Top 100: 70-61

      Amazingly, this is already the fourth week of my "Top 100 Movies" countdown. It's been going by fast, as we are now approaching the half-way point (if you missed the previous three weeks, catch up by clicking the following links: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71). Much like last week's ten, this week's list does not have any strong theme to it, other than there being a lot of Oscar contending films. Eight out of the ten films this week were nominees for Best Picture, including four movies that won Oscar's most prestigious prize, so this week will showcase some films where I am in total agreement with the Academy. In terms of genres, there isn't one that sticks out, although most of the films I guess would fall under the very generic "drama" category (which explains the correlation between the Oscar nominations and this week's list). There is no real dominant decade either, with the 1980's and 1960's tied for the most this week with 3 apiece. On the director front, there is no director that appears more than once, but there are some great auteurs on the list, including the first appearances of two of my all-time favorites. Well, I think that's enough for the tease, so now on to the countdown!

70. "The Last Emperor" (1987)

     1987's winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture chronicles the life of the last emperor of China's Qing Dynasty, Aisin-Giori Puyi (John Lone as the adult version). Named emperor at the extremely young age of three, Puyi had to have lived one of the more interesting lives of the 20th century. As much as you think your life may have had its ups and downs, I highly doubt too many people have experienced the drastic foundation shifting moments that Puyi went through. Born into a very protected and illusionary life of royalty, he was technically only Emperor for four years, when a rebellion in China led to the country to overthrow the royalty, giving Puyi only symbolic power, but still funding his lavish style in the Forbidden City. In 1924, he was made to leave the Imperial Palace. Puyi moved to the "Quiet Garden Villa" in the Japanese Concession in Tianjin, where along with his advisers, he eventually cooked up a plan with the Japanese to try to regain his thrown. This led to his puppet-rule over Manchukuo when the Japanese took over Manchuria, where he was simply a pawn of the Japanese government and oversaw some of the worse atrocities in Chinese (and human) history, including the infamous Unit 731, who conducted the most disgusting and horrific experiments on human beings in the history of existence (if you have a strong stomach, google Unit 731 and find out some of the unspeakably horrid things they did). At the end of World War II, he was captured by the Soviets, who would eventually turn him over to the Communist Chinese government under Mao after his rise to power in 1949. He spent ten years in a Communist prison until he was declared "reformed", where he was then released back into the general public and lived out the rest of his life until he died in 1967.

     The film is not only very intriguing as a document of Chinese history, but also as a stark and vivid example of the drastic shift in culture and life that occurred in the 20th century, and the unfortunate victims of this quick shift (perhaps none more so than Puyi). For people like myself who lived in the latter half of the 20th Century, it is hard to understand just how much the lives and outlook of people changed during this time, but "The Last Emperor" gives you the opportunity to see this perspective. The film also marks an interesting diversion in the career of director Bernardo Bertolucci. Usually known for edgy sexually explicit films, "The Last Emperor" is done in a more traditional fashion (although some erotic scenes still persist), but the visual flair of Bertolucci's other work still shines through, creating a captivating mix of old-fashioned story telling and artistic zeal. The film also marks the first time since Mao's Revolution that a Western film made in and about China had the full cooperation of the government with absolutely no censorship. It was also the first time a feature film was allowed to film in the Forbidden City, so if you are at all interested in Chinese history, or if your up for a moving portrayal of the life of a king during the death of royalty, see "The Last Emperor".

69. "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)

     "The Shawshank Redemption" has had one of the more interesting paths to success of any film. Upon its initial release in 1994, while critically admired (including an Oscar nomination for Best Picture), the film was a commercial flop. In fact, the film failed to even cover its production cost after its run in theaters, but then something miraculous happened. The movie became one of the most successful rental films of all-time, and then when Ted Turner sold the rights to the film to his own TNT for very cheap, "The Shawshank Redemption" began running on the network almost a few times a week (I may be exaggerating a little, maybe), making the film one of the first cult classics created by cable television. And boy, is this film ever loved. It commonly makes appearances on many "Top 100" lists, but it is probably most famous for being the number one ranked film on the number one movie website, IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database), showing how much "The Shawshank Redemption" is loved by people who love movies. While putting the film at the number one spot is a bit of stretch in my opinion, it is a really great film, which is why is appears here at number 69.

     The strength of "The Shawshank Redemption" is its beautiful story. Based on the short story by Steven King, "The Shawshank Redemption" tells the story of Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins), a man wrongfully imprisoned in Shawshank Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Once in prison, Andy strikes up a friendship with one of the fellow prisoners, 'Red' Redding (Morgan Freeman), as he endures the hardships of prison life. More than anything though, the film is about the unbreakable spirit of Andy Dufrense, and how his love of life infects everyone around him and inspires people to hope for things they gave up on long ago. Thematically, the film is very similar to number 78 on my list, "Life is Beautiful", which itself took from a scene out of "The Shawshank Redemption" when Andy plays Mozart's "Canzonetta sull'aria" (perhaps the film's most famous scene) much to the dislike of the warden (in "Life is Beautiful", Guido plays Offenbach's "Barcarolle from Les Contes d’Hoffmann" to his wife's concentration camp). Director/Writer Frank Darabont instills the perfect tone for the film, giving the audience an almost Capra-esque feeling of hope. He also uses narration to move the story along (he apparently watched Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" every Sunday during filming to get the timing and feel right), and while I am usually not a fan of film's that use narration, in this case, it is a good fit for the film. The two main actors, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, do an excellent job in the movie. Robbins' Andy is a very charismatic figure who believably earns the respect of the inmates, while Morgan Freeman's Red (probably his most famous role) is the best performance of his career. Chances are, you have probably seen the "Shawshank Redemption" (or at least parts of it on TNT), but if you haven't, this is an absolute must to be film literate.

68. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

     Like "Star Wars", "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is more of a pop-culture phenomenon than a simple film.   Amazingly, both were ideas from the mind of George Lucas (which is why he is inconceivably rich), but as with the Star Wars' sequels, Lucas chose not direct this project (although he did write the script with Lawrence Kasdan). While vacationing in Hawaii with friend Steven Spielberg after the massive success of "Star Wars", Spielberg confessed his desire to direct a James Bond film. Lucas, while making sandcastles on the beach with Spielberg, then gave him an alternative, a project he was working on about an archaeologist adventurer searching for the ark of the covenant in the pre-WWII era, and thankfully for cinema history, Spielberg jumped on board. The rest is history as they say, and a fun history at that. There is no pure adventure film that is as purely joyful to watch as "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and that has a lot to do with the wonderfully energetic guidance of the prodigy Steven Spielberg. The sense of fun that is evident in so many of Spielberg's films is more apparent here than maybe any of his other films. There are so many "Spielbergian" (not a word, but it should be) touches in this film that they are too numerous to review, but there has never been a film better suited for a director, nor a director better suited for a film, than Steven Spielberg and "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

     Also, like the "Star Wars" series, the film creates incredibly memorable imagery. First, there is the iconic look of Indiana Jones himself. With his leather jacket (slightly reminiscent of Jim Morrison's black leather jacket) , fedora type hat, and famous whip, there may be no more instantly recognizable character throughout the world than Indiana Jones, the ultimate hero. The amount of famous scenes in the film are also ridiculous, as almost every second of film that flickers by is fondly remembered by someone. From the much-parodied opening sequence in Peru (surprisingly taken from a late 1950's "Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck" comic book that both Lucas and Spielberg were fans of), to the Well of Souls snake sequence, to the opening of ark, to the final scene in the vast warehouse, this is one memorable film. A lot of the credit should also go to Harrison Ford, who plays Indiana Jones to the T. Because it is an action film with a lot of stunt sequence, I feel far too often people tend to play down just how good Harrison Ford does in this role, but regardless of the lack of critical praise, I think the iconic nature the character has taken around the world speaks volumes to Ford's performance. Lucas was actually against Ford playing the character, and Harrison was hired at the last minute before they started shooting the film. The (at times) very strange list of Indiana alternatives include Tom Sellick, Nick Nolte, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Jeff Bridges, and Jack Nicholson, but luckily fate worked out, and Harrison Ford helped create the greatest adventure film of all-time.

67. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)

     Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name (and what has to be one of the of the most famous novels of the 20th Century), "To Kill a Mockingbird" portrays the recollections of author Harper Lee's childhood memories of growing up in Monroeville, Alabama. While many boil down the book and the film to be about racial injustice in the south during the early part of the 20th century (and there is no doubt that is a huge part of the story), it is about much more than racial tensions. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (even though it was actually filmed on a set created to look like Monroeville, Alabama) is one of the best films in history to recreate a time and place, and that is the true point of the story. It is a living memory of a very specific time and place, where racism, along with many other traditions such as poverty, were embedded in the culture. One of the real strengths of Harper Lee's story (and Robert Mulligan's direction of the film) is its ability to accurately portray the events through the eyes of a child. Many films or books based on childhood recollections, take a very patronizing view of what it was like to be a child. They come off as an older, "wiser", persons view point on what their childhood now means to them, instead of accurately recounting their actual childhood thoughts and emotions, but this is not the case with "To Kill A Mockingbird". Harper Lee must have had an incredible memory, because the story does not take this "hindsight" approach, and most importantly, it is very respectful of the thoughts and views of all the children in the story even when they are "childish".

     Of course, as well written as the story is, "To Kill a Mockingbird" as a film would not have been able to pull off  the story successfully without some very capable child actors. John Megna as Dill (a character based on Harper Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote), Phillip Harris as Jem, and especially Mary Badham as Scout (who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar but lost to child actress Patty Duke for her portrayal of Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker"), all give these characters realistic energy and emotions, giving the best ensemble performances by a group of kids in any film. The adults don't do too badly themselves either. Robert Duvall in his first appearance in a movie does a good job in his non-speaking role as Boo Radley, and Brock Peters also gives an emotional performance as Tom Robinson, the man falsely accused of rape simply because he is black, but the obvious star is Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. I am usually not a fan of Gregory Peck, as most of his performances come off as self-righteous speeches imbued with idealistic agendas, but this is his one great performance as he trades in the usual self-assured objectivism (not necessarily the Ayn Rand kind) for human passion and emotion. Atticus Finch is a fully developed human being, not a simple tool for social justice. The nine-minute speech Atticus gives as his closing defense is incredibly moving and powerful, which is a strong statement coming from a person who strongly sympathizes with moral relativism. "To Kill a Mockingbird" will forever remain both in the realm of historic literary achievements, and cinematic achievements, so if you consider yourself a film buff and have not seen this movie, you have some homework to do.

66. "There Will Be Blood" (2007)

     "There Will Be Blood", along with "A Clockwork Orange" and "Taxi Driver", are the most relentlessly dark films I have ever seen. Loosely based on muckraker Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!", the film tells the story of the oil tycoon Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his adopted son H.W. (Dillon Freasier), as they strike it rich and build the town of Bakersfield, California out of scratch. This is not a "happily-ever-after" type of story though, as Daniel is an obsessive and ruthless turn-of-the-20th Century business tycoon (an obvious slap against capitalism), solely focused on building his business empire. In the beginning of the film, he does appear to have a genuine relationship with H.W., but after an accident that leaves H.W. deaf, the impairment puts a distance between the two. Daniel begins to hate H.W. for his impairment, leading the relationship to become irreconcilably damaged. The film culminates into a "pitch-black dark" final scene that I won't get into for those that haven't seen the film yet, but it brings forth the type of pessimism that would have likely made Schopenhauer proud.

     The character of Daniel Plainview was partly based on real life oil tycoon Edward Doheny (and in fact, the last scene takes place in a mansion Doheny bought for his son), although according to Day-Lewis, Daniel's voice was based on director John Huston's voice. The connections to Mr. Huston don't stop there though, as "There Will Be Blood" director Paul Thomas Anderson watched Huston's famous 1948 classic "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" every night during the film's production in Marfa, Texas, which isn't surprising as both films deal with the all-consuming black abyss that they view as greed. Even the film's famous line, "I drink your milkshake!" has historical context, as director Anderson says that he found the milkshake analogy in the congressional testimony of one Senator during the Teapot Dome scandal. The film's dark tone is helped out immensely by the weird atonal score by Johnny Greenwood (of Radiohead, one of my all-time favorite bands). It perfectly matches the outlook of the film, and also has some historic relevance, as atonal music was big among many composers at the time (actually I think the trend started a few years later, but close enough). More than anything though, the film is about the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis, who is "There Will Be Blood". It is an awesome performance, that creates one of the most intriguing characters of the decade, and one of the darkest characters of all-time. Even without everything else, the movie is worth watching just to behold the art of acting performed to its best by Daniel Day-Lewis. To quote the film, "I'm finished!".

65. "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

     "In the Heat of the Night" marks the second of four films on my list this week to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Based on the novel by John Ball, "In the Heat of the Night" tells the story of ace Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney "They call me Mr. Tibbs" Poitier), who happens to be in the town of Sparta, Mississippi on the day of the murder of a prominent business man. Initially suspected of the murder by backwoods sheriff Gillespie (Rod Steiger), once his status as an expert detective is unveiled, the charge is dropped, but Gillespie implores Tibbs to help him solve the case. The fact that a black detective is going around town asking everyone questions doesn't sit too well with the racist townsfolk of Mississippi (the movie was actually filmed in Illinois due to the fear of real racial tensions ruining the shoot if they filmed on location in Mississippi), and threats against Tibbs always loom in the background as Gillespie reluctantly becomes his partner in the search for the truth.

     The Norman Jewison film is somewhat mistakenly regarded as a film simply about race. "In the Heat of the Night" is first and foremost a detective story, but the racist nature of the people in small town Mississippi almost becomes its own character, and more than anything it adds great tension to the film as the threat of violence against Tibbs always persists and makes the character more heroic. The racial tension also creates and interesting dynamic between Tibbs and Gillespie (Poitier and Steiger), because Gillespie knows he needs Tibbs to solve the case, but, while he is not racist to the extent that most of the towns people are, he still has some prejudice tendencies and is not exactly eager to be seen cozying up to a black man. "In the Heat of Night" is yet another film which puts a lot of weight on the shoulders of it's two stars, but the two professionals, Poitier and Steiger, are more than capable of handling the task. Both performances showcase the talents of two actors at the height of their careers, and they both know just the right buttons to push to make the film a fast-paced captivating drama. There is one famous scene in particular that almost happened in a much different way had the actors not insisted it change. The scene involves Tibbs accusing the powerful racist town patriarch, Endicott, of committing the murder in question. Then, Endicott proceeds to slap Tibbs. The screenplay originally called for Tibbs to take the self-righteous pious route, by not doing anything to show his moral superiority. Luckily, Sydney Poitier would have none of that, and insisted that he slap Endicott back, bringing Tibbs out of the "holy-than-thou" egotist area, to the emotionally humanist range. Had the film been shot as written, I honestly don't know if I would like the movie, but as it is, the film is an all-time classic. Thank you Sidney Poitier!

64. "The Apartment" (1960)

     "The Apartment" is the perfect mix of the Billy Wilder drama, and the Billy Wilder comedy. The film stars Jack Lemmon (one of my favorite actors of the era) as C.C. Baxter, a lower level employee at a huge insurance company. Baxter quickly begins to rise in the company when he starts lending out his apartment to other married men at work who need a private place to have a fling with their mistresses. Eventually, the news of Baxter's apartment reaches all the way to the top boss, Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) who offers Baxter a bright future at the company if he lends his apartment out to him. Baxter is fine with the deal until he learns that Sheldrake's mistress is none other than Fran Kubilek (Shirley MacClaine), an elevator girl that Baxter is secretly in love with. From there, Baxter goes back and forth on whether he wants to become a big shot within the company by helping out Sheldrake, or whether he wants to stand on his principals and confess his love to Ms. Kubilek by refusing to let them continue their affair in his apartment.

     What I love about "The Apartment" so much is, like "To Kill a Mockingbird", the film is a time capsule, accurately portraying a time and place in history. In the case of "The Apartment", the film captures the corporate culture of the 1950's and early 1960's (much like the television show "Mad Men" from what I hear). It was a time when confidence, big talk, golf swing, and charisma mattered more than intelligence, ingenuity, creativity, and efficiency, and having an office tryst with the secretary was expected, par for the course. For covering this rather dramatic ground though, the film is surprisingly funny, and this has to do with a good script (by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond) and a great lead performance by Jack Lemmon. Lemmon is one of the all-time greats in my book, from straight out comedies like "Some Like It Hot" and "The Odd Couple", to dramatic fare such as "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Glengarry Glen Ross", to the in-between such as "The Apartment", Jack Lemmon was capable to shine in any of these roles. His work in "The Apartment" maybe his best, as he creates the perfect sad-sack character, a loser who is not too self-defeating, so that he still engenders the audience's sympathy. Lemmon's comedic timing and sense of character are also impeccable and make the film succeed on the many levels it aims for. The film was also the last 100% black and white film to win the Oscar for Best Picture (Schindler's List had a few small color parts), so if you want to see one of the last great black and white films, or if your interested in films dealing with 1950's white-collar culture, there are none better than "The Apartment".

63. "Return of the Jedi" (1983)

     To many "Star Wars" fans, "Return of the Jedi" is when the series starting heading south, and this is mostly due to one thing: Ewoks. Now it is true that these cuddly Downy Bear-esque creatures were a shameless ploy from Lucas to earn more money (this was confirmed by Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz), but to let teddy bears distract you from greatness of this film is truly tragic. The reason why I consider "Return of the Jedi" to be the best of all the Star Wars films is because this is the film that finally develops Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) into a full human being. In the first film he is basically an annoying teenager, while in "The Empire Strikes Back" his character is a character in flux, part Jedi and still part Tatooine farmer, but as the film's title suggests, from the very beginning of the third film, Luke is all Jedi. The opening sequence of the film takes place at the palace of Jobba the Hut, an enormous green slug-like gangster (Marlon Brando reference?). Luke goes to the palace in order to attempt to save his companion Han Solo (Harrison Ford), who is currently hanging frozen in carbonite as a decoration in Jobba's palace. Luke is dressed in a cool all-black uniform, and Hamil instills the character with a totally new sense of confidence, which combines to make for one bad-ass Jedi.

     My other favorite part of the film is the development of the father-son relationship, and the ultimate test of this bond. Left with the devastating revelation that Darth Vader is his father at the end of "Return of the Jedi" (sorry if I just spoiled something for you, but if you haven't seen these films by now, you kind of deserve it), in "Return of the Jedi", Luke is determined that he can redeem his father. In fact, he believes in the essential goodness within Darth Vader so much so, that he surrenders himself to the empire. This leads to the film's most captivating scenes were Emperor Palpatine (played excellently by Ian McDiarmid) tries to convert Luke to the "Dark Side", and when he refuses, proceeds to torture Luke to death through electrocution, which makes for one of the darkest (and best) scenes in the series.

     The film marks the third director for the series, the relatively (and still) unknown Richard Marquand. The list of potential directors before Lucas settled for Marquand is a pretty interesting one. It includes Steven Spielberg (who declined because he was a member of the Directors Guild, while Lucas was not due to a dispute over the lack of opening credits in "The Empire Strikes Back"), the very dark filmmaker David Croenberg, and another director known for his strange style, David Lynch (to listen to his interesting story about the offer, click here). While it definitely would have been interesting to see any of these auteurs' take on the Star Wars series, in the end it all worked out for the best, as "Return of Jedi" marked the perfect end for cinema's most famous franchise.

62. "All the King's Men" (1949)

     The fourth Best Picture winner and second film based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel (written by Robert Penn Warren), "All the King's Men" tells the story of the meteoric rise of politician Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford). At the start of the film, Stark is little more than an uneducated country rube, but an honest idealist who unsuccessfully attempts to run for county treasurer. Even though he fails, Stark is no quitter, and with encouragement from the admiring reporter Jack Burden (John Ireland), Stark makes his way through law school and becomes an attorney. When the current governor needs someone to split the vote in a tight election, they employ Stark to play the role that Ross Perot made famous. Unlike with Perot though, Stark's populous message catches on, and he actually wins the election. Once in power, any feigned (or genuine) idealism goes out the window, as Stark transforms into the ultimate corrupt politician (with a serious case of narcissism), who uses and betrays all those loyal to him, until (skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know the ending) the karma police step in and Stark is assassinated before he can rise all the way to the presidency.

     The book and the film are loosely based on real-life 1930's populist politician Huey Long, who was governor of Louisiana and was looking to challenge FDR in a presidential primary before he was assassinated. The film does a great in capturing the absolute surrender of emotions that occur when people get caught up in the "cult of personality" (sound familiar), and the film serves as one of the greatest artistic critiques of populism. Despite its Academy Award for Best Picture, Robert Rossen's film didn't sit so well with everyone. Rossen had originally wanted John Wayne to play Stark, but sent his script back with an angry letter where he claimed that the movie, "threw acid on the American way of life". In the end, it all worked out for the best, as Crawford (who won the Oscar for Best Actor over John Wayne) gives a hypnotizing performance as the populist messiah. The cast as whole does a great job, from John Ireland as the annoyingly idealistic reporter, to people like Mercedes McCambridge (who won Best Supporting Actress for her debut role), there is not a weak link in the bunch. As long as you are willing to believe that the American political system can be corrupt (unlike the Duke), then you should enjoy this movie.

61. "Death Proof" (2007)

     "Death Proof" is auteur Quentin Tarantino's homage to 1970's B-movies, going so far as to literally scratch the film and put random pictures of people during the credits (which some drive-in employees would occasionally do back in the day). Even though I included it in my "5 Great Films for Halloween", and despite the ominous name, it is not really a horror movie. There is only one (and a half) violent scenes in the film, and like most of Tarantino's work, the main focus is on great dialogue between characters. The main plot of the film, which is in the vein of 1970's stalker films, follows ex-stuntman, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), who gets sexual pleasure from stalking young attractive girls, and then crashing into them full-speed with his specially designed "death-proof" car from his stuntman days. The film's narrative structure has a novel twist in that it basically tells the same story twice, with two different groups of four girls and two very different outcomes. The only thing linking the two stories together is they both involve Stuntman Mike stalking a group of girls and attempting to commit vehicular homicide. It is a small innovation, but it is one of those things that makes Tarantino the genius that he is.

     The movie has a spectacular cast, and probably the greatest work by an almost all-female ensemble in decades. The underrated Kurt Russell gives one of his finest performances in his career in the only prominent male role, while the eight main female actresses (from Rosario Dawson, to New Zealand stuntwoman Zoe Bell playing herself) all knock their performances out of the ball park. In a time when good female roles and good female performances are so rare, this is truly an amazing feat, basically the Fort Knox of female performances. Another great part of the film, and always one of the best parts of Tarantino's films (and partly why I am such a fan of his work), is the fantastic use of licensed music. Tarantino has a very interesting taste in music, always finding eclectic minor hits that fit like a glove with his films. My favorite's from the "Death Proof" soundtrack include T. Rex's "Jeepster", The Coaster's "Down in Mexico" (which is used in a great scene in the film where Rose McGowan gives Kurt Russell a lap dance), and April March's "Chick Habit", which is played over the films credits. Sadly, this film was seen by far too few people, partly because it released as a double-feature with Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror", and together the pair were entitled "Grindhouse". The idea of doing a retro double-feature was a cool one, but in today's day and age where drive-ins and double features are faded memories, and with all the different titles to remember, it just ended up confusing people and flopping at the box office. "Death Proof" is a great film though, so if you have not seen it yet, do me a favor and do yourself a favor and see this movie.

    That's it for this week, so until next week, let me know what you think in the comments section below.