100 Favourite Films (2022 Update)

Title: 100 Favourite Films
Year: 2022

Having written over 1,000 reviews for this site, and having viewed thousands more, reducing my  "favourites" down to only 100 is a monumental task. Below is a subjective list of films that captivate and inspire me.  These are my "go to" pictures; films that leave me in awe & transcend beyond mere entertainment.

The films below motivate me to be a more imaginative, artistic person and to consistently think outside the norm. These are important films that have impacted my life. Please enjoy. 

1. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
2. Nosferatu (1922)
3. The Gold Rush (1925)
4. Metropolis (1927)
5. Sunrise (1927)
6. The Crowd (1928)
7. Pandora's Box (1929)
8. Earth (1930)
9. City Lights (1931)
10. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
11. The Awful Truth (1937)
12. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
13. The Roaring Twenties (1939)
14. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
15. Citizen Kane (1941)
16. Casablanca (1942)
17. For Me & My Gal (1942)
    
    
    
18. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
19. Brief Encounter (1945)
20. I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
21. Black Narcissus (1946)
22. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
23. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
24. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
25. Easter Parade (1948)
    
    
26. Kind Hearts & Coronets (1949)
27. The Third Man (1949)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Rashomon (1950)
30. Singin in the Rain (1952)
31. Seven Samurai (1954)
32. On the Waterfront (1954)
33. Night of the Hunter (1955)
    
    
    
34. The Seventh Seal (1957)
35. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
36. Throne of Blood (!957)
37. Vertigo (1958)
38. A Night to Remember (1958)
39. The Apartment (1960)
40. Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
41. Hara Kiri (1962)
42. 8 1/2 (1963)
43. Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
    
    
44. My Fair Lady (1964)
45. Band of Outsiders (1964)
46. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
47. Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
48. Persona (1966)
49. Young Girls of Rocheforte (1967)
50. The Graduate (1967)
51. Playtime (1967)
52. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
53. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
54. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
55. The Wild Bunch (1969)
56. Deep End (1970)
57. The Last Picture Show (1971)
58. The Devils (1971)
59. Cabaret (1972)
    
    
60. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
61. Cries and Whispers (1972)
62. Game of Death (1972)
63. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
64. The Conversation (1973)
65. Blazing Saddles (1974)
66. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
67. Tommy (1975)
68. Killer of Sheep (1978)
69. Days of Heaven (1978)
70. All That Jazz (1979)
    
    
71. Who's Singin Over There? (1980)
72. The Shining (1980)
73. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
74. Ran (1985)
    
75. Brazil (1985)
76. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
77. Army of Darkness (1992)
78. Schindler's List (1993)
79. Groundhog Day (1993)
80. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
    
81. Chungking Express (1994)
    
    
82. Pulp Fiction (1994)
83. Fallen Angels (1995)
84. Underground (1995)
85. Before Sunrise (1995)
86. Hard Eight (1996)
87. Nobody Loves Me (1996)
88. Boogie Nights (1997)
89. Election (1999)
90. Beau Travail (1999)
91. In the Mood for Love (2000)
92. Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
    
93. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
    
94. Brand Upon the Brain (2006)
    
95. There Will Be Blood (2007)
96. Moonlight (2017)
97. Roma (2018)
98. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
99. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
100. Godzilla Minus One (2023)
     
     

Easter Parade (1948) Review

Title: Easter Parade
Year: 1948
Director: Charles Walters
Country: US
Language: English

Winning the Oscar for "Best Score" at the 1948 Academy Awards came at a steep price for Easter Parade;  20th Century Fox paid famed composer Irving Berlin a vast sum of $600,000 (7.8 million adjusting inflation) to build the film around the songs. Of course having the immortal Judy Garland & iconic Fred Estaire (who replaced Gene Kelly after an injury) in the lead roles guaranteed that the film would be a tremendous success at the box office. 

In this, a nightclub performer (Fred Astaire) hires a naïve chorus girl (Judy Garland) to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.

Marketing this as "the happiest musical ever made", MGM certainly delivered on the tagline with a whopping 17 musical numbers in a 1hr 40min run-time. Many, such as the title song, are memorable & will have you humming long after the picture is over. The choreography is remarkable; there is one song Fred Astaire dances to that Michael Jackson must have taken inspiration from to make his iconic Smooth Criminal music video decades later. 

Astaire & Garland are a charismatic pair that make Easter Parade a worthwhile repeat viewing. It's quite surprising that this is the first - and only- film that features the duo. Garland plays a vulnerable yet empowering character. Astaire gives a vulnerability to the typical masculine archetype too. Light on plot, but full of love, these two powerhouses of the Silver Screen are at peak entertainment. 

While it isn't my favourite of either's filmography (that would be Top Hat & Meet Me in St. Louis) Easter Parade is a wonderful viewing that, while a little too stagey at times, proves to be a tremendous hit. This is a "they don't make films like these anymore!" type of movie. 

The Rescue (2021) Review

Title: The Rescue
Year: 2021
Director (s): Chin & Vasarhelyi

Country: UK
Language: English

In a world that seems fractured and unable to come to an agreement, The Rescue is a refreshing documentary that provides an example of the miracles that can happen when nations come together for a common purpose. This noble common goal, rescuing a dozen young soccer players trapped in a cave, proves that with innovation & the right mindset humans can do the near impossible. 

The Rescue is a chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.

To construct The Rescue, the directors (who previously made the enticing Free Solo) and their editor weave other people's documentary footage, news footage from around the world, reconstructed scenes and interviews with the professional divers to create a compelling, energetic, tense narrative that will leave audiences on the edge of their seat. 

Despite knowing the result, the events of The Rescue unfold in a way that makes you uncertain of the outcome. The picture maintains an immediacy, even when the operation is forced to go at a slower pace. I appreciated how detailed these events were & how the divers dissected even the smallest of their decisions. 

The Rescue is a well-made documentary that can be viewed on Disney+. It is quite remarkably made & provides for a great thriller, while also being a tearjerker for some.