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Sound Opinions Message Board > Anything Goes > Et Cetera > Et Cetera Archive
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Mitchell
Last time that we had this conversation
I decided we should be friends


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Superwomen! Belted, buckled and booted!


#61 Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
Russ Meyer.

Running time - 83 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Cult Satirical Melodrama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Jack Moran
Russ Meyer


Cast
Tura Satana .... Varla
Haji .... Rosie
Lori Williams .... Billie
Sue Bernard .... Linda
Stuart Lancaster .... The Old Man

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Three go-go dancers, led by incomparable femme fatale Tura Satana, go on a wild crime spree in California in Russ Meyer's cult favourite. After indulging in kidnapping, theft, murder and wanton exposure of their seemingly limitless cleavages, the crazy-for-kicks chicks take the battle of the sexes to the extreme, drawing some hapless males into a violently perverse cat-and-mouse game. Along with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, this double-entendre parade through the seamier side of the Swinging Sixties is the definitive Meyer movie. A grotesque gala of deranged perfection guaranteed to keep you on the edge of disbelief.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 6.4/10 (1,657 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Pavement Ist Rad (#3) also Saskadelphia (#10)
Mitchell
“This is what interests Tati. Everything and nothing. Blades of grass, a kite, children, a little old man, anything, everything which is at once real, bizarre, and charming" - Jean Luc-Godard

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It's laugh-vacation time as Jacques Tati romps through the most gloriously mad lark ever to tickle the ribs of young and old alike!


#60 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)
Jacques Tati.

Running time - 83 Mins
Country of origin - France
Genre - Satirical Comedy
Original language - French

Writing credits
Henri Marquet

Cast
Jacques Tati .... Monsieur Hulot
Nathalie Pascaud .... Martine
Micheline Rolla .... The Aunt
Valentine Camax .... Englishwoman
Louis Perrault .... Fred

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Inspired by the sophisticated silent clowning of Max Linder and Buster Keaton, Jacques Tati's masterpiece is a sublime blend of satire, slapstick and character comedy that was itself a key influence on the nouvelle vague. With the genial Hulot invariably at its centre, much of the hilarious seaside action was filmed in long shot — not only to allow the gags to develop in their own time and space, but also to enable audiences to discover for themselves Tati's intuitive use of the film frame, his acute understanding of human behaviour, and his gently mocking appreciation of the absurdities and inefficiencies of the modern world.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.7/10 (2,401 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Agrimorfee (#4)
Mitchell
How tragic that man can never realize how beautiful life is until he is face to face with death.

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#59 Ikiru (1952)
Akira Kurosawai.

Running time - 141 Mins
Country of origin - Japan
Genre - Drama
Original language - Japanese

Writing credits
Shinobu Hashimoto
Akira Kurosawa

Cast
Takashi Shimura .... Kanji Watanabe
Shinichi Himori .... Kimura
Haruo Tanaka .... Sakai
Minoru Chiaki .... Noguchi
Miki Odagiri .... Toyo Odagiri

Other awards
Nominated: BAFTA Best Foreign Actor (Takashi Shimura)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Director Akira Kurosawa is celebrated for his samurai dramas, notably Rashomon and Seven Samurai, but many critics regard this contemporary drama as his greatest achievement. The story would appear to have many pitfalls: a meek civil servant is told he has terminal cancer, so he gets drunk, confronts the emptiness of his life and finally makes amends by turning a derelict city area into a children's playground. This is almost the preserve of the American TV movie — crassly manipulative — but such is the delicacy of Kurosawa's direction, and the discreet power of Takashi Shimura's performance, that you will be moved to tears.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.1/10 (6,033 votes) top 250: #238
SOMB 499 rank - #428

Ranked highest by The Eyes (#4)
Mitchell
I can't seem to stop singing wherever I am

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The Happiest Sound In All The World!


#58 The Sound of Music (1965)
Robert Wise.

Running time - 165 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Musical
Original language - English

Writing credits
Ernest Lehman
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Howard Lindsay
Russel Crouse

Cast
Julie Andrews .... Maria
Christopher Plummer .... Captain Georg von Trapp
Richard Haydn .... Max Detweiler
Peggy Wood .... Mother Abbess
Anna Lee .... Sister Margaretta

Academy Awards
Won Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment, Best Picture, Best Sound.
Nominated: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julia Andrews), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Peggy Wood), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design

Other Awards
Won Golden Globes: - Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (Julia Andrews)
Nominated: BAFTA - Best British Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Motion Picture Director, Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Wood)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This artful crowd-pleaser reaches out to every generation, thanks to expert and unsentimental handling from director Robert Wise (replacing William Wyler) and a magnificent performance from Julie Andrews. She is perfectly cast as Maria, the reluctant nun who discovers her true calling (of course; she's Mary Poppins) as governess to a houseful of youngsters. It still looks lovely, in particular the stunning opening panoramic sweep on to the mountain top and the Do Re Mi tour around Salzburg (location-scouted by the uncredited musical genius Roger Edens), and the Rodgers and Hammerstein score is as refreshing as ever. For those who have never seen it, do. For those who love it, no persuasion is needed — it's as fresh and as magical as Andrews's smile.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.7/10 (25,870 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Agrimorfee (#8) also Dr. Jimmy (#10)
Mitchell
That's not how I remembered it!

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#57 Rashômon (1950)
Akira Kurosawa.

Running time - 86mins
Country of origin - Japan
Genre - Drama
Original language - Japanese

Writing credits
Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Akira Kurosawa

Cast
Toshirô Mifune .... Tajômaru
Machiko Kyô .... Masako
Masayuki Mori .... Takehiro
Takashi Shimura .... Woodcutter

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Other Awards
Won Venice Golden Lion
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Film from any Source

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Showered with prizes at festivals worldwide, this was the film that introduced western audiences to Japanese cinema. Exploring the relativity of truth, Akira Kurosawa presents four equally credible accounts of the woodland encounter between a wealthy married couple and a bandit that results in the husband's death. The endlessly moving camera, the stylised composition of the shots and the subtly shifting performances enable Kurosawa to challenge the notion that the camera never lies. Machiko Kyo as the wife and Toshiro Mifune as the bandit are superb, but it's Kurosawa's control that makes this exercise in emphasis and atmosphere so mesmerising.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.5/10 (15,558 votes) top 250: #62
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by The Eyes (#8)
Mitchell
“... one of the greatest films ever made about the actual process of filmmaking.” - Martin Scorsese

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#56 Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963)
Jean-Luc Godard

Running time - 98mins
Country of origin - France/Italy
Genre - Satire
Original language - English/French

Writing credits
Alberto Moravia
Jean-Luc Godard

Cast
Brigitte Bardot .... Camille Javal
Michel Piccoli .... Paul Javal
Jack Palance .... Jeremy Prokosch
Giorgia Moll .... Francesca Vanini
Fritz Lang .... Fritz Lang

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Jean-Luc Godard's weird satire on Hollywood's invasion of Europe stars Jack Palance as the American producer who says: “When I hear the word culture I reach for my cheque book.” Fritz Lang plays the director of an intended version of Homer's Odyssey, while the sex interest is provided by — who else? — Brigitte Bardot. It sounds relatively straightforward, and probably would be if Godard didn't veer off at tangents in his desperate attempt to retain his modishness and not be swamped by his biggest budget and cast to date.

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Amazon.com link

IMDB link - 7.7/10 (2,871 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Nic (#1)
Jimmy TKB
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 1 2006, 09:22 AM) [snapback]99518[/snapback]
=#71 Witchfinder General (1968)
Michael Reeves.

Running time - 88mins
Country of origin - UK
Genre - Horror
Original language - English

I have it on region-free dvd. I have been toying w/ the idea of a 1960's horror filmfest party or something like that because people really NEED to see this. Doesn't help that it is only available in Europe on dvd, so it is really criminally underexposed here in the States. Pretty famous in England though, or so I've heard.
Angrimorfee
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 2 2006, 09:48 AM) [snapback]100899[/snapback]

“... one of the greatest films ever made about the actual process of filmmaking.” - Martin Scorsese
Jean-Luc Godard's weird satire on Hollywood's invasion of Europe stars Jack Palance as the American producer who says: “When I hear the word culture I reach for my cheque book.” Fritz Lang plays the director of an intended version of Homer's Odyssey, while the sex interest is provided by — who else? — Brigitte Bardot. It sounds relatively straightforward, and probably would be if Godard didn't veer off at tangents in his desperate attempt to retain his modishness and not be swamped by his biggest budget and cast to date.


I don't know what Scorsese and the Radio Times guy are talking about (I'd put Singin In the Rain, or Day For Night in the higher rank of "movies about movies.") It seemed to be more about B.B.'s nihilism (at least, by the time the second half rolls around). Maybe I need to give this a second look. What am I not getting?
birdistheword
I've only seen it once, but I wasn't crazy about it. I felt like Godard lost some of his spark, like it was made by a bitter grouch instead of the enfant terrible behind Weekend or Masculine-Feminine. The wit and humor wasn't that sharp...it wasn't all that interesting and some of it really dragged for me.

Then again, Scorsese loved Barry Lyndon, and I've still got mixed feelings about that one.
The Good Dr Bill
how many American movies have there been in the top 100 so far? Five? Ten?
held
QUOTE(The Good Dr Bill @ Jun 2 2006, 03:23 PM) [snapback]101380[/snapback]

how many American movies have there been in the top 100 so far? Five? Ten?

19.
birdistheword
It was a better time for foreign cinema. Italian cinema, the French New Wave, Ingmar Bergman, Kurosawa...it really was an explosion. Hollywood was in trouble, with the old studio system collapsing and studios banking on bloated epics to turn their fortunes around. On the other end of the spectrum, the "social" pictures that were supposedly so groundbreaking haven't dated well.
Saskadelphia
I'm getting a huge kick out of Gareth's obscure Simpsons references.
Mitchell
QUOTE(birdistheword @ Jun 2 2006, 10:17 PM) [snapback]101473[/snapback]

It was a better time for foreign cinema. Italian cinema, the French New Wave, Ingmar Bergman, Kurosawa...it really was an explosion. Hollywood was in trouble, with the old studio system collapsing and studios banking on bloated epics to turn their fortunes around. On the other end of the spectrum, the "social" pictures that were supposedly so groundbreaking haven't dated well.


Of those 19 I'd argue a few of them aren't actually considered classics and are just ironic/cult films as well.

QUOTE(Saskadelphia @ Jun 2 2006, 10:38 PM) [snapback]101494[/snapback]

I'm getting a huge kick out of Gareth's obscure Simpsons references.


Thanks, one of my favourite obscure Simpson's jokes it is too.
Mitchell
It's got nerves in it. It's a piece of wood, got nerves in it.

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A motion picture that probes the stranger... the pick-up... why a man hustles for a buck or a place in the sun!


#55 The Hustler (1961)
Robert Rossen.

Running time - 129 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Sidney Carroll
Robert Rossen

Cast
Paul Newman .... Eddie Felson
Jackie Gleason .... Minnesota Fats
Piper Laurie .... Sarah Packard
George C. Scott .... Bert Gordon
Myron McCormick .... Charlie Burns

Academy Awards
Won: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Newman), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jackie Gleason & George C. Scott *), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Piper Laurie), Best Director, Best Picture, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Other Awards
Won BAFTA - Best Film from any Source, Best Foreign Actor (Paul Newman)
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Foreign Actress (Piper Laurie): Golden Globes; Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (Paul Newman), Best Supporting Actor (Jackie Gleason), Best Supporting Actor (George C. Scott )

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This classic drama is showing its age nowadays: the mock-poetic, soul-searching dialogue and the alcoholic heroine are firmly rooted in 1950s social realism. It does for pool players what dozens of other downbeat movies did for boxers: it psychoanalyses them, determined to make them into complex dramatic characters. However, as a showcase for one of Paul Newman's best screen performances, it's still a masterpiece, with Newman, Jackie Gleason (as Minnesota Fats) and George C Scott striking sparks in the perfectly captured seedy pool-hall atmosphere. The picture is streets ahead of Martin Scorsese's flashy sequel, The Color of Money, for which Newman finally won his deserved Oscar.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.1/10 (10,613 votes) top 250: #184
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by avatar akbar (#4) also Jrmsn (#10)
Mitchell
Red wine with fish. Well that should have told me something.

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Meet James Bond, secret agent 007. His new incredible women... His new incredible enemies... His new incredible adventures...


#54 From Russia With Love (1963)
Terence Young.

Running time - 110 mins
Country of origin - UK
Genre - Spy Adventure
Original language - English

Writing credits
Richard Maibaum
Johanna Harwood
Ian Fleming

Cast
Sean Connery .... James Bond
Daniela Bianchi .... Tatiana Romanova
Pedro Armendáriz .... Ali Kerim Bey
Lotte Lenya .... Rosa Klebb
Robert Shaw .... Donald 'Red' Grant

Other Awards
Won BAFTA - Best British Cinematography

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Ian Fleming received a useful boost to his sales when President Kennedy listed From Russia with Love as one of his ten favourite books. It is also one of the most popular Bond movies and a terrific thriller in its own right, owing much to Hitchcock and Carol Reed's The Third Man in its marvellous atmosphere of foreign intrigue. Superbly shot on location in a pre-touristy Istanbul, and closely following Fleming's original story, the film has Sean Connery duped into smuggling a top secret communist decoding machine, plus blonde Russian diplomat Daniela Bianchi, from Turkey to the West via the Orient Express. Lotte Lenya is unforgettable as lesbian villain Rosa Klebb, and Robert Shaw is an impressive hitman who commits a terrible faux pas in front of 007 by ordering red wine with fish

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.4/10 (13,084 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by No Magnets (#1)
Mitchell
That'll be the day.

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He had to find her, he had to find her...


#53 The Searchers (1956)
John Ford.

Running time - 113 mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Western
Original language - English

Writing credits
Alan Le May
Frank S. Nugent

Cast
John Wayne .... Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter .... Martin Pawley
Vera Miles .... Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond .... Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
Natalie Wood .... Debbie Edwards

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Like Monument Valley, where it was filmed, this masterpiece western of revenge and reconciliation from director John Ford is massive and unmissable. It touches the heart of racist darkness and cleanses itself in the process. As John Wayne's Ethan Edwards sets out to kill both the Comanche butcher of his brother's family and the abducted niece who, in his eyes, has turned native, his five-year quest becomes a search for his own soul. Jeffrey Hunter is the conscience along for the ride, but it's the complexity of Wayne's antihero that reveals him as a rootless pioneer, forever framed in the doorways of family homesteads of which he can never become part. Ford's great allegory is of a people lost and found.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (12,958 votes) top 250: #236
SOMB 499 rank - #514

Ranked highest by No Magnets and Bird is The Word (#8)
Mitchell
Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move, refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie.

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#52 Persona (1966)
Ingmar Bergman.

Running time - 79 mins
Country of origin - Sweden
Genre - Drama
Original language - Swedish

Writing credits
Ingmar Bergman

Cast
Bibi Andersson .... Alma, The Nurse
Liv Ullmann .... Elisabeth Vogler, The Actress
Margaretha Krook .... The Doctor
Gunnar Björnstrand .... Mr. Vogler

Other Awards
Nominated BAFTA - Best Foreign Actress (Bibi Andersonn)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Ingmar Bergman devised this ambitious drama while recovering in hospital from debilitating dizziness. Inspired by the physical similarity between Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson (playing an actress struck mute and the nurse who treats her), it explores the very nature of art and reality. Everything about this most modern of films is designed to disorientate the viewer — the inclusion of off-screen voices and the paraphernalia of film-making, the sudden melting of the frame, the disjointed structure of the narrative and, finally, the famous melding of Ullmann and Andersson's faces into a single identity. Proclaiming the artist to be both communicator and charlatan, this is an audacious, complex and unforgettable piece of work.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (5,353 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - 476

Ranked highest by Bird Is The Word (#7) also The Eyes (#10)
Mitchell
You can always depend on the kindness of strangers....a stranger's just a friend you haven't met!

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...When she got there she met the brute Stan, and the side of New Orleans she hardly knew existed.


#51 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Elia Kazan.

Running time - 119 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Tennessee Williams
Oscar Saul

Cast
Vivien Leigh .... Blanche DuBois
Marlon Brando .... Stanley Kowalski
Kim Hunter .... Stella Kowalski
Karl Malden .... Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
Rudy Bond .... Steve

Academy Awards
Won: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Karl Malden), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Vivien Leigh), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kim Hunter), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando ), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Music, Best Picture, Best Sound, Recording, Best Writing Screenplay

Other Awards
Won BAFTA - Best British Actress (Vivien Leigh): Golden Globes - Best Supporting Actress (Kim Hunter) Venice - Special Jury Prize
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Film from any Source: Golden Globes; Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (Vivien Leigh). Venice Golden Lion.

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Marlon Brando is at the height of his powers here, reprising his acclaimed Broadway role as the brutal Stanley Kowalski in director Elia Kazan's classic adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Brando's bravura performance is matched by that of Vivien Leigh (as Kowalski's sister-in-law, the neurotic southern belle Blanche DuBois) and their scenes together sizzle with sexual tension. The play's homosexual references were cut to comply with censorship rules of the day, though Blanche's implied violation and references to her sordid past remain. The film won four Oscars — awards for Leigh, Kim Hunter (as Kowalski's wife), Karl Malden and art director Richard Day — but Brando missed out to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (12,697 votes) top 250: #246
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Man Is Matter & Pinkerton (#9) also The Good Dr. Bill (#10)
Elemeno P.T.
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 1 2006, 09:00 AM) [snapback]99494[/snapback]



Ranked highest by Elemeno P.T. (#9) - {What are the chances of that happening, aye?}



biggrin.gif That's cool. I guess this just shows my vulnerability toward hot foreign blonds of the 60's! Hell, even Julie Andrews ranks high on my list with two movies...meow!...kind of weird considering that I am a not so distant relative of the VonTrapp clan.
tjenz
I think my favorite thing about this thread is the old movie posters Gareth has posted.
Nice work you limey fuck
Mitchell
I may be old-fashioned, but I thought murder was against the law.

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A girl in love with young America's idol--and a good-looking stranger in search of sensation--that's how it all began..! Warner Bros. bring a pounding new tempo to motion picture entertainment!


#50 Strangers on a Train (1951)
Alfred Hitchcock.

Running time - 96 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Thriller
Original language - English

Writing credits
Patricia Highsmith
Whitfield Cook

Cast
Farley Granger .... Guy Haines
Ruth Roman .... Anne Morton
Robert Walker .... Bruno Anthony
Leo G. Carroll .... Sen. Morton
Patricia Hitchcock .... Barbara Morton

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This splendid thriller is testimony to Alfred Hitchcock's mastery of technique and his ability to transform even the most unpromising start into a gripping movie. After nearly a dozen writers had turned down the chance to adapt Patricia Highsmith's novel, Raymond Chandler stepped into the breach, only to disagree with Hitch on several key scenes and suffer the humiliation of having his dialogue polished by Czenzi Ormonde, a staff writer. Hitchcock was also underwhelmed by Farley Granger in a role he felt cried out for William Holden. Nevertheless, he turns the murderous proposal of eccentric playboy Robert Walker to tennis champ Granger into a true nail-biter, with the two fairground scenes outstanding. He did approve of one casting decision, however — his daughter Patricia plays Ruth Roman's suspicious sister.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.4/10 (13,900 votes)top 250: #84
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by No Magnets and Pinkerton (#10)
Mitchell
My name is Chris Maceviti. I work on Wall Street. Not on Wall Street, but you know, stocks

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Teenage terror torn from today's headlines


#49 Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Nicholas Ray.

Running time - 106 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Nicholas Ray
Irving Shulman

Cast
James Dean .... Jim Stark
Natalie Wood .... Judy
Sal Mineo .... John 'Plato' Crawford
Jim Backus .... Frank Stark
Ann Doran .... Mrs. Carol Stark

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Sal Mineo), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Natalie Wood), Best Writing, Motion Picture Story

Other Awards
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Film from any Source, Best Foreign Actor (James Dean)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

The theme of the teenager as an alienated victim of family and society has never been done better than in this classic drama. James Dean gives a superb performance as a frustrated youth from a well-to-do family, who rebels against his weak father and shrewish mother with such delinquent behaviour as boozing, knife-fighting and racing hot rods in hazardous games of “chicken”. Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo also stand out in an excellent, youthful cast that's wonderfully controlled by director Nicholas Ray. But it's Dean who remains most memorable, and his heartfelt portrayal epitomised his tragically short career.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.9/10 (13,977 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - 203

Ranked highest by The Good Dr. Bill (#6)
tjenz
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 3 2006, 09:46 PM) [snapback]102162[/snapback]


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that top picture of james dean looks a lot like Brando
or maybe I'm just delerious from lack of sleep
Mitchell
"I hate every ape I see / From chimpan-A to chimpanzee"

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Somewhere in the Universe, there must be something better than man!


#48 Planet of The Apes (1968)
Franklin J. Schaffner.

Running time - 107 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Science-fiction Adventure
Original language - English

Writing credits
Pierre Boulle
Michael Wilson
Rod Serling

Cast
Charlton Heston .... George Taylor
Roddy McDowall .... Cornelius
Kim Hunter .... Zira
Maurice Evans .... Dr. Zaius
James Whitmore .... President of the Assembly

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Costume Design, Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Charlton Heston and a team of astronauts crash-land on a desolate planet that is suspiciously reminiscent of Earth — only the apes rule and the humans are the dumb animals. Heston is appropriately square-jawed as the rebellious human, and Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter shine through the marvellous ape make-up from John Chambers, who received an honorary Oscar for his work. Rod Serling and Michael Wilson provide a sly, clever script, and the twist at the end still delights. A smash hit that was followed by a number of increasingly inferior sequels, plus a rather mundane TV series.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.9/10 (25,566 votes) top 250: #242
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by No Magnets
Mitchell
"A visually ravishing film that uses dazzling color palettes and carefully composed widescreen photography to bring the viewer into an entirely supernatural world" - James Kendrick

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#47 Kaidan (1964)
Masaki Kobayashi.

Running time - 154 Mins
Country of origin - Japan
Genre - Portmanteau Fantasy
Original language - Japanese

Writing credits
Lafcadio Hearn
Yôko Mizuki

Cast
Rentaro Mikuni .... Husband (Black Hair)
Michiyo Aratama .... First wife (Black Hair)
Misako Watanabe .... Second Wife (Black Hair)
Tatsuya Nakadai .... Mi nokichi (The Woman in the Snow)
Keiko Kishi .... Yuki the Snow Maiden (The Woman in the Snow)
Katsuo Nakamura .... Hoichi (Hoichi the Earless)
Tetsuro Tamba .... Warrior (Hoichi the Earless)
Kanemon Nakamura .... Kannai, a Guard (In a Cup of Tea)
Osamu Takizawa .... Author/Narrator (In a Cup of Tea)

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film

Other Awards
Won: Cannes - Jury Special Prize
Nominated: Cannes - Golden Palm

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

A portmanteau film of four ghost stories perhaps best viewed as separate films — one episode was originally cut to shorten the running time. One story concerns a samurai haunted by the beauty of his first wife; another is an ingenious tale about a man who drinks not only a cup of tea but also the man reflected on the surface of the drink. Viewers expecting a compendium of horror will be disappointed for these tales are gentle, ironic and sad. All are stunningly photographed and exquisitely designed

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (1,234 votes)
SOMB 499 Rank N/A

Ranked highest by Gimmick (#1)
Mitchell
I'm proud to recall that at no time at all and with no other recourses but my own resources, with firm application and determination... I made a fool of myself!

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#46 The Court Jester (1956)
Melvin Frank/Norman Panama.

Running time - 96 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Comedy
Original language - English

Writing credits
Melvin Frank
Norman Panama

Cast
Danny Kaye .... Hubert Hawkins/Giacomo
Glynis Johns .... Maid Jean
Basil Rathbone .... Sir Ravenhurst
Angela Lansbury .... Princess Gwendolyn
Cecil Parker .... King Roderick I

Other Awards
Nominated: Golden Globes - Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy/Musical

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This medieval spoof, produced, written and directed by the formidable team of Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, gave Danny Kaye one of his finest roles, as the meek and mild valet who saves a kingdom from its tyrannical ruler. It's worth watching for the classic “vessel-with-the-pestle” routine alone — one of the funniest devices Kaye ever employed. Basil Rathbone cuts an elegant figure of villainy, while Glynis Johns, Cecil Parker and Angela Lansbury get almost as many laughs as Kaye by playing it straight. It's as much horseplay as swordplay and, altogether, a witty delight.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.7/10 (3,071 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by agrimorfee (#2) also Slackmo (#3)
Mitchell
En enfer/ Quand sont morts /Barrow et Bonnie Parker

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They're young... they're in love... and they kill people.


#45 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Arthur Penn.

Running time - 106 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Crime Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
David Newman
Robert Benton
Robert Towne

Cast
Warren Beatty .... Clyde Barrow
Faye Dunaway .... Bonnie Parker
Michael J. Pollard .... C.W. Moss
Gene Hackman .... Buck Barrow
Estelle Parsons .... Blanche

Academy Awards
Won Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Estelle Parsons), Best Cinematography
Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Warren Beatty), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael J. Pollard), Best Actor in a Supporting Role
(Gene Hackman), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Faye Dunaway), Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen

Other Awards
Won: BAFTA - Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Faye Dunaway), Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Michael J. Pollard)
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Film from any Source, Best Foreign Actor (Warren Beatty). Golden Globes: - Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (Warren Beatty), Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (Faye Dunaway), Best Motion Picture Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Most Promising Newcomer - Male (Michael J. Pollard)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

“They're young! They're in love! And they kill people!” Not the slogan for Oliver Stone's notorious Natural Born Killers, but for one of the most stylish and uncompromising of gangster pictures. Released when graphic screen violence was very rare, this influential film was misread by some American critics, who dismissed it as a gimmicky, gory crime thriller. However, it proved to be the box-office hit of the year, and scooped ten Oscar nominations. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty excel as the gun-toting criminals who roamed the American Midwest during the Depression, while David Newman and Robert Benton's sizzling script (which was originally offered to French directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard) and Arthur Penn's bravura direction are as fresh as ever.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (16,324 votes) top 250: #219
SOMB 499 Rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Man Is Matter (#7)
Mitchell
Hum, you just touch me and I... I... I go as limp as a noodle. It scares me.

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How did they ever make a movie of LOLITA?


#44 Lolita (1962)
Stanley Kubrick.

Running time - 147 Mins
Country of origin - UK
Genre - Black comedy Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Vladimir Nabokov

Cast
James Mason .... Prof. Humbert Humbert/Narrator
Shelley Winters .... Charlotte Haze/Humbert
Sue Lyon .... Dolores 'Lolita' Haze/Mrs. Richard Schiller
Gary Cockrell .... Richard T. 'Dick' Schiller
Jerry Stovin .... John Farlow
Peter Sellers .... Clare Quilty/Dr. Zempf

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Other Awards
Won: Golden Globes - Most Promising Newcomer - Female (Sue Lyon)
Nominated: BAFTA - Best British Actor (James Mason) . Golden Globes: - Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (James Mason), Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama, (Shelley Winters), Best Motion Picture Director, Best Supporting Actor (Peter Sellers) Venice Golden Lion.

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

“How did they ever make a film of Lolita?” asked the posters for this brilliant Stanley Kubrick film. Well, in Vladimir Nabokov's adaptation of his own famous novel about the professor and the 12-year-old girl, there are added layers of black comedy and only slight compromise: James Mason seems to love Sue Lyon rather than lust after her, and Lolita's age is increased to 15. As time goes by, Lolita gets better and funnier. Shelley Winters's hilarious and sad portrayal of Lolita's mother is American momism incarnate, while Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty is like a creepy chameleon. Only one quibble: for economic and censorship reasons the picture was made in England, and because of this Nabokov's nightmare vision of urban America and its seedy motels is reduced to obvious back projection and even more obvious Elstree locations. This apart, a perfect movie that gets better as time goes by.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.6/10 (11,899 votes)
SOMB 499 Rank - 221

Ranked highest by Nic (#2)
Mitchell
I feel the days have got longer, living alone

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#43 Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story) (1953)
Yasujiro Ozu.

Running time - 129 Mins
Country of origin - Japan
Genre - Drama
Original language - Japanese

Writing credits
Kôgo Noda
Yasujiro Ozu

Cast
Chishu Ryu .... Shukishi Hirayama
Chieko Higashiyama .... Tomi Hirayama
Setsuko Hara .... Noriko
Haruko Sugimura .... Shige Kaneko
Sô Yamamura .... Same per

From The Radio Times Guide to Film
Yasujiro Ozu was a master film-maker who specialised in middle-class family melodramas known in Japanese as shomin-geki, and this moving story is one of his finest achievements. Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama give performances of great dignity as the disappointed parents who are rejected by each of their thankless children in turn. Setsuko Hara, playing the widow of their favourite son, is the epitome of gentleness as the only relative to show them any kindness. Ryu and Hara were regular members of Ozu's acting troupe, and Hara retired from films when the director died in 1963.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.1/10 (3,015 votes)
SOMB 499 Rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Falling and Laughing (#2) also Bird Is The Word (#10)
Mitchell
I don't know if I'm unhappy because I'm not free, or if I'm not free because I'm unhappy.

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#42 À bout de souffle (Breathless) (1960)
Jean-Luc Godard.

Running time - 86 mins
Country of origin - France
Genre - Drama
Original language - French

Writing credits
Jean-Luc Godard
François Truffaut

Cast
Jean-Paul Belmondo .... Michel Poiccard alias Laszlo Kovacs
Jean Seberg .... Patricia Franchini
Daniel Boulanger .... Police Inspector Vital
Jean-Pierre Melville .... Parvulesco
Henri-Jacques Huet .... Antonio Berrutti


Other Awards
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Foreign Actress (Jean Seberg)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Inspired by Gun Crazy, Joseph H Lewis's B-movie film noir, and made with the assistance of François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol, this was the keystone of the French New Wave. A homage to such fatalistic heroes as Jean Gabin and Humphrey Bogart, Jean-Luc Godard's masterpiece employed just about every cinematic trick associated with the nouvelle vague: location shooting, direct sound, hand-held footage (masterfully shot by Raoul Coutard), jump cuts, in-jokes and visual tributes to master film-makers. Jean-Paul Belmondo is superbly shambolic as the petty thief whose brief dalliance with American newspaper vendor Jean Seberg precipitates his demise. Costing just F90,000, the film's influence is incalculable.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (7,225 votes) top 250: #249
SOMB 499 Rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Suckered You (#3) also Bird is the Word (#9)
Mitchell
He chose you, honey! From all the women in the world to be the mother of his only living son!

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Pray for Rosemary's Baby


#41 Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Roman Polanski.

Running time - 131 Mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Horror
Original language - English

Writing credits
Ira Levin
Roman Polanski

Cast
Mia Farrow .... Rosemary Woodhouse
John Cassavetes .... Guy Woodhouse
Ruth Gordon .... Minnie Castevet
Sidney Blackmer .... Roman Castevet
Maurice Evans .... Edward 'Hutch' Hutchins

Academy Awards
Won: Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ruth Gordon)
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Other Awards
Won: Golden Globes - Best Supporting Actress (Ruth Gordon)
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Actress (Mia Farrow). Golden Globes: - Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (Mia Farrow), Best Original Score, Best Screenplay


From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Ira Levin's bestseller about Antichrist cultism in Manhattan is impeccably and faithfully brought to the screen by director Roman Polanski in this genuinely horrifying chiller that quietly builds unbearable tension. Mia Farrow is the perfect satanic foil in a supernatural classic of conspiratorial evil meshed with apocalyptic revelations, and Ruth Gordon won a deserved Oscar for her busybody portrayal of eccentric menace. It's one of the most powerful films ever made about Devil worship because Polanski expertly winds up the paranoia with spooky atmospherics and morbid humour.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (16,842 votes)
SOMB 499 Rank - 316

Ranked highest by Nic (#6)
nic
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 4 2006, 04:13 PM) [snapback]102193[/snapback]


#43 Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story) (1953)
Stanley Kubrick.




Mitchell
Thanks, fixed.
Angrimorfee
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 4 2006, 01:45 AM) [snapback]102197[/snapback]

. It's one of the most powerful films ever made about Devil worship because Polanski expertly winds up the paranoia with spooky atmospherics and morbid humour.


And probably one of the most powerful films about pregnancy, too. smile.gif
Mitchell
Head out on the highway. Lookin' for adventure in whatever comes our way

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A man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere!


#40 Easy Rider (1969) 6 Votes 1665 Points
Dennis Hopper.

Running time - 91mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Cult Road movie
Original language - English

Writing credits
Dennis Hopper
Peter Fonda
Terry Southern

Cast
Peter Fonda .... Wyatt
Dennis Hopper .... Billy
Jack Nicholson .... George Hanson
Luke Askew .... Stranger on Highway
Karen Black .... Karen

Academy Awards
Nominated - Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Nicholson)

Others
Won: - Cannes Film Festival - Best First Work
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson), Cannes Film Festival- Golden Palm

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Road movies were never the same after this. As laid-back as the machines straddled by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in their search for “the real America”, and as hip as a whole drop-out generation, this magical mystery tour of the USA has a casual conviction that outstrips Hopper's own on-the-run direction to touch a mythic nerve. Jack Nicholson's boozy lawyer successfully articulates the yearning of the alienated young. That the film ends in sullen and sudden death raises it to the power of allegory, and its success proved there was an audience and a need that the box-office pundits didn't even know existed. As a result, the studios tried desperately to repeat its low-budget magic, but failed. It just didn't equate with the usual Hollywood formula; it had created its own.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.2/10 (13,439 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Terry Kath's Brain (#2)
Slackmo
I can't believe Goldfinger hasn't turned up yet. The further it gets ahead of From Russia With Love, the bigger the travesty.
Mitchell
Thank God for that. For a moment there I thought we'd missed the top 40!

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Not that it matters, but most of it is true.


#39 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 5 Votes 1682 Points
George Roy Hill.

Running time - 105mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Western Comedy Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
William Goldman

Cast
Paul Newman .... Butch Cassidy
Robert Redford .... The Sundance Kid
Katharine Ross .... Etta Place
Strother Martin .... Percy Garris
Henry Jones .... Bike Salesman

Academy Awards
Won Best Cinematography, Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical), Best Music - Original Song, Best Writing Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced
Nominated - Best Sound, Best Picture, Best Director

Others
Won: - BAFTAs: Best Actor (Robert Redford), Best Actress (Katharine Ross), Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Film, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Track. Golden Globes: Best Original Score
Nominated: BAFTA - Best Actor (Paul Newman). Golden Globes - Best Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Motion Picture - Drama

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Director George Roy Hill's freewheeling, Oscar-winning comic western was one of the biggest box-office hits in the genre's history. It features the unforgettable pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, whose exhilarating performances turn the ruthless real-life desperados of fact into loveable rogues and, ultimately, tragic heroes. Some of the credit must go to the Oscar-winning trio of William Goldman, Conrad Hall and Burt Bacharach for the witty script, luminous photography and jaunty score respectively, but all of the charm of this ever-popular picture lies with the charismatic outlaws. The adventure was made in a vintage year for the western, with The Wild Bunch and True Grit joining it among the releases, and in many ways it's the genre's equivalent to Bonnie and Clyde.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.1/10 (25,374 votes) top 250: #130
SOMB 499 rank - 172

Ranked highest by KMac (#2) also The Good Dr Bill (#5)
The Good Dr Bill
probably one of the ten or so best screenplays ever written.
Mitchell
"By sundown"? What are you... what are you, Gary Cooper? "By sundown"? What's gonna happen?

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The story of a man who was too proud to run


#38 High Noon (1952) 6 Votes 1691 Points
Fred Zinnemann.

Running time - 84mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Western
Original language - English

Writing credits
John W. Cunningham
Carl Foreman

Cast
Gary Cooper .... Marshal Will Kane
Thomas Mitchell .... Mayor Jonas Henderson
Lloyd Bridges .... Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell
Katy Jurado .... Helen Ramírez
Grace Kelly .... Amy Fowler Kane

Academy Awards
Won Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper), Best Film Editing, Best Music - Original Song, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Nominated - Best Director, Best Picture, Best Writing - Screenplay

Others
Won: - Golden Globes: Best Cinematography, Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (Gary Cooper), Best Motion Picture Score, Best Supporting Actress (Katy Jurado)
Nominated: Golden Globes - Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This is the film that put director Fred Zinnemann on the Hollywood A list, revived the career of Gary Cooper and made Grace Kelly a star. If that's not enough, this multiple Oscar winner was also one of the first psychological westerns, breaking the mould of the gun-toting tales that had dominated the genre since the early silent era. It was also a highly controversial film, being seen as an attack on those who deserted their colleagues during the Communist witch-hunts that turned Hollywood into a place of fear between 1947 and 1951. Screenwriter Carl Foreman always denied the allegory, though John Wayne was chief among the film's critics, denouncing it as “un-American”. Whatever the truth about the story's origins, High Noon remains a classic thanks to its sterling performances and marvellously suspenseful “real time” structure.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.3/10 (15,678 votes) top 250: #100
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Jrmsn (#1)
Mitchell
You like money. You've got a great big dollar sign there where most women have a heart.

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...In All Its Fury and Violence


#37 The Killing (1956) 8 Votes 1874 Points
Stanley Kubrick.

Running time - 80mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Thriller
Original language - English

Writing credits
Lionel White
Jim Thompson
Stanley Kubrick

Cast
Sterling Hayden .... Johnny Clay
Coleen Gray .... Fay
Vince Edwards .... Val Cannon
Jay C. Flippen .... Marvin Unger
Elisha Cook Jr. .... George Peatty

Other Awards
Nominated: BAFTA: Best Film from any Source

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This accomplished thriller based on Lionel White's novel Clean Break was Stanley Kubrick's third feature. Sterling Hayden, Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook Jr are among the doomed criminals taking part in a racetrack robbery and, rather than tell the story straight, Kubrick scrambles the time sequence and follows separate strands of the plot towards their conclusion, detailing the planning, the robbery itself and the disastrous aftermath. Although influenced by John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, as well as the French classic Rififi, directed by Jules Dassin, Kubrick turns a familiar story into a masterly display of technique and a moving study of desperate characters who are in thrall to fate. Kirk Douglas was so impressed by the film that he agreed to star in Kubrick's next project, Paths of Glory, the success of which set the seal on Kubrick's reputation.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.2/10 (9,377 votes) top 250: #124
SOMB 499 rank - 488

Ranked highest by Undercooked Sausage (#3) also ranked (#9) by Freddie Freelance
Mitchell
We played with life and lost.

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#36 Jules et Jim (1962) 8 Votes 1930 Points
François Truffaut.

Running time - 80mins
Country of origin - France
Genre - Drama
Original language - French

Writing credits
Henri-Pierre Roché
Jean Gruault
François Truffaut

Cast
Jeanne Moreau .... Catherine
Oskar Werner .... Jules
Henri Serre .... Jim
Vanna Urbino .... Gilberte
Boris Bassiak .... Albert

Other Awards
Nominated: BAFTA: Best Film from any Source, Best Foreign Actress (Jeanne Moreau)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Echoing the style of Jean Renoir while epitomising the exuberance of the nouvelle vague, this is a virtuoso technical performance from François Truffaut. He variously uses photographic stills, newsreel footage, freeze frames and undercranked, travelling and distorted imagery to capture both the era and the emotion described in Henri-Pierre Roché's semi-autobiographical tale. Embodying the complex contradictions of modern womanhood, Jeanne Moreau is enchanting, while, immune to her wilfulness, Oskar Werner and Henri Serre respond readily to her caprice. However, their failure to understand her motives and insecurities prevents them from detecting the incipient despair that will, ultimately, lead to tragedy. This is the masterpiece of a genius

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.8/10 (4,917 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by Bird is The Word (#5) also ranked (#6) by Pray4Mojo and (#7) by Nic
Angrimorfee
QUOTE(Gareth Keenan Invetigates @ Jun 5 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]102799[/snapback]

#38 High Noon
[size=4] (1952) Academy Awards
Won Best Music - Original Song,


Oh Please Forsake The Theme Song My Darling!
Mitchell
Anybody seen a knight pass this way?
I saw him playing chess with Death yesterday


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#35 Det Sjunde inseglet(The Seventh Seal) (1957) 8 Votes 1972 Points
Ingmar Bergman.

Running time - 84mins
Country of origin - Sweden
Genre - Period Drama
Original language - Swedish

Writing credits
Ingmar Bergman

Cast
Gunnar Björnstrand .... Jöns, squire
Bengt Ekerot .... Death
Nils Poppe .... Jof
Max von Sydow .... Antonius Block
Bibi Andersson .... Mia, Jof's wife


Other Awards
Won: - Cannes: Jury Special Prize

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Spoofed by Woody Allen, French and Saunders, Bill and Ted (on their Bogus Journey) and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero, The Seventh Seal is an undoubted masterpiece of world cinema. It tells of a crusader knight (Max von Sydow) who refuses to accompany Death (Bengt Ekerot) until he has found a flicker of hope in a world stricken by plague, corruption and fear. While this is a highly personal film, in which director Ingmar Bergman (the son of the chaplain of the Swedish royal family) resolves his own doubts about the existence of God, its conclusions will leave even the most cynical filled with optimism.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.3/10 (13,289 votes) top 250: #102
SOMB 499 rank - 166

Ranked highest by Elemeno P.T. (#5) Also avatar akbar and The Eyes (#6)
Mitchell
How do you get from Poland to Switzerland that quickly on one tank of petrol?

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A Glorious Saga Of The R.A.F


#34 The Great Escape (1963) 9 Votes 2048 Points
John Sturges.

Running time - 172mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Second World War Adventure
Original language - English

Writing credits
Paul Brickhill
James Clavell
W R Burnett

Cast
Steve McQueen .... Capt. Hilts
James Garner .... Flight Lt. Hendley
Richard Attenborough .... Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett
James Donald .... Group Capt. Ramsey
Charles Bronson .... Flight Lt. Danny Velinski
Donald Pleasence .... Flight Lt. Colin Blythe
James Coburn .... Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Film Editing

Others
Nominated: Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture - Drama

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This is one of the all-time great war movies, a PoW adventure from director John Sturges that celebrates the indomitable spirit of the Allied forces even when their backs were to the wall. Sturges had already pulled off the same ensemble trick with The Magnificent Seven three years earlier, and here three of the Seven — Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn — are reunited. They join such British stalwarts as Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum and Gordon Jackson in an escape yarn full of collapsing tunnels, probing searchlights and courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It's impossible not to get caught up in the escape party's plans, and Sturges films each intricate step leading up to the break out with a masterly attention to detail. The cast is full of brilliant characters, from Pleasence's timid forger to James Garner's smooth-talking scrounger, but stealing the show from everyone is McQueen's anarchic but supercool Captain Virgil Hilts, whose attempt to leap to freedom on a motorbike has become an iconic movie image. It's no wonder that Elmer Bernstein's triumphant score has been adopted as an anthem by supporters of England's football team.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.4/10 (26,092 votes) top 250: #74
SOMB 499 rank - 208

Ranked highest by Worrywort (#6) also ranked (#7) by Velocity and (#10) by Freddie Freelance
Mitchell
Do not speak to me of rules. This is war! This is not a game of cricket!

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It spans a whole new world of entertainment!


#33 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 10 Votes 2098 Points
David Lean.

Running time - 155mins
Country of origin - UK
Genre - Second World War Drama
Original language - English

Writing credits
Pierre Boulle
"Pierre Boulle"

Cast
William Holden .... Cmdr. Shears
Jack Hawkins .... Maj. Warden
Alec Guinness .... Col. Nicholson
Sessue Hayakawa .... Col. Saito
James Donald .... Maj. Clipton

Academy Awards
Won: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Alec Guinness), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring, Best Picture, Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Sessue Hayakawa)

Others
Won: BAFTAs: Best British Actor (Alec Guinness), Best British Film, Best British Screenplay, Best Film from any Source. Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama (Alec Guinness), Best Motion Picture Director
Nominated: Golden Globes: Best Supporting Actor (Sessue Hayakawa)

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

Few Second World War films are as enduring as this multi-Oscar-winning examination of the stiff upper lip from director David Lean. Alec Guinness plays Colonel Nicholson, the epitome of British dignity and resolve who, after brutal treatment at the hands of his Japanese captors in Burma, leads his men in the building of a strategically vital railway bridge for the enemy as an exercise in keeping up their — and his — morale. This is interesting enough, but the ironies of war are further pointed up by the subplot in which wily American escapee William Holden is dispatched back into the jungle to blow up said bridge. The central performances are all first rate, including Sessue Hayakawa as the Japanese commander, but it's Guinness who stands out, imbuing Nicholson with a brand of pride, patriotism and courage that speaks of another age. The film was adapted from Pierre Boulle's novel by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, who went uncredited at the time as they were blacklisted during the McCarthy hearings.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.4/10 (27,992 votes) top 250: #52
SOMB 499 rank - 131

Ranked highest by Suckered You (#8) also ranked (#10) by Velocity
Mitchell
Oh, I get it. She's a slut.

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Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!


#32 The Birds (1963) 12 Votes 2203 Points
Alfred Hitchcock.

Running time - 113mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Horror
Original language - English

Writing credits
Daphne Du Maurier
Evan Hunter

Cast
Rod Taylor .... Mitch Brenner
Jessica Tandy .... Lydia Brenner
Suzanne Pleshette .... Annie Hayworth
Tippi Hedren .... Melanie Daniels
Veronica Cartwright .... Cathy Brenner

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Effects, Special Visual Effects

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This Hitchcock classic somehow strayed from favour for a while, yet in the realm of popular mythology it is now rivalled only by Psycho. Set in the remote California coastal town of Bodega Bay, the story concerns a small group of unsatisfied creatures. Two women and a young girl are all fixed on one man (Rod Taylor), and when a fourth (Tippi Hedren) arrives from San Francisco with a certain determination in her heart, a menacing populace of birds descends on the town, wreaking terror and havoc, right up until the film's inscrutable ending. But, as ever, Hitchcock is also having a laugh

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 7.8/10 (25,020 votes)
SOMB 499 rank - N/A

Ranked highest by KMac (#6)
Mitchell
We all dream of being a child again, even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all.

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The land had changed. They hadn't. The earth had cooled. They couldn't


#31 The Wild Bunch (1969) 10 Votes 2399 Points
Sam Peckinpah.

Running time - 138mins
Country of origin - US
Genre - Classic Western
Original language - English

Writing credits
Walon Green
Roy N. Sickner
Sam Peckinpah

Cast
William Holden .... Pike Bishop
Ernest Borgnine .... Dutch Engstrom
Robert Ryan .... Deke Thornton
Edmond O'Brien .... Freddie Sykes
Warren Oates .... Lyle Gorch

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical), Best Writing - Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced

From The Radio Times Guide to Film

This is arguably one of the greatest westerns ever made. And argument is what Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece has always caused for its slow-motion blood-letting, its surrealistically choreographed gunfights and its portrayal of Pike Bishop's amoral Texas outlaws as heroes. Yet William Holden's laconic Bishop, however violent, belongs to a truly romantic breed as he leads his bunch to their ultimate fate against the revolutionary guerrilla forces of murderous general Mapache. Lucien Ballard's photography gives a funereal hue to this elegy to the passing of a certain breed of chivalry. You can see why John Wayne is said to have hated the film; Peckinpah was practically reinventing a genre, with no place left for false nobility.

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Amazon.com link
IMDB link - 8.0/10 (13,543 votes) top 250: #191
SOMB 499 rank - 91

Ranked highest by Nic (#3) also ranked (#9) by Pavement Ist Rad
The Good Dr Bill
fuck, that was on the other night and I meant to watch it.
Mitchell
It was on here the other night too, football prevaled though. I should see it again so I can compare it to Once Upon A Time In The West.
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