These aren't movies that are going to make you cry, or make you say "man, that was amazing!" to your friends. No -- here are five movies that will literally change your life, because they will change the way you look at art, at people, at power -- at everything.
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: Triumph of the Will.
If you want to understand war films, and films that glorify things (be it anything -- war, a country, a person), this is the film to have in your repertoire when you need to think about it. Not because the subject of the film is wonderful or because Riefenstahl is a genius, but because of what this movie says about spectacle.
#4: Neo-Realism At Its Best -- Bicycle Thieves.
If you ever need to be reminded of the power contained in simple, straightforward stories, this is your film. It's entirely of its place -- set in post-war Rome when Italy was rife with poverty and hardship -- but it's also eternal. Proof that beautiful narratives can be made from anything and anywhere, if you're good enough.
#3: Polanski's Deconstruction of Hollywood in Chinatown.
If you don't feel like going through all the old film noir movies of the 30s and 40s, watch Chinatown instead. Not only is it a ridiculously good homage to all of those, but it arguably does 40s Hollywood better than 40s Hollywood did itself. This is one of those movies you can come back to, literally hundreds of times over.
#2: Hitchcock Never Got Better Than Vertigo.
A wonderful thriller that also happens to be all about falling in love, idealizing women (or men), wanting other people to conform to our expectations, and an examination of the director's role in shaping how a movie is made. No other film is so good both on its surface and in its multiple layers of meaning at the same time.
#1: Coppola's Godfather Hits Heights Most Films Dream About.
You can almost never get tired of this film, it is that good on first go -- nearly every scene is legendarily filmed, acted, and executed, and then the fact that it happens to convey some grand and great things about America is almost like a bonus, until that becomes the reason you return to it 50 times.
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: Triumph of the Will.
If you want to understand war films, and films that glorify things (be it anything -- war, a country, a person), this is the film to have in your repertoire when you need to think about it. Not because the subject of the film is wonderful or because Riefenstahl is a genius, but because of what this movie says about spectacle.
#4: Neo-Realism At Its Best -- Bicycle Thieves.
If you ever need to be reminded of the power contained in simple, straightforward stories, this is your film. It's entirely of its place -- set in post-war Rome when Italy was rife with poverty and hardship -- but it's also eternal. Proof that beautiful narratives can be made from anything and anywhere, if you're good enough.
#3: Polanski's Deconstruction of Hollywood in Chinatown.
If you don't feel like going through all the old film noir movies of the 30s and 40s, watch Chinatown instead. Not only is it a ridiculously good homage to all of those, but it arguably does 40s Hollywood better than 40s Hollywood did itself. This is one of those movies you can come back to, literally hundreds of times over.
#2: Hitchcock Never Got Better Than Vertigo.
A wonderful thriller that also happens to be all about falling in love, idealizing women (or men), wanting other people to conform to our expectations, and an examination of the director's role in shaping how a movie is made. No other film is so good both on its surface and in its multiple layers of meaning at the same time.
#1: Coppola's Godfather Hits Heights Most Films Dream About.
You can almost never get tired of this film, it is that good on first go -- nearly every scene is legendarily filmed, acted, and executed, and then the fact that it happens to convey some grand and great things about America is almost like a bonus, until that becomes the reason you return to it 50 times.
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