I guess anyone is qualified to blog about this subject but I wont lie and say that I am a diehard film buff like some of my friends in the program. I love watching movies but that is pretty much it. I rarely watch them more than once and don't often analyze them afterwards. I will use this post to identify my top 5 favourite movies.
5. The Awful Truth - This is a really old 1930s romantic comedy film feature Carey Grant and Irene Dunne. It is not well known by much of our generation but is highly regarded and AFI selected it for preservation in the registry or whatever it is called.
Carey Grant is one of my favorite actors and is spectacular in this film, which is often considered his coming out party. This comes from an era for romantic comedies were actually good and not the worst movies of all time. Check this one out. You won't regret it.
4. Goodfellas - Suuuuper cliche I know but this is a really fantastic movie that cannot be ignored. Everyone knows the story but I think it is the set that really works best and the way it is shot is great.
De Niro is unreal and this is Joe Pesci's finest hour. Ray Liotta is great to before he fell off the face of the earth and ended up in films like Youth in Revolt...
3. The Godfather - Considered the best movie of all time by many, it comes in at number 3 on my list. I have seen it probably 50 times at least and it never gets old for me. It is really breathtaking and so perfectly cast, as many of the film's actors were unknown at the time but went on to become big stars (Pacino, Caan etc.)
The film where Michael shoots Sollazo and McCluskey is probably the best of all time, in my opinion.
2. Raging Bull - This movie is close to perfect. De Niro has been in a billion great movies but this is the very best.
The story of boxer Jake La Motta, the film is a character study and done perfectly. It is so dark and so raw and you fall in love with La Motta while loathing him at the same time. De Niro's acceptance speech for the best actor award was magnificent and Martin Scorsese is a genius.
What a movie.
1. The Godfather Part II - "I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart." For me, this is the most memorable line in the history of movies and this is the best film ever made.
It's awfully rare for a sequel to be better than the original but this is a rare case. The seamless movement between Vito's past (surprise, surprise its De Niro again) and the current story with Michael is just magical. De Niro in his prime, Cazale, Keaton and Duvall are brilliant, Strasberg is inspired as Hyman Roth and this is easily the best performance in the illustrious career of Al Pacino (honourable mention to his role in Dog Day Afternoon which almost made this list).
There you have it, those are my top 5 movies of all time. I'm sure many will disagree and there are tons more that could have made it...
So I guess I do analyze films after all...
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