Cinema's greatest classics

[ajay124]

Cinema is a Director's medium.
I stopped adulating 'star's when I realised that more often than not,they were the millstone,the 'burden',which dragged a film down.A film is a dream spun by a dream creator,the director.To make this dream work it is essential for the actor's to 'disappear' into the character they represent in the dream.But the star instead of 'disappearing' makes himself prominent.He preens.He struts.He throws his weight around.It is the 'character who 'disappears,and the actor who remains,turning the 'dream' into a nightmare!
Not just the star but the great method actor's too can be guilty of the same crimes.They too have giant sized ego's.They too preen and strut,albeit,more subtly.They try to 'interpret' the role,quite often very differently from what the scriptwriter and the director had in mind.They too drag a film down,quite often.
Which is why there is only one actor and star in the world that I consider perfect,for the uncanny ability of being able to disappear into a role.Not Brando.Not Depardieu.Not Naseer.But a lady called....
Isabelle Huppert
A few years back the Alliance Francaise organised her retrospective in Chandigarh.6-7 amazing films.Even though I was present for every film,a couple of times after the film began it took me a few minutes before I figured out which of the character's I was watching was Huppert.She had disappeared into the 'dream'.

 

[tkrishnan]

I wish to add Dhobi Ghat in your list of great films. Such an amazing effort from Kiran Rao. Not like cliche movies like slumdog millionaire, a genuine effort in making a class film. I was really happy after watching the movie. We have to laud the way the film was made. Great

 

[KonfuSed]

Why are we talking about hindi movies in this thread guys????????

The name of the thread is "Cinema's Greatest Classics", so that means it doesn't put any restriction on discussing Hindi as a medium of language for a classic movie. Or even any other non-Hindi Indian language.

 

[ajay124]

Good cinema can be in any language.In fact since it is primarily a visual medium,it can even be without a language.Carl Dreyer's Passion Of Joan Of Arc,Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin,Fritz Lang's Metropolis have no spoken dialogues.Merely 'written dialogue's' which appear on the screen.Even if the dialogues were done away with,these films through the power of their imagery,would still communicate more than the current blockbuster's with huge budget's and the latest technology at their disposal.Because all the money and technology in the world cannot replace IMAGINATION.The imagination of the person who creates the film and the imagination of the person who watches it.

 

[Pratters]

The silent film era is one of my two favorite eras along with 21st century cinema. Love it.

 

[moktan]

watched Sica's Bicycle Thieves with spanish subtitles...was hit home by the fact that great cinema does not need a familiar language...i may be a Johnny come lately in appreciating good cinema..but between the 'technical wizardry' of a citizen kane and the life affirming experience of Ladri di biciclette i would consider myself more enriched by the latter experience...
my favorite scene..at the restaurant when the young boy, pulls at the cheesy strand of his pizza and then casts a glance at the more lavish table..another young boy curls his lips over the dessert (snobbish but not his fault)..the young boy gets back to his pizza and smiles at his father...(i just believe he smiled...he must have smiled..)

 

[sivasarjun]

It was when Ray saw Bicycle thieves while on a trip to London(He was working in the advertising industry at that time) in 1952 I think ,that he decided that he wants to be a filmmaker.One of the greatest films ever made.My favourite scene is the last one(when the boy takes his fathers hand).

IMHO Citizen Kane is not even in the same league.I have never truly understood its high rating.

 

[ajay124]

It was when Ray saw Bicycle thieves while on a trip to London(He was working in the advertising industry at that time) in 1952 I think ,that he decided that he wants to be a filmmaker.One of the greatest films ever made.My favourite scene is the last one(when the boy takes his fathers hand).

IMHO Citizen Kane is not even in the same league.I have never truly understood its high rating.

Bergman on Welles
"For me he's just a hoax.It's empty.It's not interesting.It's dead.Citizen Kane, which I have a copy of - is all the critics' darling,always at the top of every poll taken,but I think it's a total bore.Above all,the performances are worthless."

I have the Citizen Kane DVD and have viewed it several times.My opinion is that,like Casablanca,it is a good film,but both are overated by the critics who consider them the greatest films ever made.But I LOVE the "Rosebud" scene in Citizen Kane.90% of the film's which find their way into the 'Best 100 film's Ever Made' kind of lists have no business being there.A few years ago Paul Anderson's "There will Be Blood" got rave reviews from critics.It was hailed as one of the best 5 films ever made by several mainstream critcs.I watched it on DVD and found it difficult to even sit through the movie.The film seemed to be 'manufactured' and 'false',with over the top 'method acting' by Daniel Day Lewis.
I used to get mad because every list of 100 great movies seemed to have about 60-70 Hollywood movies.Personally I could think of barely 4-5 Hollywood films which deserved to be shortlisted or considered for a 'Greatest' list.
But now I simply don't care anymore.There are as many lists and awards,as there are films and most of these lists and awards and films don't mean a thing.I must have viewed 70-80 films in 2010.I consciously chose NOT to watch dozens of films running in multiplexes or available on DVD.Only one film will stay with me.A film that has few parallels in world cinema:
Emir Kusturica's Underground.

 

[ajay124]

"The imagination of the person who creates the film and the imagination of the person who watches it."
Perhaps when somebody in the audience fails to "connect" with a film,he or she should ask "Did the film fail me or did I fail the film?"
A good film can be ruined by a bad audience.A consistently bad,ignorant audience can destroy the film making climate of a nation.
The ridiculous mainstream films being made in most film making nations are a 'joint production' between the creator's and devourer's of this cinema.
They both deserve each other.

 

[ajay124]

watched Sica's Bicycle Thieves with spanish subtitles...was hit home by the fact that great cinema does not need a familiar language...i may be a Johnny come lately in appreciating good cinema..but between the 'technical wizardry' of a citizen kane and the life affirming experience of Ladri di biciclette i would consider myself more enriched by the latter experience...
my favorite scene..at the restaurant when the young boy, pulls at the cheesy strand of his pizza and then casts a glance at the more lavish table..another young boy curls his lips over the dessert (snobbish but not his fault)..the young boy gets back to his pizza and smiles at his father...(i just believe he smiled...he must have smiled..)

@Moktan
The scene at the restaurant is really very good.The great divide that separates the rich from the poor does not need lengthy dissertations.One powerful scene can speak more than an entire book.This is the power of cinema.
Vittorio De Sica's" Shoeshine "and "Umbert D " are in the same league as "Bicycle Thief".
Some good director's who were active in the '25-'50 years.
Sergei Eisenstein
Fritz Lang
Carl Thedore Dreyer
Maurice Pagnol
Jean Renoir
Marcel Carne
Kenji Mizoguchi
Vittorio De Sica
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Roberto Rossellini
Orson Welles
Alfred Hitchcock
Charlie Chaplin
Billie Wilder

 

[ajay124]

I remember several thrillers from the 60's and 70's which had that extra 'edge' which made them special.
Wages Of Fear by Henri Georges Cluzot
Sorceror by William Friedkin.
The classic French thriller "Wages Of Fear" by Henri Cluzot was later remade as " Sorceror" by William "French Connection" Freidkin.
Both version's are a riveting watch.Four men have to transport a cargo of highly unstable nitroglycerine in a broken down truck
through bad weather,treacherous jungles,mountains and crumbling rope bridges.
Would love to watch them again on a big screen.I have always enjoyed films which explore exotic landscapes
William Freidkin
Best films :
The French Connection
The Exorcist
Sorceror
YouTube - William Friedkin's Sorcerer (Sweet Dreams Are Made of This)

 

[Rockfella]

I love this thread.

The Nazi War Machine of WWII:
Disc 1 - The Herr (The Wehrmacht)
Disc 2 - The Luftwaffe
Disc 3 - The Kriegsmarine
Disc 4 - The Schutzstaffel ( Waffen SS )
Disc 5 - Hitlerjungend.

History Channel Hitler Stalin Roots Of Evil
Hitler A Profile
World War Two Hitlers Rise To Power.

 

[shershah]

The Nazi War Machine of WWII:
Disc 1 - The Herr (The Wehrmacht)
Disc 2 - The Luftwaffe
Disc 3 - The Kriegsmarine
Disc 4 - The Schutzstaffel ( Waffen SS )
Disc 5 - Hitlerjungend.

one of my favourites!

 

[ajay124]

Norman Jewison
During the 70's one of my favorite director's was Norman Jewison.His films always had a strong portrayal by the male protagonist,gripping narrative and also some kind of 'message'.All in all a satisfactory package for a college/hostel kid like me who was watching almost a movie a day
Best Films:
The Cincinnati Kid/Steve Mcqueen
In The Heat Of The Night/Sidney Poitier,Rod Steiger
The Thomas Crown Affair/Steve Mcqueen,Faye Dunaway
And Justice For All/Al Pacino
A Soldiers Story/Adolph Caesar
Agnes Of God/Jane Fonda
Moonstruck/Cher
Hurricane/Denzel Washington
YouTube - Thomas Crown (1968) The Windmills of Your Mind

 

[sups]

Hi,

Any must-watch reccomendations for the small kids (~4 to 8 years approx.)?

Sups

 

[sivasarjun]

Hi,

Any must-watch reccomendations for the small kids (~4 to 8 years approx.)?

Sups

The red balloon a 56 french short film by Albert Lamarisse is the best l I have ever seen.

 

[ajay124]

I don't want my 5 year old daughter hooked to the 'small screen' therefore no DVD's for her,
except 'Koi Mil Gaya' which she has been watching for a year on the iMac.She loves 'Jaddo'
Recently I started taking her to the multiplex and now she is three movies old.
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows
Narnia Dawn Treader
Tangled.
Her preference Tangled,Narnia,Harry Potter in that order.
My preference Tangled,Narnia in that order.
I found Deathly Hallows a crashing bore.
Harry,Ron and Hermione grown up have no magic!
They are Muggles who have been banished from the paradise
of childhood.
Loved Maximus the Horse in Tangled.
Inspired Walt Disney creation!
YouTube - Tangled: "Horsing Around" - Movie Clip

 

[ajay124]

Sam Peckinpah
As a frustrated teenager I wanted a regular dose of cinematic violence to chase away the blues.
And 'Bloody Sam' was one director who never disappointed!
Peckinpah's violence may seem anachronistic when compared to the current generation of blood and gore directors,but in those days it had a 'classic' tinge.
Best Fims:
The Wild Bunch/William Holden,Ernest Borgnine
Straw Dogs/Dustin Hoffman
The Getaway/Steve Mcqueen
Convoy/Kris Kristofferson/Ali Mcgraw/Ernest Borgnine
Pat Garret And Billie The Kid/James Coburn,Kris Kristofferson/Bob Dylan
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia/Warren Oates
Cross Of Iron/James Coburn/James Mason
YouTube - Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia - finale

 

[ajay124]

Terrence Malick
In a career spanning more than 40 years,Terrence has directed 7 films.
Works out to about one film every 6 years.The films are worth viewing.
Especially on a big screen
Best Films:
Badlands/Martin Sheen,Sissy Spacek
Days Of Heaven/Richard Gere
The Thin Red Line/Jim Caviezel,Nick Nolte
YouTube - Badlands...One Of My All Time Favorite Films.

 

[Pratters]

Hi,

Any must-watch reccomendations for the small kids (~4 to 8 years approx.)?

Sups

I showed my eight year old cousin Keaton's The General and he LOVED it. He also liked a few Chaplin films.