10 Movies that Changed My Life

In tribute to tonight's celebration here is a list of the top ten movies of all time. Please don't bother to disagree, for there is no dispute. This is the definitive list, the final word.


10) Do The Right Thing- Spike Lee's greatest effort all but predicted and spelled out the ensuing L.A. riots. The simmering summer day plot of the movie leads up to but doesn't give away the violent explosion of the ending. What really got me about the movie was the debate about whether or not Spike's character of Mookie acted in the proper manner, calling out for violent solutions or whether the point being made was how we must do something before this conclusion plays itself out. This movie got its audience to argue and like all good pieces of work, got its audience to think. The most poignant cinematic commentary of race relations ever made in America.


9) High Noon- Gary Cooper shows its harder to stick by your principles than it is to please an idyllic woman in the Old West. Contemporary political messages abound and when he throws his badge down in disgust, the power of the moment sends shivers up the spine. "It's possible to become so defiled in this world that your own mother and father will abandon you. If that happens God will always believe in your own ability to mend your own ways."


8) Singin In The Rain- The most entertaining musical ever, spoofing and paying tribute to a period in history when Hollywood was wrestling with its own past, reconciling the transition from silent pictures to talkies and all that was lost. The famous title tune scene is the third best musical moment in the movie and that says so much about this movie. The film takes risks and succeeds at every turn.


7) Pulp Fiction- All that is written about this year's best picture is criticism over the extreme violence that emanates from the story. What can't be overlooked is the brilliant dialogue, (sadly missing from movies since the heyday of film noir), the entertaining non linear structure, and the love of movies that Mr. Tarentino clearly demonstrates. This movie isn't about killing, it's about foot massages, Royales with Cheese, and how silence can measure the strengths of our relationships. This picture is unique, out of time, and classically made.


6) Treasure Of The Sierra Madre- Many people would pick Casablanca as their favorite Bogie film but this one is more fun as he plays the goofiest bad guy ever. That was one of Bogie's biggest and often overlooked strengths, being the bad guy and still making us admire him.


5) Ikiru- Kurosawa made his name making brilliant samurai flicks yet this memorable film was about a dying Japanese bureaucrat who decided to make a difference in his final days by building a park to improve his community. This was the film I watched the night before I began working for the state which didn't influence its inclusion in this list.


4) Chinatown- "Forget her Jake, it's only Chinatown" neatly summed up Roman Polanski's most complex and inscrutable film. The artist seemed to be making some sort of personal statement about lost love, politics and how history rolls over us in an atmospheric fog. Jack Nicholson's performance is spellbinding; that he handicapped himself by hiding behind a grotesque Band-Aid on the bridge of his nose shows his remarkable talent.


3) Schindler's List- How can anyone make a picture about the biggest atrocity humans have ever perpetuated against each other without being overwhelmed by the depressing subject? The most remarkable thing about this shadowy film is Ralph Fiennes' Goethe is the most evil character ever depicted yet is portrayed as something entirely believable. It shows how good the film is that the giver of such contemptible pain and hatred is portrayed in such human terms. This movie has so much to say and says it so powerfully. Spielberg never lets us forget that the events portrayed really happened, yet he uses the beauty of filmmaking to add to the story. Rather than just be tragic, the end message is uplifting, moving and one of those rare moments in movies that just has to be experienced and it makes this a movie that everyone must see.


2) Citizen Kane- This movie makes everyone's top ten list and for good reason: it's one heck of a movie. Every time I watch this movie, I see something, a shot, a snippet of dialogue, the way the camera moves, that I never noticed before. The use of shadows; the wonderful pacing; the ingenious mixture of current events and fiction; the story and message which gets more and more relevant (about the growing influence and overwhelming dominance of the effects of mass media in our life, and the notion that one's life can be somehow neatly encapsulated in a simple one word statement), makes this movie more rewarding every time one sees it.


1) The Third Man- Joseph Cotton was an underrated and unappreciated actor. His character in this movie finds himself lost and the victim of uncontrollable circumstances. Orson Welles makes the all time great movie entrance The music and how every intertwining element in the movie both stands alone and adds to the whole is filmmaking at its best. The tone the music sets, the loss of faith Cotton undergoes makes this a brilliant piece of work. Every time I watch this movie I remember how good it really is.


The Great Runner-ups: Dr. Strangelove, The Last Emperor, Sunset Boulevard, Hoop Dreams, Monsieur Hire, A Hard Day's Night, The Fabulous Baker Boys, My Dinner with Andre, The Player, King of Comedy, Notorious, The Sting, Casablanca, The Misfits, Amadeus, Birdy, Duck Soup.