I’ve been working on my top 10 albums for 2007, and while working on it I’ve been in a ‘best of’ mood. The other night I was watching High Fidelity which itself is built on the idea of Top-5 lists. Seeing as High Fidelity itself would land on my top-5 movie list, I decided to put my top-five together.
So, in no special order, here are my five favorite movies of all time:
Kundun – Martin Scorsese 1997
This gorgeous homage to the Dali Lama covers from the period from his discovery as the reincarnation of the 13th Dali Lama to the time when he leaves Tibet for India after fleeing the Chinese. As I understand it, Scorsese made this film for his mother who was saddened that her son made so many violent films.
The story itself is deeply moving as we watch a small child grow into the spiritual and political leader of the country of Tibet. Each scene is so beautifully crafted that you are aware that you are watching the work of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The soundtrack from Philip Glass is breathtaking as well.
View the trailer.
Once – John Carney (2007)
The story of a Dublin busker, Once (starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) is a ‘musical’ that is all about capturing the beauty of the process of real music making. In real life Hansard is the leader of one of my favorite bands, Ireland’s The Frames. The whole movie flows so organically that many think the film is a documentary. The scene of Hansard and Irglova singing together for the first time is absolutely breathtaking.
View the trailer.
This is Spinal Tap – Rob Reiner (1984)
This film is not only one of the funniest films ever made, but it has so totally become part of American culture that it made the term Mockumenary a real term. Sure there are the standard “This One Goes to Eleven” lines, but virtually everyone in this film delivers a brilliant performance, from the leads to Bruno Kirby to Fran Dresher, I bought my first DVD player when this movie was released on DVD. This movie doesn’t age, it just gets better.
View the trailer.
High Fidelity – Stephen Frears (2000)
John Cusack bringst to life Nick Hornby’s novel about a used record store owner who can’t seem to grow up enough to maintain a relationship. Filled with Top-Five lists of every sort, I relate to this movie so much because I too am a record collector and a compulsive maker of top-five (and ten lists).
The Royal Tenenbaums – Wes Anderson (2001)
While this movie is ostensibly a comedy, it reaches much deeper than its many funny scenes and ultimately is a film about abandonment and redemption. Beyond the aspect of forgiveness, what I love about this film is the astonishing use of the soundtrack. From the use of Nick Drake’s “Fly” while Richie Tennenbaum silently sits on a bus after his suicide attempt, to Nico’s “These Days” as Margot Tennenbaum walks towards Richie in slow motion, to the extremely chilling (and foreshadowingo of Smith’s own suicide) use of Elliot Smith’s “Needle In The Hay” while Richie take a razor to his wrists, this movie uses music more profoundly and more movingly then any movie I’ve ever seen.
View the trailer.
Apocalypse Now – Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
It’s hard to call this movie a “favorite”, but it’s such an incredible film that it certainly belongs on my list. As a kid I grew up surrounded by the turmoil the Vietnam war caused over here, but until I saw this movie, I don’t think I ever understood what that war could have been like. Watching this movie brings me as close as I hope I will ever get to the horror of war. The death, the drugs, the confusion and the overall insanity of war pulls on you from beginning to end.
View the trailer.