zen Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) Best (not necessarily favorite) Hollywood (or English language and silent) films of all time is an extremely difficult list to make as Hollywood films tend to be based on genres. And there are multiple genres. One way to do it is to list genres and the best in it. Another way is to focus on best directors and list their best work. Or a combination of both ... Anyways, will take a shot. This is per their relevance in 2021. Top 10 list (many films chosen for their unique qualities and w/o repeating the directors), in the order of release: Metropolis. Directed by Fritz Lang. A silent film from 1927 (90+ years old). It was ahead of its time. A Sci-Fi adventure that is still mesmerizing. It should be freely available on platforms like YT as it is likely to be in public domain City Lights. Another film from the silent film era. This Charlie Chaplin's film uses humor to tell a touching story. It has inspired films such as Sadma, which has a different twist The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Directed by Powell and Pressburger, this film tells the tale of a rotund Clive Candy (played by Roger Livesey) through 3 wars - Boer War, First World War & the Second World War. It weaves in romance (with 2 Deborah Kerr, who plays 3 roles) and tales of friendships as well with a German (played by the magnificent Anton Walbrook) in a witty manner. Since it is a Powell and Pressburger film, visually it is brilliant too. Churchill is said to have tried to ban it as he thought the film could be a sarcastic take on him. It is one of the best war/anti-war films. Included here as it is one of the films that one must see but not many know about it Vertigo. Directed by Hitchcock. A story on obsession told using innovative colors, memorable score, and a shocking ending. San Francisco area is captured beautifully. A perfect example of a Hitchcock film. Everytime you watch it, you may find something new to discover whether it is how the characters interact or the use of geometry in a scene Lawrence of Arabia. Directed by Lean. I do not recall if have seen a film like this. It is brilliant in every way from story, acting, cinematography, score, direction, locations, etc. To make a film like this today like it was made then, it could cost around $300M 2001: A Space Odyssey. Directed by Kubrick. A work that blends art with technical brilliance. Again a film that was ahead of its time. When in the right mood, watching this film can be a mind blowing experience Raiders of the Lost Ark. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Once this film was released, adventures fun films were never the same! The Silence of the Lambs. A monumental film in the horror thriller genre and among the only 3 films to won the 5 Big Oscars (Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay). Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a legendary character Inception. Nolan puts everything you would expect in the film, technically brilliant with a memorable Hans Zimmer score, and a story angle not seen/experienced before The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wes Anderson's modern classic sporting an ensemble of well known actors. It is a facetious adventure-comedy-crime film that creates an unique, colorful and memorable environment that is rarely seen on screen. Visually a stunning film as well Edited July 8, 2021 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 Spielberg was inspired to make films by LoA and saw David Lean as a guru. He likes to talk about it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankit_sharma03 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Amadeus- near perfect film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) Apart from Metropolis and City Lights, I own all the others in 4K HDR/DV UHD format. Therefore, experienced these films in their latest restoration (where applicable) and format Metropolis, I have seen its restored version. There is a color version too (like those for Mughal-e-Adam and Naya Daur so may check it out as well if the print is sharp). City Lights, I have seen the Criterion version, which is as good as it gets in the HD format Edited June 25, 2021 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 The beautiful cinematography of LoA ... even if there is no story but these scenes playing randomly along with the Maurice Jarre score, you can watch it without batting an eyelid: Who knows if I had seen this in high school too and was more mature at that time to understand such films, I may have got into filmmaking as well ... Lost opportunity. Bollywood lost its own Spielberg rkt.india and Lord 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 I like films that impact me. There are some films where you watch and go wow Whatta a great movie and there are some films where you go oh my god who the f directed this, this changed my life. Few such movies below Jurassic Park: an extinct creature as the main bad guy. The music, the performances, the subtleties. The film that changed the scale in which movie can be presented. Superman (first part with Christopher Reeve): before Iron man, dark knight and the decent Burton Batman, the cheesy Clooney Batman’s, the million Spider-Man reboots etc and after the dumb 60’s batman TV shows was Superman. Had an amazing classical BGM (big fan of movie background scores), had a handsome but classical actor as the main guy, the characters had depth and not like a cheesy comic book. The movie that started it all. This set a template for future superhero films. Omen: I saw Exorcist and other horror classics later. First real horror movie I ever saw (chota chetan and Ramsay type movies don’t count). The BGM and the 666 still gives me chills. ….More to Follow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 Brilliance of Hitchcock as shown below: Color Framing May have spoilers if you have not watched this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 In more recent times Life of Pi: I read the book and couldn’t imagine someone could make a movie out of it and what a great movie. To think they recreated the ocean in a swimming pool. Ang Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 33 minutes ago, maniac said: I like films that impact me. There are some films where you watch and go wow Whatta a great movie and there are some films where you go oh my god who the f directed this, this changed my life. Note that the thread is not on films you like or impact you or your favorite but the very best of hollywood in terms of a mix of elements such as story, back ground score, cinematography, direction, acting, innovation, avant-garde, etc. Best films can be a favorite and can impact you but not necessarily vice versa Edited June 25, 2021 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 3 minutes ago, zen said: Note that the thread is not on films you like or impact you or your favorite but the very best of hollywood in terms of a mix of elements storytelling, back ground score, cinematography, direction, acting, innovation, avant-garde, etc. Best films can be a favorite and can impact you but not necessarily vice versa Got it. But I have mentioned 4 films Superman, Life of PI, Jurassic Park and Omen. All 4 are considered some of the greatest films in that genre ever made except Life of Pi May be due to recency bias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) Nolan on 2001:ASO ... I like how he talks about AI, iPad, Facetime, Siri, etc., and that the film is an experience ... It is said to have influenced how we saw future ... If I am not wrong, Nolan supervised its restoration as well: Edited June 25, 2021 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) An excellent take on Metropolis, which created a visual grammar for Sci-Fi films ... Interestingly, b/w 1936 and 2008, most ppl only saw the cut 90 mins version, which did not expand on the motivations of the characters. The complete or extended version was discovered in Argentina in 2008, allowing us to experience the film in its full (or almost full depending upon the cut) glory: Edited June 25, 2021 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 The love story in City Lights: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, maniac said: Got it. But I have mentioned 4 films Superman, Life of PI, Jurassic Park and Omen. All 4 are considered some of the greatest films in that genre ever made except Life of Pi May be due to recency bias Nice picks in their respective categories. As far as animal movies go, there is Godzilla, which Japanese have been churning out since decades, but those would be foreign language … Spielberg’s Jaws is a classic sporting John Williams iconic score which represents the shark for most parts of the film. Jaws started the summer blockbuster trend. It is considered as a horror thriller too by many Horror films - if you like Omen and have Apple TV 4K, get it on it as it has a good print in 4K (no HDR or DV though). As kids, we used to watch it with our blankets where we could hide if necessary. The back ground score is awesome (won an Oscar iirc) and so are the locations in Jerusalem and Italy … In the horror thriller genre, there is Silence of the Lambs as well, which probably takes the genre to the next level. It won tons of Oscars. Hannibal Lecter in mask is an iconic image Edited June 25, 2021 by zen maniac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Talking about The Silence of the Lambs, below is an iconic scene. Ironically, the person who is restrained is actually in control. Hopkins does acting with his eyes: I have the film on Blu-ray by Criterion. The art work on it is among my favorites: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Btw, only 3 films have won the big 5 Oscars (film, director, actor, actress & screenplay): * It happened one night (inspired Chori Chori, Dil hai ke manta nahin, …) * One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest * The Silence of the Lambs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 In no particular order: Casablanca On the water front Psycho My Fair Lady Raging Bull The Sound of Music The Silence of the Lambs French Connection I Serpico Forrest Gump Fargo Good Fellas Pulp Fiction The Godfather Unforgiven Memento Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 4 hours ago, coffee_rules said: In no particular order: Casablanca On the water front Psycho My Fair Lady Raging Bull The Sound of Music The Silence of the Lambs French Connection I Serpico Forrest Gump Fargo Good Fellas Pulp Fiction The Godfather Unforgiven Memento A long list. Could you write a few lines on how you arrived at the choices? I like to see the thought process. coffee_rules 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I6MTW Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 On 6/26/2021 at 7:49 PM, coffee_rules said: In no particular order: Casablanca On the water front Psycho My Fair Lady Raging Bull The Sound of Music The Silence of the Lambs French Connection I Serpico Forrest Gump Fargo Good Fellas Pulp Fiction The Godfather Unforgiven Memento No Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 4 hours ago, I6MTW said: No Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo etc? I rate Rear Window better than Vertigo, yes SR is there in my list , along with One Flew Over a cuckoo’s Nest. I also missed To Kill a Mocking Bird. Hate making Top lists, there are so many good movies, ultimately it is the story/script/screenplay/narration is what binds the viewer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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