Tuesday, July 16, 2013

ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN'T THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER?


We're past the halfway point on ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's list of 100 greatest films and there are still several great films that have yet to appear on this list. Here are numbers fifty-one through sixty.

51 A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964). Richard Lester's "day-in-the-life" cinema verite romp starring the Fab Four was a landmark film. Not really a traditional musical and not really a concert film, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT was something else. A great film.

52. TITANIC (1997). No. I don't care how many Oscars (and money) this film made, it's not deserving of a place on this list. If I had to pick a James Cameron film, I'd go with ALIENS.

53. STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980). Some would argue that STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE or, as it used to be called STAR WARS, should be here in place of EMPIRE. I've got to go with EMPIRE.

54. BREATHLESS (1960). Vastly overrated French New Wave claptrap in which nothing much happens. A really boring movie that shouldn't be on this list. I often wonder if the people that pick foreign films like BREATHLESS for lists such as this really and truly like the film. I think they pick some of these movies because they think they're supposed to. I don't like BREATHLESS. It's not on my list.

55. FRANKENSTEIN (1931). James Whale's original monster movie is a monumental film but I would argue that his sequel, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), is the superior film and should be on this list in this spot (if not higher).

56. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993). The second Spielberg film to make the list. No quibble here. This is one of the very few films from the 1990s worthy of inclusion on a list like this.

57. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969). The first X-rated Best Picture of the Year Oscar winner is a showcase for the acting talents of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, but jeez, what a depressing movie. How about PAPILLON (1973) which features terrific performances from Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen.

58. THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957). Come on, admit it. No one has ever seen this film and liked it besides Woody Allen. Geddoutta here.

59. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976). Another "odd couple" movie with Dustin Hoffman, this time co-starring with Robert Redford in a riveting true story. An outstanding film that generates a fair amount of suspense even though the ending is known by all.

60. TOP HAT (1935). Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are always a treat to watch and all of the films they made together at RKO are fun. This one's the best.

More to come. Stay tuned. 

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