The Greatist Films of All-Time

I thought that since i've been very lucky at being able
to see a very wide variety of films and to see a Great
Number of films i would try to narrow down a list of
of the Ten very Best.
-Here They Are-

1."La Dolce Vita"-Directed by Fredrico Fellini

Directer Fellini made this Black and White film over 50 years ago and
guess what it's about.A Tabloid news paper writer in Rome carousing
with high society,Movie Stars,and the rest of the paparazi.Was Fellini
Way ahead of his time-yes- is he a genuis at the art of making Film-each
Frame of a Fellini film is like a painting by one of the great masters of art.
Hundreds of them all put into one film-It's a Masterpiece.

2."Fitzcaraldo"-directed by Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog spent 8 years filming this sprawling masterpiece,deep in
the Amazon Rainforest.Over 100 people died in order for this film to be made.
It's an astonishing film on every concievable level.It has to be seen to
be believed.

3."Cititzen Kane"-directed by Orsen Welles

Orsen Welles was chidhood prodigy.As a young boy in england his ability's
as a consumate actor were allready apparent.Recognized by Directors and
casting agents he had hundreds of stage credits to his name before he
even turned 18.By the time Welles arrived in NYC his reputation as a
genuis was allready firmly established.Thus he was givin' his own
Radio show where he proceded to read "The War of the World's" as if it
were coming sraight off the wire.Welles completely fooled the entire
nation-by the time people realized it was all just good fun-Welles
status as an actor was raised even higher.By the time directed
"Citizen Kane" he had allready conquered the world.But with "Kane"
Welles took it to a whole new level ,of which no film had ever
accomplished up untill that time or since."Kane" is the greatist,Best filmed
{thanks to Greg Tolland} and best directed film ever made ever made in
America.Welles also did a perfect job of Playing Kane himself
as the lead actor of the Film .If you look up
the word genuis in the dictionary you'll find Orsen Welles.

4."The Seventh Seal"- Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Knights returning from the Crusades were allready weary when
they began to see evidence of The Black Plauge in every city,Hamlet
and village they passed thru.Young girls were burned at he stake
on the charge that they were Witch's and were somehow Responsible
for the Plauge.As the troops traveled on,A stranger visits this odd Band
of gypsies.He reavels ,that he is the grim reaper and challenges one of
Knight's to a game of chess.The reaper wins of course-and
the knight is badley distressed by this-but there is nothing
he can do.Finally they arrive at the the Knights home where he has
been recieved with open arms by his wife and his servents,
just after he tell's thens the story-they are all seen walking off,
Following the Reaper with his scyth on a nearby mountain.The
only people who survive are a young couple who are expecting
a baby soon.Poetic Justice-you might say.

5."Chinatown"-Directed by Roman Polaski

Chinatown takes place in Los Angeles,but every city in the west
,even Boise,has similar story of Power and Corruption-Because in the West,
the most valuble commodity is water.So anyone in a western city who has
enough money and power will try to get control of the water and use any
and all means to get it.So the story in Chinatown has it's equivalants in
Cities like Las Vegas,Denver,Phoenix,Boise,Reno,Spokane,San Diego and
San Fransisco-just to name a few.
The most noticable thing in "Chinatown" is how differant Polanski's
techniques of Filming are from the average American Director.Every shot
in "Chinatown" is custom made by Polanski.,who has a gigantic bag of tricks
and techniques in his director's Bag-most of them totally unique to unto
himself.When private detective Jake Giddes,the film's main charactor,played
by Jack Nicholson first pay's a visit to his client,Evelyn Mulray's Mansion,
in the Hollywood Hill's-Polanski places the camera right behind Nicholson's
back as he walks thru the backyard while he's waiting to see Miss's Mulray,
played by Faye Dunaway.
At the time of the scenes filming Nicholson objected to this set up by Pol-
lanski.He thought the camera should be in front of him like it would be in
a regular american movie-to best show the lead actors face.But when you see
the film you understand why Polanski filmed the scene the way he did.
With the Camera just behind Nicholson-peering over his shoulder,the
audience feels like they are right there in the backyard just behind Nicholson.
It's an ingenous device of Polaski's that makes the audience feel like they are
not watching the film but like they are in it ! This is just one example of the
way Roman use's the camera in way's that draw the audience into being
part of the movie and not just watching it.
"Chinatown" is the Greatist American Movie ever made,even if it took a
Polish Director to achieve that Greatness.

6."Burdon of Dreams"-
Directed byLes Blank

This documentry of Werner Herzog's 8 year struggle
to finish the film "Fitzcaralado" is as long as the movie that is it's subject.
It's also equally as Great and Fasinating as the movie "Fitzcaraldo" itself.
In one scene where the film crew and about 1000 Amazonian indians are
waiting for a replacement part for the tractor Herzog ended up having to
use to get the giant Steamship they used in the film pulled up from one
tributary of the Amazon up and over the top of a large mountain and
then lowering it down the big moutain into another tributary{Herzog
tried to do this just using wench's,pully's and the 1000 indians but the ship
kept falling back down the mountain}so eventually at the highest point he
was able to get the ship up the moutain just using just the indians and
the wench's and pully's,and the ship still got stuck just below the top of
the mountain-Herzog gave in and used the tractor to get the Ship the last
few hundred yards up and over the top of the very large moutain and then
while lowering the ship down the other side of the mountain about half way
down the cable snapped and the ship went carening down the mountain
and crashed into the river below,nearly capsizing the ship and damaging
it severly.Luckily Herzog had the camera's rolling so he got the footage
of the ship slipping loose from the cable and crashing into the river.It's
worth seeing this movie and "Fitzcaraldo" just to see this amazing scene.
It took alot of time to repair the boat once they were able to capture it
and anchor it down.It was during this part of the film that everyone working
on the movie became very discouraged and you see Herzog being interviewed
while they wait weeks for the tractor part to arrive{this is also when 6 of
the deaths happened when the first plane carrying the part crashed in the
Jungle killing everyone aboard}so while waiting for the second plane to arrive
Herzog is at his wits end.This is when he was interviewed.He talk's about how
ugly and dead the jungle seems to him and how unbearable it is-but then
add's "But,i Love it".Then the documentry film crew ask's him what he
thinks he will do when the film is finally finished."I think i'm going directly
to an insane asylum" he say's only half-joking.


#7.-"Aguirre,Wrath of God"

Directed by Werner Herzog

This is the tale of Spanish Conquistador Pissaro's ill-fated Journey to find El-Dorado
and the souce of the Amazon River.Every spanish soldier and slave in his regime dies a
horrible death on the attempted Quest except for Aguirre-who becomes the first white
man to travel the full lenth of the Amazon River and live to tell about it.
When he finally makes it back to Spain he is pardoned for abandoning Pissaro and his
other fellow soldiers when the court realizes that it would have been impossible to turn
back and try to save them on such a river.Aguirre marries a young South American
Indian girl who was the only other surviver of the expedition.They are givin' a fantastic
Mansion in the Hills of Spain to live in-complete with every luxery known to man at the
time-1500-1600.
Eventually Aguirre gets restless and decides to return to South America with his
Bride.He makes it across the Atlantic O.K. but when he reach's the Delta of the Amazon
there are so many tributaries that he and his wife become hoplessly lost amidst the
delta.All of the ships sailors have either abandoned Aguirre-thinking him mad or they
have been killed by hostile indians.When Aguirre himself finally dies only his wife lives
to tell the tale.She makes it to Columbia where she catches a ship bound for Spain.
When she finally reach's the spanish court and tells them of Aguirre and his crews
terrible fate-the court has mercy on her and lets her return to the mansion that was
givin' to Aguirre and her-where she lives out the rest of her day's-Mourning her lovers
Death.
This movie reveals the Amazon River and Jungle as it was over 40 years ago and is
the most visually stunning Film ever made.

8."The Elephant Man"-Directed by David Lynch

The Elephant Man is a flawless and incredibly moving film-that is more than
enough proof of David Lynch's Genuis when it come to Film Making.John Hurts performance is mind-boogling and so is Anthony Hopkins.The staging of the film is so realistic
that the viewer completly forgets the present and believes He/She is actually back at the turn
of the 20th Century in London.That's how detailed,well directed,and perfectly acted this film is.
It's truelly a landmark in American filmmaking.The sounds of the early industrial age with thier
giant steam engines and noisey factory's churning away day and night you barely notice when
you first see the film.But upon viewing the film for about 100th time it suddenly hit me that
Those strange,loud and constant sounds of the industrial age are a huge part of what make's
the film so convincing that you feel as if you are actually back in the world of the turn of the 20th
Century London.This is the most effective use of sound ever used in an American Film.
It's at the ending of "The Elephant Man" that Samual Barber's "Adagio for Strings" was
first used in a film.Now many people consider it to be the Greatist piece of Music ever composed and i would concur with that opinion.

9."Apocalyse Now"-
Directed by Fransis Ford Coppela

The first major film released about the Vietnam war-the film is actually
based on Joeseph Conrad's Novel "Heart of Darkness".Somehow placing Conrad's novel
within' the setting of the Vietnam War Worked surprisingly well.The Film was a labor
of love for Coppala,with his film career on the line and also for actor Martin Sheen who
suffered a heart attack during the making of the film and allmost died.When Marlon
Brando finally arrived on the set he was horribly overwwieght and hadn't even read
the script so he had no idea how he was going to play the part.But Coppala needed Brando's
Box Office Power so he improvised.He shot Brando at night and in dark shadows and keeped
the Camera mostly on Brando's face.With his head shaved Brando was believable as a
Military leader gone mad.He mumbled strange thoughts and idea's and he looked and acted
insane just like the charactor he was playing.The ending of the film had not been written
so that to was improvised.The result was a film of Mind Blowing Proportions.
Many of the lines from the film have become part of pop culture allthough they are
completely taken' out of context and thier meaning completely mis-understood.
When Robert Duvall say's "Charlie don't Surf" he isn't talking about Charles Manson-
But he's reffering to the fact that the Vietcong don't indulge in the sport of surfing.After
Sheen's charactor stops at the last official U.S. Military Outpost before the river they
are traveling up enters into Cambodia-He look's everywhere for the Brigade's Commander-
as bombs and explosions explode all around him-"Ain't you him" one soldier replies.As
Sheens charactor said earlier in the film "The Bullshit Pilled up So Fast in Vietnam-You
needed wings to stay above it".Finally Sheen relizes that the Army Unit Stationed at the Bridge
has no leader.He return to the boat with some supplies and say's "There's no CO{Commanding
Officer}here.



#10."12 Monkeys"

Directed by Terry Gilliam

"12 Monkeys" is one the very few newer,more modern Films, that
is as intense and well Directed as the other nine movies on this list.By Far the
Best Science fiction movie ever made-it's plot is so realistic-that the movie just
Blows Your Entire Mind from start to finish .
The french avante-garde photography/story book that the film was based
on,thou it's very differant from the movie,is also the exactly the same as the movie
in many ways.Bruce Willis and Madaline Stowe give the performances of thier live's
and Brad Pitt's supporting role is the best piece of acting he's ever done.
Director Gilliam gives the film an incredible-allmost psychadelic look-it's
surreal and yet totally believable.

Warning:This Film contains ideas and concepts that are not suitable for
Children-so leave them at home or send them to thier rooms or out to
play before pressing the Play Button.


All Movie Reviews written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reseved