts, Psycho, Cuckoo's Nest and Manchurian Candidate), represents a favorite theme: The social construction of madness. When is madness ever real, and when is it socially constructed? Elsa is vulnerable to believing that she is going mad, but.... What fine acting by Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. Angela Lansbury makes her film debut in this 1941 film. How many others from that era are still performing!?

Psycho (1960)

This is my Hitchcock pick, based on tension and fantastic madness. Terror in black and white!

Presumed Innocent

An excellent modern murder mystery and who-done-it. This film lingers as my favorite because I was completely taken in by the ending. It wasn't the butler!

Love and Death

Woody Allen uses the great Russian novels to spoof the adventures of a nebbish character. Intelligent goofiness! This was his last great loony film before Annie Hall. Keeping several other Allen films off these lists is difficult.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The tyranny of the mental hospital of the 1950's against the personality of a normal person who breaks some laws is captured in this film adaptation of Ken Kesey's

novel. What is the difference between psychopathology and minor social deviance?

West Side Story

This musical is a jazzed up Romeo and Juliet with great orchestrations, lyrics and dance. The racial gang tension in mid-century New York City is a backdrop to the young lovers.

Gone With the Wind

The year 1939 was probably the best in film history, and Gone With The Wind cannot be ignored as great romantic story telling of an epic period. This is panoramic film making before cheaper ho-hum computer graphics.

The Paper Chase

A life long college professor has got to love this movie! The tensions of high achieving first year law students attempting to make the grade; dealing with the powerful and distant Professor Kingsfield. My favorite line from Kingsfield in class (played by John Houseman): "Here is a dime Mr. Hart, call your mother and tell her that you will not become a lawyer."

Manchurian Candidate (1962)

This political thriller, is a brilliant adaptation of the Richard Condon's novel, which takes liberties with the psychology of brainwashing, but that is OK. The tension, intrigue, and irony are excellent.