What are some of the incredible movies you have seen? Let us know.
Based on a suggestion from Velu we are starting this list. The movies could be in any language and need not be Indian. It could even be a short or a documentary
Post your responses in the format: Movie Name, Country of Origin, Language, Year of Release, A few lines on why you liked it. As always the comments are moderated so that fan wars are avoided. The response will be approved just based on your explanation of why you liked it, so please be thoughtful and non-impulsive.
Perumthachchan
Direction : Ajayan
Written by none other than MT
Many have forgotten this great movie. Great acting by Thilakan.
A masterpiece. One of the great opening shots in Malayalam movie.
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
Direction : Hariharan
Story : MT
The movie which made us completely look at the old ” Nazir-Ummer ” movies in new way. Great dialogue..Superb acting …
North by Northwest (1959)
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
written by Ernest Lehman
starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
music by Bernard Herrmann
cinematography Robert Burks
editing by George Tomasini
country: US/language: English
the film is essentially a tale of mistaken identity,
starring one of the greatest “movie star” of all time: Cary Grant!
marvelously directed by Hitch!
Before there was James Bond or Jason Bourne…there was
Roger O. Thornhill played by Grant! (an executive mistaked for a spy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbg089yT31g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....38;index=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPvmpS4HOpU
His Girl Friday (1940)
directed by Howard Hawks
written by Charles Lederer
starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart
music by Sidney Cutner & Felix Mills
cinematography: Joseph Walker
editing by Gene Havlick
Cary Grant stars as a newspapaer editor Walter Burns who tries to get back his ex-wife reporter Hildy Johson played by Rosalind Russell who plans to marry Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). The chemistry between Grant and Rosalind Russell is just spectacular. A noted thing about this film is the dialogue which is spoken at bullet speed! This of course has influenced people like Quentin Tarantino who is a fan of Hawks and of that fast driven dialogue used in the film. It’s also one of Clint Eastwood’s favs, he probably saw it as a child.
One of the best screwball comedies from the classical Hollywood era.
This film is in public domain now.
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
directed by Howard Hawks
written by Dudley Nichols & Hagar Wilde
starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles,
Walter Catlett, May Robson, and Fritz Feld
music by Roy Webb & Jimmy McHugh
cinematography: Russell Metty
editing by George Hively
Another Hawks classic!
and one of the best screwball comedies! probably one of the first films of the whole screwball genre.
Great chemistry between Hepburn and Grant!
the plot is a little too much to tell in a sentence but being a screwball it has quite a lot of whacky characters in it…
Grant plays quite a different role from his usual, of course this was the time he was rising as a star (late 30s). And Hepburn was one of the leading female stars of the time (the 30s was a time in Hollywood when female stars had more power than male stars!!).
Of course due to the fact that the film had too much of whacky characters in it, it turned out to be a flop at the time of release.
I guess it was a film a little ahead of it’s time.
Sorry every one concerned.I didn’t know where to post a comment about the movie “Nadodikal”.Saw this movie today in Saritha theatre Ernakulam.Was spellbound by its making.What a movie! More than anything I feel that our Malayalam movie makers should watch it for the way it is made.Its a shame that Malayalam film industry which used to be the reference material for the tamil directors now creates senseless and half baked films(a Bhramaran or a Thirakkatha can be an exception) like Rahasya Police,Pattanattil Bhootam etc .
December seems to be an interesting month.
With a lot of cool flicks coming out; no I haven’t seen any of them yet but thought I’d mention it here.
Avatar (James Cameron)
Invictus (Clint Eastwood)
Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam)
Leaves of Grass (Tim Blake Nelson)
and The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson)
Just saw “Paradesi” on Asianet and it seems to rip off the music from Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
directed by Stuart Rosenberg
written by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson based on Pearce’s novel
starring PAUL NEWMAN as Luke, George Kennedy, JD Cannon, Lou Antonia…
cinematography by Conrad Hall
editing by Sam O’Steen
music by Lalo Schifrin
country: US/ language: English
“For the secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for. Without a stable conception of the object of life, man would not consent to go on living, and would rather destroy himself than remain on earth, though he had bread in abundance.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Luke returns home after the war. He’s a drifter. A loner. He’s been handed one bad hand after the next, and, no matter how he plays his cards, he always seems to lose. The film opens with Luke, drunk and shameless, knocking the heads off parking meters. The authorities try to cash in on our everyday movements, and this lack of freedom ticks Luke off.
Luke is sent to prison and what follows is one of the greatest existential movies of all time. Luke’s conversations with God, his isolation and alienation, his experiences and a pair of profound scenes, both involving his mother, elevate “Cool Hand Luke” above most prison-break movies.
While “Shawshank Redemption” preaches hope and patience and “Cuckoo’s Nest” harped on about freedom, “Cool Hand Luke” takes a far more mythical stance. We don’t know much about Luke. He never looks anyone in the eyes when speaking and always has a sly grin on his face. And yet behind his smile we sense deep pain, his lack of control matched only by his dogged spirit to continue fighting.
While “Cuckoo’s Nest” had a system that despite its flaws genuinely tried to heal and help others, Luke’s social institution is corrupt and in many aspects pointless. Still, for a while Luke abides by it. He goes about the state’s business with a smile, cutting grass and paving roads. He only has 2 years in chains. He can make it. And like he says, he has no place else to go. No plans. He plays his cards with cool, detached ambivalence.
In one beautiful scene Luke’s dying mother comes to visit. Their conversation is genuinely touching. She tried her best with him, giving him nothing but love. And yet, no amount of motherly affection has helped Luke. Because of this she wishes mankind were like dogs. She wishes she could abandon her children and forget about them. Never having to worry or fret about how they are, what they’ll do or where they’ll go. She loves Luke, but hates the agony he puts her through. And yet we sense that she understands him intimately. Perhaps she admires him because she too has been dealt a life of bad hands.
Luke’s outlook changes when his mother dies and the prison warden locks him in a box for no particular reason. When the Boss says “Just doing my job”, Luke replies “That don’t make it right.” And it isn’t right. But it’s the system and so Luke has to abide.
From here on Luke begins to fight back. He may spend his life on his knees, but by God he will not submit to anyone! Of course the other inmates begin to idolise Luke, worshipping his never-give-up spirit. But rather than fight themselves, they sit back and exalt him. Luke begins to resent this. “Step feeding off me!” he yells. But they’re content to sit on the sidelines. He’s a one man revolution, and like many revolutionaries he’s praised for his stance from afar but never actively supported.
Why do men have to die for causes before we take notice?
The film ends on an ambiguous note. Does Luke smile? Does he die? Does he survive? If he does survive, is his survival merely wishful thinking on the part of his fellow inmates? Note that the film’s final image is a brief shot of a photograph. It was established in an earlier sequence that this idyllic photograph represents a lie. We also know that the photograph was torn to shreds earlier in the film. The ending thus suggests that though Luke has died and the system utterly beaten him down, the men nevertheless choose to believe in him. They believe he has risen (the film is filled with Christian imagery), that he’s survived death and still fighting the fight, sticking it to the man for all of mankind.
But like that happy photograph, filled with false smiles, their belief is an illusion. Luke is dead, and though his fighting spirit remains in the hearts of these men, it will take a revolution to wake them up and shake them out of their weak surrender. What fuels their revolution, what fuels all revolutions, is the hope that Luke represents. Yes this hopeful idyll is a myth, but it is a necessary one which must be sustained lest we submit.
10/10- An accidental masterpiece. The planets really lined up for this one. The only flaw is an overly silly (though iconic) car wash scene
Worth multiple viewings.
You have mised “Lekhayude Maraanm, Oru Flashback”. It is a good movie.
The Chaser (2008)
Country: South Korea/Language:Korean
Directed by debutant Na Hong-jin
Written by Na Hong-jin and Lee Shin-ho
Starring Kim Yoon-seok and Ha Jeong-woo
Music by Kim Joon-seok and Choe Yong-rak
Cinematography Lee Seong-jae
Editing by Kim Sun-min
This film just proves the fact that one of the best films in recent times have come from South Korea. This film shows you what a thriller should be like.
a review by American critic Roger Ebert:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com.....29976/1023
Ebert says: “In addition to remaking this movie, Hollywood should study it.” So should Malayalam cinema filmmakers as well, they should study it as well.
@James
Thank you for the suggestion on ‘The Chaser’. Truly an incredible movie
The Town (2010)
Country: US/Language: English
Directed by Ben Affleck
Written by Affleck, Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard
based on Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves
Starring Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner,
Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite.
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams and David Buckley
Editing by Dylan Tichenor
Cinematography by Robert Elswit
With this movie Ben Affleck has proved that has what it takes to be a great director. It’s basically a crime film set in Boston (just like Affleck’s previous Gone Baby Gone) but it focuses on blue collar gangs that is involved bank robberies. Great performances by everyone in the cast, especially Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.
Match Point (2005)
Country: UK and US/Language: English
Directed and written by Woody Allen
Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, and Penelope Wilton.
Cinematography by Remi Adefarasin
Editing by Alisa Lepselter
Music recording of opera by Enrico Caruso
Match Point is an excellent film, with an great screenplay by Woody Allen. Even though most of the recent films of Woody Allen can be categorized as “so-so”, this is among his best.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Country: Japan/ Language: Japanese and English dub version
Directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli)
Voice actors (English): Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Cinematography Atsushi Okui
Editing by Takeshi Seyama
Music by Joe Hisaishi
Miyazaki can be counted among the greatest filmmakers of our time, even though he works in the animated film genre. I would count this not just as one of the best animated films, but one of the best films indeed.
Critic Ebert puts it good: “The drama is underlaid with Miyazaki’s deep humanism, which avoids easy moral simplifications. There is a remarkable scene where San and Ashitaka, who have fallen in love, agree that neither can really lead the life of the other, and so they must grant each other freedom, and only meet occasionally. You won’t find many Hollywood love stories (animated or otherwise) so philosophical. ‘Princess Mononoke’ is a great achievement and a wonderful experience, and one of the best films of the year.”
Yojimbo (1961)
Country: Japan/Language: Japanese
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshir? Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Kat?, and Takashi Shimura
Music by Masaru Sat?
Cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa and Takao Saito
Editing by Akira Kurosawa
It’s a “masterpiece”, that’s all I can say.
Since its March 23rd, Kurosawa’s 101th birthday, I thought about putting this here. Although its a Japanese film, the film is highly influenced of Dashiell Hammett’s novel Red Harvest, a western work. It went on to be remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood consolidating his stardom.
Yojimbo (1961)
Country: Japan/Language: Japanese
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Kato, and Takashi Shimura
Music by Masaru Sato
Cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa and Takao Saito
Editing by Akira Kurosawa
It’s a “masterpiece”, that’s all I can say.
Since its March 23rd, Kurosawa’s 101th birthday, I thought about putting this here. Although its a Japanese film, the film is highly influenced of Dashiell Hammett’s novel Red Harvest, a western work. It went on to be remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood consolidating his stardom.
Ishqiya (2010)
Country: India/Language: Hindi
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey
Screenplay by Vishal Bharadwaj, Abhishek Chaubey, and Sabrina Dhawan
Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi, and Salman Shahid
Music by Vishal Bharadwaj
Cinematography Mohana Krishna Agapu
Editing by Namrata Rao
One of the best Indian films in recent times. Even though people have a lot of blame to put on the Hindi cinema in terms of quality, movies such as this are an example that good films are being churned out as well. Vishal Bharadwaj is involved in the screenplay and music, and its also produced by him. It’s directed by Abhishek Chaubey, his debut film.
The Man from Nowhere
The Man from Nowhere (2010)
Country: South Korea/Language:Korean
Directed by Lee Jeong-beom
Written by Lee Jeong-beom
Starring Won Bin
Kim Sae-ron
Music by Shim Hyun-jeong
Cinematography Lee Tae-yoon
Editing by Kim Sang-beom
Watch it for Won Bin! A mix of a martial arts film + Taken.
South Korean cinema proves again that they’re among the best in the world. The highest grossing S Korean film of 2010.
City of God (2011)
Country: India/ Language: Malayalam
Directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery
Written by Babu Janardhanan
Starring Indrajith, Prithviraj, Rajeev Pillai, Rohini, Parvathi, Rima Kallingal Swetha Menon.
Music by Prashant Pillai
Cinematography Sujith Vasudev
Editing by Manoj
I haven’t seen another visually gorgeous and raw film in Malayalam cinema. It’s an excellent film along with great performances with everyone in the cast. It’s sad to hear that this film wasn’t so successful at the BO. Of course it had a bit too “R” rated material in it so its not exactly for the family audience, though it was a nice piece of work.
Oru vadakkan veeragadha
Written by MT Vasudevan Nair
Directed by Hariharan
For its super dialogues and unmatching acting of Mammootty and unexpected performance of Captain Raju.
Cast Away with Tom Hanks.
Studio: ImageMovers, Playtone
Distributed by: USA/Canada
20th Century Fox International Distribution: DreamWorks
Release date(s): December 7, 2000
Running time: 143 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
This is an incredible, and primarily, solo performance by Tom Hanks. What would it be like to be stranded all alone on a deserted island? Mr. Hanks is very believable in his role, as are the conditions that lead him to be stranded there.
Drive (2011)
Country: United States/Language: English
Directed by Nicolas Winding Ref
Screenplay by Hossein Amini
Based on ‘Drive’ by James Sallis
Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks
Music by Cliff Martinez
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by Matthew Newman
One of the best films of 2011! Great cinematography of LA by Newton Thomas Sigel. A thrilling film that spins your heart every minute. Gosling was excellent in his role. He has come a long way since the early 2000s when he was just a TV actor in a kids show.
Nicolas Winding Ref has done an excellent job.