Friday, December 22, 2017

USA Today: 50 Best Movies of All Time

Originally posted 8/3/2019.

In 2017, USA Today published its list of the top 50 movies of all time. In the article, they explained that they “created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 5,000 Rotten Tomatoes user ratings, 10 approved tomatometer critic reviews, and 10,000 IMDb user ratings. We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating. Movies released in 2017 were excluded.”

Here are the results:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. Schindler’s List (1993)
6. The Dark Knight (2008)
7. 12 Angry Men (1957)
8. Goodfellas (1990)
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
10. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

11. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
13. Casablanca (1942)
14. City Lights (1931)
15. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17. Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era Una Volta Il West) (1968)
18. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
19. Citizen Kane (1941)
20. Toy Story 3 (2010)

21. Modern Times (1936)
22. Rear Window (1954)
23. Psycho (1960)
24. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
25. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
26. All About Eve (1950)
27. Apocalypse Now (1979)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Paths of Glory (1957)
30. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

31. North by Northwest (1959)
32. The Great Dictator (1940)
33. Alien (1979)
34. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
35. Chinatown (1974)
36. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
37. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
38. Inception (2010)
39. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
40. On the Waterfront (1954)

41. Vertigo (1958)
42. Taxi Driver (1976)
43. Double Indemnity (1944)
44. Some Like It Hot (1959)
45. Whiplash (2014)
46. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
47. Wall-E (2008)
48. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
49. Aliens (1986)
50. Raging Bull (1980)

Resources:
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

The Graduate released 50 years ago today

The Graduate

Released: December 22, 1967

Studio: AVCO Embassy

Genre: comedy/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 104.40 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 839.59 Worldwide: 1434.30

Directing: Mike Nichols

Screenwriting: Calder Willingham, Buck Henry

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross

Review:

The Graduate is an “acclaimed, satirical coming-of-age romantic drama/comedy” FS of “sixties youth.” RS It is based on the novel by Charles Webb. Buck Henry, who appears in the film as a hotel clerk, co-wrote the screenplay. The film established Mike Nichols as a major director, thanks to a Best Director Oscar win. “The influential and popular film…became an emotional touchstone for an entire generation.” FS

In his first major role, Dustin Hoffman is Benjamin Braddock, a recent, “shy, naive college graduate confronting the real world.” FS As he says, “The rules don’t make any sense to me…They’re being made up by all the wrong people.” TV Confused and vulnerable, he “is uncertain about his future, reacting with passive rebellion” FS as he “spends his summer trying to find out what to do next.” A98

The wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs. Robinson (Bancroft), seduces him, but he ends up falling for her engaged daughter Elaine (Ross). “The gap of ages is hilariously and poignantly evoked in the soulless affair between Ben and…Mrs. Robinson, the embodiment of middle-aged resignation.” TV “His rescue of the daughter from her wedding is a classic scene.” VD “If only he had followed the advice of his father’s friend, and gone into ‘Plastics.’” A07

“The Simon and Garfunkel score is as much a character in the movie” A98 as the actors; their “songs spoke to a whole new generation of filmgoers.” A07

Sources:

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Box Office:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 1 – Best Director

Nominations: 7 – Best Picture, Best Actor (Hoffman), Best Actress (Bancroft), Best Supporting Actress (Ross), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography

Other Lists/Honors:

Critics’ Picks:

First posted 9/3/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, August 13, 2017

50 years ago: Bonnie and Clyde, the ground-breaking crime drama meets romance, released

Bonnie and Clyde

Released: August 13, 1967

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: gangster/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 70.00 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 397.00 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Arthur Penn

Screenwriting: Robert Benton, David Newman

Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard

Review:

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty star as the infamous Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the real-life bank robbers from the 1930s, in this “groundbreaking, controversial, stylish crime drama/romance, and road film” FS “that mixed romance, adventure, glamour, comedy and violence in a way never seen before.” A07 The “trend-setting film” LM about these “unlikely heroes” LM “has spawned many imitators but still leads the pack.” LM

“The wit, excitement and star chemistry of [director] Arthur Penn’s landmark film remain as vivid as a hail of bullets.” TV He used Bonnie and Clyde “to reflect the youth rebellion of the Sixties” RS against a backdrop of “Dust Bowl panoramas and cloud-shaded wheat fields.” TV

“The notorious advertising slogan for Bonnie and Clyde (‘They’re young. They’re in love. And they kill people’) should have included ‘And they look absolutely marvelous.’ Within minutes of the film’s opening credits (and what great opening credits they are), an audacious close-up of a young, ravishing Faye Dunaway all but screams ‘a star is born.’ Beatty is just as comely and never more charming.” TV

The story shows their “easy-going, folksy flavor” FS in contrast to their “fast, vicious lives.” VD “Gun-toting, amoral, impotent drifter Clyde (Beatty) rescues dreamer Bonnie (Dunaway) from her drab existence by regaling her with colorful tales of the outlaw life. Joined by Clyde’s brother (Hackman), his wife Blanche (Parsons), and a gas-station attendant (Pollard), the gang goes on a bumbling crime spree through Texas and Oklahoma.” FS

The story details “their first meeting through the string of bank hold-ups and cop shootouts to the gruesome violent ending.” VD Highlights include “that odd, lyrical sequence of the doomed Bonnie’s family reunion” TV and Gene Wilder in a brief comic performance, making his debut as an undertaker kidnapped by the gang.” TV The controversial “slow-mo climax” RS “marked the coming increase in visceral cinematic violence.” FS

Sources:

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 2 – including Best Supporting Actress (Parsons), Best Cinematography

Nominations: 10 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Beatty), Best Actress (Dunaway), Best Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Supporting Actor (Pollard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design

Other Lists/Honors:

">

Critics’ Picks:

First posted 6/3/2023.
 
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Roger Ebert: Top 100 Movies

Roger Ebert:

Top 100 Movies

Noted film critic Roger Ebert was not a fan of lists, a point he made clear when he submitted his ten favorite films to the 2012 Sight & Sound poll (“Lists are ridiculous, but if you’re going to vote, you have to play the game”). As such, this is not an “official” list issued by Ebert of his top 100 movies, but one created by aggregating multiple sources, including lists he has submitted to Sight & Sound, his best-of year and best-of-decade lists, his four Great Movies books, and films he has given 4 out 4 stars.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Vertigo (1958)
3. The Third Man (1949)
4. Floating Weeds (1959)
5. Casablanca (1942)
6. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
7. Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953)
8. Raging Bull (1980)
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
10. The Sweet Life (La Dolce Vita) (1960)

11. Apocalypse Now (1979)
12. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (1972)
13. The General (1927)
14. The Tree of Life (2011)
15. The Decalogue (Dekalog) (1988)
16. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
17. Monster (2003)
18. Juno (2007)
19. Chop Shop (2008)
20. Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (2006)

21. Departures (2008)
22. A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) (2011)
23. No Country for Old Men (2007)
24. Shame (2011)
25. Silent Light (2007)
26. Fargo (1996)
27. Persona (aka “Masks”) (1966)
28. The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939)
29. The Music Room (Jalsaghar) (1958)
30. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

31. Hidden (Caché) (2004)
32. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
33. The Thin Man (1934)
34. Gates of Heaven (1978)
35. Notorious (1946)
36. 28 Up (1985)
37. Do the Right Thing (1989)
38. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
39. JFK (1991)
40. The Right Stuff (1983)

41. Goodfellas (1990)
42. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
43. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
44. House of Games (1987)
45. Ran (1985)
46. Hoop Dreams (1994)
47. Pulp Fiction (1994)
48. Schindler’s List (1993)
49. Three Colors:

  • Blue (Trois Couleurs: Blue) (1993)
  • White (Trois Couleurs: Blanc) (1994)
  • Red (Trois Couleurs: Rouge) (1994)
50. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

51. 25th Hour (2002)
52. Mississippi Burning (1988)
53. Platoon (1986)
54. Malcolm X (1992)
55. The Hurt Locker (2009)
56. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
57. Breaking the Waves (1996)
58. The Son (2002)
59. Almost Famous (2000)
60. My Winnipeg (2007)

61. The Godfather (1972)
62. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
63. Nashville (1975)
64. Taxi Driver (1976)
65. Chinatown (1974)
66. Days of Heaven (1978)
67. Blow-Up (1966)
68. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
69. Network (1976)
70. The Wild Bunch (1969)

71. Wings of Desire (Der Himmel uber Berlin) (1988)
72. Body Heat (1981)
73. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
74. Gone with the Wind (1939)
75. Psycho (1960)
76. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
77. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
78. Some Like It Hot (1959)
79. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
80. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

81. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
82. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
83. On the Waterfront (1954)
84. Double Indemnity (1944)
85. All About Eve (1950)
86. The Apartment (1960)
87. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
88. City Lights (1931)
89. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
90. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)

91. The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette) (1947)
92. Pinocchio (1940)
93. Metropolis (1927)
94. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
95. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
96. Manhattan (1979)
97. M – Eine Stadt Sucht Einen Mörder (1931)
98. Duck Soup (1933)
99. The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957)
100. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Resources:

Originally posted 8/2/2019; last updated 6/9/2023.
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)