By Adam McPartlan
Welcome to the second installment of my personal favorite films. Today, #86-#72. Let's not waste any time.
86: Frost/Nixon
This movie is another with personal significance. I had not studied for the US History Regents and was coasting along until I hit the second essay: discuss two Supreme Court cases and their significance on American history. Not one week earlier I watched this movie about the landmark interview between David Frost and Richard Nixon. Armed with everything I heard in this movie (which is only slightly inaccurate in its depiction of the interviews), I went on to get a 96% all because of the movie. Two great performances from Michael Sheen (Frost) and Frank Langella (Nixon), who received an Oscar nomination for his work, and a tightly-written script make this the best film of 2009 and one of the best historical dramas of all time.
85: The Miracle Worker
From 1962, Anne Bancroft plays Annie Sullivan, the tutor to Helen Keller. The pair of Bancroft and Patty Duke first played the duo on Broadway. When the movie was announced, Elizabeth Taylor was the preferred choice of the producers, who offered an additional $4.5 million in budget if Taylor was cast. Director Arthur Penn, who also directed the Broadway play, refused to relent, and stood by Bancroft. Further, Patty Duke was 15 at the time and seen as too old to play a 7-year-old girl. Bancroft insisted Duke be given the role of Keller because of their comfort in working together. Penn allowed it, and both Duke and Bancroft went on to win Oscars that year. Anne Bancroft’s Oscar win for her role as Annie Sullivan goes down in history for more than just her ass-kicking performance, however. Bette Davis, who was also nominated that year, was the front-runner to win what would have been her third Oscar. Davis’ longtime rival Joan Crawford had famously gone to all four of the other nominees and requested to accept the award on their behalf if they were unable to attend the ceremony. Bancroft, who was unable to attend, allowed Crawford to do so, showing that Hollywood pettiness has existed for at least the past 55 years.
84: Yankee Doodle Dandy
James Cagney’s Oscar-winning performance as the legendary Broadway producer, actor, and director George M. Cohan, who wrote some of America’s most patriotic songs, is one of Hollywood’s best. The movie is almost entirely a flashback, with Cohan recounting his life for President FDR. The entire reason this film exists on my list, even though it’s classified as a musical, is because of Cagney’s performance. And the ending is really quite beautiful.
83: Bridge of Spies
A much more recent film than the previous two, Bridge of Spies goes even further in proving that Tom Hanks is the quintessential “every man” of the movies. Playing an entirely ordinary lawyer, James Donovan, who sticks entirely to his moral code, Hanks takes up the defense of accused Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). While Hanks is the star, Rylance, who won an Oscar for his work, captures the audience’s attention with his calm, statuesque performance as a man who knows the rules of his life as a spy and accepts that his fate of life imprisonment is set. The rest of this true-story movie shows how Donovan’s capacity for compassion saves not just the life of the communist spy, but also the lives of two Americans.
82: Catch Me if You Can
The fifth film in a row to be based on a true story, and the second in a row to star Tom Hanks as a man of law, Catch Me if You Can tells the story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., one of the youngest and most successful con men in American history. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Abagnale, a teenager who runs away from home after hearing his parents are divorcing. He then starts a life of crime, pretending to be a pilot, a doctor, and lawyer in the course of only a few years. Hanks, as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, devotes all his time to chasing him down, and eventually captures him in France. This story and movie was also the basis for the USA Network show, and another favorite of mine, White Collar.
81: I, Tonya
This must be biographical film day on the list, because this is the sixth film in a row to be based on a true story. History is always going to be unclear on just how involved Tonya Harding was in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. What is clear, however, is that the movie is an amazing mesh of comedy and tragedy, and tells us many things we didn’t know about Harding’s childhood. Margot Robbie plays the title character flawlessly, and while she shows her acting prowess throughout the film, the courtroom scene is what pushed her performance to being Oscar-nominated. Also featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Allison Janney as Kerrigan’s mother, this movie is easily one of the best of 2017.
80: 12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys, like only two others on my list, is unique in this way: I hate this movie so much. It’s so damn good, incredibly powerful, yet much of me wishes I had never seen it. But, at the same time, if I had not seen it, I would’ve deprived myself of an amazing cinematic gem. And in some ways, the movies we hate are really the best movies out there, because they tell the story that should be told, not the story the audience wants to be told. (Unless it’s a bad movie, in which case we hate it because it sucks.) It’s a movie directed by a former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, yet there is nothing remotely funny in this movie about time-travel. It does, however, have some inspired acting from Brad Pitt, good enough to give him his first Oscar nomination, and Bruce Willis. Watch the movie, but be prepared to have your mind rocked by this movie more than it would by a Chris Nolan film (including Memento and Inception).
79: Harry Potter Series
This series is what I grew up on, both in book and on screen. The lack of faithfulness of some movies is annoying (see The Half-Blood Prince), but the acting, effects, scenery, and music are all iconic, even after only 16 years of existence. The saddest part about this movie is that it never received an acting nomination at the Oscars, nor did it win a single Academy Award, making it the only film series based on books to garner Oscar nods but never win one (until the spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won for costumes).
78: The Maltese Falcon
This movie is truly the stuff dreams are made of. One of the best films ever made, and certainly a movie necessity (as you’ll see in my next list), The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart as Detective Sam Spade, a PI hired to find a murderer who stumbles onto a centuries-old search for a lost treasure. From 1941, this movie was the best film of the year and third-most valuable movie of the decade, behind only 1943's Casablanca and Citizen Kane, which was also made in 1941. See all three.
77: Pawn Sacrifice
This is a recent, little-known project about the historic chess title-match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. First of all, it should be known that it was basically not marketed at all, which is why you’ve probably never heard of it. Second, Tobey Maguire’s Fischer and Liev Schreiber’s Spassky are two excellent performances, shamefully ignored by the awards circuit on the whole in 2014. Hard to believe, but there was a time when chess was more than the sport of nerds (I can say that because I’m a nerd who plays chess every day). With the backdrop the height of the Cold War, USSR’s Spassky was highly favored going into the match against the US’s Fischer. The title takes its name from the landmark sixth game of the match, in which Fischer played so weirdly, using moves he previously railed against (Queen’s Gambit declined, which involves white offering to sacrifice a pawn for position and black refusing to take it), and so out of his mind that Spassky had no choice but to do something unheard of in chess history: stand up and lead the gallery in applauding his opponent for kicking the absolute crap out of him.
76: Glory
Just took a look at today’s list. It apparently is biography day on Artistically Trustworthy Entertainment today, because 9 out of 15 movies are based on true stories, with a 10th being based on life for certain people, but not a specific person. Glory tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th, an all-black regiment of the Union Army, and their white commanding officers during the Civil War. With an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher, Matthew Broderick, and Cary Elwes, the movie tells their inspiring and ultimately tragic story with heart and grace. Washington deservedly won his first Oscar for his role, but watching the guy who played Ferris Bueller and Simba give such a mature, nuanced performance is the real treat of this film. Historically speaking, the movie is one of the best ever made about the Civil War and should be watched in every high school American history class.
On a serious note, one of the issues some critics had with the movie is that it was shown through Broderick’s perspective as the commanding officer rather than through the regiment’s point of view. While in some ways this is a valid critique, it misses the very reason why it was so important that the movie was shown that way. The backdrop of the film is the Civil War, racism, and slavery, which is nothing but white people looking at black people as victims or people who are less than them. What better way to make a point about how racism is up to white America to fix than by showing the movie through the eyes of the only people in the whole movie who are horrified by how their superiors and other regiments talk about the 54th, and who view the men in their regiment as equals and as people who are not victims, but people ready to fight for the freedom of their brothers and sisters in the south?
75: Avengers: Infinity War
I don’t feel so good. Another recent release, this movie has everything: action, drama, comedy, and a tearful ending. More importantly, it has what very few action movies in film history have: an immediately recognizable iconic death scene. In 20-30 years, people will still be talking about a certain Avenger’s death, and how in that one clip, we are reminded of how he might be one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, but he is still human.
74: Song of the Sea
This is another movie you probably haven’t heard of because of marketing. An Irish animated film, this is the second film of animator Tomm Moore’s career. Up to this point, all three of the films he produced have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. This one tells the story of a father and his two children who lost their wife and mother. One night, the young daughter gets very sick and is drawn to the ocean, where she is revealed to be a Selkie, a mythological creature who is human on land and a seal in the water. Over the course of the film, her brother, who blames her for the death of their mother, discovers her secret and fights to save her life. This hand-drawn animated film is a rare kind of art that animation has left behind in favor of computer graphics. For no other reason than the beautiful artwork and imagery, you must see this movie that will remind you of the glory days of Disney.
73: Brooklyn
As I said under Glory, there is a film in this group about life for certain people, not a specific person. Brooklyn tells the story of an Irish immigrant in the 1950’s who leaves everything behind for the chance at a better life in America. Many moments in this movie made me cry, not because they were sad (even though they were sad moments), but because I was watching what many Irish immigrants went through. Watching this, for me, is like watching the story of my grandfather and his siblings. And it makes me grateful for what they did every time I see it.
72: Schindler’s List
Talk about depressing. This movie actually proves Donald Trump is right that not all Nazis are bad. Oskar Schindler, played perfectly by an Oscar-nominated Liam Neeson before he became an action hero, was a member of the Nazi party who profited immensely off the cheap labor provided by the Jews during the Holocaust. One day, however, he sees a little girl in one of the ghettos, and is finally struck by just what atrocities are happening around him. He maintains his membership in the Nazi party so that he can help as many Jews as humanly possible. (Schindler was not the only Nazi to do this, but he was the most successful one.) This film will make you cry, cringe, and give respect to one of the only Nazis in history who deserves it.
See you on Monday for #71-57.
From 1962, Anne Bancroft plays Annie Sullivan, the tutor to Helen Keller. The pair of Bancroft and Patty Duke first played the duo on Broadway. When the movie was announced, Elizabeth Taylor was the preferred choice of the producers, who offered an additional $4.5 million in budget if Taylor was cast. Director Arthur Penn, who also directed the Broadway play, refused to relent, and stood by Bancroft. Further, Patty Duke was 15 at the time and seen as too old to play a 7-year-old girl. Bancroft insisted Duke be given the role of Keller because of their comfort in working together. Penn allowed it, and both Duke and Bancroft went on to win Oscars that year. Anne Bancroft’s Oscar win for her role as Annie Sullivan goes down in history for more than just her ass-kicking performance, however. Bette Davis, who was also nominated that year, was the front-runner to win what would have been her third Oscar. Davis’ longtime rival Joan Crawford had famously gone to all four of the other nominees and requested to accept the award on their behalf if they were unable to attend the ceremony. Bancroft, who was unable to attend, allowed Crawford to do so, showing that Hollywood pettiness has existed for at least the past 55 years.
84: Yankee Doodle Dandy
James Cagney’s Oscar-winning performance as the legendary Broadway producer, actor, and director George M. Cohan, who wrote some of America’s most patriotic songs, is one of Hollywood’s best. The movie is almost entirely a flashback, with Cohan recounting his life for President FDR. The entire reason this film exists on my list, even though it’s classified as a musical, is because of Cagney’s performance. And the ending is really quite beautiful.
83: Bridge of Spies
A much more recent film than the previous two, Bridge of Spies goes even further in proving that Tom Hanks is the quintessential “every man” of the movies. Playing an entirely ordinary lawyer, James Donovan, who sticks entirely to his moral code, Hanks takes up the defense of accused Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). While Hanks is the star, Rylance, who won an Oscar for his work, captures the audience’s attention with his calm, statuesque performance as a man who knows the rules of his life as a spy and accepts that his fate of life imprisonment is set. The rest of this true-story movie shows how Donovan’s capacity for compassion saves not just the life of the communist spy, but also the lives of two Americans.
82: Catch Me if You Can
The fifth film in a row to be based on a true story, and the second in a row to star Tom Hanks as a man of law, Catch Me if You Can tells the story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., one of the youngest and most successful con men in American history. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Abagnale, a teenager who runs away from home after hearing his parents are divorcing. He then starts a life of crime, pretending to be a pilot, a doctor, and lawyer in the course of only a few years. Hanks, as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, devotes all his time to chasing him down, and eventually captures him in France. This story and movie was also the basis for the USA Network show, and another favorite of mine, White Collar.
81: I, Tonya
This must be biographical film day on the list, because this is the sixth film in a row to be based on a true story. History is always going to be unclear on just how involved Tonya Harding was in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. What is clear, however, is that the movie is an amazing mesh of comedy and tragedy, and tells us many things we didn’t know about Harding’s childhood. Margot Robbie plays the title character flawlessly, and while she shows her acting prowess throughout the film, the courtroom scene is what pushed her performance to being Oscar-nominated. Also featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Allison Janney as Kerrigan’s mother, this movie is easily one of the best of 2017.
80: 12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys, like only two others on my list, is unique in this way: I hate this movie so much. It’s so damn good, incredibly powerful, yet much of me wishes I had never seen it. But, at the same time, if I had not seen it, I would’ve deprived myself of an amazing cinematic gem. And in some ways, the movies we hate are really the best movies out there, because they tell the story that should be told, not the story the audience wants to be told. (Unless it’s a bad movie, in which case we hate it because it sucks.) It’s a movie directed by a former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, yet there is nothing remotely funny in this movie about time-travel. It does, however, have some inspired acting from Brad Pitt, good enough to give him his first Oscar nomination, and Bruce Willis. Watch the movie, but be prepared to have your mind rocked by this movie more than it would by a Chris Nolan film (including Memento and Inception).
79: Harry Potter Series
This series is what I grew up on, both in book and on screen. The lack of faithfulness of some movies is annoying (see The Half-Blood Prince), but the acting, effects, scenery, and music are all iconic, even after only 16 years of existence. The saddest part about this movie is that it never received an acting nomination at the Oscars, nor did it win a single Academy Award, making it the only film series based on books to garner Oscar nods but never win one (until the spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won for costumes).
78: The Maltese Falcon
This movie is truly the stuff dreams are made of. One of the best films ever made, and certainly a movie necessity (as you’ll see in my next list), The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart as Detective Sam Spade, a PI hired to find a murderer who stumbles onto a centuries-old search for a lost treasure. From 1941, this movie was the best film of the year and third-most valuable movie of the decade, behind only 1943's Casablanca and Citizen Kane, which was also made in 1941. See all three.
77: Pawn Sacrifice
This is a recent, little-known project about the historic chess title-match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. First of all, it should be known that it was basically not marketed at all, which is why you’ve probably never heard of it. Second, Tobey Maguire’s Fischer and Liev Schreiber’s Spassky are two excellent performances, shamefully ignored by the awards circuit on the whole in 2014. Hard to believe, but there was a time when chess was more than the sport of nerds (I can say that because I’m a nerd who plays chess every day). With the backdrop the height of the Cold War, USSR’s Spassky was highly favored going into the match against the US’s Fischer. The title takes its name from the landmark sixth game of the match, in which Fischer played so weirdly, using moves he previously railed against (Queen’s Gambit declined, which involves white offering to sacrifice a pawn for position and black refusing to take it), and so out of his mind that Spassky had no choice but to do something unheard of in chess history: stand up and lead the gallery in applauding his opponent for kicking the absolute crap out of him.
76: Glory
Just took a look at today’s list. It apparently is biography day on Artistically Trustworthy Entertainment today, because 9 out of 15 movies are based on true stories, with a 10th being based on life for certain people, but not a specific person. Glory tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th, an all-black regiment of the Union Army, and their white commanding officers during the Civil War. With an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher, Matthew Broderick, and Cary Elwes, the movie tells their inspiring and ultimately tragic story with heart and grace. Washington deservedly won his first Oscar for his role, but watching the guy who played Ferris Bueller and Simba give such a mature, nuanced performance is the real treat of this film. Historically speaking, the movie is one of the best ever made about the Civil War and should be watched in every high school American history class.
On a serious note, one of the issues some critics had with the movie is that it was shown through Broderick’s perspective as the commanding officer rather than through the regiment’s point of view. While in some ways this is a valid critique, it misses the very reason why it was so important that the movie was shown that way. The backdrop of the film is the Civil War, racism, and slavery, which is nothing but white people looking at black people as victims or people who are less than them. What better way to make a point about how racism is up to white America to fix than by showing the movie through the eyes of the only people in the whole movie who are horrified by how their superiors and other regiments talk about the 54th, and who view the men in their regiment as equals and as people who are not victims, but people ready to fight for the freedom of their brothers and sisters in the south?
75: Avengers: Infinity War
I don’t feel so good. Another recent release, this movie has everything: action, drama, comedy, and a tearful ending. More importantly, it has what very few action movies in film history have: an immediately recognizable iconic death scene. In 20-30 years, people will still be talking about a certain Avenger’s death, and how in that one clip, we are reminded of how he might be one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, but he is still human.
74: Song of the Sea
This is another movie you probably haven’t heard of because of marketing. An Irish animated film, this is the second film of animator Tomm Moore’s career. Up to this point, all three of the films he produced have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. This one tells the story of a father and his two children who lost their wife and mother. One night, the young daughter gets very sick and is drawn to the ocean, where she is revealed to be a Selkie, a mythological creature who is human on land and a seal in the water. Over the course of the film, her brother, who blames her for the death of their mother, discovers her secret and fights to save her life. This hand-drawn animated film is a rare kind of art that animation has left behind in favor of computer graphics. For no other reason than the beautiful artwork and imagery, you must see this movie that will remind you of the glory days of Disney.
73: Brooklyn
As I said under Glory, there is a film in this group about life for certain people, not a specific person. Brooklyn tells the story of an Irish immigrant in the 1950’s who leaves everything behind for the chance at a better life in America. Many moments in this movie made me cry, not because they were sad (even though they were sad moments), but because I was watching what many Irish immigrants went through. Watching this, for me, is like watching the story of my grandfather and his siblings. And it makes me grateful for what they did every time I see it.
72: Schindler’s List
Talk about depressing. This movie actually proves Donald Trump is right that not all Nazis are bad. Oskar Schindler, played perfectly by an Oscar-nominated Liam Neeson before he became an action hero, was a member of the Nazi party who profited immensely off the cheap labor provided by the Jews during the Holocaust. One day, however, he sees a little girl in one of the ghettos, and is finally struck by just what atrocities are happening around him. He maintains his membership in the Nazi party so that he can help as many Jews as humanly possible. (Schindler was not the only Nazi to do this, but he was the most successful one.) This film will make you cry, cringe, and give respect to one of the only Nazis in history who deserves it.
See you on Monday for #71-57.