As many of you very well know, we're in the final week of my epic-miniseries chronicling my Top 100 Favourite Films of all time.
And because of the holiday season and other stuff that popped up, I have a few of those Top 5 supplemental lists still laying around, waiting to be posted. So to speed things up, I'm posting 2 lists in one today. Awesome for you, right?
Right.
Here we go
Top 5 Action Films
5) The Matrix
It became the gold standard for parody, but take yourself back to when it first came out. This flick was fuckin' mind-blowing. I remember watching it for the first time and being left speechless. Who knew, that a guns/kung fu movie, could be that damn smart and intricate and philosophical? It's surprisingly deep for an action flick, and has unfortunately been parodied and copied so many times that it became a cliche. But you have to take yourself back to when it first came out. Before the subsequent hype. That's the Matrix I remember, and love.
4) Heat
Featuring the legendary first meeting of Pacino and De Niro on screen (this is the first film where they actually share a scene), this is one of the finest crafted films of the 90's. Michael Mann has a knack for making action important and compelling, rather than "Hey, let's just blow shit up for 2 hours and call it a day." He also has interesting plots, instead of ridiculous ones. And the actors he scores... damn! First Pacino and De Niro, then Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, William Fichtner and Dennis Haysbert. DAMN!
3) The Great Escape
As if it didn't already register a 10 on the cool meter for Steve McQueen alone, they had to add James Garner, James Coburn and Charles Bronson. This clip here is more than enough proof of it's bad ass-itude.
2) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
One of the few sequels that is vastly superior to it's original. James Cameron was really coming into his own as an edgier, darker version of Spielberg (this is pre-Titanic). It had been 7 years since the first one, so Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger (seriously, try spelling that without looking it up) each had time to mature, cash in on the fame from the first one and hone their craft. And it was just this perfect film. It was one of the first to mesh old school film-making and the new school technology. I have the 2.5 hour extended cut, and every minute of it is riveting. It's a fantastic film.
1) Die Hard
I've already posted plenty about this flick. Go back to my 11-20 list, or my Holiday list, twisted edition. But I will give you this very funny Die Hard parody from the hilarious and criminally underrated Ben Stiller Show.
Top 5 Silent Films
5) The Great Train Robbery
You could call me out on this one, as it's not a feature film. But come on. It's essentially the first film. At 12 minutes long, it is THE landmark of cinema. And luckily, I can present the whole thing.
4) Metropolis
Set the gold standard for sci-fi for years to come (sad as it is to say, pretty much till George "I'm a whore" Lucas made Star Wars). Fritz Lange gave us a stark, bleak, dystopian vision that went unparalleled until Ridley Scott's opus Blade Runner.
3) The General
See, I could put both Chaplin and Keaton on this list, not worry about it, and call it a day. But unfortunately the other 4 entrants meant that I could only put one on, and Keaton's The General is just so damn funny, and so damn good. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey and Johnny Depp all owe a great deal to Keaton, he created and perfected that physical comedy they have used in their films.
2) Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari.
The original horror/thriller. Robert Wiene does such an amazing job with tone and pacing. To this day it's an effective film. Anybody who isn't affected by this is missing something in their head.
1) Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Graunes
The scariest film ever made. F.W. Murnau is a visual master who set the stage for future greats like Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, George A. Romero and John Carpenter. Looking at it from today's perspective, you can watch this film, and see the future of horror, indeed the future of cinema in this film. It's a beautiful piece of work. that can't be denied.
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