You can’t call yourself a real movie buff unless you have seen the “best.”
I have recently been making my way through the American Film Institution Top 100 films of all time, and I have come to find some treasures I never knew, as well as some — what I feel — are movies that don’t exactly deserve the title of “best.”
This will be the first of a few columns I write about the list and my journey through it. I hope you enjoy.
In this first column, I would like to go over the films I have discovered or re-discovered from long ago that have moved their way into my list of favorite films of all time.
Singin’ in the Rain
For the longest time, my wife was trying to convince me to watch this film, knowing my love of musicals. I always knew I would watch it eventually, but never felt like sitting down and soaking it in because I wasn’t “in the right mood.”
One day, when I had nothing going on, my wife put the movie in and told me to watch it. After about five minutes, I knew it was going to be one of my favorite films of all time. The humor, dancing and singing were all perfect and held up to this day.
Nothing seemed cheesy or silly in “today’s society.” It was a hilarious film with a great love story and talent that seems to be lost in the films of today. If you haven’t seen this movie (and I know most have) you should watch it as soon as you can get your hands on it. It is great for the whole family and will give you a happy, new outlook on the world for at least a couple of days.
The Best Years of Our Lives
This is a film, I admit, I had never heard of before my journey through the list. After watching the film, I did a little research into the making of the movie and fell even more in love with the story.
The movie follows three World War II veterans as they return home and have to adjust to life at home. One of the men has a family to return to and remember how to love, one has a wife he barely knows and a new love in his life, and one has two hooks instead of hands and a bleak outlook on the future.
Harold Russell, a disabled WWII veteran, played the role of the handicapped Homer Parrish. He won two Oscars for that one role. One Oscar was for best supporting actor and the other was an honorary award for being an inspiration for disabled war veterans throughout the U.S., making him the first (and only) actor to receive two Oscars for the same role.
Most of the crew on the film were WWII veterans as well as the actors. While most movies about war today are played by actors who “study” people they are portraying, these men were simply showing the world what they deal with.
There are themes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as a heartbreaking look at those who came back after losing body parts in the war. In one heartbreaking scene, Russell shows the woman he loves what she is in for by describing himself as “a big baby who can only cry for the things he needs” at night when his hooks are removed.
I’m sure Sean Penn would do a good job, but nothing compared to the real man who dealt with the real pain.
City Lights and The General
I don’t know what I was expecting when I popped in Charlie Chaplin’s most famous film and Buster Keaton’s classic, but I didn’t think I would love them as much as I did. When I would hear “silent movie,” I would automatically think “boring and unentertaining.”
I was wrong.
Not only were the films great stories — they were downright hysterical. I found myself laughing out loud more than I have in a lot of modern-day comedies. It just goes to show that funny is funny no matter when it was made.
Obviously, there are several other films I have found in my search that have made a great impact, but these were the few I wanted to touch on. I also hope to talk about the films of Humphrey Bogart and some of the films I haven’t been so impressed with in a future column. If you have any comments or want to ask me a question about the list, please feel free to e-mail me at the address below.
Luke Harris is the editor of the Burleson Star. He only has 30 films left in his journey through the AFI Top 100 films, and is wondering what number Robocop is on the list. He can be reached at www.burlesonstar.net.
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