Your Top 10 Most Influential Feature Films (fun/non-gear-related)

[Guest]

I realised I've either talked to or read a lot of posts by many people on this forum but don't have much idea about your cinematic tastes. It would be really interesting to get more of an idea.

 

My criteria is mainstream features that that I've enjoyed but that have also become creative reference points when thinking about my own artistic goals (not specific to cinematography btw).

 

Please take this with a pinch of salt.

 

My rushed list, in no particular order:

 

Stories We Tell (2012)

Heat (1995)

Grizzly Man (2005)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

Lost in Translation (2003)

Days of Heaven (1978)

Drive (2011)

Red Road (2006)

This is England (2006)

One I'm bound to have forgotten (????)

 

As you can see I have a weakness for late-20th/early-21st century US-made mainstream films with a pinch of the arty.

[skiphunt]

Blue Velvet

Wizard of Oz

Angel Heart

2001 Space Odyssey

The Shining

Bladerunner

Pulp Fiction

Lawrence of Arabia

Apocalypse Now

8 1/2

[silvertonesx24]

I'll do 10 relatively recent ones

 

Heat (will always be on this list)

The Place Beyond the Pines

Prisoners

The Prestige

The Iceman

Spring Breakers

The Debt

Never Let Me Go

Disconnect

Cloud Atlas

[andy lee]

in no particular order:

 

Lawrence of Arabia

The French Connection

The Bourne Identity

Hurt Locker

Only God Forgives

The International

Dirty Harry

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Fincher version

Bladerunner

Pulp Fiction

 

TV series - House of Cards seasons 1 and 2 - Netflix - David Fincher etc

[Oliver Daniel]

Refreshing to have a non-gear/tech topic!

 

In no particular order:

 

Edward Scissorhands

Goodfellas

Requiem For A Dream

Trainspotting

American Beauty

Robocop (1987)

Ghostbusters

Oldboy (Korean version)

Rain Man

The Matrix

[slatr]

War of the Worlds (2005)

 

Gladiator (2000)

 

Starship Troopers (1997)

 

Pulp Fiction (1994)

 

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

 

Dances with Wolves (1990)

 

Legend (1985)

 

Alien (1979)

 

The Birds (1963)

[Sean Cunningham]

Also in no particular order:

 

01) Blade Runner ...interactive light, caustics, eye-light, beam splitters, atmosphere, smoking, rain, scale

02) 2001  ...static composition, scale, control, juxtaposition

03) Christine  ...anamorphic flares, anamorphic composition

04) The Underneath  ...color themes, composition, Texas photography true to locale

05) Matchstick Men  ...daylight interiors, sets + lighting indistinguishable from location, indirect light, side-y

06) Manhunter  ...composition in widescreen, jump cuts, color themes

07) The Fog  ...nighttime anamorphic photography, the witching hour sequence, driving to lighthouse sequence

08) Magnolia ...anamorphic steadicam, anamorphic composition, depth, LA photography true to locale, top-y

09) Drive  ...night driving, driving, duo-tone, color, horizontal movement, Alexa, true to LA

10) Elephant  ...naturalism, William Eggelston, long take, tracking, verite, beauty in banality

 

...films would go in and out of this, list, with honorable mentions like Deep Cover and King of New York if I was in a Bojan Bazelli frame of mind, or perhaps a few more Harris Savides films like The Game.  If I was in the mood for wide and really crisp I'd have to make room for something like Year of the Dragon.  I know, I know, I hate when other folks don't follow the rules and go over the list...

 

 

 

edit: +1 to folks mentioning Only God Forgives, Legend, Heat and The Place Beyond the Pines.  There were some "as expected" entries I simply had to add that I knew would be on most lists, like Blade Runner and 2001 but some of the not so expected choices tend to be more interesting.

 

 

edit2: for what they mean to me, how come they be here

[skiphunt]

Yikes, so many good ones I forgot. Almost added Magnolia (brilliant) as well as Elephant (way under appreciated IMO). And Silence of the Lambs! The Matrix! Requiem for a Dream! 

 

Too hard keeping it at just 10 ;)

[Guest]

I considered putting Place Beyond the Pines in but as I already had Drive down I avoided it. I get enough accusations of having a man-crush on Ryan Gosling from my girlfriend. HE'S JUST IN A LOT OF GOOD FILMS!

 

I still need to see Only God Forgives. Reviews were very mixed so it hasn't been top of my list.

[Sean Cunningham]

skiphunt, yeah, Magnolia is on my list, and in my top 10 films as films.  It has my favorite anamorphic steadicam shots, particularly the one that starts out in the rain and then takes you all the way through the TV studio.  My jaw was on the floor.  So many wonderful shots in there.  And Elephant just had me stunned, even though I'm not a fan of non-widescreen.  The simple, natural beauty in the photography introduced me to the work of William Eggleston, Harris Savides greatest influence during his final years.  I so wish there was some way to really nail the look of his dye transfer prints and, likewise, the look of print ad photography that used the technique.

 

 

I still need to see Only God Forgives. Reviews were very mixed so it hasn't been top of my list.

 

 

Go into it with an open mind.  I've never, not once, read a negative review where I thought the critic had really gotten it.  And it's such a simple, solidly done revenge and redemption tale under the stylized presentation.  It's a samurai-western wrapped in an art film.  If you enjoyed Valhala Rising and Bronson you should dig the hell out of it.  But besides that, the photography is just dynamite and doubly impressive when you read how simply and cheaply it was done.  There's only one scene in the whole film, I believe, where they used a big movie light.  Lots of practicals, the equivalent of El Mariachi style consumer grade fixtures bought on location by the DP, etc.

[Guest]

*

[Guest]

If you enjoyed Valhala Rising and Bronson you should dig the hell out of it.

NWR's greatest achievement to date has to be Marple: Nemesis.*

 

*Disclaimer: you may need to be british to get how funny it is that Refn made this

[skiphunt]

Cool. A few here I haven't seen and based on common taste... have added a few to my Netflix queue. :)

[cantsin]

Since the question is about mainstream films, and the emphasis in most people's replies on (fairly) contemporary films, I'd throw in just two:

 

Irreversible (2002)

Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind (2004)

[fuzzynormal]

Influential.  That's a really interesting qualifier.  Who knows when certain works are going to hit us square on the mark?  Makes for a curious personal context.  Mainstream features?  They all qualify for that based on their region and time of release.  So, in a particular order that I'm not telling you about:

 

Big Business (1929)

Man With a Movie Camera

Ikiru

Seven Samurai 

TGTB&TU

Tree of Life

Straight Story

Raiders of The Lost Ark

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring

Per Qualche Dollaro In Più

 

As for entry two on that list, watch some common DSLR "street" vids on Vimeo...then pop that sucker in your DVD player.  Compare.

[cantsin]

Big Business (1929)

Man With a Movie Camera

[...] 

 

As for entry two on that list, watch some common DSLR "street" vids on Vimeo...then pop that sucker in your DVD player.  Compare.

 

 

Yes. Yes!  (Was inclined to put this film on my list, too, but dropped it because it didn't seem mainstream enough.)

 

This is how one-man-crew no-budget, no actors, no set/props filmmaking could be done today, with almost any camera on at least GH1/550D/D5200 level, and so much better than the tired 'motion postcard'-style city impressions that are the trademark of DSLR video. 

 

More films in that style that every DIY no budget filmmaker should have seen and studied: 

Berlin, Symphony of a Metropolis (Walter Ruttmann), 1927 

The Bridge (Joris Ivens), 1928 

Rain (Joris Ivens), 1929 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPD2C0K38jY

 

(And to speak of the devil: Leni Riefenstahl's film on the 1936 Berlin Olympics was explicitly made in the cinematic tradition of the above.)

[fuzzynormal]

Yes. Yes!  (Was inclined to put this film on my list, too, but dropped it because it didn't seem mainstream enough.)

 

Not mainstream in the west, but in the USSR the film was a such a sensation that it ignited an entire social debate about the art form.

[Guest]

Straight Story

Lynch is sometimes characterised as a maker of failed masterpieces who uses 'weird' to hide weaknesses in his craft. For me The Straight Story is proof - for anyone who needs it - that he can do a straight story as well as the best of them. It's a really solid piece of visual storytelling, with a heavy dose of Lynchian magic too.

That look in Harry Dean Stanton's eyes at the end of the film when he sees the lawnmower - wow. Gets me every time. That's a pure cinematic moment if ever there was one.

 

If anyone hasn't seen the movie don't watch this clip - save it for when you do.

 

 

On a lighter note, one of my other 'greatest cinematic moments': Arro's Laugh in Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt.2 (yes I know). Skip to about 01:18 to witness the true genius of Michael Sheen:

 

[nvldk]

Yes. Yes!  (Was inclined to put this film on my list, too, but dropped it because it didn't seem mainstream enough.)

 

This is how one-man-crew no-budget, no actors, no set/props filmmaking could be done today, with almost any camera on at least GH1/550D/D5200 level, and so much better than the tired 'motion postcard'-style city impressions that are the trademark of DSLR video. 

 

More films in that style that every DIY no budget filmmaker should have seen and studied: 

Berlin, Symphony of a Metropolis (Walter Ruttmann), 1927 

The Bridge (Joris Ivens), 1928 

Rain (Joris Ivens), 1929 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPD2C0K38jY

 

(And to speak of the devil: Leni Riefenstahl's film on the 1936 Berlin Olympics was explicitly made in the cinematic tradition of the above.)

 I'm happy that someone has gone further than to 70s or 60s.... I wish all of vimeo dlsr shooter had watched movies by Ivens, Flaherty, Ruttman, Mekas, Solanas+Gettno, etc... Majority of the vids on vimeo lacks a poetry which can be found in work of these filmmakers and plus they contain tons of kitch shots....

[Guest]

Just to explain my motives, I had a couple of reasons for suggesting keeping it mainstream:

 

1. So that we might get an idea of what each other's tastes/interests are like through well-known cultural reference points.

2. To avoid complete descent into a "who can be the most highbrow/obscure/indie/arty/leftfield/knowledgeable" type thread (easily done).

 

Tarkovsky has probably been one of my biggest creative reference points for many years, but I overdosed in art school and I'm pretty much allergic to slow cinema now. I'd take Star Trek (2009) over Stalker every time. :)

 

That's just me though. I won't complain if somebody feels the need to put Warhol's Empire, Michael Snow's Wavelength, Brakhage's Dog Star Man or Jarman's Blue on their list. Others might though!