Originally posted on Facebook - July 4, 2009
I have seen 46 movies that I have rated 10/10. Here are what I consider the 12 greatest - not of all time, but of those that I've seen. I'm presenting them in order of production.
5. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Mario Puzo’s novel “The Godfather” contained far too much material for a single film, so only the first part was included in the original 1972 movie, showing Michael Corleone’s transformation from a bright young war hero into the ruthless Don of a mafia family. What makes the second film greater than the first is the parallel stories of Michael’s struggle for total power and security for his family, and his father’s struggle for survival and prosperity. Robert De Niro plays the lead in the latter plot, in a virtuoso performance that won him his first Oscar (Marlon Brando won two years earlier for the same character, the only time this has happened). The contrast between the two characters reveals theme, as Michael’s tragic quest for revenge and control mirrors and distorts Vito’s for justice and freedom.
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
This is one of the few movies to have won all five of the major Oscar awards. Randle McMurphy is a repeat-offender who is serving a short term in a medium-security work farm in Oregon, when he decides that perhaps a hospital would be a more relaxing place to fill out his sentence. What ensues is a descent into madness as a sane man attempts to cope with institutional life. The chillingly calm Nurse Ratched is one of the greatest villains in film history, and the tragic ending is one that nobody who has seen it will forget. Milos Forman directed both this film and the next one.
7. Amadeus (1984)
Amadeus is a fictionalized story about the interplay between Mozart’s creative genius and the envy of his contemporary in Vienna, Antonio Salieri. F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce were both nominated for Best Lead Actor Oscars, and it is unfortunate that only one of them could win (the trophy went to Abraham as Salieri). Narrated in retrospect by Salieri, the film invites us into his tormented conscience -- he idolized Mozart at the same time as he hated him, and resented God for giving a miraculous voice to a childish and irresponsible clown. Salieri uses Mozart’s obsession with his father to drive him into a manic frenzy. Hulce and Abraham give two of the most incredible performances in cinematic history, and Forman does what is so rarely accomplished: he creates a second masterpiece that is greater than his first.
8. Empire of the Sun (1987)
This is my favourite of Steven Spielberg’s films, and I consider it to be the first installment in an informal “WWII” trilogy (along with Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List). It was neither a success at the box office nor in awards season, but it is a true masterpiece of cinema, made after Spielberg had fully developed his craft but before his two Oscars made him a legend in his own mind. A coming-of-age story set mostly in a Japanese prison camp in rural China, the film explores issues of freedom, responsibility, and the ethics of life amidst war. Spielberg handles the material with a deft and gentle hand, and Christian Bale, John Malkovich, and Joe Pantoliano, among others, deliver excellent and nuanced performances.
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