Tianic Movie Poster

Empire Magazine have just released the ‘500 Greatest Movies. EVER.’ edition, complete with 100 different covers with something for everyone. I dutifully chose the cover with Titanic on it as an homage to the very first movie that had me thinking about it a long, long time afterwards and fascinated me enough to wonder how it was created.

So in the spirit of such a release, I thought I would create me own list of Greatest Movies as I couldn’t have agreed less with Empire’s choices. The Godfather is a masterpiece, I understand that,  but it wouldn’t even rank in my top 20.
So, with no further ado -

10. Titanic.

-As I am no longer 11, this is not my favourite movie of all time any more. However, watching it now, although some parts are horribly cheesy, the effects are a little dated and there are some shots that simply look like model people floating in a large tank (which is actually what they are), I still can’t help but get completely engrossed in it. I am a sucker for real-life stories. They carry such weight for me, and I have never in my whole life been affected by a film as much as I was by this one. It has such incredible memories attached to it and was, as I said, the fist movie that I really wanted to know more about, wanted to watch over and over again and the first movie that ever made me cry.

I am not a huge James Cameron fan, I think he is the exact opposite of what a director should be. He’s rude, aggressive, and can be incredibly mean. It’s been well documented that Kate Winslet and he had a volatile relationship, with Cameron reducing her to tears on several occasions. In my mind, that is not the way to do it, and can hurt a film much more than help. Saying all that, however - he managed to make the biggest movie in the history of everything, so he must be doing something right! With a near-perfect cast, a fantastic (for it’s time) digital effects display and a time-old storyline of doomed lovers, this film is still incredibly close to my heart, and I’m sure to many others’ - whether they would admit it or not.

9.  It’s A Wonderful Life

- What a beautiful movie this is. An old school Christmas favourite from 1946,  this is one everyone has seen. Always on at Christmas time, it’s the kind of movie you watch with all your favourite people around you, lots of food and wine and a happy little glow.

That beautiful sound that 40’s movies have, like the actors are standing too close to a microphone when they start to shout, there’s a slight distortion, is one of my favourite sounds in the whole world. (Does anyone have a better way of describing that sound?!). Considered at the time to be a flop, this film is one of the best loved in history. Such a righteous story line, good guys triumph, and you ARE valued, no matter who you are or what you have or haven’t achieved. Family and friends are more important than money and everything will come right in the end. Is there abetter message for a film to have?

There is a magic in black and white films that is not easily reproduced, as proven in that god awful George Clooney ‘film’ Good Night and Good Luck. An era that cannot be recreated. Beautiful.

8. The Shawshank Redeption

- Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, a prison, a Rita Hayworth poster and some willpower make this one of the greatest films ever made. Who could forget the courtyard scene with The Marriage of Figaro music playing through the loudspeaker? It’s hard to pick the ‘best bit’ of this film, as the whole thing is exquisite, from the understated performances of Robbins and Freeman to the fantastic adaptation of Stephen King’s novel., but if I had to it would probably be Morgan Freeman giving the parole board his honest answers as to why he wants to leave the prison. That, and the image of him packing bags in a supermarket really make the film hit home for me, and the idea of institutionalisation so very real.

Such a sad and poignant film, and beautifully made with a hell of a lot of heart but without getting sentimental about it, which can drag a film of any calibre down.

Schindler's List Movie Poster

7. Schindler’s List

- Perhaps the most obvious choice on the list, but is it really any surprise? I’m not going to say too much about it, because it’s very hard to put into words what I think of Spielberg’s masterpiece, but I will say that it is still as relevant now as it was in 1993. It’s odd, but films made about something as terrifying and heart-wrenching as the Holocaust never lose their relevance or impact. ‘Standing the test of time’ doesn’t even begin to apply to a movie so haunting. Once viewed is enough, and I must admit, I’ve only watched it 3 times. It doesn’t lose it’s message, which is what I love about it. Such a message, which is essentially, ’stand up to those who oppress’, is applicable to everyones lives. Oskar Schindler stood up to the biggest gang in history, the Nazi’s, and saved thousands of lives.It could have been very easy to have that message engulfed by the pure horror of what you’re watching, but Spielberg’s innate talent for storytelling rises above the torture and the suffering to bring you out of the movie with the faint ghost of a smile on your face.

Also, on a purely superficial level, this is one film that benefited from being in black and white. I don’t know that the film itself (as opposed to the message) would have stood the test of time - 20 years and counting - quite so perfectly if it had been in colour. George Clooney - take note.

6. The Departed.

- This is a bit of a cop out as I have already written a review on the site for this film already, but suffice to say, this is my favourite Scorsese film to date. I still can’t get over how well the cast worked, when on paper it looks completely nonsensical. The performances of ALL leads are immense, but most notably, Mr DiCaprio’s perfomance was un-be-lievable. Why that man has not won an Oscar yet is completely beyond me. A brilliantly confusing storyline, fabulously built characters and a thankfully bearable Jack Nicholson. Hurrah.

To be continued…