My Favorite Actors

Here are my 17 favorite actors and some of the movies in which I've enjoyed seeing them.

I'll go to see any movie in which Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortenson, Guy Pearce, Sean Penn or Josh Brolin appear because each role is so unique, they inhabit each role so completely, and they play each role with great intelligence. 

Then there's a consummate actor like David Straithairn who hardly seems to act at all and in 

fact, usually blends right into the background. Denzel Washington also makes it look effortless. Who knew he would be a gifted Shakespearean actor in Much Ado About Nothing?

Who's your favorite?

Simon Baker - L.A. Confidential, Devil Wears Prada

Javier Bardem - Goya's Ghosts, No Country for Old Men, Love in the Time of Cholera

Josh Brolin - W, No Country for Old Men, Milk

Johnny Depp - Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Don Juan DeMarco, Nick of Time, Sleepy Hollow, Chocolat, Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Public Enemies

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Scent of a Woman, Talented Mr Ripley, State and Main, Cold Mountain, Capote, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Charlie Wilson's War

Damien Lewis - Band of Brothers, Forsyte Saga, Life (TV series)

Viggo Mortenson - Witness, Crimson Tide, G.I. Jane, Lord of the Rings, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence

Jeremy Northam - Emma, Happy TX, An Ideal Husband, The Winslow Boy, Golden Bowl, Gosford Park, Martin and Lewis

Clive Owen - Closer, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Duplicity, Geenfingers

Guy Pearce - Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dating the Enemy, L.A. Confidential, Memento, The Proposition, First Snow, Factory Girl, The Hurt Locker

Sean Penn - The Game, Mystic River, 21 Grams, The Interpreter, Milk

Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator, To Die For, Walk the Line

Tim Roth - Braveheart, Vatel, Rob Roy, Pulp Fiction

Jonathan Rhys Meyers - The Tudors (TV series), Match Point, August Rush, Elvis, Alexander, The Governess, Bend It Like Beckham, Michael Collins

Kevin Spacey - Beyond the Sea, L.A. Confidential, Usual Suspects, Seven

David Strathairn - Eight Men Out, A League of Their Own, The Firm, River Wild, L.A. Confidential, Good Night and Good Luck, Notorious Bette Page, Bourne Ultimatum

Denzel Washington - Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, Much Ado About Nothing, Pelican Brief, Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress, Fallen, Bone Collector, Inside Man, Deja Vu, Great Debaters

My Favorite Actresses

I am awed by great acting. There are some actors who have wonderful insight into the varied characters they play. The first time you see a great performer, you recognize they are going to be great. Like Meryl Streep in a tiny role in the made for TV movie Holocaust. She was on screen for less than a minute, but we never forgot that performance. 

And there are actors who change so completely for each role, you hardly recognize them. Take a look at Joan Allen in Peggy Sue Got Married behind those nerdy glasses vs her role in the Contender.

So here are a dozen of my favorite actresses and some of the roles in which I've enjoyed seeing them.

Amy Adams - Enchanted, Charlie Wilson's War, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Doubt, Julie & Julia

Joan Allen - Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker, Pleasantville, The Contender, The Notebook, Bourne Supremacy

Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth, An Ideal Husband, Talented Mr Ripley, Lord of Rings, The Aviator, Babel, Indiana Jones and Kingdom of Crystal Skull, Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Jennifer Connelly - Rocketeer, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, House of Sand and Fog, Blood Diamond

Anne Hathaway - Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain, Devil Wears Prada, Becoming Jane

Frances McDormand - Fargo, Lone Star, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Burn After Reading

Helen Mirren - Excalibur, White Nights, Calendar Girls, The Queen

Julianne Moore - An Ideal Husband, End of the Affair, Far From Heaven

Michelle Pfeiffer - Witches of Eastwick, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liasons, Fabulous Baker Boys, Russia House, Batman Returns, Age of Innocence, Up Close and Personal, What Lies Beneath, Stardust

Meryl Streep - Julia, Holocaust, Deer Hunter, Kramer vs Kramer, French Lieutenant's Woman, Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, River Wild, Bridges of Madison County, Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia

Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading, Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Naomi Watts - Dangerous Beauty, King Kong, Painted Veil, Eastern Promises

Best Movie Scenes in History

If there was a contest for the best acted, most moving scene in a movie, what would it be? We've come up with a few, but feel free to suggest your own and why.

Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice - explaining what is Sophie's Choice.

Damien Lewis, The Forsyte Saga - after his wife leaves him for another man, Soames Forsyte caresses his wife's empty dress and lets the dam break of decades-long pent up tears.

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Slumdog Millionaire - every scene in which he plays the young Jamal

Christian Bale, Empire of the Sun - showing the wonder of being a child, oblivious to the dangers of war

Johnny Depp, Nick of Time - reacting to the impossible choice of having to kill a highly placed public figure in order to save his kidnapped daughter's life

Toshiro Mifune, High and Low - the scene of panic he experiences on the train when he can't open the window to throw the ransom money to the kidnappers to retrieve his child

Guy Pierce, L.A. Confidential - walking the tightrope of extreme ambition vs integrity vs lust

Jake Gyllenhaal, October Sky - a convincing performance of a boy from a dingy little West Virginia coal town who looks at the sky and imagines a future as a rocket scientist. About as likely as a pig with wings. Or so says your father. But maybe your dream will come true with the guidance of a dedicated teacher and the support of everyone in town.

The Immediate Experience

Movies. What are they all about? The best ones are about the human experience. The immediate experience. Relationships. Emotions. Feelings. Comfort. Inspiration. Misery. They shed light on our own experiences. 

The best movies create the same feelings in you at the same point in the story every time you see them. So which are some of my favorites? 

Field of Dreams - despair, then hope and the magic that can come from a child-like faith, when "Doc" saves the little girl who was choking on a hot dog

E.T. - again, despair then hope, as E.T. lifts Elliott heavenward across the sky just as the Feds are closing in - a magical moment in film history

Schindler's List - transformation from selfishness to selflessness and witnessing that one person can make a difference

Casablanca - sacrifice of personal happiness for the greater good; "Here's lookin' at you kid."

It's a Wonderful Life - a life full of deeds of quiet heroism and generosity add up to "Here's to my big brother George. The richest man in Bedford Falls."

The Color Purple - when Celie and her sister are reunited and Celie sees her children for the first time in 20 years, your heart soars. Even the improbable can come to pass.

Why does it matter? Because there are more great moments at weddings than in even the greatest movie. And, those moments should be preserved - exactly as you experienced them - with a cheeringfamily, live music, and just a tiny tear glistening at the corner of your eye. A great wedding movie delivers the immediate experience.

San Francisco International Film Festival Rides Again!

It's that time of year again. Time for the 52nd annual San Francisco Film Festival, starting tonight, Thursday, April 23. Before the last reel is shown on Thursday, May 7, over 150 films from 50 countries will be shown, and Robert Redford and Francis Ford Coppola will receive awards and chat with the crowds.

Rumor has it that there are a lot of must-see films including:

Bluebeard - killing your wives is cheaper than a divorce

Adoration - a teenager blurs the line between fact and fiction when he writes an essay portraying his deceased father as a terrorist

Ferlinghetti - local filmmaker's documentary on San Francisco poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti including interview with Dennis Hopper, Alan Ginsberg and other bohemians

La Mission - filmed in San Francisco in just 26 days, the movie stars Benjamin Bratt of Law & Order fame, directed by his brother Peter Bratt. Both Bratts will be in attendance

The Lost World (hot ticket!) - A silent film accompanied by an original score performed live by Dengue Fever, a Cambodian/American rock, country and African fusion jazz band. Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sci-fi novel, a group of explorers make the fatal mistake of bringing back a brontosaurus from an exotic locale.

See you at the movies!

Shhhh! Silent FIlms

What should I do with my sweetheart on Valentine's Day, you might be asking. Here's the perfect answer - go to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival tomorrow night. 

The featured films will be -

Our Hospitality (1923) a parody of Romeo and Juliet set in the Old South in 1830. Buster Keaton dodges his sweetheart's family's bullets.  His daredevil rescue attempt above a waterfall is still one of the all-time great movie stunts. With live piano accompaniment

A Kiss from Mary Pickford (1927) starring Mary Pickford and her husband in real life, Douglas Fairbanks

Sunrise (1927), a compelling tale of love, desire, guilt and redemption. It received the first Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Picture. 

The Cat and the Canary (1927) one of the first thriller comedies.  It's a tale of a dark house, it involves reading a will, and an escaped lunatic running around. Live accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer.

The art form of movie-making is barely 100 years old.  In that time it has made an incredible impression on billions of people. It's been used to educate, to indoctrinate and to entertain. It reflects and maybe even defines a culture and the times we live in. A great movie portrays love and devotion, betrayal and greed, giving us a chance to observe and maybe to understand ourselves a little better. Bravo to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival for bringing us these classics.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Part II: Special Effects

The story of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was written by F Scott Fitzgerald a long time ago. Many directors considered making the movie, but it wasn't until recently that the technology was available to produce the story convincingly. Extensive special effects were used, but they were virtually invisible because they were used in the service of the story and not just to announce that the FX guys had a big budget and the smarts to do it!

Did you wonder how they accomplished the remarkable aging effect of taking Brad Pitt from a shrunken old man to a robust 20-something hunk? Well, from a technical standpoint, the Benjamin Button character is a composite of a body actor and a computer-generated (CGI) face. First the body actor delivered temporary dialogue in the scene with other actors. Then, Brad Pitt recorded temporary dialogue that was used for pacing in the rough cut. Once the scenes were edited and were close to the final version, they shot scenes of Brad’s face performing. His performance was then mapped onto a CGI head which was then mapped onto the body actor’s torso.

The only mis-step in the film was in a scene in which Cate Blanchett was telling a fable which was given a movie-within-a-movie look. It was overdone and distracting to the point of interfering with the story. At times, we feel wedding videography filmed in super 8 mm suffers from the same malady. At its best, super 8 mm can convey a sweet, nostalgic timelessness. But too often super 8 mm just looks like shaky, out-of-focus, poorly exposed home movies.

Whether it's in a dramatic feature film or a personal wedding movie, special effects should be used to further the story and not just for their own sake.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I: Short Review

Let's just start by saying this is a fantasy that feels real. You buy into the premise right away that Benjamin Button is born an old man and youthens, dying as an infant. But that is just the window dressing.

What matters more is that this is a love story. The story suggests that the soul of a person is more important than their appearance. That forgiveness is the path to being able to put your past behind you and fully enjoy today. That only when life is in balance can you truly appreciate it. As Benjamin (Brad Pitt) was growing younger and Daisy (Cate Blanchett) was growing up, it was only when they met in the middle that their relationship could fully flower.

This is a beautifully filmed movie with a story that is beautifully told. Two of the major ingredients in a piece of art that will touch you every time you see it.

TV Shows About Elections

When it comes to selecting the best TV shows about elections and the presidency, there is only one choice:  The West Wing.  The series of 156 episodes was one of the best dramas ever broadcast.  It aired between September, 1999 and May, 2006.  

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The American President (1995), later developed this series from unused plot elements. The writing was incisive and touched on a long list of topical issues.  Critics said it was unrealistically optimistic, and the rooms depicted on TV were larger than the actual rooms. Chuck and I learned a lot about blocking shots, camera angles, and "walk and talk" steadicam movement which adds a dynamic quality to a conversation.  They had a budget of $6 million per episode which allowed them to craft a beautiful small movie each week.

I just caught the last episode which aired May 16, 2006.  It was an eerie foreshadowing of what was to come in 2008. In the episode, President Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen) is handing over the reins of the presidency to a young minority Democratic candidate (Jimmy Smits) who had a grueling primary campaign against a more experienced candidate and chose an experienced Washington insider as his running mate.  The Republican opponent was an aging maverick senator from a western state who chose a running mate from a small Republican state.  Holy cow!  Fiction and real life collide.

 

Movies About Elections

The elections are over, for the time being.  Maybe it turned out the way you hoped; maybe not.  If you need to go to a make believe place where things always turn out right, take a look at some of these movies about elections.

Bulworth (1998) - Warren Beatty, Halle Berry

A Democratic California senator running for re-election orders a hit on himself which gives him the freedom to speak out in a brutally honest way in the form of hip hop music.

The Candidate (1972) - Robert Redford

A young, idealistic candidate for the U.S. Seante from California wages a campaign on integrity and hope.  A study in the inner conflicts of a decent man torn between ambition and conscience. It doesn't hurt that he has charisma, charm and good looks.

Dave (1993) - Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver

Dave, an ordinary guy, is recruited to impersonate a comatose President.  He brings common sense, idealism and decency back to the oval office.

Man of the Year (2006) - Robin Williams, Christopher Walken

A political comedian decides to run for president.  A computerized voting machine malfunction gets him elected.

Manchurian Candidate (1962) - Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury

Shows just how far some people are willing to go to win an election.

Primary Colors (1998) - John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton

A barely fictionalized account of the 1992 candidacy of Bill Clinton, showing the "deal making" it takes to win the office.

And here are a few more movies about what happens to the men who win and assume the highest office.

All The President's Men (1976) - Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman

Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal.

American President (1995) - Michael Douglas, Annette Bening

A widowed president and a lobbyist fall in love and try to have a relationship despite the constant  attention of the press.

Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979) - Alan Alda, Meryl Streep

Senator Joe Tynan faces a choice between integrity and power; between his family and his mistress, between decency and ambition.

W (2008) - Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss

Oliver Stone's take on what makes George W Bush run.

How Many Film Industry People Does It Take to Screw in a Lightbulb?

Have you ever wondered how many people it takes to make a movie?  I ran across a blog called Film Industry Bloggers.  Every day of the week, except Sunday, five to six film industry specialists blog about topics of interest to them.  They have 32 bloggers in all.

How does this relate to what we do?  Chuck and I fill many of the roles listed, except for the actor of course.  Any task that goes on BEHIND the camera, not in front of it, we'll do.  We can relate to the musings of the Film Bloggers who are employed as: director (on our commercial shoots), producer, production designer, storyboard artist, music supervisor, digital expert, colorist, animation coordinator, editor, key grip, production manager and voice over artist.  Love this blog!

Best Thriller Movies

I recently saw Nick of Time with Johnny Depp.  It reminded me of why I think some movies deserve to be called great.  By telling an intriguing story, they make you feel emotion.  Here are some movies that, no matter how many times I see them, I feel the same intense emotions at the same places in the film.  

Body Heat (1981) - passion; we saw this movie at a drive-in on a cold night and by the middle of the picture, we were sweating from the steamy scenes.

Seven Days in May (1962) - fear and loathing; chilling because at the time the film was released the world was one tick away from a nuclear holocaust.

Like Water for Chocolate (1992) - passion, longing, joy, humor, compassion, sadness for what might have been, for what should have been.  This is not a thriller, but it is a wonderful movie.

L.A. Confidential (1997) - passion, obsession, envy, innocence and the perfect blend of all these elements into a smart, stylish thriller.

Das Boot (1981) - claustrophobia, suspense, loneliness, compassion for an enemy who is more like us than he is different from us.

Manchurian Candidate (1962) - nightmarish horror, hopelessness, ice cold cruelty; makes you want to run home and thank your Mother for being so nice to you.

My Dinner With Andre (1981) - intensely interesting 2-hour conversation between two men who never leave their table at a New York restaurant.  This is not a thriller, but an odd, compelling little movie.

Nick of Time (1995) - fear, anxiety, mistrust, resourcefulness, and tenacity that comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Night of the Hunter (1955) - terror enhanced by every nuance of a film noir style and lyrical images.

Ransom (1996) - hope, anguish, loathing, and finally relief in a plot with several twists you don't see coming; one of the best movie trailers of all time:.

Rear Window (1954) - Hitchcock was the master of finding terror in the most unexpected places.

Burn After Reading - A Movie Review

This is how we felt at the end of Burn After Reading.  But we laughed even harder - nearly fell off the chair.

We've been fans of the Coen Brothers who have a penchant for writing bizarre, off-kilter comedies about ordinary numnuts, noodniks and knuckleheads who turn to crime.  The would-be criminals do not succeed.  But Joel and Ethan do.  

Rather than talk about the plot - you can read about that in Rotten Tomatoes or Roger Ebert's column - we're more intrigued with style.  The Coens start with the style of a screwball comedy with sharp-witted dialogue, irony, and well-developed characters.  Even the bit-players are caricatures with exaggerated personality traits.  I don't think we are meant to identify with these characters, or to derive insight into human nature from them.  I think we are just meant to enjoy their quirkiness.

Burn After Reading seems to complete the trilogy of George Clooney as goofball.  He's suckered his buddy Brad Pitt into being a dim-wit too.  Who knew Brad Pitt was such a versatile actor? It's a long way from A River Runs Through It or Legends of the Fall to the slow-witted personal trainer at the Hardbodies gym.

About Coen Brothers films...A friend asked us how we liked their 1996 movie Fargo.  We said we loved it.  You betcha.  What he meant to ask was "Will I like it?"  The answer would have been no.  His tastes ran more towards mainstream movies not quirky little comedies.  So, be forewarned - this is a typical Coen Brothers extravaganza.  Only you know whether that means you will walk away holding your sides from laughter or with a deer-in-the-headlights dazed look.

Other Coen Brothers movies:

Blood Simple (1984)

Raising Arizona (1987)

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Fargo (1996)

Big Lebowski (1998)

O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

No Country For Old Men (2007)

A Trio of Quirky Little Movies

What makes a good movie?

Well, it has to have a good story that compels you to keep watching until the end. The choice of camera angle should be surprising but completely consistent with the story. The script and acting should feel natural and authentic. And the editing should not call attention to itself.

Sometimes a great movie is epic, such as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Indiana Jones, Schindler's List. But sometimes it can be a quirky little picture. Here are three for your consideration:

Scotland, PA (2001)

This is a satire that retells Shakespeare's Macbeth, while satirizing fast food and suburbia. Joe and Pat McBeth work at Duncan's hamburgers joint in the small Pennsylvania town of Scotland, in the 1970's, They plot and carry out Duncan's murder and it looks like they will get away with it. That is until Christopher Walken, as police lieutenant Ernie McDuff starts investigating and brings a "Twin Peaks"-esque feel to the movie. He delivers his lines with his usual unconventional cadence and it's perfect here.

There are plenty of great lines - "We're not bad people, we're just underachievers that have to make up for lost time." and plenty of little jokes - Duncan, it seems, made a fortune by selling a chain of donut stores.

Strictly Ballroom (1993)

Before Baz Luhrmann produced Moulin Rouge and La Boheme, he wrote and directed this little gem. It spoofs the stuffy world of ballroom dancing in which two young competitors attempt to be spontaneous and improvise novel dance steps while being told by The Federation that "there are no new steps". There is a madness in most of the characters that only the dancing couple seem to notice. This is a charming tale of taking on the powers that be and winning on your own terms.

Kinky Boots (2005)

The crazy thing about this movie is that it is based on a true story. A young man with ambitions to shake the dust of a small town off his boots and move to the big city is forced to reconsider when his father, the third generation to run a traditional men's shoe factory, dies suddenly. Charlie, the son, comes back to town, only to discover the company is about to go under. He searches for a way to keep all the workers employed. Ah ha! He finds a new niche market: thigh-high boots with stiletto heels that will bear up under the weight of a man, for drag queens.

There is a transformation not just of the products the factory turns out, but of people's prejudices about each other, resulting in triumph all around.

For more movies that are out of the mainstream, see Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival.

World's Best Film Festivals

Tonight something interesting is going to happen at the Academy Awards. I can predict with 100% confidence that the Best Picture Oscar will go home with a film-festival filmmaker because all five films nominated for Best Picture were seen at the world's top film festivals. This trend started In 2005 when Crash was the first film festival acquisition (2004 Toronto Film Festival) to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Atonement debuted on opening night at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. Michael Clayton premiered at the 2007 Venice Film Festival and was later seen at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Juno, made on a budget of only $6.5 million, was judged Best Film at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. No Country for Old Men by the Coen Brothers premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, six months before its limited commercial release in the U.S. It was also seen at the New York Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. And There Will Be Blood's director, Paul Thomas Anderson just won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival for Best Director.

Is this a good trend? I think so. We can derive so much inspiration from people all around the world who have different experiences, different views of the world, and different styles of visually expressing themselves. Is it ever a bad idea to gain a greater global understanding?

So, in order to get a jump on next year's Academy Award nominees, here are the World's Top Film Festivals, based upon popularity, quality of films, and prestige.

Cannes International Film Festival - May 14-25, 2008

Cannes is graced by some of Hollywood's A-list celebrities, and its roster of past winners includes: "Easy Rider" (1969), "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Fargo" (1996).

Venice Film Festival - Aug 27-Sep 6, 2008

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. It evolved out of a Venice art exhibition in the mid-1930's. Federico Fellini once said that "entering the Film Palace of the Venice Film Festival was like passing a final exam."

Berlin Film Festival - Feb 1-Mar 1, 2009

The Berlin Film Festival was founded in 1951, just six years after the end of World War II, as part of an attempt to restore Germany to its former artistic glory. The first film screened at the Festival was Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca". The Berlin Film Festival quickly gained momentum, and within a few years it rivaled Cannes and Venice as one of the premiere film festivals in the world.

There are plenty more film festivals from Anchorage to Zanzibar. Here is the A-List of international film festivals, according to the International Federation of Film Producers Association:

Mar del Plata International Film Festival- Apr 24-May 8, 2008
Shanghai International Film Festival -June 14-22, 2008
Moscow International Film Festival - June 18-27, 2008
Locarno Film Festival - Aug 6-16, 2008
Montreal Film Festival - Aug 21-Sep 1, 2008
Fresh Film Festival- Aug 27-31, 2008
Cairo Film Festival - Aug 29-Sep 1
Toronto International Film Festival - Sep 4-13, 2008
San Sebastian Film Festival - Sep 18-27, 2008
Tokyo Film Festival - October, 2008

Festivals well-known for showcasing independent films are:

Sundance Film Festival - Jan 17-27, 2008
Vail Film Festival - Apr 3-6, 2008
Sonoma Valley Film Festival - Apr 9-13, 2008
Tribeca Film Festival - Apr 23-May 4, 2008
Telluride Film Festival - Aug 29-Sep 1, 2008
New York Film Festival - Sep, 2008
Raindance Film Festival - Oct 1-12, 2008

And a few festivals close to home are:
Cinequest Film Festival - Feb 27-Mar 9, 2008
San Francisco International Film Festival - Apr 24-May 8, 2008

If you can't attend in person, then live vicariously through these blogs of the goings-on at the latest film festivals:
Film Festival Today
Short Film Review
Independent Films

Citizen Kane and Apocalypse Now

I gathered up my birthday money and registered for a seminar on The Aesthetics of Editing. It is enlivening to get inspiration from new sources. I thought I was critically evaluating movies. But, now it seems I was only giving them a cursory glance. The good news is that beginning with the first wedding movie we edited, we've intuitively edited according to the five basic criteria for excellent editing. We just didn't know it.

How should a movie be judged? By the story and message? By the the art and style? By its influence on other movies?

I decided to go back and look at the Top 25 movies ever made with a more critical eye. But, which Top 25? Who says they are the Top 25? The American Film Institute has one of the most popular lists of the Top 100 Movies. But they are all produced by, well, Americans. Here is the AFI List of the Top 25 Movies. No surprises here. Movies we've all heard of and seen.

AFI Top 25
1. Citizen Kane (1941)*
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. The Godfather (1972)*
4. Gone With The Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)*
7. The Graduate (1967)
8. On The Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
11. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
13. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)*
15. Star Wars (1977)
16. All About Eve (1950)*
17. The African Queen (1951)
18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974)*
20. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
21. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)*
23. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
24. Raging Bull (1980)*
25. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the Top 100 Maverick Movies broaden the horizon, but it's still an American horizon. Here are Rolling Stone's Top 25. The movies listed under the AFI with an asterisk were also in Rolling Stone's Top 25 list.

Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 25
2. Vertigo (1958)
3. The Searchers (1956)
8. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
9. Blue Velvet (1986)
10. Pulp Fiction (1994)
11. King Kong (1933)
12. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
13. Fargo (1996)
15. Do The Right Thing (1989)
16. Night of the Hunter (1955)
17. Sherlock, Jr (1924)
19. Nashville (1975)
21. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
22. Brazil (1985)
23. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
24. Badlands (1973)
25. Don't Look Now (1973)

Why not widen the list to include foreign films? But once again, whose list do you look at? The British Film Institute, the Online Film Community, winners at the Cannes Film Festival? It's hard to say, so here is an amalgam of all three. For a wonderfully complete list, check out the movie critic Roger Ebert's list.

Top 25 Foreign Films
Australian - Strictly Ballroom (1992)
British - The Third Man (1949)
Chinese - Curse of the Golden Flower (2006); Farewell My Concubine (1993); Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
French - 400 Blows (1959), Amelie (2001), Beauty and the Beast (1946), Breathless (1960), Earrings of Madame de... (1953), Rules of the Game (1939)
German - Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), M (1931), Nosferatu (1922), Run Lola Run (1998), Wings of Desire (1988)
Italian - The Bicycle Thief (1948); Amarcord (1974); Cinema Paradiso (1989); The Leopard (1963)
Japanese - Rashomon (1950), Ran (1985), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Russian - Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Swedish - Seventh Seal (1957)
Vietnamese - Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

Finally, here are some of my personal favorites not mentioned on any other list. Each is my favorite because the combination of artistry (acting and cinematography) and storytelling created an unforgettable impact the first time I saw it, which has stayed with me, and continues to effect me the same way every time I see it.

Jewel's Top 25 Not Previously Mentioned Films
A Christmas Carol (1951)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
Amadeus (1984)
Body Heat (1981)
Color Purple (1985)
Crash (2005)
Das Boot (1981)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Excalibur (1981)
Gods Must be Crazy (1980)
Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)
High and Low (1963)
Joy Luck Club (1993)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
Lone Star (1996)
The Natural (1984)
Out of Africa (1985)
Scotland, PA (2001)
Seabiscuit (2003)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Witness (1985)

Best Movies of 2007

So why do they always cram the releases of the best movies of the year into the last 14 days of the year? Yes of course - to be fresh in the minds of those who make Oscar nominations.

What are my criteria for Best Movie? First, it tells a compelling story, engages you and holds your interest. You never once look at your watch until the ending credits start to roll. It makes you care about characters whom you've never met. It entertains, informs, or moves you emotionally. It can change the way you live your life.

Second, the technical qualities of the film are excellent. And they do not call attention to themselves. At its best, the color palette conveys emotion (whether ethereal blue, parched desert or super-saturated warm tones). The soundtrack is richly layered with voices, sounds and music which subtly convey a mood. The images are ordered in an interesting way. The editing is tight - not one frame more than is needed to tell the story. The pace helps create the emotion whether you feel fidgety because time is hanging heavy or because you are breathlessly running from danger.

So, there are a big bunch of movies I want to see soon, and will update my Best Movies of 2007 list as we see them. So far...

Best Movies of 2007
Atonement - Keira Knightley, James MacAvoy
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Eastern Promises - Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts
Great Debaters - Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker
Michael Clayton - George Clooney
Nanny Diaries - Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney
No Country for Old Men - Tommy Lee Jones
Ratatouille
Rendition - Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon
Stardust - Michelle Pfeiffer, Clare Danes

Movies I Want to See
Away from Her
Diving Bell and Butterfly
Golden Compass - Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig
In the Shadow of the Moon
Juno
Kite Runner
Lives of Others
Love in the Time of Cholera
Lust, Caution
Once

Best Movies of 2006

Everyone's a critic! Now's our turn. Here are our favorite movies of the past year based upon how impactful they are, how well they tell a story and how well they are crafted (technical considerations), regardless of political outlook, lifestyle or likeability of the key actors.

1. Flags of our Fathers
2. The Queen
3. The Departed
4. Letters from Iwo Jima
5. Lucky Number Sleven
6. Perfume: Letters of a Murderer
7. Volver
8. Akeelah and the Bee
9. Mrs Henderson Presents
10. Deja Vu


Honorable Mention
Lake House
Cars
Happy Feet
Casino Royale
The Good Shepherd
Munich
Brokeback Mountain
Devil Wears Prada
Match Point
Walk the Line
Inside Man