Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. Ok, I’m going to be completely honest: I do not like West Side Story. It is my least favorite movie musical, possibly of all time (right up there with Annie). But, seeing as the film comes in at number 51 on this list, I had … Continue reading 51. West Side Story (1961)
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action by attempting to liberate a presidential campaign worker and an underage prostitute. I don’t think I’ve ever been so engrossed in a film while simultaneously being incredibly uncomfortable in my entire life. And I’m sure that is exactly what … Continue reading 52. Taxi Driver (1976)
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania. At the start of The Deer Hunter, we hear a beautiful melody that sounds too content, too happy, and too sweet to possibly be the theme to a film about the horrors of the Vietnam War. However, the film … Continue reading 53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war. MASH is one of those films that was always on my list of “Films to watch”. I just never got around to it until now. A common occurrence, I have found, when I watch a film directed by Robert Altman … Continue reading 54. M*A*S*H (1970)
A hapless New York City advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive. Do you enjoy dialogue heavy Hitchcock films? Because, if you do, this one’s for you. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I love this film, but I am fond of it. Honestly, this … Continue reading 55. North by Northwest (1959)
“Over the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated people prepare for a political convention as secrets and lies are surfaced and revealed.” Robert Altman’s masterpiece is a study of American people and politics, set right in the heartland of a country that was still in social turmoil and about to see the political era of Ronald Reagan. I will say that one would … Continue reading 59. Nashville (1975)
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale. Look, I know it’s a classic. I know it’s The Marx Brothers. But, I just don’t find Duck Soup to be particularly interesting. I mean, there’s no real plot. There’s nothing to root for. Duck Soup feels more like a vehicle for individual … Continue reading 60. Duck Soup (1933)
A director of escapist films goes on the road as a hobo to learn about life, which gives him a rude awakening. With the way this list is set up, I go through these moments of watching a bunch of the Top 100 films all at once and then stopping because I’ve hit a film that I’m not as excited about watching. Sullivan’s Travels was … Continue reading 61. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college. I’ve never kept it a secret that, as a filmmaker, George Lucas infuriates me. Someday I’ll write an entire post on the subject. Anyway, I tried not to let my feelings about George Lucas influence my feelings of this film American Graffiti. In … Continue reading 62. American Graffiti (1973)
A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them. One of my absolute favorite things about movie musicals from the 1970s is that most of them explore sexuality in a way that movies before them did not. Cabaret is no different. In fact, the exploration of sexuality is one of the main … Continue reading 63. Cabaret (1972)
