What exactly does it mean when you stumble upon a movie that changes your life? One critic defined it as the ultimate in perspective shift, something that really comes along and shakes the foundations of how you view the world.
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: A Template for Spectacle -- Triumph of the Will.
All film is spectacle, it has been said, and there was no larger and more grotesque spectacle than Hitler and his Nazi party. This film celebrates them with movie techniques that were pioneering in its day, and since it is such a celebration of his party, it is so ultimately disturbing that it alters how you see 'tribute' films forever.
#4: De Sica's Genius on Display in Bicycle Thieves.
Ultra-simple -- a man gets a bike, and a job, when Rome is very poor after the second world war. He then loses the bike, and tries to steal another one so he can keep the job. There isn't much else to the plot, but it contains a whole world.
#3: Polanski Figures Out Corruption in Chinatown.
Polanski, despite the mess he created for himself before leaving America, made what is undoubtedly one of the best American films of all time. This might just be one of those movies that says more about Hollywood than any other, which is important if you ever think about what the movies 'mean' to us.
#2: Vertigo is the Summation of Everything Hitchcock Did.
A wonderful thriller that also happens to be all about falling in love, idealizing women (or men), wanting other people to conform to our expectations, and an examination of the director's role in shaping how a movie is made. No other film is so good both on its surface and in its multiple layers of meaning at the same time.
#1: America is Summed Up in The Godfather.
You can almost never get tired of this film, it is that good on first go -- nearly every scene is legendarily filmed, acted, and executed, and then the fact that it happens to convey some grand and great things about America is almost like a bonus, until that becomes the reason you return to it 50 times. - 29968
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: A Template for Spectacle -- Triumph of the Will.
All film is spectacle, it has been said, and there was no larger and more grotesque spectacle than Hitler and his Nazi party. This film celebrates them with movie techniques that were pioneering in its day, and since it is such a celebration of his party, it is so ultimately disturbing that it alters how you see 'tribute' films forever.
#4: De Sica's Genius on Display in Bicycle Thieves.
Ultra-simple -- a man gets a bike, and a job, when Rome is very poor after the second world war. He then loses the bike, and tries to steal another one so he can keep the job. There isn't much else to the plot, but it contains a whole world.
#3: Polanski Figures Out Corruption in Chinatown.
Polanski, despite the mess he created for himself before leaving America, made what is undoubtedly one of the best American films of all time. This might just be one of those movies that says more about Hollywood than any other, which is important if you ever think about what the movies 'mean' to us.
#2: Vertigo is the Summation of Everything Hitchcock Did.
A wonderful thriller that also happens to be all about falling in love, idealizing women (or men), wanting other people to conform to our expectations, and an examination of the director's role in shaping how a movie is made. No other film is so good both on its surface and in its multiple layers of meaning at the same time.
#1: America is Summed Up in The Godfather.
You can almost never get tired of this film, it is that good on first go -- nearly every scene is legendarily filmed, acted, and executed, and then the fact that it happens to convey some grand and great things about America is almost like a bonus, until that becomes the reason you return to it 50 times. - 29968
About the Author:
Want to find out more about tv series on dvd, then visit James Dolson's site on how to choose the best dvd sets for your needs.
