Every morning, for two months, I would wake up, log on to Facebook and diligently post a short of a favourite movie, by a picture of the original movie poster.
I am passionate about movies and love writing, and this daily target forced me to think hard about which movies have given me most pleasure. It forced me to do research – into Oscars won, critics reviews, box office success and so forth. It also led to my a number of movies which I only vaguely remembered. Being with loads of free time, I thoroughly enjoyed my little project.
I now realize how limited my has been. For example, I know next to nothing about French or Italian cinema. Most of my choices are either Hollywood or British.
Facebook is ephemeral, and it seems a pity to let my carefully penned go to waste. Therefore I have decided to collect them under a single heading - My Favourite Movies - and publish them on travelblog,org, where they will have some degree of permanence.
posted my critiques on Facebook, they were in no particular order (except for ‘Casablanca, which I wrote about first, because it may be the best movie ever made, and The Godfather, which I wrote about last, because that too is a contender for greatest movie). Here now are the titles of my favourite movies - 60 all told - in random order (except for ‘Casablanca and The Godfather):
Lets start with probably my favourite movie, ‘Casablanca (1942). It has everything: a great script, great storyline, memorable scenes, great acting. It won 3 Oscars: for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), Best Screenplay. And Humphrey Bogart should have won Best Actor for his brilliant performance.
‘Rear Window (1954) is a masterpiece. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, it was nominated for 4 Oscars but won nothing. (Grace Kelly,
‘Rear Window is remarkable because the whole movie takes place inside James Stewarts I am used to watching stage plays where all the action is in one room, but I cannot think of another movie where this happens. Despite the one location, the movie is never boring; on the contrary, it is one of the most suspenseful movies Ive ever watched. Like the hero, James Stewart, who is trapped inside his room in a wheelchair, the audience is trapped too – inside his point of view and limited freedom.
I think the world of James Stewart, and the movie belongs to him. This is one of his most impressive roles, primarily because of the limitations placed upon him; more than in any of his other movies, he must act with his eyes, face, and voice.
‘2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is a unique and fascinating movie. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, with input from writer Arthur C, Clarke, it has little in the
way of sparkling dialogue and action. It was nominated for 4 Oscars but won just one – for Special Visual Effects.
I saw the movie on the big screen in 1970 and was deeply impressed but baffled. I immediately bought the book, which explained everything.
I love the opening 20 minutes - ‘The Dawn of Man – when the ape men encounter the mysterious artifact and learn how to use tools. Kubricks genius is evident in the sequence where the airborne bone a spaceship.
The sequence where HAL lip reads the astronauts decision to shut him down and then tries to kill them all is brilliant – an eerie prognosis of the day when artificial intelligence will
The final sequence, with its psychedelic colours, is hard to understand without reading the book but is visually spectacular and
The music is an intrinsic part of the experience. ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra is a brilliant choice for the most dramatic moments, and ‘The Blue Danube Waltz the spectacle of the orbiting space station.
feast. Roger Ebert wrote: The fascinating thing about this film is that it fails on the human level but succeeds magnificently on a cosmic scale. I agree. It is quite unlike all my other favourite movies, because the human interactions count for nothing. This is a movie of big ideas.
