Dir - Richard Linklater
In another five years, we may find out if Jesse and Céline are still together in their respective fifties, but in any case and as it stands thus far, Richard Linklater's Before trilogy has consistently been excellent. Each of these films is spaced nine years apart, features incredibly long takes, virtually nothing but dialog, and they each take place in a single day. The brilliance lies in the depiction of how both beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking the beginnings and then loss of romance can be for a couple. Ethan Hawke and July Delpy's words flow endlessly, (sometimes predictably and often humorously), and it gives us all a birds eye view into two completely relatable and realistic characters who are almost definitely the loves of each others lives and are just trying to understand what exactly that means.
Dir - William Wyler
More Biblical epics were on the way from Hollywood by 1959 and certainly a plethora of them had proceeded William Wyler's remake of Ben-Hur, but this here stands as the most immaculate of any of them. The most expensive film made at the time, this "tale of the Christ", (as the book is further titled), uses the son of god not as a main protagonist but limits his screen time to a non-speaking role. Instead, the fall and rise of Judah Ben-Hur, (a once pacifist and powerful Jewish Prince who succumbs to vengeance just as the alleged messiah is preaching the good word), takes center stage. The story was handed over, re-worked by a slew of screenwriters, and is simple yet densely layered, (it is hard to miss the gay subtext by a mile, per example), yet the mammoth sets, sea battle, very famous chariot race, and naturally Charlton Heston's exceptional performance all extend its greatness.
Dir - Joel and Ethan Coen
As purposely far removed from their debut Blood Simple as could be, the Coen brother's Raising Arizona is a slightly-to-very askew, white-trash kidnapping epic that seems to exists on another planet entirely. This is the only of the Coen's films that I grew up with and one that I have seen countless times before I actually even cared who Joel and Ethan were. Nicolas Cage, (who is ridiculous and intentionally/unintentionally brilliant in most things that he does), is perfect as the hopeless fuck-up Hi, plus there is a fever to the Coen's Looney Tunes-inspired direction here that appears to be off the rails even if it is in fact meticulously controlled. Also, I would go as far as to say that no movie has a finer chase scene, just as Carter Burwell's soundtrack barely has any rivals.
Dir - Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those active directors who still seems to be in his prime and his incredible pairing with Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood was almost destined to be a masterpiece. Several years in the making and inspired from Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, Blood thrives mostly on Day-Lewis' performance which is contestable as the best that he or anyone ever gave. As the self-made oil tycoon Daniel Plainview, Day-Lewis is a limping yet overpowering presence and is rarely off screen. The film at its core is about how unrelenting stubbornness can at once make and destroy a man and in Plainview's cannot-wait-for-him-to-be-beaten-to-a-bloody-pulp nemesis Eli (played with wonderful gratingness by Paul Dano), he has his perfect mirror image of doomed over-righteousness.
Dir - John Frankenheimer
As far as any movie involving a brainwashing, Cold War sub-plot, (or main plot in this here case), there is not a better one than John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate. Based off of Richard Condon's same-titled novel that was only three years old by the film's completion, Candidate features one of the most impressive single shots in all of cinema, but that would hardly be enough to make it so well respected, though it certainly helps. Besides Frankeheimer's directorial flare, Frank Sinatra is his typical excellent self and Angela Lansbury is probably one of the best villains in any movie. Just ignore the fact that she is only three years older in real life than her on-screen son Laurence Harvey here.
Dir - Ingmar Bergman
As complex and beautifully confounding as Ingmar Bergman's films could sometimes be, (Persona wonderfully springs to mind), few were as universally simple yet as engrossing as The Seventh Seal. It is almost a cliche to call this Bergman's best work as people with the most rudimentary knowledge or interest in foreign cinema make it one of the first such movies to check out. It was a career-making moment for the filmmaker, (as well as actors Max Von Sydow and Bibi Andersson), with his previous sixteen films and numerous stage and radio plays all gearing up to this medieval allegory about the silence of god. There are also many moments, (from the beginning of the chess match on the beach to the march of death at the finale), that have long since been iconic and rightfully so.
Dir - Ivan Reitman
The original Ghostbusters franchise, (both in film and in toy line form), are as engraved in my childhood as anything. I distinctly remember me, my brother, and another friend of ours re-enacting every scene in the first Ghostbusters as faithfully as humanly possible in a backyard with probably toy machine guns and school backpacks in place of proton ones. Yet we were no Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, or Dan Aykroyd, try as we did. It certainly helps endure for my liking that Ghostbusters is half a horror film, but it is actually the cast plus Ramis and Aykroyd's timeless script that makes it as good a comedy as has ever existed. The opening, creepy scene in the library or Sigourney Weaver talking all demon-voiced are just icing on the cake really.
Dir - John Houston
Two directorial debuts hit in 1941 that changed the outcome of movies. Orson Welles' Citizen Kane is the obvious one, but John Houston more than less birthed the film noir genre in The Maltese Falcon. He also utilized enough inventive camera angles and long takes to stand toe-to-toe with Kane in a few respects. Dashiell Hammett's novel of the same name had been adapted twice before this version, but good luck finding anyone who prefers those or even remembers them for that matter. Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade is possibly his defining hard-boiled film character; a tough as nails, clever, and kind-of-asshole who abides by his own code and trusts absolutely no one because no one that he comes in contact with is even remotely trustworthy.
Dir - Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen
You are not going to blow anybody's minds by saying that Singin' in the Rain is the greatest musical ever made. It is pretty much like saying Buddy Rich is the world's greatest drummer or fred durst the world's biggest douchebag. My tolerance for such, "everybody smile, wear bright colors, and burst into song" fare is perhaps surprisingly high coming from a death metal musician who primarily watches horror movies, but Singin' nevertheless brings an overwhelming sense of happy to my entire being. It is also funny as shit, particularly in its depiction of how Hollywood filmmakers overcame the obstacles with converting from silence into sound. Really though, every dance number is ludicrously impressive. I would go with Donal O'Connor's solo spot "Make 'Em Laugh" as the most jaw-dropping though really, they all make my lazy ass feel like I need a nap just watching them.
Dir - Robert Redford
The 1980s began with a double debut of sorts in Robert Redford's first directorial effort, the Judith Guest novel interpretation Ordinary People. It was the first film appearance of a twenty year old Timothy Hutton as well, but his performance is only one of all of them that are outstanding. Arguably handled by another director, Ordinary People could have been a debacle, but it is instead easily one of the most realistic depictions of a dysfunctional family dealing with how they "love" each other on paper after a tragedy. The epiphanies come, but they are not in black and white and the end of the movie is hardly the end of this family's troubles. Ordinary People won a slew of awards, (virtually all of which it deserved), but it lingers hard for anyone who has experienced depression and remains possibly the finest drama of the decade.
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