Brendan’s Conclusion

What exactly defines a “good movie” is somewhat fluid, which is why the AFI’s list is not exactly of the 100 best movies of all time. What the AFI has crafted is a list of the most “culturally significant” films of the past 100 years. This is a fairly overarching term to describe 100 movies from many different genres and time periods, and it is also sadly limited in it’s scope (as a list of American movies only, it misses some of the best foreign films that I think are better than a lot of movies on this list, such as Metropolis, Amelie, and Seven Samurai). To fully understand what “culturally significant” even means, we need to look at the time periods the movies are from. In my opinion, the AFI was trying to define culturally significant as having the greatest impact on film-making as an art form, and the general culture. For example, Star Wars, which was somewhat of a summer popcorn film with a reasonably uncomplicated plot, manages to score #13 on the list, above 2001: A Space Odyssey (#15). In my opinion, 2001 is a much better film than Star Wars, but the list goes beyond “good movie”. When you look at the vast impact Star Wars has had on our popular culture, compared to the fairly minor impact 2001 has today, you understand that from a cultural standpoint, Star Wars was a more significant film. At the same time, though the question has to be asked: Would Star Wars exist without 2001′s influences? Would 2001 have existed without Metropolis? Would any modern movie exist without the advances created in Citizen Kane? These questions may remain unanswered, but the AFI has tried their best to list movies by their significance. The movies at the top have, quite obviously, been the ones that have shaped not only the films that we have made, but to a certain extent the world we live in. The jokes we make. The references we understand. These movies still resonate throughout our life, whether from small little references dropped in everyday conversation, or from entire remakes of old classics, or entirely new works of literature, art, or film based off an already-existing universe. In my opinion, the AFI should craft a second list: in addition to the most culturally significant movie, they should create a list of what are considered the 100 absolutely best films, from a film-making and entertainment standpoint, rather than from a cultural standpoint. This would serve to make a better list for the general public to enjoy (and would mean that piece of tripe known as Gone With the Wind would probably be off the “100 best” list, which would make me happy). But then, would we have to have a discussion about what constitutes a “good” movie? I guess we’ll answer that question when it comes to it. In terms of the nitty-gritty stuff: Emily already said it. About 2.5 days worth of movie watched over the course of a month. Ouch. I think I’m done with movie-watching for a while – although I did get to see a lot of movies I hadn’t seen yet, but should have (Godfather Part II, Vertigo, etc.) All in all, it was a lot of fun, and a great learning experience.

The Godfather Pt. II (Brendan’s Opinion)

(Note: Due to time constraints, and since we’d both seen Godfather Part 1 before, we decided to only watch Godfather Part II.)

I wonder where Francis Ford Coppola has gone recently.  It seems like he suffered from the George Lucas syndrome: put out a few amazing movies that change the face of film-making forever, then try to recapture that magic by following up with a bunch of terrible films that tarnish his legacy for eternity (after Apocalypse Now, he hasn’t really made much worth remembering).  That said, this was one of the films made during his golden era, and it shows – part 2 of the Godfather saga is every bit as good as it’s predecessor, richly deserves it’s place on the list, and continues the saga of the Corleone family.

The film actually follows two plots: The modern era plot continues where The Godfather left off, with Michael Corleone as the head of the family and their continuing deals, schemes, and such.  The second plot follows the early life of Vito Corleone, the head of the family in the first movie, and provides a lot of exposition and backstory into his character.  Coppola’s directorial style is present throughout.

The Godfather Part II goes on for more than 3 hours, but it never drags on.  Robert DeNiro is fantastic as young Vito Corleone, Al Pacino continues to be great as Michael, and the supporting cast is as great as they were in the last movie, with a fill spectrum of characters, from hilarious to scary to outright crazy.  Watch The Godfather Part I first, but you should most definitely watch this movie.

Score: 5/5 (A 5 is a movie I absolutely loved, would see again many times, and would recommend to absolutely everybody.  I probably think it should be rated higher on the list than it currently is.)

2001: A Space Odyssey (Brendan’s Opinion)

Sci Fi movies have kind of a reputation for being cliche.  Given how much movies in this genre tends to borrow from their predecessors, this reputation is not entirely undeserved.  2001: A Space Odyssey seems cliche at first, but what you realize is that this is the movie that invented a lot of the cliches.  Stanley Kubrick’s fanatical attention to detail and accuracy in every aspect of the film, as well as the ambiguous nature of the plot, make this movie a refreshing change from the stupid blockbuster direction Sci Fi has taken in recent years.  This “thinking man’s” Sci Fi film is probably my favorite Science Fiction movie ever, and is one of my favorite movies ever period.

From the opening score that many Sci Fi movies have either emulated or straight up stolen, this movie sets itself up as a full-on epic.  Kubrick makes many design decisions throughout the movie that, on the surface, appear to make no sense.  For example, the movie is 2.5 hours long, but the main plot doesn’t actually begin until about an hour into the movie.  What’s more, the first hour is pretty much explained through plot exposition in the second half of the movie, so it’s entirely superfluous unless you look at it carefully.  The first hour sets the tone and feel for the rest of the movie, and provides some great commentary on the main themes of the movie (is progress really always good, are computers with advanced AI “human”, etc.)  It’s stuff like this that really elevate 2001 above it’s peers, but at the same time, it’s stuff like this that would never make it into Avatar, Star Wars or any of the high-budget, popcorn blockbusters of recent times.  I wish more movies were like 2001.

Score: 5/5 (A 5 is a movie I absolutely loved, would see again many times, and would recommend to absolutely everybody.  I probably think it should be rated higher on the list than it currently is.)

Silence of the Lambs (Brendan’s Opinion)

Hannibal Lecter is, without a doubt, the scariest movie villain or psycho I have ever seen.  This comes partly from the character itself, the incredibly measured and polite personality offsetting the insane amount of violence he is capable of, this come partly from the overall atmosphere and suspense of the movie, and this also comes from Anthony Hopkins’ incredible performance as Dr. Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter.  Hopkins is only on screen for 16 of the film’s 118 minutes, but he leaves such a huge impression on the film and the viewer that this film is not only one of my favorites on the list, it’s also one of the films that stayed with me the longest.

Jodie Foster also puts in an incredible performance as FBI Agent-in-Training Clarice Starling, who becomes almost consumed with her need to capture the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill.  Starling and the government increasingly turns to Hannibal Lecter for assistance, which eventually leads to Lecter getting transferred to a minimum-security prison where he predictably escapes.  Even after he is no longer available to help Starling, she is able to use the information he gave her to get inside Bill’s head, track him down, and rescue his latest victim – but at the cost of allowing Lecter inside her own head.  The film ends somewhat ambiguously, with Lecter in a foreign country, stalking the people who have wronged him, and Starling an FBI agent, but one who will likely be tasked with tracking Lecter down.

I would like to pretend that the sequel to this movie does not exist, but this movie is a triumph of suspense.  I highly recommend it, although it is not for the squeamish.

Score: 5/5 (A 5 is a movie I absolutely loved, would see again many times, and would recommend to absolutely everybody.  I probably think it should be rated higher on the list than it currently is.)

Conclusion – Em

I love watching movies. I’ve loved watching movies since I was a little girl, but back then I watched mostly Disney movies and Star Wars. I started with the AFI’s top 100 list back in 9th grade, before they made the new list in 2007. This was very inconvenient, as I had watched many of the movies they removed from the list by the time they changed it(Fargo, Amadeus). Nevertheless, I soldiered on and decided what better way to spend my winter term then to watch a lot of great movies and see if they actually deserved to be on the list at all.

As of February 6th 2010, I have seen 75 out of 100 movies on the AFI’s top 100 list. I have no idea how many hours that is, but it’s a lot. Just over winter term, I watched 26 movies spanning eight decades(nine if you include watching half of Fellowship of the Ring). Genres include film noir, gangster, silent, black and white, color, talkies, musicals and thrillers among many others. In total, I have sat through 3514 minutes of film this winter term. That means 58.56 hours or 2.44 DAYS of movies. That’s a hell of a lot of movies. I watched nine new movies, which i’m very proud of and watched seventeen others that were fun to watch again(except Gone With the Wind. way.too.long). I’d say that’s success if I’ve ever seen it.
Out of all the movies I watched over winter term, my favorite new movie was It Happened One Night. I really didn’t know what to expect when I watched it and it blew me away. It was interesting historically as well as being an overall entertaining film. I also discovered my love for Clark Gable because of this movie. So good. My least favorite is a tie between A Streetcar Named Desire and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I know they had great performances and what not, but they both just made me really uncomfortable. I watch movies to be entertained and I cringed too much to actually enjoy these films. Ew.

In general, I believe that the American Film Institute did a fairly good job at picking the best American films out there. I am now of the opinion that Casablanca should be number one and not Citizen Kane. I know Citizen Kane is a great film, but I feel Casablanca is far more engrained into the minds of Americans than Citizen Kane. I’d also venture to say that Gone With the Wind should not be as high up as it is on the list. In this day and age, Gone With the Wind feels way too dated to be in the top ten. Top twenty is where I think it should go. Most of my opinions can be found in my other blogs. I wish a Coen brothers film was on the list, maybe Fargo or No Country For Old Men. Also, The Shining is another worthy film, but not every film can make it onto the list. It’d also be nice if the AFI recognized more recent movies in their next top 100 list.
With all the terrible films coming out these days, it’s important to look back on what American cinema can be. It certainly has potential way beyond what most filmmakers use it for these days. Also, comedies can be just as good, if not better than many of the dramas that regularly get Oscars and best performance nods. If more young people watch the greats, then maybe we can achieve a higher level of cinematic experience in the films of today.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

War movies tend to make people’s best movies lists don’t they? I guess war makes good movies, because Bridge on the River Kwai(#32) certainly qualifies as a damn good movie. Bridge on the River Kwai takes place during World War II in a Japanese POW camp in Thailand. US Navy Commander Shears (William Holden) has been a prisoner for a long time as British Colonel Nicholson(Alec Guinness) brings a large group of soldiers into the camp(famously whistling “Colonel Bogey March”). The Japanese wish to build a bridge over the River Kwai and want the prisoners to do it. To build troop morale, Colonel Nicholson uses the bridge as a mark of pride with his soldiers. Soon after, Shears miraculously escapes and is saved by the British army, who wish to blow up the bridge.

I have seen so many war movies because of this project, it’s hard to think that this one would be any different from the others, but it was. I actually genuinely enjoyed this film, partially because Alec Guinness was amazing as Colonel Nicholson. The way his character changes is nothing less than spectacular. Before this, I only knew him as Old Ben aka Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first Star Wars trilogy. Now I see that he is much, much more than that. He won an Oscar for this role and it is clear why. I don’t want to give it away, but let’s just say his paradigm shift at the end of the movie is one of the most amazing bits of acting I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something.

Bridge on the River Kwai is one of those movies that everyone talks about, but it seems like no one has ever seen it. This needs to be remedied. I was terribly skeptical before I started watching this film, but I’m not anymore. Everyone should see this movie. There is no question this movie deserves it’s place on the list.

The Godfather: Part II – Em’s Opinion

I have a confession: I The Godfather Part II(#32) better than The Godfather. There, I said it. The Godfather Part II picks up pretty much where the first Godfather movie left off. Michael Corleone(Al Pacino) is the new godfather and shows the aftermath of his rise into power along with the shifting attitudes about “the family” in the government and in society. In addition, The Godfather Part II chronicles the story of how Don Vito became the godfather in the first place. Robert De Niro plays a young Vito Corleone and he is spectacular.

I love the Godfather movies. I have not yet seen the third installment nor do I plan to as I don’t want to spoil the first two. This was the last major motion picture filmed entirely in technicolor and it adds a lot to the feel of the movie. The more muted colors provide a great palate for the scenes in the early 1900s and it gives the movie an older, more worn in feel for the scenes in the 1950s. Although it’s really interesting to see Michael spiral downwards, the highlights of this movie for me are the scenes in the 1900s with Robert De Niro. My favorite scene in practically any movie has to be the scene where Vito uses a towel to silence his gun. The way that sequence is presented makes it one of my favorite scenes in any movie.

Al Pacino also does a fantastic job playing the now dark intense Michael. It’s a huge change from the Michael we see in the wedding scene at the beginning of The Godfather. It actually kind of makes me sad to see how much he has changed by the end of this movie; he had so much potential as a good character in The Godfather. That being said, Al Pacino is fantastic at showing shadows of his former self in this movie while still playing his new dark self. Amazing.

I know this movie is long, but its one of my favorite movies of all time. I love the parallel story lines simultaneously  showcasing Vito’s rise with the beginning of Michael’s downfall. This movie should be higher up, no question. The movie is a little violent, but it is definitely worth the watch.

2001: A Space Odyssey – Em’s Opinion

I have now seen 2001: A Space Odyssey(#15) twice and I still have no idea what the hell it’s about. This does not mean that I don’t enjoy the film immensely. In fact, the conversations I have had after this film are some of the most interesting I have ever had pertaining to a film. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film with many different stories. First, we see the dawn of man. In this portion, a group of chimps find a strange black monolith which gives them the ability to use tools. Next, we see the TMA-1 mission, where man has found another monolith on the moon. This portion stars William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood Floyd, a scientist from Earth sent to the moon to investigate the monolith. The third and fourth portions both star Gary Lockwood as Dr. Francis “Frank” Poole. He is on a mission to Jupiter with four other scientists and, of course, HAL 9000, the ship’s onboard computer. IT’s way more interesting if you don’t know what happens after that, so I’ll just say that the movie gets very surreal after that.

Stanley Kubrick never gave away exactly what 2001 was supposed to be about, preferring to allow the audience to make their own conclusions. This is a very cool way of doing it, because so many people these days are impatient and require answers to the movies they see. Being a LOST fan, I totally understand this need and I can understand why some people get frustrated watching this film. However, I believe it is way more interesting to talk about a film and come to your own conclusions as to what it’s about. I believe that the monoliths were sent by some sort of more intelligent being to assist mankind in their evolution. The monoliths are not meant to advance everyone, only the ones that feel they are ready. This explains why only some of the chimps advance and it also explains the trippy ending.

One my favorite things about this movie is the fact that it starts and ends with at least 20 minutes of no dialogue. Who these days has the guts to do that? Kubrick is great. He doesn’t do what’s obvious or popular and that’s amazing. Although my favorite Kubrick film is probably The Shining, all of them are worth a watch or two. In fact, it’s probably better to see 2001 at least twice, probably more than that if you want to make some good theories of your own. It definitely deserves at least two viewings.

Gone With The Wind (Brendan’s Rant… I Mean, Opinion)

So.  Gone With the Wind.  I have been told (mostly by middle-aged Jane Austen enthusiasts and elderly Southerners) that this movie is a triumph of cinema and one of the most important films ever made.  Well, alright, I thought, looks a bit like a Jane Austen novel in film form, and I don’t really care for Jane Austen that much, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.  Oooooh god was I wrong.  The worst movie I had seen ever used to be a stupid live adaptation of Peter Pan I watched at age 13, but that has now been dethroned, to be replaced by this bloated, self-absorbed, 4 hour extravaganza on how to make a movie blatantly offensive, racist, slow as all hell, annoying, and just plain bad.  Honestly, even with the other films on the list I didn’t like, I could at least understand their historical significance and why the AFI chose them to grace this list.  I don’t understand why Gone With the Wind is on this list at all, much less why it gets to be #6.  I thought Blade Runner (#98) a much better film than this.  This film’s “historical significance” has been done by other films better.  Why is it here?

The film nominally follows the life of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) as the Civil War breaks out in Georgia, and everything about her life goes to hell all around her.  Vivien Leigh again demonstrates her ability to act her characters in the most annoying, self-absorbed way possible.  I thought Scarlett was supposed to be the heroine of this story, but she just runs around being an immature, self-absorbed brat.  Example: her husband dies of illness while away fighting the war.  Rather than being upset because, y’know, her husband is DEAD, Scarlett is upset because she doesn’t get to dance or do anything fun during the mourning period.  This and more showcase how Scarlett is a terrible heroine, completely impossible for me to sympathize with.  Clark Gable as Rhett Butler is actually watchable – he doesn’t take any BS, does whatever he wants, and generally acts like he knows he’s in a place where everything is stupid, so he might as well inject a bit of crazy into the proceedings.  Beyond that, most of the acting ranges from halfway competent to hilariously bad to unsettling – having all the black actors act like they love slavery and everything is just swell the way it is so they’re gonna help the South beat back those damn Yanks, yessir they will is ridiculous.

Which brings me, I suppose, to the main reason Gone With the Wind is “historically significant” – it had black actors I mean real black actors seriously guys look they’re not white people in blackface they’re real black actors that means the film isn’t racist right guys?  The fact they had black actors is pretty cool for the time, I guess.  What’s not so cool are a variety of other things.  The actors all play slaves, obviously, but they play slaves as the Southern caricature of slaves – stupid, subserviant, slightly lazy and prone to lying, but totally happy with the way things are, and they sure want to keep being slaves forever.  The way the film had black people portrayed is just straight up offensive, and the fact that black actors played black people does absolutely nothing to assuage that.  Couple that with the film’s hero-worship of the “Old South”.  It’s like a Jane Austen novel, except for the fact that Jane Austen is actually a competent writer.  The film is so absorbed in it’s own the-South-shall-rise-again mentality that it kind of forgets that there are people outside the South who like watching movies too.  The film was recieved in Georgia with it’s day of release being declared a state holiday, a parade complete with Confederate flags all over the place, and the black actors being kicked out of the premiere for being, well, black.  The sheer amount of racism in the film completely removes any benefit having black actors might have given the equal rights movement, and to add insult to injury, when one of the black actors won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, she wasn’t given a statuette, but a plaque.  Great.

This film is bad.  I don’t mean just plain bad, I mean exceptionally bad.  It made me feel sick to watch it.  I do not think this should be anywhere on the AFI’s list, and I don’t think it should have been made.  Ever.

Score: 0/5 (Do I really need to explain what a zero is?  Don’t watch this movie.  Do humanity a favor, go buy all the copies from your local video store, and then burn them so nobody has to experience this tripe.)

Some Like It Hot (Brendan’s Opinion)

A confession:  I’ve never seen a Marilyn Monroe movie before watching this one.  Yes, I know she’s supposed to be the most beautiful actress ever, but I just had never gotten around to it.  And yes, she looks absolutely stunning in this movie as Sugar Kane, but did this movie really live up to it’s reputation as the “greatest American comedy of all time”?  Not really, but it’s still a funny movie, one that people should see, and one that I enjoyed seeing.

Two hard-luck musicians are forced to disguise themselves as women to avoid being killed by the local mob, and it just so happens that they join the same musical troupe that Monroe is in.  Naturally, both men end up falling for her (I mean, she’s Marilyn Monroe), but sadly, they can’t shed their disguises or they will be caught by the mob, so awkwardness (and hilarity) ensues.  One of the men tries disguising himself as a millionare to woo her, but the other guy is not so lucky, and he ends up getting wooed by an actual millionare.  The film’s conclusion has one of the funnier lines in history (“Well… Nobody’s Perfect”), but at the same time feels a bit like it’s lacking something.  The movie definitely could have gone on another 10 minutes or so, just to completely tie up all the plot points, but instead the director made the artistic decision to end on that line.  I suppose it’s more personally annoying to me than it is harmful to the movie, but it feels a little bit like a cop-out.

That said, this movie is funny, doesn’t take itself seriously, has some great music and costumes, and is worth seeing at least once.

Score: 4/5 (A 4 is a movie that I really really liked, and would definitely see again, but some very minor issues kept me from rating it as one of my favorite movies ever.  It does come with my completely unqualified recommendation unless you really don’t like that particular genre of movie.)