*** 1/2
Watching THE BIRTH OF A NATION was quite an experience. Never before have I been so impressed by what a film accomplished TECHNICALLY for the history of cinema whule simultaneously being shocked by how abhorrent the subject matter is. This movie is so blatantly racist, I couldn't believe my eyes. The KKK are basically portrayed as the saviours of the United States and giving the blacks any sort of freedom of power was the worst thing this country ever did. Even though it was disgusting in this respect, it was oddly entertaining to see how bigoted DW Griffith would go with the whole thing. It is truly a film relic that changed the way movies are made. People learned to use the technical merits of the film and stay the HELL away from the political message.
Posted by flux883
at 10:12 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, 15 January 2009 10:24 AM EST
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Updated: Thursday, 15 January 2009 10:24 AM EST
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If there was ever a movie to scare someone out of EVER doing drugs, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is it. This movie is truly like watching a nightmare, as we follow different addicts spiral down toward oblivion because of their addictions. Ellen Burstyn is truly a marvel as the elderly lady who starts on diet pills and gets worse, and worse, and WORSE. I also enjoyed how Marlon Wayans wasn't a complete psychotic idiot like he usually is in comedies. Darren Aronofsky is one weird, but talented filmmaker. 
Simply incredible in its size and scope for a 1920s Sci-Fi film, but ultimately too random, overacted, and disjointed to be a REALLY good film. Most people rank this as one of the best Science Fiction films ever. Even though I agree it was trend-setting, the whole film is not much more than a labor dispute. The fact that a lot of the film was lost and the missing pieces are replaced by screens EXPLAINING what is going on really hurts the whole thing. Regardless...probably the most entertaining silent film I have seen so far, even if just for how over the top the acting is. 
Not quite my favorite of Allen's films, and I certainly don't understand the ridiculous amount of attention the Oscars gave it. I can buy both Michael Caine and Dianne Weist getting Supporting Actor/Actress wins...but Best Pic, Best Director, Best ART DIRECTION noms? Not quite. I generally enjoy Allen's films in which he stars, but he seems imported from another film in this one. Regardless...it is a lot of fun and entertaining. But it's no ANNIE HALL. 
NOSFERATU is the first cinematic "Dracula" adaptation, and most subsequent adaptations rely heavily on its influence. The silent film technique is pretty much perfect for the genre, but I have to say...the scenes where Count Orlock (Max Shreck) is not on screen are tediously boring. If it weren't for Shreck's nightmarishly perfect portrayal of the vampire, this film would simply be work to sit through. I know there is that whole..."Well, you have to realize that it was made in 1922" stuff. Well, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI was made even earlier and is still scary and entertaining. Count Orlock is Iconic, the movie is generally a bore. 
I was surprised by how intense this film was with the flogging and other mistreatments of the crew of the Bounty. Charles Laughton is now one of my favorite cinematic villains. He is so despicable it is fun to hate him. I am also starting to understand why Clark Gable was such a star. He is always smirking and almost grandstanding for the camera, as if his performances are outside of the movie he is starring in (this goes for GONE WITH THE WIND as well), but he is so good at it that all is forgiven. For a movie made in 1935, the production design is superb, and the scenes in Tahiti are a lot of fun. Just a great film worth of that 1935 Best Picture Oscar. 
This is the biggest movie I have ever seen, and I am sorry that I have never seen it on the big screen. When a movie seems to dwarf GONE WITH THE WIND, BEN HUR, and LORD OF THE RINGS...it MUST be big. Watching the desert canvas that David Lean was painting on throughout LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, I couldn't help but think that even then, the lens wasn't big enough to capture the vastness of the Arabian desert. Never before have I seen the desert as such a harsh, unforgiving terrain. I also have to mention Peter O'Toole, who plays Lawrence as a hubristic, effeminate oddball, and it is totally believable that he was able to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks. WOW!!! Simply WOW!!!!!
I avoided this film for the longest time. How could I get excited about a 4 hour epic, starring Charleton "Soylent Green" Heston, that couldn't possibly live up to all of its accolades? Well...I was wrong. BEN HUR is an astonishing film. That chariot race is one of the best action sequences in the history of cinema...exciting and dangerous to a level I never though imaginable from a film made in the 1950s. Also, Heston can actually ACT!!! I was so surprised. The plot of BEN HUR is not that different from GLADIATOR, but also has all of the Christ encounters, that never felt forced or cheesy. When/if they ever make a Charleton Heston biopic...Patrick Wilson BETTER play him, because as I sat through BEN HUR, the entire time, I thought it was Wilson on screen. It's a perfect match. 
I finally understand what Peter Jackson was trying to do with his KING KONG update in 2005 and why the 1933 version inspired him so much. This film is a marvel monster movie for being made so long ago. Also, the length is what makes it so successful. Jackson's opus was FAR too long, but now I realize how good Jack Black was as Carl Denham. Even though the stop-action animation was obviously not real, I was excited a bit more than during the 2005 version...which I was more impressed with by marveling at its realism. Just a great time to be had with this classic!! 
Yet another "classic" horror film that I was a bit disappointed in. It certainly isn't a bad film, hence the ***, but the terror that is involved in this film has really nothing to do with the demonic themes. The real scares come from the fact that everyone Rosemary trusts is plotting against her and she has nowhere to turn. This is definitely the best I have seen Mia Farrow, as she really portray's Rosemary's helplessness perfectly. I really do wish that there was a bit more Satanism in the film however. I don't know....maybe the fear of abandonment and mistrust was the whole point. If it was...it did that well. 
Stanley Kubrick is an artistic master. I don't know what happened at the conclusion of this film, but it is mesmerizing to watch and understanding it is only secondary. I guess it is kind of like the essence of MULHOLLAND DR. I was also thoroughly impressed by the special effects and camera trickery, that is more realistic than modern day sci-fi epics. Those scenes with the guy jogging around the space station? Incredible. And good old HAL...who would have thought an inanimate red bulb would become one of the most iconic film characters of all time. This film also further immortalized "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "The Blue Danube". What an experience!!!
Is it wrong to rank a movie based solely on one scene? That's how I feel about THE DEER HUNTER. The opening act at the wedding is too long and inconsequential. The final act is a bit boring and rambling. However, that famous "Russian Roullette" scene is so incredibly powerful that it singlehandedly legitimized the Best Picture Oscar for me. It was also nice to see Christopher Walken doing something other than making fun of himself and his caricature. 
I didn't enjoy the film CABARET nearly as much as I did when I saw it on Broadway with Neil Patrick Harrisas the Emcee. The Emcee, the most popular character to come out of the play, was very significant in the play. In the film, he came across as a sideshow...and I certainly don't agree with the role earning Joel Grey an Oscar. Come to think of it...I don't really agree with most of the Oscars won by the film. That being said...its not a terrible film. Liza and Michael York do a swell job in their roles, and the songs are still fun to watch. I just wish the Nazi situation came across as serious as in the stage musical. 
This film is a tour de force by its star, George C. Scott. All I knew Scott from is DR. STRANGELOVE, and he all but completely stole that movie. As General Patton, Scott gives one of the finest performances ever. Patton is a man who loves battle, knows he is good at it, but is a bit odd in the head with his delusions of grandeur and beliefs of his own reincarnation. PATTON is an important history lesson and a real treat to see someone acting their ass off. Not only that....but he really reminded me of my late grandfather, so that helped. 
This is a dystopic smorgasbourd, full of deviant, violent psychos and dangerous, shocking behavioral modification. It goes without saying that Stanley Kubrick's direction is beautiful, but it is Malcolm McDowell's semi-comic portrayal of Alex that really makes this film shine. When poor Alex inadvertanly becomes conditioned against Beethoven as well as violence, I honestly started crying. That is impressive when such a strange movie can bring you to tears, during one of the strangest, most disturbing scenes of the film. This behavioral modification theme is SO much better than the ending of BRAZIL. 
My god this movie is long. hahaha. But man oh man am I glad that I finally saw it. This is one of the first vast epics that seem to take a lifetime to talk about a lifetime. The sets are fantastic, especially the burning of Atlanta sequence...and that scene of all the wounded soldiers that seems to go on and on is unique in its audacity. Some of the inadvertant comedy is also entertaining, like the ignorance of having the slaves happy in their job and rooting for the South in the civil war. It's solid, classic movie-making...if you can get through it all. 
I certainly don't consider this the masterpiece of sci-fi horror that most people do, but it IS impressive. The production design is top notch, the design of the large aliens are freakishly realistic, and this film contains the most intense, jump-out-of-your-seat moment you will ever see. It took me a good 5 minutes to calm down from that one...it was THAT unexpected, thrilling, and terrifying. 
Great things happen when Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci get together. This is the 3rd **** movie I have seen with those 3. I can go on and on about how great a directer Scorsese is, and how amazing DeNiro's transformation is throughout the film, but I want to mention the cinematogrpahy. RAGING BULL is the most gorgeous Black & White film I have ever seen. There is a scene where DeNiro is sweaty, in the ring, and looking up at the camera. The picture is so beautiful, a snapshot of that scene can easily hang in the MET. PIXAR could work for 10 years on a picture like that and not get the beauty nor the clarity of that single scene. Oh...and the rest of the movie is a masterpiece. 
CUCKOO'S NEST is one of those classics that is a standard among other films in its genre. Every film that has since taken place in a mental institution owes its identity to this film. How good is it? Well, it is one of those rare films that won all top 5 Oscars (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress). The only other 2 movies to achieve that were IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Not a bad trio of films. This film is funny, exciting, heartbreaking, and even scary. Most of the success is spending the movie trying to figure out if Jack Nicholson's character is faking it, is actually sick, and whether he is conscious of either scenario. Great film!!!!