Monday, July 15, 2013

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PICTURES?



Continuing my breakdown of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's list of 100 greatest films, here are numbers forty-one through fifty.

41. THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981) One heckuva great action film with the second best car chase ever filmed but a top one hundred film? No way. Let's put BULLITT (1968), the movie with the best car chase ever filmed, here instead.

42. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
 "Some day a real rain will come..."
Martin Scorsese's terrifying character study of a disenfranchised man is one of the best American films of the 1970s and deserving of a place on this list.

43. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003). N.O. No. Remember the rule, absolutely no films made in the 21st century. None. Instead of LOTR, I recommend JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963). Ray Harryhausen's magnum opus is still the greatest fantasy film ever made in my opinion.

44. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954). More than just a "contender", this is a very good movie, one that should certainly be on the list.

45. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939). This is classic Frank Capra-corn that never gets old. One of James Stewart's finest moments.

46. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938). The greatest swashbuckler of them all.

47. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971). Kubrick' ultra-violent meditation on free will still packs a punch. This is one "real horrorshow" of a classic film.

48. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934). The second Capra film in this set of ten and the third overall. ONE NIGHT set the standard for screwball comedies and it's hard to argue with a top five Oscar winner (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress & Screenplay).

49. GOLDFINGER (1964). WAH-WAH-WAAA! After all these years still the greatest Bond film of them all.

50. INTOLERANCE (1916). I've never seen D. W. Griffith's silent epic but everything I've ever read about it is positive. Still, for a silent film in this slot, how about WINGS (1927), the filmed-in-Texas WWI tearjerker and first Best Picture of the Year Oscar winner?

I'm halfway through EW's list and there are still some major films that are missing in action. Will they ever show up on this misguided mess of a list? Keep reading!  


 

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