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Movies To See Before You Die
Movies to See Before You Die: ‘Jurassic Park’
12, Apr 2013
by Nigel Druitt
Jurassic Park is back in theaters, just in time for the 20th anniversary of its release in 1993, albeit converted to 3D. If you somehow haven’t seen one of the greatest pure popcorn movies of all time, then you should to see Jurassic Park 3D, because Jurassic Park is absolutely a Movie to See Before You Die.
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“IT’S ALIVE!”
When discussing classic films, attention is often paid to how iconic and influential the film has proved. Frankenstein looms large on both counts. Mary Shelley’s novel (itself a literary classic) had already been adapted for stage and even a 1910 silent film by the time Carl Laemmle, Jr. took over the reins at Universal Studios from his father in 1928. Frankenstein followed Dracula by nine months in 1931, scoring a tremendous one-two punch for Laemmle and Universal. Frankenstein one-upped Dracula in every way, in large part because its director, James Whale, had a much stronger feel for the power of cinema and how to shoot film than did Dracula’s Tod Browning.
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Movies To See Before You Die: “Doctor Zhivago”
8, Mar 2012
I cannot tell you why, but it was decided that one day when I was in seventh grade that we would all watch Doctor Zhivago. It was not tied into any kind of unit on the U.S.S.R., though of course in 1990 historic events unfolded in that part of the world and certainly would have justified the movie. It was also the film’s 35th anniversary so perhaps it simply came to someone’s attention that way. I cannot say, and it does not particularly matter why the film was shown to a bunch of seventh graders. Read the rest of this entry »
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Movies To See Before You Die: Se7en
10, May 2011by Nigel Druitt
“What I have done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed… forever.”
Well, it will certainly be remembered.
In 1995, sophomore feature-film director David Fincher and fledgling screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker unleashed Se7en upon an unsuspecting world, and movie thrillers have never been the same since. Se7en is, by turns, devastating and shocking, and populated by powerhouse performances and bravura directing. It’s ranked #18 on Flickchart’s list of the Best Movies of All Time, #4 among thrillers, #6 on my personal chart, and it features the single best-written ending I have ever seen. If, somehow, you have not seen this movie, and this ending has not been spoiled for you (it will not be here), avoid any discussions of Se7en you may come across until you can see it. Because Se7en is a Movie to See Before You Die… provided, at least, you have the stomach for it.
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- Tags: 1995, 8MM, Alien, Alien 3, Andrew Kevin Walker, Brad Pitt, Christopher Nolan, david fincher, Fight Club, Frank Darabont, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Joel Schumacher, Lethal Weapon, Morgan Freeman, Ridley Scott, Saw, Scream, se7en, Seven, Sleepy Hollow, Steven Spielberg, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Mist, The Prestige, The Social Network, The WOlfman, Thir13en Ghosts, Tim Burton, Zodiac
Movies to See Before You Die: “Forbidden Planet”
15, Mar 2011
A quick search of Flickchtart for science-fiction films released in the 1950s shows more than 150 titles. To put that in perspective, Flickchart shows only 130 films in the western genre that were released in the same decade. Though the 1960s are generally regarded as an era of change, one could make the argument that the 1950s were a major cinematic turning point, the point where teen viewers suddenly mattered and studios started looking to the future instead of back to the past. Shining brightly amidst the decade’s plethora of intergalactic flicks is a film that might have been too introspective for the teen crowds – Forbidden Planet.
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- Tags: Forbidden Planet