This is part of a series of top ten lists from the years before I started this blog. Entries are listed below in no particular order. Enjoy.
The Ballad of Narayama - Of the two cinematic versions of this story that exist, I prefer the older one directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, with its more classical, fable-like framing and devices. I love the way Kinoshita uses color and stylized designs to give the film the look of Kabuki theater. I love the way that the morbid subject matter and moments of horror are presented in such heightened, sometimes bizarre ways, making the film feel like something out of a nightmare.
The Big Country - Gregory Peck plays a pacifist who is forced to take a stand in this beautifully shot western from William Wyler. The epic cinematography is gorgeous, and the cast is excellent, especially Jean Simmons as the love interest, Burl Ives as a cantankerous paterfamilias, and Charlton Heston in a rare antagonist role. And while the handling of the themes is a little rough at times, it's always good to see a film from this era tackle toxic masculinity.
I Want to Live! - A melodrama about a condemned woman, featuring a fantastic performance from lead actress Susan Hayward. The film targets the overzealous justice system and the media for their part in subjecting Hayward's character, Barbara, to so much unnecessary strife and cruelty. It's a pity it was based on a real case and took such major liberties with the truth, because the film works better as an allegorical narrative than the biopic it was originally billed as.
The Music Room - One of the best Indian films ever made follows the waning fortunes and downfall of a privileged man, beset by tragedy and ultimately brought low by his own hubris and neglect. Satyajit Ray paints such an absorbing portrait of his protagonist and the little kingdom he rules over, and uses several music and dance performances to further the aims of the story. And all the cultural details, relayed in such universal terms, translate beautifully.
Mon Oncle - My first Jacques Tati film, and the most delightful blind watch I've ever had. Full of visual puns, gentle situational humor, absurd production design, and sly observations on human behavior, "Mon Oncle" is a sound and color film that would fit right in with the silent classics. "Playtime" may be more epic in scope, but this is the Monsieur Hulot outing that truly endeared him best to me - cementing his image as a lonely figure of sanity in a harsh modern world.
A Night to Remember - I prefer this film to "Titanic," because I enjoy the slower, more gradual buildup to the disaster, the quiet shots of the empty rooms and the simplest indications that things are starting to go very wrong. The film is also more of an ensemble effort, telling multiple stories and providing a wider scope to the tragedy. And the sinking itself still looks pretty convincing sixty years later, with several effects and disaster shots that are impressive to this day.
Touch of Evil - Putting aside the questionable casting choices, the contentious post-production, and the fights over editing, there's a lot of great work from Orson Welles in this film. The famous opening shot with the ticking bomb remains a nail-biter, and Quinlan's last stand is bleakly gorgeous. Welles is so convincing and committed in the part of the corpulent Quinlan, I didn't realize that it was Welles himself playing the part until I'd seen the film multiple times.
Vertigo - I'm not one the crowd that considers this Alfred Hitchcock thriller one of the best movies of all time, but I can certainly appreciate the moody San Francisco beauty shots, the lurid sexual undercurrents, and the joy of a beautifully executed dolly zoom shot. And those moments where Hitch got experimental. Bernard Hermann's score is a personal favorite, and having Jimmy Stewart in one of his most ambiguous, troubling leading man roles doesn't hurt either.
Le Beau Serge - One of the earliest films of the French New Wave is Claude Chabrol's melodrama about a man who discovers the dangers of trying to go home again, and trying to save an old friend from his own worst impulses. Like Chabrol's subsequent film "The Cousins," the main characters are played by Gérard Blain and Jean-Claude Brialy, skillfully hashing out a similarly tangled, troubling dynamic. The psychological realism and ambiguity set this one apart.
Damn Yankees - The "be careful what you wish for" story is fairly tepid stuff, but the charming musical numbers built around baseball and baseball culture, Ray Walston as a perfectly deadpan sly devil, and Gwen Verdon's efforts as the immortal temptress Lola are very hard to resist. Verdon is an incomparable entertainer, and I was always sad we didn't get to see more of her work onscreen. This is easily her biggest screen appearance, and she just kills it.
Honorable Mention
Les Amants/The Lovers
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