We were asked at the Film board to add explanations for our choices so here are my ten favorite films of all time with explanations. It's ok if you just wanna post your ten favorites but I am interested in some of your thoughts on your favorites.
My ten favorite films. I do not consider these the ten best of all time, as I've said.
Le Samourai, if I may be shallow, is the coolest film to my entertainment I can think of. Jef Costello is the type of character I love in films, loner criminals. Only here we get a sense of his isolation, and it has a gritty yet beautiful mysteriousness to it. A lot of grays and blues, his decrepit apartment, and in the midst of it, a bird he keeps for reasons not explained. He's completely anti-social, even when talking to his girlfriend. He limits his words as much as he can, and always has a serious look on his face, which he probably doesn't notice himself. There's very little violence, but it may be the most tense film I've seen, fascination burning through every moment. Hell, watching this makes me wanna wear a fedora/raincoat. An excellent Neo-Noir and partial inspiration from American gangster films.
Taxi Driver, I can't remember how many times I've seen this. It's in my opinion the greatest character study ever along with Citizen Kane, and it gets better every time I see it. It's also Scorsese's best work. I think a large part of my admiration has to do with several aspects I heavily relate to on a smaller non-psychopathic scale. Herrmann's score was a wonderful end for his career. DeNiro's performance is top-notch, and it makes the film even more engrossing. A very gritty depiction of loneliness.
Collateral is Michael Mann's third best film, and a perfect example of his visuals. Tom Cruise gives us one of his best performances, competing only with Magnolia. Mann went the extra yards to fully develop his characters even if some of it doesn't reach the screen. Vincent is somewhat of an opposite to Jef Costello, in his sociopathic ability to charm and socialize, such as the Jazz club scene. The music, digital photography, acting, and wonderful realistic action scenes turn this into a crime drama more powerful than most are these days, especially on the emotional level. It's shy of being a masterpiece, mostly due to it's cat/mouse rising action, although the actual ending on the Subway was a very good ending. It's also one of Jamie Foxx's performances that proved he can act, from Any Given Sunday to this, and eventually his excellent Ray Charles portrayal. Antonio Pinto's "Requiem" is also a beautiful score. Scorsese and Mann are huge inspirations to me as an aspiring filmmaker. It's unfortunate Mann is usually overlooked many times, and usually doesn't make as much money as other people do like Spielberg, even though he's an excellent storyteller.
Memento was a milestone during my cinematic maturing. It introduced me to elaborate writing and ambiguous mysteries. I watched it over and over in the days and weeks following my first viewing, fascinated by the more I learned about it. That also allows you to care for the protagonist a lot. I usually pace out my viewings of this very spread out now, which enriches the film when I rewatch it. The music by David Julyan is very depressing and fits the film perfectly. It's probably the best or one of the best mystery/suspense films to come out in the last 25-30 years.
Pulp Fiction never gets old. You can listen to just the audio on this film on a CD and be entertained. Tarantino takes homages and brilliantly turns them into creative material. This is his best film by far, excellent writing, soundtrack, humor, and it even works on a dramatic level. One of the most iconic of the 90's and in cinema generally.
Mean Streets originally I only admired as one of Scorsese's best, but after repeated viewings I grew to love it on an entertainment level. I consider it his third best behind Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. It's definitely his most personal film, but it's one of those films you can just sit back and relax to. It exhibits a presence through characters and setting that just pull you into it. My favorite scene is definitely the pool hall fight, which is boosted by the music, which is another thing all together. This contains one of the best soundtracks ever, mostly from Scorsese's personal record collection. Keitel and DeNiro light up the screen, and Scorsese's visual style creates a wonderful atmosphere.
Dead Man is unlike any western I've seen, and trust me, I love the genre. Jarmusch is quickly fascinating me to see his other material. I think this film can compare to Apocalypse Now in how the entire film is a journey. It's a journey in losing fear in death. It feels like it was adapted from a novel of the American Romanticism period. The nature seen through the black and white photography is a beautiful example of cinematography, which is among the best of the 90's. Johnny Depp's acting is very good as usual and Jarmusch's perfectly paced direction is taut. However a huge emotional impact comes from Neil Young's excellent score. Young's music flows wonderfully through the film, especially during the final scenes.
Heat is possibly Michael Mann's best. It's longer than The Insider but feels ironically shorter. I admit it's a tad overlong but I loved every minute of it. Mann not only gives us the cop as the hero, but he makes the villain someone we can sympathize with, and in the end is a victim of impulse, which is against his nature, kind of the opposite of Max in Collateral, where impulse works for him. The music is great as usual, and even though I am not a Moby fan, I love his second song in the film used in the final scene. The final image itself is a perfect ending to this crime epic. This also stars two of my favorite actors, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Many brush this off as a gimmick film to put them together, but I think it couldn't be more wrong. Hell, that one diner scene proves it. And let's not forget one of the best shootout scenes I've seen in cinema, the bank heist scene. The sound makes you feel right in the middle of the chaotic action, even on a TV speaker. As usual Mann brings beautiful visuals and a sense of realism to the film, especially in training the cast. Hell, Pacino said he didn't even know how to use to a gun that well up until this film.
Citizen Kane is one of THE best films ever made, and I never really loved it entertainment-wise like Mean Streets until repeated viewings. I loved watching how great an actor Welles was, and especially as the director, considering this film was decades ahead of it's time. The visuals are as great as they come and for their time were very innovative. Hell, you probably won't be able to spot what was created in post-production unless you're told. The story is simply about a man who wanted love, but had none to give to others, and it's painful to watch the second half, especially towards the end. The scene where he destroys the room is one of the greatest in all of cinema, and the mirror shot right after is one of my favorite still shots in history.
Raging Bull is Scorsese's second best, and the best sports film ever made. The fight scenes are simply brilliant, every shot conceived by Scorsese. Movies like Rocky make you feel like an audience member much of the time. This film puts you in there and makes you feel like the fighter. Even with black and white it's a brutal film, water and blood everywhere. Of course it's not all blood and sweat. It's primarily a character study about a man who is considered by many unlikable. He's a sinner and at times a scumbag, but it doesn't stop us from sympathizing with him, because we see him and realize he's flawed. He's sexually insecure and paranoid, which causes a rocky relationship with his wife. He's a great fighter, but that doesn't stop him from saying he has girl hands. He's one of the great tragic heroes of cinema, and DeNiro's performance is mind-blowing. He mainly wanted to make the movie and his dedication is evident, including his weight gain to play the burnt-out Jake LaMotta. The classical music used as the score is beautiful, but what I love is the visuals. The size of the ring changing through the film, the smoke, tracking shot. By the second half the boxing ring is a pit in hell rather than a ring.
