Over the past year, several filmmakers have been posting about their own personal favorite movies and/or films that have influenced them in their own careers. I decided to join in the conversation and share some of my own alphabetical picks (beginning numerically). These include titles from around the world, not to mention picks that still hold up remarkably well today.
WRITER'S NOTE: This was a very hard list to narrow down (it currently stands at ten choices), and it will likely change down the road.
101 Dalmatians (1961)
This is, perhaps, a good place to start. After all, for many of us, the original Disney animated films were some of our first memories of movies. It was either this 1961 classic (in its last theatrical re-release) or Beauty and the Beast that I first remember seeing in theaters as a child. More poignantly, it even helped me through a really difficult period several years back when I was revisiting my old VHS tapes.
This is a wonderful film with a distinct style of animation (artful, engaging, and well-crafted). It has everything: comedy, romance, adventure, action, mystery, suspense, drama, and music (although, technically, it's not a musical, save for the unforgettable "Cruella DeVil" number). There are even moments of silence (or just dialogue) that are especially effective. Kudos to veteran storyman Bill Peet, who adapting Dodie Smith's original children's book, resulting in one of the best examples of tight-yet-thoroughly-compelling storytelling. It may be a product of the 1960s, but it's arguably the most contemporary of Disney animated classics. And it will always hold a special place in my memory and heart.
All the President's Men (1976)
Full disclosure: I am not a political person by any means; it's never been my thing. That being said, this thoroughly-engrossing thriller (based on the true story of Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward as they investigated and made light of the Watergate scandals of the early-1970s) is a textbook example of effective and important journalism. Even though we know the outcome, screenwriter William Goldman, director Alan J. Paluka, and leads Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford keep us on edge. The line that does it for me: "Just make sure you're right."
Chariots of Fire (1981)
A sports-related film that isn't really about sports, but about real people and personal obstacles. We're all familiar with the famous theme music by Vangelis. But it's the central true stories of Olympic runners Harold Abrahams (a Jewish university athlete) and Eric Liddell (a Scottish missionary), their differing drives and convictions, and their distinct definitions of winning, losing, and faith, that carry the film. A true winner.
Fantasia (1940)
Maybe I'm being a little biased by including more than one Disney animated film on here, but whatever. Many would argue for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (which continues to captivate me to this day); some for Pinocchio (a masterpiece in craft, character, and story); others, Bambi or The Lion King (also masterclasses). Even Beauty and the Beast bridges the gap between the theatrical and the cinematic, with one of the best romances--and Disney heroines--to ever grace the screen. To me, Fantasia is the magnum opus of the medium (not just Disney), with various genres and styles (both music and animation) represented and interpreted. It has since influenced generations of animators, and even filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick--and quite possibly MTV. Our favorite: the climactic shot from the "Ave Maria" segment. Awe-inspiring.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra's perennial holiday classic is like the gift that keeps on giving every year. The timeless story of George Bailey (the role that Jimmy Stewart will always be remembered for), and the significance of one person's life on so many others, remains one of the most life-affirming films ever made. That'a boy, Clarence.
Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Soviet filmmaker Dgiva Vertov's bold, experimental mosaic of city life at the turn of the Russian Revolution in the early 20th Century, is one of two films from my college film courses that has since stuck with me. This is brilliant, dynamic freedom in the use of documentary filmmaking, as if art and real-life were imitating or being created from one another.
Moneyball (2011)
Another beyond-sports movie, dramatizing the Oakland Athletic's unconventional baseball season from 2001-2002, by way of sabermetrics. A true story that challenges and motivates its viewers to persevere through business, through professionalism, and through integrity. Brad Pitt (as general manager Billy Beane) and Jonah Hill (as Yale graduate Peter Brand) knock it out of the park.
Rear Window (1954)
The other standout selection from my aforementioned college courses. Jimmy Stewart plays a crippled, apartment-bound photojournalist (with Grace Kelly as his beautiful, societal girlfriend) who begins spying on his neighbors and suspects one of them of murder. This is Alfred Hitchcock at his filmmaking best, particularly in his exceptional use of one primary setting (which may or may not have influenced John Hughes when he made The Breakfast Club). Its character arcs and dynamics are top-notch as well.
Roma (2018)
The last "great" movie I've seen (other than 2019's 1917 and The Farewell, and 2020's Sound of Metal). Writer-director Alfonso Cuaron's deeply personal drama immediately won me over with its epic scope and intimate storytelling. A semiautobiography of the auteur's upbringing in 1970s Mexico City, Cuaron focuses instead on the women who helped him, particularly the indigenous maid (played here by first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio, a revelation) who worked for his middle-class family. This is an incredibly-skilled filmmaker pouring his heart and soul into every frame (shot in beautiful black and white, with an equally immersive sound design), as if we're learning cinema all over again.
And finally, out of the hundreds of millions of films that have ever been made in the history of motion pictures, this is the one, I believe, people (will) remember the most. Unforgettable characters, songs, set pieces, and morals that continue to stand the test of time, thanks to L. Frank Baum's original source material, and of course the immortal performances (headed by the iconic Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale) as they journey down the Yellow Brick Road.
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