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 Rose Tattoo - Anna Magnani is one of the great Italian actresses, and "The Rose Tattoo" is designed to spotlight her from its very inception. Tennessee Williams wrote the original play for her, but it wasn't until the screen version was being readied that Magnani felt her English was strong enough for the role. And it's difficult to think of anyone else playing Serafina Delle Rose, the paranoid, controlling, beaten-down immigrant mother who joyfully discovers there's still hope for her.
All That Heaven Allows - Douglas Sirk melodramas are deceptively simple at first glance, but there's a subtle art to the great ones, and "All That Heaven Allows" is one of the best. A middle aged widow defies social convention to love a younger man of the wrong class, creating a stirring indictment of the social structures and prejudices that keep them apart. The performances are excellent, but what really sells the movie is how seriously and how tenderly the film treats the romance.
Les Diaboliques - Henri-Georges Clouzot has been called the French Hitchcock, and this film is the reason why. It's a wonderfully macabre tale of a sordid love triangle and plots of murder, culminating in one of the greatest scare scenes of all cinema. Rendered in beautifully stark black and white cinematography, and featuring excellent performances by Simone Signoret and Vera Clouzot as a fascinating pair of would-be murderesses, "Les Diaboliques" is still capable of leaving a chill.
Lady and the Tramp - Disney's animated animal tales always got less of the spotlight, though they deliver their fair share of movie magic. In "Lady and the Tramp," starring a pair of canines, puppy love over a spaghetti and meatball dinner was never more adorable. Contemporary reviewers were unfriendly, taking particular issue with the sentimentality of the story, but audiences loved it. And the film's gentle charms and low key adventures would go on to win over generations of dog-lovers.
Marty - Is there a romantic comedy more loveable than "Marty"? It's the terribly sweet story of a homely butcher who has resigned himself to a life of comfortable bachelorhood living with his mother, only to fall in love when he least expects it. Written by Paddy Chayefsky, and directed by Delbert Mann in his debut, this is a blue collar love story about humble, not particularly beautiful people in love, and it remains one of the most touching, empathetic love stories ever put on film.
Night and Fog - One of the most important chronicles of the Holocaust was this Alain Resnais directed documentary short film, made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the liberation of France and the concentration camps at the end of WWII. Combining horrifying archival footage with new scenes shot at the deserted Auschwitz camp, "Night and Fog" succeeds in putting the genocide in a sobering historical and moral context, while delivering a stern warning to the future.
The Night of the Hunter - It's one of the great tragedies of cinema that Charles Laughton only directed one film, because he made one of the most singularly striking and beautiful features of the era. The Southern Gothic thrills, combined with German Expressionist lighting compositions, and the most terrifying performance Robert Mitchum ever gave, result in an unforgettable piece of film noir. It's one of those features that still manages to surprise me every time I see it.
Ordet - A strange, moving variation on the Passion play, examining the dynamics of the Borgen family and their relationships with faith. Like all of Dreyer's films, there's a staidness and solemnity to the filmmaking, but there's also a wonderful oddity to this story. Most of this is due to the presence of Johannes, the brother who thinks that he's Jesus, and becomes a conduit for miracles. Dreyer's cinema is one of awe and mystery, where life is as much about the unseen as the seen.
Pather Panchali - The first Satyajit Ray film is a very rough-hewn production, but its story of a poor family enduring through tragedy is universal and transcendent. Ray's use of the neorealist style with Indian subject matter was novel, capturing a stirring child's eye view of the world. It's slow paced and oddly paced at times, but an immensely rewarding watch. The poignancy and emotional realism of the film would carry through to the rest of the Apu trilogy, of much of Ray's other work.
Richard III - Finally, this is my favorite Laurence Olivier film, and my favorite version of Shakespeare's "Richard III." Olivier makes for such a wonderful villain, and he wasn't afraid of making himself appear monstrous and twisted. And the gorgeous Technicolor production gives him plenty of lovely scenery to chew. Olivier is also one of the few who could get away with recutting the play for his own ends, accelerating the action and making his Richard even more dastardly.
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