|
Top 10 Drama Movies
Conflict is essential to drama. The drama
movies that move me deeply are those where the conflict grows
out of what's at stake for the characters. This is true even in the
case of 2001, where the most interesting character is a computer, and
what's at risk is the next step in human evolution. This is my personal,
idiosyncratic list of favorites, and it doesn't necessarily reflect
the popular wisdom on drama movies. For the sake of focus, I've limited
my choices to English-language talkies.
1. 'Citizen Kane' (1941)
Citizen Kane is an innovative, breathtakingly cinematic character study,
and Orson Welles is unforgettable in the role of the wealthy, powerful
newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane. A reporter researches Kane's
life hoping to unlock the meaning of the tycoon's dying word "Rosebud."
The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks as those who knew Kane share
their memories of him. Welles' masterpiece is considered by many—myself
included—to be the greatest movie ever made.
2. '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968)
In Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Drama: A Space Odyssey, a mysterious monolith
is discovered on the moon, and a manned mission is dispatched to discover
where it came from. But along the way, the spacecraft's supposedly infallible
HAL 9000 computer goes through something akin to a nervous breakdown.
To my mind, this science-fiction classic is visually stunning, brilliant,
and enigmatic with an ending that is both baffling and sublime.
3. 'The Godfather' DVD Collection
Both The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974) are on my
short list of greatest all-time films. I think The Godfather: Part III
(1990) is a good movie, but not in the same class as the first two.
The trilogy is a showcase for the acting talents of Al Pacino, and who
can forget Marlon Brando's towering performance in the first film? In
these movies, Francis Ford Coppola gave us a memorable portrait of mob
life, and I love the lines, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
4. 'Vertigo' (1958)
In Alfred Hitchcock's drama
movie Vertigo, Scottie Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) is hired
to follow Madeleine (Kim Novak), an icy blonde. He falls in love with
her, but she mysteriously dies. Later, Ferguson meets Judy (also played
by Novak), who reminds him of Madeleine. Vertigo is unsettling, but
I admire Hitchcock's exploration of a man's perverse compulsion to transform
a woman into what he wants her to be.
5. 'The Searchers' (1956)
I think John Ford's The Searchers is one of the best films ever made
about racism and culture clash. Set in Texas around 1868 to 1873, the
story is about what should be done when a white girl is abducted by
Comanches. The girl's uncle, Ethan Edwards, a loner who hates Indians,
is played by John Wayne in what I consider his finest performance. Ethan
and a companion search for the captured girl for years. But when they
find her, will Ethan bring her home or will he kill her?
6. 'Touch of Evil' (1958)
Written and directed by Orson Welles, Touch of Evil is garish and pulpy,
but I think that befits a film noir. This is a low-budget B-movie featuring
stylish visuals, great dialogue, compelling characters, and a labyrinthine
plot. The story revolves around a corrupt cop conducting a murder investigation
in a sleazy city on the U.S.-Mexico border. The cast includes Welles,
Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Dennis Weaver, and Marlene Dietrich.
7. 'Sunset Boulevard' (1950)
Told in flashback, this drama
movie recounts the tale of down-on-his-luck hack screenwriter
Joe Gillis (William Holden), who happens to knock on the door of the
mansion of silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). For me,
"Sunset Boulevard" is a strange and fascinating movie. I think
Gloria Swanson creates one of the most memorable characters in film
history. I love the dialogue in the movie, and it's hard to top the
film's last line: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
8. 'On the Waterfront' (1954)
On the Waterfront won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and
Best Director (Elia Kazan), and the acting in this drama is at such
a high level that five actors (Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl
Malden, Rod Steiger, and Lee J. Cobb) received Oscar nominations for
their performances. I am always moved by the way this film tells a story
of love and redemption set against the gritty backdrop of labor union
corruption and violence.
9. 'Schindler's List' (1993)
In making Schindler's List, master storyteller Steven Spielberg must
have figured he could get away with showing mainstream audiences the
grim details of the Holocaust if he embedded them in an inspiring story.
As far as I am concerned, he succeeded brilliantly, and the movie won
seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The drama tells the tale
of how 1100 Jews were saved through the efforts of Oskar Schindler.
During the movie's epilogue, I always find myself choking back tears.
10. 'Gone With the Wind' (1939)
I find Gone With the Wind to be a magnificent drama that is worth seeing
just for its art direction, use of color, cinematography, and musical
score. But Vivien Leigh creates a memorable character as the selfish,
manipulative Scarlett O'Hara, and I love Clark Gable as the masculine
Rhett Butler. The story is set in and around Atlanta during the Civil
War and its aftermath, and even though Scarlett and Rhett aren't likable,
they gain my grudging admiration because they are survivors.
Our
Privacy Policy
Back to Free--Movies.info
Copyright 2008 - free--movies.info
|
|
