Rank: 65
Release Year: 1973
Genre: Horror
Plot
Summary: Laura and John Baxter are still grieving the recent and
unexpected loss of their young daughter. They are in Venice attending a
conference, trying to move on when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of
whom is a psychic. The sisters give them a warning form beyond that begins to
consume both Laura and John in different ways.
What
Makes It Special: Leave it to British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg to make a
horror film that plays much more like a character drama. Don’t Look Now is
unlike almost any other film in the genre. It does not really go out of its way
to scare or be suspenseful; rather it takes its time delving into its
characters and slowly building tension, bubbling just beneath the surface. The
narrative takes on the structure of a mystery needing to be uncovered. And yet,
despite its slow pacing and lack of classic scary moments, the film ends up
being one of the creepiest in film history (with a brilliant ending).
Rank: 64
Release Year: 1977
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Plot
Summary: The film chronicles neurotic New Yorker Alvy Singer’s
relationship with the carefree Annie Hall.
What
Makes It Special: Annie Hall is maybe the quintessential romantic
comedy. It perfectly balances its humor and entertainment value with its
pop-culture relevance and the wonderful chemistry between its two leads. It not
only showcases Woody Allen (one of cinema’s most prolific filmmakers) at his
best as a writer, but also as a director, as it is maybe his most interesting
film aesthetically. Allen essentially throws everything he can think of at the
film stylistically, and yet it all works wonderfully, creating something that
is kooky, poignant, and really funny (it also won Best Picture over Star Wars).
Rank: 63
Release Year: 1993
Genre: Drama
Plot
Summary: Julie Vignon de Courcy tries to move on in the face of grave
grief and emptiness after her husband (a famous French composer) and young daughter
are killed in a car accident.
What
Makes It Special: Blue takes full advantage of all film has to offer as
a window into deeper human emotion. It is a masterwork of visceral filmmaking.
Krzysztof Kieslowski explores the depths of emotional resonance that color and
sound can reach. Blue is devastating and liberating. It is an explosion of sapphire
tones and grand operatic music pulling the viewer into a turbulent world of
loss and rebirth, in which Juliette Binoche is truly astounding as Julie. It is
a cinematic experience that stays with you.
Rank: 62
Release Year: 1994
Genre: Crime Drama
Plot
Summary: The ensemble film tells four intertwining tales of violence and
redemption featuring two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and pair of
two small-time bandits.
What
Makes It Special: Quentin Tarantino more or less changed American cinema
with Pulp Fiction. His use of language, violence, and irony felt edgy, vital,
and honest when American films had seemingly become generic and anemic (save
for a few). Tarantino, in addition to a few other fresh young talented
filmmakers, completely revitalized independent cinema in the late 1980s and
1990s. Pulp Fiction finally treated its audience as intelligent. It does not
waste a moment or line of dialog. Everything has a purpose and point, all
driving the narrative and characters forward. It reminded everyone that yes
writing is important, be it a violent action movie, comedy or drama.
Rank: 61
Release Year: 1944
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Plot
Summary: Three unlikely friends (a Land Girl, American GI, and British
soldier) find themselves together in a small Kent town on the road to
Canterbury where they discover a mystery involving a man pouring glue in young
girls’ hair. The three set out to solve the case.
What
Makes It Special: A Canterbury Tale is not so much a narrative film,
though it does start off that way with an old-time detective plot, as it is a
spiritual journey. The film is highly ambitious in its aspirations for its
emotional impact on its viewers. If anything, the Archers create a revelatory experience,
asking viewers to find what is truly important in their lives, stripping away
all the nonsense that seemingly drowns us all. The film (a product of WWII era
England, under constant aerial attack by German planes) also strives to be a rallying
cry expressing the sentiment and way of life that was being threatened by the
Nazis. It is a remarkable cinematic experience, one that is genuinely ethereal.
