National Society of Film Critics: 100 Essential Films

National Society of Film Critics: 100 Essential Films

In 2002, the National Society of Film Critics published the book The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films (edited by Jay Carr). The list was unranked but has been ranked here according to the films’ overall status in Dave’s Movie Database. The actual list consists of 107 titles because the book listed some series as single entries. Those movies were The Godfather and The Godfather Part II; Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein; The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955), The Apu Trilogy: Aparajito (1956), and The Apu Trilogy: The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) (1959); La Strada and The Nights of Cabiria (Le Notti di Cabiria); and Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1990), and Raise the Red Lantern (1991). 1. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974) 2. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) 3. Gone with the Wind (1939) 4. Citizen Kane (1941) 5. Casablanca (1942) 6. Schindler’s List (1993) 7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 9. Psycho (1960) 10. Vertigo (1958) 11. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) 12. Pulp Fiction (1994) 13. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 14. Raging Bull (1980) 15. Chinatown (1974) 16. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954) 17. Annie Hall (1977) 18. All About Eve (1950) 19. Double Indemnity (1944) 20. The Graduate (1967) 21. On the Waterfront (1954) 22. Sunset Boulevard (1950) 23. The Searchers (1956) 24. Fargo (1996) 25. The Exorcist (1973) 26. Modern Times (1936) 27. Metropolis (1927) 28. Touch of Evil (1958) 29. Unforgiven (1992) 30. Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953) 31. L.A. Confidential (1997) 32. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 33. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 34. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 35. The Wild Bunch (1969) 36. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 37. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 38. The General (1927) 39. The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939) 40. Nashville (1975) 41. Rashômon (1950) 42. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959) 43. High Noon (1952) 44. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925) 45. The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928) 46. The Sweet Life (La Dolce Vita) (1960) 47. Do the Right Thing (1989) 48. M – Eine Stadt Sucht Einen Mörder (1931) 49. Duck Soup (1933) 50. Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1959) 51. The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957) 52. Frankenstein (1931) / Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 53. The Birth of the Nation (1915) 54. Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka “Nosferatu, the Vampire”) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922) 55. Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis) (1945) 56. Greed (1924) 57. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 58. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) 59. The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) Aparajito (1956) The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) (1959) 60. Bringing Up Baby (1938) 61. Ugetsu (aka “Ugetsu Mongatari” or “Tales of a Pale Moon After the Rain”) (1953) 62. Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929) 63. L’Atalante (aka “Le Chaland Qui Passe”) (1934) 64. Top Hat (1935) 65. The Piano (1993) 66. Night of the Living Dead (1968) 67. Trouble in Paradise (1932) 68. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 69. The Decalogue (Dekalog) (1988) 70. Rome, Open City (Roma Città Aperta) (1945) 71. Blow-Up (1966) 72. 42nd Street (1933) 73. Red Sorghum (1987) / Ju Dou (1990) / Raise the Red Lantern (Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua) (1991) 74. Pandora's Box (aka “Lulu”) (Die Büchse der Pandora) (1929) 75. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) 76. La Strada (1954) / The Nights of Cabiria (Le Notti di Cabiria) (1957) 77. Killer of Sheep (1977) 78. Easy Rider (1969) 79. Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól I Diament) (1958) 80. The Bank Dick (1940) 81. The Palm Beach Story (1942) 82. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978) 83. Written on the Wind (1956) 84. Diner (1982) 85. The Young and the Damned (Los Olvidados) (1950) 86. Close-Up (Nema-ye Nazdik) (1990) 87. The Public Enemy (1931) 88. Faces (1968) 89. Enter the Dragon (1973) 90. Closely Watched Trains (Ostre Sledované Vlaky) (1966) 91. The Thief of Bagdad (1924) 92. Diary of a Country Priest (1951) 93. Winchester ‘73 (1950) 94. Les Vampires (1915) 95. Landscape in the Mist (aka “Topio Stin Omichli” or “Paysage Dans Le Brouillard”) (1988) 96. Happy Together (1997) 97. Jailhouse Rock (1957) 98. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) 99. The Entertainer (1960) 100. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists National Society of Film Critics (2002). The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films (edited by Jay Carr) National Society of Film Critics (official website) Originally posted 8/13/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers released

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Released: December 18, 2002 Studio: New Line Cinema Genre: fantasy/adventure/drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 342.60 Worldwide: 947.94 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 566.34 Worldwide: 1418.90

Directing: Peter Jackson Screenwriting: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler Review: In the second installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the fellowship has broken. “This is a considerably darker film” EM as the “series takes on more of a sweeping, Nordic feel.” E18 “Where the first movie developed its emotional tone from the brightness of The Shire to a darker climax, the sequel is more of a one-note affair, shadowy in both look and content.” E18 The hobbits Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) continue their journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, accompanied by the mysterious Gollum. “In an age where computer-generated characters and scenes are commonplace.” MSN The latter is “one of the most captivating CGI creatures to date,” MSN “a brilliant combination of computer trickery and raspy vocals from Andy Serkis.” EM “It does it again with Treebeard, a walking, talking tree that manages to keep the audience enchanted and glued to the screen.” MSN Aragorn the warrior (Mortensen), Legolas the elf (Bloom), and Gimli (Rhys-Davies) the dwarf and the people of Rohan stand up to the evil Sauron’s allies. It all builds up “to Helm’s Deep, a ferocious action crescendo which features gratuitous scenes of dwarf-tossing.” E18 “Jackson cleverly tempers the louder, brasher sequences with some heartstring-tugging moments - peasants despondent as they are forced to abandon their villages, Aragorn and Arwen’s troubled relationship, and, of course, the return of Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen, superb as ever), one of the film's most powerful, memorable images that may well leave Ring devotees a little misty-eyed.” EM Sources: EM Empire (Nov. 2008). “The 500 Greatest Movies of All TIme” E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 2: Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing Other Awards: Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leslie Halliwell/John Walker First posted 9/6/2019; last updated 5/30/2023.

Singin’ in the Rain, the ultimate musical, released 50 years ago today

Singin’ in the Rain Released: March 27, 1952 Studio: MGM Genre: musical/comedy Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 8.82 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 27.20 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly Screenwriting: Adolph Green, Betty Comden Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse Review: Certainly “one of Hollywood's best-loved musical comedies,” MSN Singin’ in the Rain is “perhaps the greatest movie musical of all time.” LM Kelly stars and co-directs with Stanley Donen, a Lifetime Achievement Oscar-winner. The musical “boasts a terrific Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown songbook [and] a very funny script by Adolph Green and Betty Comden.” TV The story is “a satire on the panic that gripped Tinseltown when the motion-picture industry changed from silent films to sound.” VD “Vaudeville, silent film actor/dancer Don Lockwood (Kelly) and co-star actress Lina Lamont (Hagen) are at the height of box-office popularity, but with the advent of sound, shrill-voiced Lina’s first talkie The Duelling Cavalier with swashbuckling Lockwood is laughable before studio preview audiences.” FS As “the silent-screen triple threat (‘She can’t act, she can’t sing and she can’t dance’)” TV “whose voice could shatter glass,” LM Hagen gives “the performance of a lifetime.” LM Lockwood’s “aspiring ingenue girlfriend Kathy Selden (Reynolds) is recruited to rescue their first film – remade as a musical re-titled The Dancing Cavalier, with Kathy secretly dubbing over Lina’s voice. The voice-dubbing deception is ultimately exposed, and love blossoms.” FS The movie features some of the best singing and dancing ever put to film, mostly through Kelly’s work, but also because of Reynolds and O’Connor. The title song with Kelly singing and dancing around light posts in the rain, is “one of the most famous scenes ever filmed.” VD “If there’s a stretch of celluloid more joyous than Gene Kelly’s triumphant splash through the title song, we haven’t seen it.” TV Kelly wasn’t feeling as joyful as the scene looks; he had a fever of 103 degrees. MSN In addition, “Donald O’Connor’s "Make ‘Em Laugh" is pure choreographed delirium,” TV but the original “footage had been accidentally destroyed and had to be reshot.” MSN Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 2 – including Best Supporting Actress (Hagen), Best Musical Score Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Francis Ford Coppola Roger Ebert Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Leonard Maltin First posted 8/1/2019; last updated 6/3/2023.