Just after I finish with one rant about the questionable decisions of film studios another rant begins. This time I'm airing my frustrations at the decision by god knows who to release the double feature splatter extravaganza Grindhouse as two seperate films in Australia. I mean as if it wasn't bad anough that Grindhouse was coming out a good five months after the U.S. release, we now have to wait for an inferior product as the directors in no way intended originally. The newly seperated films will also come out at different dates, forcing australian audiences to wait even longer to see both of them.
The decision has obviously been made after the poor box office that Grindhouse recieved in America, and naturally instead of giving the film a chance with audiences over here, the studios would rather take the safer option, so even if the films do poorly atleast the will have double what they would of had. Half the attraction of this Grindhouse project was the fact that it was a double feature and it even had fake ads and traliers inserted into the intermission, and now we might not even get these extras thanks to the new format of release. What can you do? Studios can make whatever decisions they want and the cinema viewing public just have to wear it and fork up the money, and at any rate, Australian's have gotten used to paying for America's mistakes.
This is not so much an angry post, its more of a sad one. The thoughts about to be expressed by myself haven't simply come out of nowhere, they've been developing over time and they relate to that popular form of entertainment known as the film franchise. Ths summer blockbuster has been an annual event ever since the success of Jaws oh so long ago. Every year in America the summer period is littered with all the BIG movies that this year has to offer, its not to say that all blockbusters come out during this time but a fair majority of them do in order to keep the country's population occupied whilst on their long holidays. More and more we are seeing sequels pop up during this summer blockbuster period and franchises have become a permanent fixture of the cinema landscape as we know it today.
I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with franchises, I love my event films and usually no matter how bad the reviews I will still go and see a movie if its one I've been excited about for a long time. Two recent films however, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Spiderman 3, have confirmed a fear that has been growing in me since this whole franchise thing started. This fear relates to the pressure put on filmmakers by studios who want as many films made from the one franchise as possible thus maximising their profit as much as possible. Both Spiderman and Pirates of the Caribbean end ambiguously and in such a way that if the intention was put fourth to make another entry in the series it could easily be done. So despite the fact that studios advertise these films as the last in the series they end up being just another entry. Long,overblown ones at that.
It's up to the filmakers to take a stand against this kind of thinking as it stops a film from being a full story and rather one which never really ends satisfactorily in the hope that someone will pick up the pieces and provide the prospect of even more money. Both Gore Verbinski (Pirates director) and Sam Raimi (Spiderman 3) have refused to rule out sequels to their films and its a little dissapointing to hear that neither of these guys can admit that they intended their film to be the last of a story. If studios insist on dreching us with sequels the least they could do is think of their audiences as more than just a source of income.
This is one hell of a film. Fight Club is a violent, trippy, brutal and stylishly cool film that came out of nowhere and has stayed in the cult movie mindset ever since. There's no doubt in my mind that out of all the films in this list I've seen it the most and strangely its the one that I can watch above all other movies and never get sick of it. It's almost hard to explain after being so in love with this film for so long to actually explain the reasons behind its placement in this list. I saw it after Se7en so I kind of had high expectations from director David Fincher but whilst Fight Club was nothing like what I'd expected it still totally blew my mind and was better than I ever could of imagined.
I bought the film after discovering that buying R rated films when you're under the age of 18 was an achievable feat in high school due to the local Target's inability to really care. This was 2003 and I'd been trying to see the film for years, I was so desperate in fact that I went out and bought the DVD even though my friend had already got me a copy off E-bay. I simply couldn't wait that long to see this movie I'd heard so much about. It wasn't successful on release and was naturally criticised by many critics due to its supposed excessive violence. It eventually gained a large and loyal following on its video release as all great films do and went on to be a classic.
David Fincher manages to pull off some of the sleekest camera work you'll ever see and this aspect alone is worth watching Fight Club. Thankfully however it's got plenty of substance as we follow the less than sane character simply credited as Jack. Edward Norton is perfect in this role and its a travesty that he didn't receive some form of recognition by the academy for his work. Brad Pitt has had some good roles, he's also had his fair share of average ones, his Tyler Durden is undoubtedly his most memorable character.
Fight Club is so absorbing and the story is told in such a different and exciting manner that its always hard to stop watching the film once you've started. From its innovative opening credits, its atmospheric and utterly cool soundtrack performed by the Dust Brothers to its ultra-smart dialogue, Fight Club is a blast from start to finish. Number 1 by a long way in my book.
Ferris Bueller was my hero during high school, as he was for many others especially during the 80s era in which the film is so obviously set. I was never that rebellious during my high school years, and how could I have been when my dad was the school truancy officer? I could only ever dream of coming close to what Ferris does by wagging a day of school, borrowing his best friends ferrari, screwing over the villainous Mr. Rooney and somehow not getting caught. Ferris Bueller was an icon for his generation becuase he did what everyone wanted to do but knew they never could, and damn did he do it in style.
I found the film very entertaining from the first time I saw it and although many of the clever jokes would have gone over my head when I was 14 years old, the fun nature of the film sucked me right in. It's fair to say that Matthew Broderick was typecast following this film but there's no denying that Ferris Bueller will always be his most memorable role. The cheeky manner in which he delivers Ferris' monologues to camera are wonderfully handled and this playful manner is carried through the entire film ensuring that it becomes utterly impossible not to love Ferris.
It must be said that Ferris Bueller is also greatly enhanced by the skillful direction of John Hughes, a legend of this genre during the 80s, who never came close to matching the dizzying heights of this mini teen masterpiece. Hughes showcases a precise use of the camera and a wonderfully written script with extremely well defined, memoralbe characters. This lifts the quality of the film to a level above all other teen comedies and whilst you won't see it in many other top tens, I consistently watch it and find it to be supremely enjoyable on each viewing. Make no mistake, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a perfect film, both of its genre and in general...
Now this is one entry amongst my top ten that truly deserves cult film status. During the film's theatrical release it was barely noticed. Being an avid reader of the film geek magazine Empire, the five star review of Donnie Darko made me stand up and take notice. Unfortuntely living in a country town has many disadvantages, one of which being the inability to see any independent cinema and seeing as Donnie was on limited release for a very limited time I missed my opportunity to see it on the big screen. I was quite distraught. Satisfaction wouln't come until a couple of months down the track when to my great surprise I discovered the DVD on the shelves at the local Video Ezy.
Adjectives just don't cover how I felt after watching the film for the first time. I was frightened, bewildered, exhilerated....and very confused. So I did the only logical thing: I made a VHS dub before it had to be taken back to the video store. Over the next few weeks I would watch the film again and again, studying every scene to pieces and my appreciation for director Richard Kelly's sci-fi masterpiece only grew with time. As word spread, Donnie Darko, like the Shawshank Redemption before it, became a true cult classic thanks to home video and DVD.
There are many reasons why I love this film. When it first came along it was fresh and exciting, it felt like a throwback to the teen angst films of the 80s, the film is actually set during the 80s and Kelly portrays this beautiful, transporting us back to the era through way of music, costume and key political events of the time. As Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal gives us an angsty teen we can root for, he was such a great choice for the film which ended up catapulting him into the A-list, likewise for his talented sibling Maggie whom also plays his sister in the film.
The best thing about Donnie Darko is that it's so refreshingly weird. This, and the effortless combination of so many different film elements and you've got yourself one big, enthralling mind trip. It's equal parts funny, scary and sad and by the end you really feel like you've been a part of a compelety different kind of journey.
It is true that I may never be able to fully understand the film, however, the fact that the first time I saw it I had absoloutely no idea what was happening and yet was still taken in by it speaks volumes about the kind of unique experience this piece of independent cinema was. In my opinion the film is timeless and will continue to be discovered by people on DVD for years to come, it's always been this way for films of this nature. It is the greatest accolade a film can get to be remembered long after it's release as apposed to audiences flocking to it upon release and then have it dissapear into the void. Bombing at the box office was probably the best thing that could of happened to Donnie Darko.....did I mention it has the best bunny rabbit in film history?
Is there a film I quote more frequently than Scarface? Very unlikely, although Star Wars would come close I'd reckon. Let's face it though everyone loves talking like Scarface's hero Tony Montana, I mean he's Cuban and he loves to swear, I've heard the band Blink 182 based their name on the number of times the F word is uttered during this film. Al Pacino really does shine in this film and you can never fault his accent or his performance as the ambitious Tony whom is brought to Miami from Cuba as a refugee. The power hungry Tony not only became an icon for many thanks to his carefree "the world is yours" attitude but also gained a firm spot in the pop culture mindset, a spot which has strengthened over time.
Scarface wasn't recognised by the academy or given any outstanding accolades on its release, in fact according to many critics the 1932 original was far superior to this 80s rehash. Despite all this it's still recognised as a classic by audiences who can't get enough of director Brian De Palma's vision. The fact that the violence is so over the top makes it impossible for censors, though they did try, to have a case against the film. For me Scarface defintely shouln't be taken seriously and its beyond me how anyone could when considering the amount of excess within the film, everything is over the top and that's what makes it so damm entertaining to watch.
Scarface isn't realistic or hostorical in any way, shape or form, nor is it trying to be. It's a heavily quotable, laugh out loud film that is bursting with energy and I think these are the reasons as to why I can watch it repeatedly. Unfortuntely I don't think the mojority of female audiences really get this feeling when watching the film and it's pretty hard for them not to take offense to the words and actions of Tony Montana. Primarily I think it's a guy's film and I'm defintely okay with that. I can only hope that I will someday be capable of making a movie that comes even close to Scarface's timeless pop culture status.
If I had to choose one word to describe Taxi Driver it would be atmospheric, it's a film that places you firmly in a world, and what a dark world it is. The film shows the sleazy side of New York in a way that had never been acheived before on film and the first time I saw it, regretably only very recently, I was astonished to see just how unappealing New York looked when comapared to other films based in the city. Granted during the 70s New York would have been very much like this and has improved greatly over time, but it's still astonishing how director Martin Scorsese portrayed the neighborhoods in which he grew up in all their seedy glory. This succesful portrayal can be put down to down three important ingredients: the chracters, the cinematography and the soundtrack.
It's scary how real some of Taxi Driver's characters feel and it seems at times as though Scorsese simply hit the ghettos of New York and pulled the scummiest individuals he could find straight off the street and shoved them in front of a camera. We are introduced to pimps, gun dealers and child prostitutes but none are more sinister than our main character Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver suffering from insomnia among other things. Robert Deniro gives a powerhouse performance, one of his first, as he portrays Travis' downward spiral into insanity perfectly and somehow still manages to force the audience to sympathise with his character: the very definition of an anti-hero. The cinematography is drmatically atmospheric with an array of shots giving New York that nightmarish look whether it be day or night. The shots in which Travis is driving through the night amongst the thick city smoke are some of the best and have become iconic over the years. The final key component is that of the soundtrack perfomed by master composer Bernard Hermann who was reponsible for much of Alfred Hitchcock's film music. The soundtrack for Taxi Driver is full of dark, thumping jazz style pieces that really drive the film and complement the images we are seeing whilst strengthening their impact at the same time.
I believe Martin Scorsese to be the greatest filmaker of all time and I'm sure this won't be the last entry from him amongst my top 10. Taxi Driver was one of his earlier films and whilst he would go on to make many more classics Taxi Driver will always be one of his most accomplished works. It's a true gem amongst the era of independent cinema in which filmmakers could be as bold and unpredictable as they wanted. It's a dark and daring piece of cinema that will be remembered by audiences and critcs alike for a long time.
Do I realise the irony of this film being number 7 on the list? Well yes. Was this done on purpose? Absoloutely not, this isn't an attempt to be clever (believe me I'm not clever), this film just happens to fall at number 7 because thats where it ranks with my other favourites. Se7en was the second feature film directed by David Fincher after years of working in the music video business. His first film, Alien 3, was plagued by pressure from the studio and endless script changes and was critcally bashed on release. Although that experience may have left a sour taste in Fincher's mouth, it certainly showed he had promise as a director, especially in terms of his gift for the visual.
So along came Se7en years later and shocked audiences and critics alike, a twisted serial killer story with nightmarish visuals, an intrguing plot and two oscar worthy performaces from actors Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Considering I was only 9 when the film was released it would be some time before I discovered it's brilliance...7 years to be exact (and once again I'm not trying to be clever, this is just one of those coincidences). I remember when I first saw the film I was shitting myself, I mean there certainly were jump-worthy moments thoughout the movie but it was more the pure evil of the killer (Kevin Spacey in career best form) that really got to me. It was a twisted film and back then I wouldn't have put it down as one my favourites because how could you truly love a film where people get brutally tortured then murdered in a variety of ways by a psycho killer?
It wasn't until I saw Se7en for the second time that I realised there was a lot more going on in the film than what I'd first thought. It was as much a character study as a murder story, with the two main characters being forced to work together despite them being complete opposites. It's a fantastic idea, teaming a detective whos all but retired and has seen all the ugliness the world has to offer with the bright-eyed, trigger happy rookie and forcing them to work together to solve a case such as this. As the film progresses we learn much about these two characters through their contrasting methods and motivations and just when we think they've learnt something from one another along comes the breathtaking conclusion which must surely be one of the classics of cinema. Without this relationship at the center of the film it would be just another serial killer movie, albeit a very stylish one. I can watch it again and again, even though it's lost the mystery aspect it had the first time around it's still enthtralling to watch.
Here's the creepy opening credits from Se7en. Brilliant...
Student at UNI, film buff, love heaps of music and my favourite subject is MPI104*. Same ol story really, I'm just some random guy in a sea of random people.
*This may be a lie to help get good marks from lecturer.
