The 4’s contain, by a lucky coincidence, the oldest and newest films on my list. They span a period of 85 years. Every movie but one is in a well defined genre, the other being mostly just a drama. Besides also containing the longest title on my list, four of the movies are from before I was born.
94. Hanna (2011)
Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett
I just missed your heart.
A fever dream of a movie. Hanna is a coming of age tale with a dark side, told like a fairy tale and impeccably directed and acted. It is always moving forward, whether it be plot driven or character based. An early contender for the best film of 2011.
84. All the President’s Men (1976)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford
You’re both paranoid. She’s afraid of John Mitchell and you’re afraid of Walter Cronkite.
When a movie about reporters figuring out a story is so compelling you know the movie is great. It takes a lot to get a movie that involves almost no action to feel so stimulating. Of course, the acting helps, as does the direction. There’s a lot of All the President’s Men in Zodiac, and even though I like the latter better, the former is still fantastic.
74. In Bruges (2008)
Directed by Martin McDonagh. Starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson
I’m sorry for calling you an inanimate object. I was upset.
As dark a comedy as you can get, Martin McDonagh’s feature length directorial debut is one of the best first movies of all time. Intricately constructed and immaculately detailed, it’s got a lot going on so it might take a few times to get everything. But that’s just an excuse to watch it over and over and over again. As if you needed one.
64. The General (1926)
Directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton. Starring Buster Keaton and Marion Mack
If you lose this war don’t blame me.
Buster Keaton is known for incredibly complex stunts that intensify as he goes along. Some of the action scenes here are 15 minutes long. There’s a lot to be awed by, but one of the best elements is how Keaton is able to build a character through these actions scenes. By the end of the film you really know who Johnnie Gray is and why he does what he does.
54. The Quiet Man (1952)
Directed by John Ford. Starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
I have a fearful temper. You might as well know about it now instead of findin’ out about it later. We Danahers are a fightin’ people.
A good old fashioned love story. Full of kisses in the rain and fighting and dragging your wife across the Irish countryside. Almost mythic in how big it plays the emotions, The Quiet Man is a wonderful romantic comedy with great chemistry between Wayne and O’Hara, perhaps the only woman that could match up to Wayne’s powerful presence. If only there was a restored print that was widely available, the current dvd is a muddied mess that does no service to the beauty of Ireland and O’Hara.
44. The Social Network (2010)
Directed by David Fincher. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield
I like standing next to you, Sean. It makes me look so tough.
When The Social Network hit theaters there was some controversy over whether the movie portrayed the truth of the founding of Facebook. There are exaggerations and outright lies in the movie. Luckily for us, it’s a movie and not a historical document. As a film it is a fascinating study of ambition and the things you lose when you get what you want. It is certainly biased but it is no less of a movie for that.
34. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Directed by Shane Black. Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer
Wow, I feel sore. I mean physically, not like a guy who’s angry in a movie in the 1950’s.
Delightfully meta and self-aware without being too cute about it. The relationship between Downey and Kilmer is the heart of this film. It makes you remember how awesome Kilmer is. Shane Black knows his buddy cop movies and works with the tropes quite well.
24. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Directed by Andrew Dominik. Starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck
Look at my red hands and my mean face… and I wonder ’bout that man that’s gone so wrong.
One of the half-dozen or so recent westerns that take a more thoughtful track than the typical good guy vs. bad guy idea you see in so many older films of the genre. This movie is about fame and adoration and legend. And it is beautiful. I can’t wait to see what Dominik does next.
14. Sunshine (2007)
Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne
At the end of time, a moment will come when just man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone. There will be nothing to show that we were ever here… but stardust.
Sunshine gets a lot of crap for its third act. Allow me to state, here and now and for eternity, there’s nothing wrong with the third act of the film. It’s a different way of explaining the same idea that runs through the rest of the film: what do we do in the face of such power? And the final five minutes are supremely beautiful in both the visuals and the themes they express.
4. Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer
Fiery the angels fell. Deep thunder rolled around their shoulders, burning with the fires of Orc.
The future never looked so grimy and gorgeous at the same time. This neo-noir is the best sci-fi movie ever made. It’s not perfect, there’s a romantic subplot that I don’t particularly care about, but that’s small fries when it comes to the sheer brilliance of the rest of the film. It’s telling that Ridley Scott started as an art director because the look of the movie is so singular.
Benefits of a Classical Education 