Tuesday 23 November 2010

The 500 Greatest Films of All Time: 400 to 351

400. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Dir: Norman Jewison
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Lee Grant, Warren Oates, Larry Gates.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Fantastic crime film, dealing with issues of race, prejudice and justice.

399. The King (2005)
Dir: James Marsh
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Paul Dano, William Hurt, Pell James, Laura Harring.
Genre: Drama
Disturbing portrait of a broken individual, and his determination to find acceptance and punish those who have wronged him.

398. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2002)
Dir: Ang Lee
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, Zhang Ziyi.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Spectacular display of martial arts, combined with an incredibly well realised storyline.

397. A Time to Kill (1996)
Dir: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Incredibly powerful crime drama dealing with the concept of justice and humanity.

396. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Dir: Kevin Smith
Cast: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson.
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
One of the rudest, yet most hilariously perfect, films of the last decade.

395. The Lovely Bones (2009)
Dir: Peter Jackson
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci.
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Thriller
Disturbing, but wonderfully realised and stylistic, adaptation of the brilliant novel.

394. Following (1998)
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Engaging, disturbing and generally mysterious experimental crime flick.

393. Moon (2009)
Dir: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Malcolm Stewart.
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Science Fiction
Brilliantly inventive and revolutionary science fiction drama.

392. Desperado (1995)
Dir: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Danny Trejo, Steve Buscemi.
Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime
Notoriously violent and intense action-comedy.

391. True Lies (1994)
Dir: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Art Malik.
Genre: Action/Thriller
Brilliant action film about the limitations of identity and trust.

390. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Dir: Jim Sharman
Cast: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Meat Loaf, Charles Gray, Barry Bostwick.
Genre: Comedy/Musical
Unique and engaging musical with an increasingly dark undertone.

389. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Dir: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
The original, and arguably the best, Robin Hood film, featuring the original action star, Errol Flynn.

388. City Lights (1931)
Dir: Charlie Chaplin
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers.
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Incredibly funny and touching film from the master of comedy himself, Charlie Chaplin.

387. Mallrats (1995)
Dir: Kevin Smith
Cast: Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck.
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Clerks-Lite with some jokes that prove to be funnier than the original.

386. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Dir: Gil Junger
Cast: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan.
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Highly amusing adaptation of a classic Shakespeare play.

385. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Dir: Nicholas Meyer
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban, DeForest Kelley, George Takei.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Science Fiction
The classic film featuring some of the best moments in the series' history.

384. The Cable Guy (1996)
Dir: Ben Stiller
Cast: Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann, Jack Black, Ben Stiller.
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Incredibly dark comedy that combines genuine laughs with some incredibly disturbing scenes.

383. The Cider House Rules (1999)
Dir: Lasse Hallstrom
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine, Charlize Theron, Paul Rudd, Kieran Culkin.
Genre: Drama/Romance
Engaging and wonderful piece of dramatic cinema.

382. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Dir: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime
Intense, action-packed modernised version of Sherlock Holmes.

381. Once (2006)
Dir: John Carney
Cast: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova.
Genre: Drama/Music/Romance
Heartwarming emotional rollercoaster.

380. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Dir: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Paul Rudd.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance
Fantastic modern adaptation of the most famous play of all time.

379. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Seth MacFarlane.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Fantastic and action-packed sequel based in the realms of fantasy.

378. Crazy Heart (2009)
Dir: Scott Cooper
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Paul Herman.
Genre: Drama/Music/Romance
Heartbreaking look at the mental and physical destruction of a musician.

377. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane.
Genre: Adventure/Drama/Western
Absolute classic adventure movie.

376. Grindhouse (2007)
Dir: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie
Cast: Rose McGowan, Kurt Russell, Freddy Rodriguez, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, Josh Brolin, Danny Trejo, Nicholas Cage, Jason Isaacs, Michael Biehn, David Brunt, Bruce Willis.
Genre: Action/Horror/Thriller
Intense, frightening, and at times amusing, double-feature that serves as a send-up to old school horror.

375. Fantasia (1940)
Dir: Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norm Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson
Cast: Leopold Stokowski, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Walt Disney.
Genre: Animation/Family/Fantasy/Musical
An awe-inpsiring Disney musical.

374. Red River (1948)
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, Coleen Gray.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Western
Fantastically entertaining Western masterpiece.

373. Hard Boiled (1992)
Dir: John Woo
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Kwok, Anthony Wong.
Genre: Action/Crime/Drama
Action-packed blockbuster that helped redefine the action movie.

372. Die Hard 2 (1990)
Dir: Renny Harlin
Cast: Bruce Willis, William Sadler, Art Evans, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Dennis Franz, William Artherton, Franco Nero.
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Duplicate of the original, but one that features just as much insane violence and intense imagery.

371. Magnum Force (1973)
Dir: Ted Post
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Felton Perry.
Genre: Action/Crime/Mystery
The dirtiest of the Dirty Harry movies.

370. In the Loop (2009)
Dir: Armando Iannucci
Cast: Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Steve Coogan
Genre: Comedy
Witty satirical look at the world of politics.

369. Spider-Man (2002)
Dir: Sam Raimi
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons, Bill Nunn, Elizabeth Banks, Bruce Campbell.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
The most uneven of all the Spider-Man films; the first half is spectacular, the second half is just entertaining, but as a whole it's a great introduction to the character.

368. Cars (2006)
Dir: John Lasseter
Cast: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, George Carlin, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Keaton.
Genre: Adventure/Animation/Comedy
Hilarious cartoon, littered with car related puns.

367. Armed and Dangerous (1986)
Dir: Mark L. Lester
Cast: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Ryan.
Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime
Fantastic comedy starring two of the funniest men in Hollywood.

366. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
Dir: Trey Parker
Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes, Mary Kay Bergman, George Clooney, Dave Foley.
Genre: Animation/Comedy/Musical
Fantastic big-screen adaptation of the vulgar cartoon.

365. Vera Drake (2004)
Dir: Mike Leigh
Cast: Imelda Staunton, Richard Graham, Eddie Marsan, Anna Keaveney, Alex Kelly.
Genre: Crime/Drama
Harrowing look at the world of back-street abortions from Mike Leigh, the master of depression.

364. Bambi (1942)
Dir: David Hand
Cast: Bobby Stewart, Donnie Dunagan, Hardie Albright, Peter Behn, Sterling Holloway.
Genre: Animation/Drama/Family
Fluffy, fun bit of Disney entertainment, that also manages to bring tears to your eyes.

363. American Splendor (2003)
Dir: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Toby Radloff.
Genre: Biography/Comedy/Drama
Engaging look at the life of a cartoonist, from his own rather cynical point of view.

362. The Jolson Story (1946)
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin.
Genre: Biography/Drama/Music
Fascinating look at the life of a talented singer, that is extremely liberal with it's facts.

361. Cinderella (1950)
Dir: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson
Cast: Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald.
Genre: Animation/Family/Fantasy
Classic Disney epic featuring a glorious premise, and some jaw-dropping animation.

360. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
Dir: Tommy Lee Jones
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, January Jones, Julio Cedillo, Dwight Yoakam.
Genre: Adventure/Crime/Drama
Fascinating examination of the power of friendship and the limits of vengeance.

359. The Living Daylights (1987)
Dir: John Glen
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d’Abo, Joe Don Baker, Art Malik, John Rhys-Davies, Jeroen Krabbe.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Realistic and brutal addition to the Bond franchise that shows just how dangerous the spy should be.

358. A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Dir: Blake Edwards
Cast: Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk.
Genre: Comedy/Family/Mystery
The crowning achievement of the entire Pink Panther franchise; the only film to not focus on the Pink Panther. Comedy gold!

357. Munich (2005)
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Kassovitz.
Genre: Drama/History/Thriller
Emotionally devastating look at the aftermath of the Munich Olympics Disaster.

356. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Dir: Stephen Herek
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Bernie Casey, Terry Camilleri.
Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Family/Science Fiction
One of the funniest slacker films ever made, with a humorous twist.

355. Get Shorty (1995)
Dir: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, James Gandolfini.
Genre: Comedy/Crime/Thriller
Great adaptation of a fantastic novel by Elmore Leonard; humorous and exciting.

354. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Dir: Chris Columbus
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs, Christian Coulson, Robbie Coltrane.
Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy
The first Harry Potter film to suggest that the franchise was heading into darker realms; some brilliant performances, and epic set pieces.

353. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
Dir: John McTiernan
Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons, Graham Greene, Collen Camp, Larry Bryggman.
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
A change from the regular Die Hard set-up turns in a fantastically entertaining cat-and-mouse film spanning the whole of Manhattan Island.

352. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Dir: Mel Stuart
Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Diana Sowle.
Genre: Family/Fantasy/Musical
The fantastic original adaptation of Roald Dahl's legendary children's book; the songs are perfect, the performances great, and the effects marvellous.

351. Oliver! (1968)
Dir: Carol Reed
Cast: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Family/Musical
Awe-inspiring musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' legendary book; some wonderful song-and-dance numbers, and a pair of villains in the form of Ron Moody and Oliver Reed.

Next Time: 350 to 301

















No comments:

Post a Comment