Not a slice of life, but a piece of cake

Alfred Hitchcock once said "For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake." I want to have my cake and eat it too by watching every movie I haven't seen on the AFI Top 100 list in 50 days. I have low expectations for myself. Lets see how...

[abitkeene]

I did it!

So, with The Gold Rush I come to the end of my AFI Top 100 challenge. After originally challenging myself to do it in 50 days, that quickly failed and it soon became years. It’s been 6 years and I've finally finished. I saw some exceptional films, some that really surprised me, some that I’d been meaning to watch for a long time, and only a few that I didn't like. Being 2017, they might do another revision to the list so I'll get a chance to watch some more movies. 

Here a few of the movies that surprised me:

-Film 38 - “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” 1927 - This was a beautiful representation of German Expressionism in film. As I said, because of this it seems unfair to call it a great American film, but nonetheless it was beautiful and compelling and all around a great film. 

-Film 33 - “Intolerance” 1916 - I thought this would be a struggle due to its length, but I ended up loving it. It had so many female protagonists and such high, particularly the Mountain girl.

-Film 41 - “Apocalypse Now” 1979 - This was another one I thought I might not enjoy. I expected, like most war films, especially Vietnam films, that this would be draining and depressing. Instead it was poignant and thoughtful and compelling. I loved it. 

-Film 24 - “Bringing Up Baby” 1938 - This was a sheer delight. Sadly, the screwball comedy is a genre that isn’t really seen these days and I think it should make a comeback. But in the meantime, we can watch Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant doing an excellent job in this farcical film. 

Since it took me so long to finish this challenge, its interesting to see how my opinions of particular films have changed over the years, and how my viewing of some films now has warranted different reactions to how I imagine I would have viewed them 6 years ago. In particular, All About Eve is one that at the time, I didn’t think was that great. On later reflection and an increased knowledge of film and film history, I think that it is now one of my top films out of this list, especially because of Bette Davis’ exceptional performance. On a different note, I think had I watched the couple of Robert Altman films on this list, in my initial run 6 years ago, I wouldn’t have had as great an issue with them as I do now. 

That alone has probably been one of the best parts about doing this challenge, I  have a record of how my opinions have changed as I’ve aged, and just generally I have a record of what movies I watched and what I thought of them (an invaluable record considering I can barely remember what happened in some of the earlier films I watched). I think moving forward, I’ll try and do another film challenge like this. It forces me to watch significant movies that I otherwise might not have watched, and often introduced me to some of my favourite films. 

It feels like the end of an era, I’ll no longer have movies to procrastinate watching. Well, at least, until the next film challenge. 

[abitkeene]

Film 50 - “"The Gold Rush” 1925

You just can't beat Charlie Chaplin. This was fun, I love physical comedy and like his other films this was another great example of physical comedy at its best. There's a lot of emotion in Chaplin’s tramp character and you really connected with him in this film, particularly when he was stood up by the women at the dance hall. It was touching and sweet and downright funny. I still think Modern Times is my favourite of the Chaplin films I’ve seen, but this is a close second. 

Verdict: Another beautiful Chaplin film.

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 49 - “Nashville” 1975

So, I've come to the conclusion that I do not like Robert Altman films. I couldn't stand this movie. I can recognise the importance of this filmmaking style in film history and how it may have influenced later films, but I hated watching this. In large part because I find this movie (much like M.A.S.H) pretty sexist. Sure, this is probably more a sign of the times than an essential part of the film itself, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Probably the only part that I didn't mind was Opal. She was pretty hilarious travelling around Nashville for her documentary. Other than that, there was no real story and a lot of country music, which I'm also not a fan of. This movie just doesn't age well. Is it an important film? Sure, but I don't ever want to watch this or anything like it again.

Verdict: I can't stand Robert Altman and this is no exception.

Worthy of the Top 100: Only in a historical sense.

[abitkeene]

Film 48 - “Modern Times” 1936

There’s nothing like a bit of Chaplin. Although to be honest, the humour doesn’t really make me laugh out loud these days, but I can recognise it’s hilarity. This was an interesting silent film, in that it was shot well after silent films had mostly finished and thus wasn’t completely silent. There were parts of the film where people other than the Tramp talked and sung and it incorporated real sound effects. This made for a decidedly different feel as not everything was silent. Pretty much it just felt a lot more modern (pun unintended) so it was more interesting. There was definitely a strong political message throughout this film, as there was a lot of reference to workers and the difficult work climate of the time (during the peak of the Great Depression). I think this is my favourite Chaplin so far, but I still have one more to go on this list, so we’ll see. 

Verdict: Modern style silent film with solid laughs. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 47 - “The Last Picture Show” 1971

I didn’t really get into this. It had some great performances and an awesome cast, but something about it just didn’t sit right with me. Timothy Bottoms was really great as Sonny Crawford, a young Texan trying to find his way. It was a nice coming of age story and I think perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if we only followed Sonny. The Jacy storyline was probably the one that I struggled with. She was just so unlikeable and so mean to the guys she was with. It felt unnecessary. I did enjoy a surprise turn from a very young Jeff Bridges, who it took me a little while to recognise. It was strange seeing him in a role where he wasn’t a barely audible old man with a beard, but enjoyable none the less. The whole film had a bit of a listless, unsure feeling (which I suppose mirrored the feeling of finishing high school and trying to find your way). I could see the significance of this film in terms of it’s American-ness and cultural impact, but it didn’t really do it for me. That being said I did love seeing Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman. 

Verdict: Slow burn coming of age story, not really my cup of tea. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 46 - “Yankee Doodle Dandy”  1942

This film reminded me of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in terms of narrative style. It’s the classic old movie narrative style of someone starting the movie at the end and then retelling their story from the beginning. In this case it was the story of George M. Cohan, the famous actor, composer and musical theatre producer. I had heard of Cohan before and recognized a few of the songs. The story of his life wasn’t really what drew me into this film, but rather James Cagney’s amazing performance. His dancing really surprised me, as previously I’d only seen him in pre-code gangster films. His style of tap dancing was awesome, really comical but very difficult and very impressive. I really miss tap dancing being a feature in films. All in all, this was a good movie, with really excellent performances and many musical interludes. Also, it tells the story of a very important figure in musical theatre, a decidedly American art form, so it’s pretty significant in American film in that sense. 

Verdict: Great musical performances and dancing, slightly slow storytelling.

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 45 - “The African Queen” 1951

I first tried to watch this film a couple of years ago and ended up turning it off because I was bored. I don’t know what was wrong with me then, because watching it all the way through this time I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve always been a huge Katharine Hepburn fan and her turn here with Humphrey Bogart was exceptional. This was a surprisingly silly film in a lot of ways (the main plot is two people taking a small steam boat to blow up a large German boat during World War I) so it was a lot of fun. I also found it quite empowering, as Katherine Hepburn’s Rose was insistent on doing things herself, despite it’s 1914 setting. She took to the boat with excitement and had cast off her inhibitions about sailing by the end of the film. I think perhaps part of the reason I didn’t enjoy this the first time was the poor quality DVD copy I tried to watch. This time I watched an HD version and it looked great. All in all, I really enjoyed this quirky romantic comedy. 

Verdict: Fun, quirky romantic comedy with two great stars.

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 44 - “It Happened One Night” - 1934

This was a fun little jaunt and a very classic romantic comedy. It’s the usual, two people who wouldn’t normally go together are forced to spend time with each other and they end up falling in love. Classic. Clark Gable was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed his fast talking and Atlantic accent in all it’s 1930′s glory. Very different to the Gable we’ve come to know from Gone with the Wind. Claudette Colbert was equally excellent and fast talking. There were a lot of great comedic scenes in this film where the two of them were really talking, or arguing, about nothing. 

All in all, this was a lot of fun and truly demonstrated that romantic comedies have been using a specific formula since the beginning of cinema. This was a great example of that formula used to it’s full potential. 

Verdict: Excellent romantic comedy

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 43 - “The Best Years of Our Lives” 1946

I really love movies from the 30s and 40s because they tend to have an optimism that just doesn’t exist in cinema anymore. This movie was no exception. Despite being about the struggles of three World War II veterans, returning home, the film didn’t manage to drag you into a depressing despair like a contemporary film might. It was also very relevant to todays veterans, as (I imagine) the same kinds of emotional, psychological and physical struggles face them when they return now. To me the most interesting (and least covered) character was Homer Parrish, a sailor who had lost both hands in a battle. The role was played by Harold Russell, who himself had lost both hands during the war (I fact I didn’t realize until a later scene where Homer reveals his actual arms). I guess he had the most reason to struggle and yet they gave him the least amount of screen time. Despite my wanting to see more of Homer, the film remained an interesting look into these men’s new lives. 

Verdict: A great film about the struggles of returning home after war. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 42 - “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” 1966

It seems appropriate that I watched this film just as it’s come to it’s 50th anniversary. Having read the play, I pretty much knew what I was getting into before starting this film and it was pretty much what I expected. Don’t watch this movie for a fun filled evening, its an emotional rollercoaster and a stressful look into a troubled marriage. As far as adaptations go, this was pretty spot on. Elizabeth Taylor delivers a powerhouse performance as Martha, along with her then husband, Richard Burton as George. I have to admit I was enthralled by Burton’s voice for much of the film with his deep baritone. Even though this film is 50 years old, it still felt relevant to today’s audience in it’s questioning of societal norms and expectations. That being said, it’s a tough watch, Martha and George’s “games” begin almost immediately and it’s hard to watch them systematically take down the young couple, Nick and Honey, as well as themselves. As I said, don’t expect a fun filled viewing, but still an exceptional film. 

Verdict: Great adaptation of Edward Albee’s classic play. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 41 - "Apocalypse Now" 1979

So I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. Obviously I was aware that it's generally considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time, but a 2.5 hour movie about a crazed Vietnam captain looking for an even more crazed Vietnam colonel sounded like it might be a huge downer. But to my surprise it wasn't, I really enjoyed this. It was serious and thoughtful but didn't drag you into the depressing nature of war, like some films. The beautiful juxtaposition of Marlon Brando's Kurtz with the more crazy commanding officers of the army (Robert Duvall anyone) really drove a great message, that there is not much difference between the so-called "savages" and the so-called civilised soldiers. This is at the heart of what Heart of Darkness, it’s source material, gets at. Martin Sheen’s performance was exceptional. He really nailed the combination of disgust at the atrocities he’s seeing and simultaneous need to be a part of it. Yeah, this was great, I really loved it, well done Coppola. 

Verdict: A poignant and thoughtful Vietnam war film that didn't leave me feeling drained and depressed. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 40 - "M.A.S.H" 1971

This is a tough one for me. On the one hand, I can see why it's important and why people heralded this film, especially considering its anti-war message during the Vietnam war. I can also recognise the Marx brothers type anarchy that the lead characters exhibit and the general silliness of parts of the film (the football game for example). But despite this, the movie as a whole didn't grab me at all. I should preface this by reiterating that I'm not fond of war movies, although this can barely be called a war movie. I found the movie to generally be pretty sexist and a lot of the characters actions didn't appeal to me in this sense. A scene that comes to mind was when Hawkeye and others bet that Major Houlihan is not a natural blonde and pull down the side of the women’s showers to check, horribly embarrassing this woman. That shit just isn’t funny to me anymore. The movie is a satire, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and hope that these moments were satirical misunderstandings, but honestly, I feel like this film hasn’t dated well. 

 Verdict: Another war film, even though it's a comedy, still not my jam. 

 Worthy of the Top 100: I guess?

[abitkeene]

Film 39 - “American Graffiti” 1973

This was a bit of an odd one, but good nonetheless. One of George Lucas’ earlier films and very different to the films we’ve come to know him for. A little slice of teenage American life of the early 1960s, this film had a rather odd structure, using little vignettes of a group of high school friends on their last night before heading to college. With familiar faces like Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss, it was a fun little romp into California in the 60s. I think my favourite part was the use of music. Great hits of the 50s and early 60s blared amongst the scenes, as the kids drove wildly around town in their cars. It was fun and captured a certain time period of American culture and life. My favourite of the main characters had to be Toad. His attempts to woo Debbie were hilariously misunderstood, yet he managed to hang on to her in the end. He was the quintessential nerd and I loved it. 

Verdict: Classic look at early 1960s teen culture.

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 38 - “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” 1927

It’s almost unfair to call this one of the greatest American films, as its root are so heavily found in Germany and German Expressionism. Hollywood brought F.W. Murnau over from Germany to make an Expressionist film in America and this certainly delivers. Similar to his other most famous work, Nosferatu, this film has highly stylised imagery and in parts is really terrifying. It’s a beautifully shot film and it’s more intriguing than many silent films as it was one of the first films to utilise synchronised sound, through score and sound effects. The sound effects really work to great effect, adding an extra element to the eeriest parts of the film. Although it’s much more German than it is American, I’m glad this film was on the list. 

Verdict: Fantastic German Expressionist film.

Worthy of the Top 100: Absolutely

[abitkeene]

Film 37 - "The Bridge on the River Kwai" 1957

I had seen scenes from this before, but never the whole film, so I knew that it was going to be a great film before I started. I'm not usually one for war films, but unlike most war films, this was not depressing. Alec Guinness turned in a powerhouse performance, with true conviction and irony at the end of the film. William Holden also did a great job as our American counterpoint. The final scene was one of the most tense I’ve seen in a film. Some truly fantastic suspense and the brilliant culmination of our two main storylines. It is a beautifully shot and enthralling film and certainly one that will last.  

 Verdict: A war film that isn't depressing. Huzzah! 

 Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 36 - “King Kong” 1933

Well, this was something. On the one hand, this movie had some of the worst dialogue I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, the animation and special effects were really something to behold. As a fan of animation, particularly stop-motion, once King Kong arrived it was a true showcase of the exceptional animation work from that time and the beginnings of a legacy of stop-motion animation (the animator, Willis O’Brien, was mentor to Ray Harryhausen, another great in the stop-motion world). Some of these scenes were brutal too. At one point, King Kong kills a T-Rex by cracking it’s skull open and letting blood ooze everywhere. Pretty intense, considering this was from 1933. But, up until Kong arrived, we were subjected to terrible dialogue and a poorly constructed romance. At one point Driscoll says to Ann Darrow, “Hey, I love you” to which she responds, “I thought you hated women?”. Just think about that for a second, “I thought you hated women?”. But naturally, it was saved by an exceptional monster and his monster friends. 

One another thought I had was that the film didn’t really show much of Kong’s compassion, which I’ve come to see as a standard trope in the King Kong canon. There was no real connection between Ann and Kong, so his death was a little less tragic (although considering the times, perhaps we were all meant to cheer for his death, it could go any way really). All in all though, this was an exciting film and the special effects make it really something to see. 

Verdict: Great animation, great action, terrible dialogue. 

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes

[abitkeene]

Film 35 - “Platoon” 1986

- “Wanna look?” - something Willem Dafoe did not say in Platoon

Let me preface this by saying, I don’t really care for most war movies, especially Vietnam war movies. They seem to be almost exclusively depressing and horrific, and while I understand this reflects the true horrors of this war, I just don’t really want to watch that. That being said, as soon as this movie began I noticed that a lot of references in film and television in the 30 years since this movie came out are suddenly going to make sense. There were some really spectacular performances here, Charlie Sheen (in a rare early moment before he became completely crazy), Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe all turned in excellent performances, as well as a series of other male actors that I recognize from more recent television series (John C. McGinley, Mark Moses). This is a great film and a great representation of the horrors of war, but on a personal level I’d rather not watch it (ironically, one of my remaining films to watch is Apocalypse Now, so that’ll be interesting). 

Verdict: Excellent depiction of the struggles of fighting in the Vietnam War, but not really my cup of tea.

Worthy of the Top 100: Yes