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All in Classic
This week, we watch Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce in their first Hollywood roles. Both actors drop their Australian accents for this modern take on the Noir genre. Gone are the hard shadows and silly voices of the genre’s classics, but the numerous locations and plot twists remain. LA Confidential (1997), directed by Curtis Hanson.
This week, we watch the second installment in the Man-With-No-Name Trilogy (sandwiched between A Fist Full of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly). This film helped Clint Eastwood further catapult himself into stardom, launch a fully fledged international film industry in Italy, and push the boundary of allowable violence in film a few years ahead all across the world, as evidence by it being X rated even with multiple scenes cut and edited down. For a Few Dollars More (1965), directed by Sergio Leone.
This week, we watch the film that broke Japanese cinema onto the worlds stage. Revolutionary for its time, its non-linear story telling has influenced not only film, but criminal psychology as well, as lawyers and academics alike have referenced the theories presented here for the past 70 years. Rashomon (1950), directed by Akira Kurosawa.
This week, we watch a pushover accountant let his work superiors use his apartment to sleep with their mistresses. He is also falling for the elevator girl, who is sleeping with his new boss. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine are fantastic as the leads, and they guide the story from comedy to drama and back again flawlessly. The Apartment (1960), directed by Billy Wilder.
This week, we watch the third film in the iconic franchise created by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Harrison Ford embodies the adventurous archaeologist, defeating armies of artifact hungry Nazis with only a leather whip, a pistol, and his trusty hat. Sean Connery cast as Indiana’s father is the best individual decision of the franchise, and John Williams score is as great as the rest of the movie. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), directed by Steven Spielberg.
This week, we watch the first full length science-fiction film ever made. Its influence is seen in almost every sci-fi movie in the past 100 years, and it is still being restored to its original version to this day. It’s easy to see where Star Wars, Blade Runner, and hundreds of other classics got their ideas from. Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang.
This week, we watch the film that laid the ground work for the Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns, and all the following films that took influence from them. An out-of-work Samurai finds himself in the middle of a violent, two-sided town, where he starts pitting each side against each other for….fun? More of a popcorn film that Kurosawa’s other epic masterpieces, Yojimbo (1961) would be a great starting point for someone looking to get into The Master’s work.
This week, Humphrey Bogart plays the bad guy in an American classic. This is one of the first Hollywood films to be shot mostly on location, and the beautiful California and Mexican landscapes justify the record breaking budget. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), directed by John Huston.
This week, we watch what many consider to be the best comedy of all time. Two men witness a mob hit, and to survive being rubbed out themselves, they have to dress up like woman, join an all female band, and accompany them on their trip to Florida. Silliness ensues. Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by Billy Wilder.
This week, we watch one of the best films in Pixar’s catalog. Dogs talk, a house floats from balloons, and giant birds avoid extinction. Also, this movie contains one of the most heart-wrenching intro’s we’ve ever seen. Up (2009), directed by Pete Doctor.
This week, we watch Clint Eastwood’s last Western, and the one that landed him the Oscar for Best Picture. Clint does his usual (and great) scowl and gravel-y whispering, but instead of the violence playing out like in an action movie, it is given a weight that almost flips all his previous genre movies on end. Gene Hackman steals the show, eating up the scenery as Little Bill. Unforgiven (1992), directed by Clint Eastwood.
This week, we watch the classic Noir that takes place in a post World War II Vienna. A man was hit by a car and killed under mysterious circumstances, and his friend won’t stop doing his own detective work until he finds out what really happened. Filmed on location in 1948, the bombed out buildings against cobble stone and cavernous sewer tunnels make for an outstanding setting for this classic story. The Third Man (1949), directed by Carol Reed.
This week, we watch true story of Jake La Motta, one of the toughest boxers to ever step into the ring. With only 9 minutes of boxing in the 2-hour-plus runtime, this film focuses on the rage and jealousy that Jake experienced with his second wife as well as his brother. Robert De Niro’s most raw and physically demanding performance. Raging Bull (1980), directed by Martin Scorsese.
This week, we watch the classic WWII film that takes a tone rarely seen in true stories about war - Silly. This movie has laughs, friendships, drunken parties, and even sympathetic Nazis. And damn if everyone doesn’t look great covered in mud. The Great Escape (1963), directed by John Sturges.
This week, we watch the film that launched Jack Nicholson into stardom while creating perhaps the best film noir of all time, decades after the genre left the mainstream. With a chaotic shoot, and uncertainty about the quality of the film until its 11 Academy Award nominations, it remains fascinating to watch the mystery of the films story unravel with Mr. Gittes. Chinatown (1974), directed by Roman Polanski.
This week, we watch the American classic that portrays the life of a dockworker who works for the mob. This film changed Hollywood movies forever with Marlon Brando’s performance, which brought a type of realism into the mainstream that was previously only seen in a small number of European films. This story was also based on true to life violent criminal activity going on at the time. On The Waterfront (1954), Elia Kazan.
This week, we watch the tale of a man diagnosed with stomach cancer, which causes him to reflect on his seemingly wasted life. Taking its time to establish moods appropriate for the subject matter, this film makes you think about what it means to be alive, and how to get the most out of life with what short time we have. Ikiru (1952), directed by Akira Kurosawa.
This week, we watch the second oldest movie on the list! The Little Tramp character (Charlie Chaplin in big shoes and tattered cloths) is on his way to California to make it big digging up gold, but gets stuck halfway on a snowy mountain top, where he has to avoid the elements, being eaten by his fellow humans, loneliness, and gravity. Playing like a series of comedy sketches, this film holds up amazingly well after nearly 100 years. The Gold Rush (1925), directed by Charlie Chaplin.
