Dec. 28th, 2001 12:11 pm
High Fidelity Moment!
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themidnightgirlTurned out a bit long...so
Top Five Favourite Films
5) House of Games. Dir : David Mamet
There were several possibilities for the number five slot, but I went for this 1987 David Mamet penned and directed effort. Close, claustophobic, with a coruscating plot that leaves you doubting precisely who is in charge. Possibly Joe Mantegna's finest peformance.
4) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dir : Mel Stuart
This film appeals to the somewhat capricious child in me. I adore it from start to finish. The School Teacher Mr Turkentine (David Battley) : I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we've learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest.. Gene Wilder has never been better - he combines Willy Wonka's "Zanyness" with a streak of darkness and manipulation. Oh, and a special mention for Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt...."I want the world. I want the whole world!" I knew kids like that.
3) The Insider. Dir : Michael Mann
I went to see this in the cinema on one of my "Tuesday Night is Half Price" outings in 1999. Why Russell Crowe won the oscar for the limited "Gladiator" and not for his performance in this, I don't know. Crowe dominates the screen, and Mann gives him the time and space to draw a portrait of a man pushed beyond breaking point. Pacino is almost reduced to a supporting role.
2) Three Colours : Red. Dir : Krystof Kieslowski
Although I enjoyed Blue and White, Red is the film that left me speechless. A film about coincedence and chance, and the effect they have on our lives, Kieslowski draws his film subtly. A Hollywood film on the same subject would have all kinds of escapades and high jinks. Kieslowski just brings us a chance meeting between a young model (Irene Jacob) and a retired judge (Jean Louis Trintignent). Beautifully filmed, this movie is worth watching on so many levels. Shallow reasons : Irene Jacob is genuinely beautiful, and the cinematgraphy of Piotr Sobocinski paints her in the most flattering light imaginable. More deeper : this film has something to say, but it says it with lightness and hence with more conviction.
1) Seven Samurai. Dir : Akira Kurosawa
The film on which the Magnificent Seven was based, Seven Samurai is immeasurably superior. Recently, a friend and I, lost for something to do, put on my new DVD of this film for ten minutes. Three hours later, we finished watching it. It is mesmeric and absorbing - a film of action, but also of such compelling narrative that you have no choice but to be drawn in.
Honourable Mentions :
High Plains Drifter, LOTR:FOTR, Silent Running, Major League, Enemy Mine, Three Colours : Blue and White, A Short Film about Killing.
Top Five Favourite Films
5) House of Games. Dir : David Mamet
There were several possibilities for the number five slot, but I went for this 1987 David Mamet penned and directed effort. Close, claustophobic, with a coruscating plot that leaves you doubting precisely who is in charge. Possibly Joe Mantegna's finest peformance.
4) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dir : Mel Stuart
This film appeals to the somewhat capricious child in me. I adore it from start to finish. The School Teacher Mr Turkentine (David Battley) : I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we've learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest.. Gene Wilder has never been better - he combines Willy Wonka's "Zanyness" with a streak of darkness and manipulation. Oh, and a special mention for Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt...."I want the world. I want the whole world!" I knew kids like that.
3) The Insider. Dir : Michael Mann
I went to see this in the cinema on one of my "Tuesday Night is Half Price" outings in 1999. Why Russell Crowe won the oscar for the limited "Gladiator" and not for his performance in this, I don't know. Crowe dominates the screen, and Mann gives him the time and space to draw a portrait of a man pushed beyond breaking point. Pacino is almost reduced to a supporting role.
2) Three Colours : Red. Dir : Krystof Kieslowski
Although I enjoyed Blue and White, Red is the film that left me speechless. A film about coincedence and chance, and the effect they have on our lives, Kieslowski draws his film subtly. A Hollywood film on the same subject would have all kinds of escapades and high jinks. Kieslowski just brings us a chance meeting between a young model (Irene Jacob) and a retired judge (Jean Louis Trintignent). Beautifully filmed, this movie is worth watching on so many levels. Shallow reasons : Irene Jacob is genuinely beautiful, and the cinematgraphy of Piotr Sobocinski paints her in the most flattering light imaginable. More deeper : this film has something to say, but it says it with lightness and hence with more conviction.
1) Seven Samurai. Dir : Akira Kurosawa
The film on which the Magnificent Seven was based, Seven Samurai is immeasurably superior. Recently, a friend and I, lost for something to do, put on my new DVD of this film for ten minutes. Three hours later, we finished watching it. It is mesmeric and absorbing - a film of action, but also of such compelling narrative that you have no choice but to be drawn in.
Honourable Mentions :
High Plains Drifter, LOTR:FOTR, Silent Running, Major League, Enemy Mine, Three Colours : Blue and White, A Short Film about Killing.