100 - 76 - Great Films
100. JAWS (1977) (Ed.) U.S.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: Peter Benchley (Based on his novel) / Carl Gottlieb / Howard Sackler
99. THE BLACK STALLION (1979) U.S.
Director: Carroll Ballard
Screenplay: Melissa Mathison / Jeanne Rosenberg / William D. Wittliff
98. WITNESS (1985) (Ed.) U.S.
Director: Peter Weir
Screenplay: Earl W. Wallace / Pamela Wallace / William Kelley
97. BABE (1995) (Partly Ani.) Austra. / U.S.
Director: Chris Noonan
Screenplay: Chris Noonan / George Miller
96. YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1937) U.S.
Director: Frank Capra
Screenplay: Robert Riskin
95. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930) U.S.
Director: Lewis Milestone
Screenplay: George Abbott / Maxwell Anderson / Del Andrews
94. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) U.S.
Director: George Cukor
Screenplay: Donald Ogden Stewart
93. GIGI (1958) U.S.
Director: Vincent Minnelli
Screenplay: Alan Jay Lerner
92. TOKYO STORY (1953) Japan
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Screenplay: Yasujiro Ozu / Kogo Noda
91. GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1945) U.K.
Director: David Lean
Screenplay: David Lean / Ronald Neame / Anthony Havelock-Allan / Kay Walsh / Cecil McGivern
90. OPEN CITY - ROME (1946) Italy
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Screenplay: Sergio Amidei / Federico Fellini
89. FRANKENSTEIN (1931) U.S.
Director: James Whale
Screenplay: (Adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel) Francis Edward Faragoh / Garret Fort
88. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) U.K.
Director: David Lean
Screenplay: Robert Bolt
87. THE GODFATHER PART ll (1974) (Ed.) U.S.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay: Mario Puzo / Francis Ford Coppola
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Director:
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85. THE LITTLE FOXES (1941) U.S.
Director: William Wyler
Screenplay: Lillian Hellman /; Arthur Kober / Dorothy Parker / Alan Campbell
84. CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) (BST) U.K.
Director: Hugh Hudson
Screenplay: Colin Welland
83. SHANE (1953) U.S.
Director: George Stevens
Screenplay: A. B. Guthrie / Jack Sher
82. DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989) U.S.
Director: Peter Weir
Screenplay: Tom Schulman
81. THE KILLING FIELDS (1984) (BST) (Bio.) U.K.
Director: Roland Jaffe
Screenplay: Bruce Robinson (Based on the book by Dith Pran)
80. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) U.S.
Director: John Huston
Screenplay: John Huston / (Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett)
79. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) (Ed.) U.S.
Director: Billy Wilder
Screenplay: Billy Wilder / I. A. L. Diamond
78. GRAVITY (2013) (Ed.) U.S. / U.K.
Director: Alphonso Cuaron
Screenplay: Alphonso Cuaron / Jonas Cuaron
Mexican film director, Alphonso Cuaron, proved himself not only an artisan, but a technological craftsman / genius with this Sci-Fi, Survival, Drama. High avove the Earth’s atmosphere, a space shuttle is unintentionally endangered and then destroyed by a Russian satellite that desintergrates into space wreckage…which flies inorbit at the speed of a bullet. We become eyewitnesses to one of the most astonishing 13-minute opening continuous scenes in movie history. Separated from ecah other, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are imperiled from that moment on to an edge-of-your-seat, off-balance movie experience. She won an Oscar for her role—she exhibits every emotion imaginable. Could she become the victim…or a hero? This movie won 7 Oscars, including best picture, and especially noteworthy is Immanuel Lobeski’s cinematography and Stephan Price’s orginal score…An Exhilarating Film Experience!
Link #1 Part of the opening sequence, The Explorer is hit by space wreckage, Dr. Stone’s (Sandra Bullock) & Matt Kowalki (George Clooney.) Link #2 Dr. Stone’s re-entry into the capsule. Link #3 Her sensational entrance into Earth’s atmosphere and landing.
https://youtu.be/FFajH1aCvDY?si=p6GfSoml31IqxDMu
https://youtu.be/LmfWJhYranw?si=_9bBikte-x7MGmPj
https://youtu.be/rdBnh7hQtso?si=qYZJSu4I3zlitS-H
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77. FINDING NEMO (2003) (Ani.) U.S.
Director: Andrew Stanton / Lee Unkrich
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton / Bob Peterson / David Reynolds
Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, along with 2 other writers, teamed up and wrote one of the funniest, most entertaining animated features of all time. As Pixar grew, Disney had to be part of this new form of animation, so they combined forces. Disney bought Pixar, becoming the most successful animated studio in the history of films, with chuckles turning to laughter as each Pixar film made tons of cash. Box office receipts made over 900 million dollars on this film alone, opening the door for foreign countries’ studios. The hilarity comes from the writing and the personality of the characters, with Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), Marlon, Nemo’s dad, (Albert Brooks), Nemo (Alexander Gould) and a host others. Even the humans are awesome, (For example in the Dentist’s office.) John Lasseter’s production team was absolutely dazzling, and this movie is beloved by everyone! And of all the quotes, we like, “I shall call him Squishy.” …Legendary and Unforgettable!
Link #1 Opening sequence - Nemo’s parents celebrate their babies and the barracuda attack, mother disappears. Link #2 Marlon (Albert Brooks), Nemo’s father, meets Dory (Ellen DeGeners), introducing, “Short Term Memory Loss.” Link #3 Nemo (Alexander Gould), visits the dentist - his attempted escape. Link #4 Marlin and Dory’s close encounter with the seagulls, “Mine, Mine, Mine!”
https://youtu.be/GWYQ5_kdqrs?si=r9q9etAHTTelfv8d
https://youtu.be/bB_8avdEfTM?si=_d8B6Js4OxWpP7Mk
https://youtu.be/ubjF4bFTNEI?si=QbaRm87Q0ZBNH1yf https://youtu.be/1ByW56nQTd8?si=g6ciGNvxZbya8LSj
76. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) (Bio.) U.K.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay: Robert Bolt
Fred Zinnemann’s 2nd film listed is a 1535 period drama of the conflict that developed between Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield), loyal advisor and subject to King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw). Standing in his way is a stern, plotting, Church of England statesman, Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern), and a stubborn Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles) and an unsteady Duke of Norfork, formerly one of his best friends. The point of no return occurs when Thomas breaks with the King, who appointed himself as Head of the Church of England. Thomas doesn’t approve of the King’s divorce to Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Bolyn, to provide him a son as an heir. The film is a stellar character study of how SirThomas, a man of sincere integrity, would not betray his own conscience. The actors are spot on, especially British stage actor, Paul Scofield, with surely one of the greatest Oscar-winning performances ever put to film. Windy Hiller as the neglected wife is also a treasure. It’s a shame this film isn’t praised more as a window into England’s authentic past…To his death he becomes “the King’s Loyal Subject, but God’s First!”
Link #1 King Henry (Robert Shaw), tries to convince Thomas More (Paul Scofield) to side with his decision. Robert Bolt’s screenplay “Shines.” Link #2 Thomas tries to comfort his wife, Alice (Windy Hiller). “Oh, you’re an honest woman.” Link #3 Thomas is grilled by Cromwell’s ‘gang of three,” with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Normandy, to trick him into a trial for treason.
https://youtu.be/2L7Z26ZvAxg?si=geHN1hxgiNYK207L