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In December 1995, Empire Magazine published their list of the 100 Greatest Films Ever Made.
At the time I thought it was pretty much spot on. I'm not sure I'd feel the same now. So, movie by movie, I'm going to be taking another look at that list...
At the time I thought it was pretty much spot on. I'm not sure I'd feel the same now. So, movie by movie, I'm going to be taking another look at that list...
I'll also be taking a look at what else was in the issue, including this extraordinary two-page ad in which JVC try to convince us to invest in Home Cinema to get the full experience from, yes that's right, Santa Claus: The Movie. It's like you're really at the North Pole!!
Anyway...
100. HIGHLANDER (1986)
There can be only one hundred! Once the blokey bloke's universal film of choice, but its stock has fallen dramatically since then, probably due to the woeful repeated attempts at flogging a franchise that didn't really warrant a franchise.
100. HIGHLANDER (1986)
There can be only one hundred! Once the blokey bloke's universal film of choice, but its stock has fallen dramatically since then, probably due to the woeful repeated attempts at flogging a franchise that didn't really warrant a franchise.
Highlander was really the last gasp of that early eighties back to basics sword and sorcery boom that gave us things like Robin Of Sherwood, Black Angel and Jessie Rae. Due to feeling I'd seen it all before, and not liking Queen, I have to confess I never really took to it.
99. THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)
Might not even feature at all now, due to both the passage of time and the reluctant acceptance that some aspects of it were deeply problematic, but we all identified with it to some degree back then and on that basis I'm surprised it's this low.
Might not even feature at all now, due to both the passage of time and the reluctant acceptance that some aspects of it were deeply problematic, but we all identified with it to some degree back then and on that basis I'm surprised it's this low.
Fairly sure I first saw The Breakfast Club on video, at one of the popular girls from school's birthday party. I enjoyed it immensely but hated some of the characters even then and never really felt that any of them represented me. Always felt more in common with Grange Hill.
98. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976)
A bit of a surprise to see this here as Westerns weren't exactly at peak popularity in the mid-nineties, very much seen as associated with your dad watching them letterboxed on BBC2 on a Bank Holiday afternoon, and hardly bigged up by Loaded.
A bit of a surprise to see this here as Westerns weren't exactly at peak popularity in the mid-nineties, very much seen as associated with your dad watching them letterboxed on BBC2 on a Bank Holiday afternoon, and hardly bigged up by Loaded.
Around this time, however, I weirdly got into going to see Westerns on a Sunday night at the local arthouse cinema. There was something about watching a Clint Eastwood film then getting the last bus home with the new week ahead that had a real sense of occasion.
97. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1989)
This definitely wouldn't make the list now. Everyone involved went on to do bigger and better and even 'Edward Scissorhands' itself is now just a way of referring to goths ahead of being recognised as a movie.
This definitely wouldn't make the list now. Everyone involved went on to do bigger and better and even 'Edward Scissorhands' itself is now just a way of referring to goths ahead of being recognised as a movie.
Edward Scissorhands was a little too twee fairytale - albeit dark - for me at the time. It came out over here mid-1991 and I preferred surrealist Brad Pitt vehicle Johnny Suede, which NOBODY remembers. Every woman I 'met' at University had an Edward Scissorhands poster though.
96. THE APARTMENT (1960)
It'll be interesting to see how many Golden Age movies find their way into this list as, like Westerns, they had sort of fallen from wider favour at this point. Certainly Empire was much more excited by early seventies gritty efforts as a rule.
It'll be interesting to see how many Golden Age movies find their way into this list as, like Westerns, they had sort of fallen from wider favour at this point. Certainly Empire was much more excited by early seventies gritty efforts as a rule.
I love The Apartment and, weirdly, once watched it on an online date. This was a good few years ago, pre-Zoom and Messenger/Skype video, before Netflix And Chill was even a thing, and I think we downloaded it from iTunes. Also apparently I was 'tipsy'. How did that even work?!
96. THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)
Took a while to reach its rightful status, this, so it's hardly surprising to see it so low down the list. Certainly in the UK it was very much something other people had rented on video and you hadn't seen. Now of course it fuels 80% of Twitter.
Took a while to reach its rightful status, this, so it's hardly surprising to see it so low down the list. Certainly in the UK it was very much something other people had rented on video and you hadn't seen. Now of course it fuels 80% of Twitter.
My favourite memory of The Princess Bride will always be persuading @EmmaBurnell_ - who had never seen it before - to watch it for the first time and watching her slowly start to crease up with laughter.
The big films when this issue came out, by the way, were The American President, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Murder In The First, Babe, The Santa Clause and the bafflingly overhyped Four Rooms. And The Indian In The Cupboard, with TV's Steve Coogan.
Empire, as ever, had other ideas, and devoted much of the issue to anime cyborg weird-out Ghost In The Shell and New York Irish romantic comedy The Brothers McMullen. As a reporter on student radio I once interviewed Edward Burns and Maxine Bahns about the latter.
94. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961)
Another that was possibly seeing its critical stock rise at that point, slowly moving from just being The Big Film on midweek television to greater recognition for its blend of romance, comedy and style. Mickey Rooney aside. Would be higher now.
Another that was possibly seeing its critical stock rise at that point, slowly moving from just being The Big Film on midweek television to greater recognition for its blend of romance, comedy and style. Mickey Rooney aside. Would be higher now.
I've been obsessed with Breakfast At Tiffany's since seeing the first three minutes before being sent to bed aged about six. It looks simply astonishing and the kiss in the rain is my favourite movie love scene of all time. It's hard to think of higher praise than that.
93. CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1990)
Suspect this wouldn't even make the list at all now. This was the very dawn of European cinema becoming a mainstream proposition and there was a lot of excitement about Gerard Depardieu, so maybe got a little more attention than it otherwise might.
Suspect this wouldn't even make the list at all now. This was the very dawn of European cinema becoming a mainstream proposition and there was a lot of excitement about Gerard Depardieu, so maybe got a little more attention than it otherwise might.
Even as a keen lover of French cinema, I was never really grabbed by this version of Cyrano De Bergerac. Maybe something obscured my view of it.
92. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
A movie that it's difficult to evaluate outside of its hefty and lofty 'classic' reputation, almost like you're being ordered to like it before you've seen it, but while it's not really my sort of film it unquestionably deserves all of the plaudits.
A movie that it's difficult to evaluate outside of its hefty and lofty 'classic' reputation, almost like you're being ordered to like it before you've seen it, but while it's not really my sort of film it unquestionably deserves all of the plaudits.
Way back in the mists of time, my parents went to see Doctor Zhivago and my father still idly hums Somewhere My Love to himself without realising he's doing it.
They also went to see And God Created Woman and, erm, Godzilla. These have been less often referenced.
They also went to see And God Created Woman and, erm, Godzilla. These have been less often referenced.
Mentioning Doctor Zhivago, however, has made me think of Julie Christie, and I've checked and no, Billy Liar is not on this list which is frankly a disgrace, especially when you see some of what's ahead. You can read about my love of Billy Liar here... https://timworthington.org/2019/11/30/or-do-you-get-paid-by-the-joke/
91. THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)
The first time that this kind of visceral violence had been so skilfully combined with drama, emotion, humour and historical detail. It's been superceded by many imitators and gets unfairly overlooked. Also De Palma hasn't been a git about Marvel
The first time that this kind of visceral violence had been so skilfully combined with drama, emotion, humour and historical detail. It's been superceded by many imitators and gets unfairly overlooked. Also De Palma hasn't been a git about Marvel
Astonishingly, there was a tie-in computer game for The Untouchables aimed at children. No, really. I had a chat with Phil Catterall ( @fil5000) about it in my podcast Looks Unfamiliar here. https://timworthington.org/2017/09/08/looks-unfamiliar-1-phil-catterall-here-is-pyramint-buy-pyramint/
Taking part in this issue's How Much Is A Pint Of Milk feature, Charlton Heston 'reveals' himself to be pompous, arrogant, thuggish, faintly misogynistic and afraid of spiders. I hope our eight-legged friends were reading.
90. THE THING (1982)
Slowly gained acceptance during the late eighties and early nineties, in a sure sign that there was more worth to be found in the murkier corners of cinema than critics had been previously prepared to accept. Something that Empire very much capitalised on.
Slowly gained acceptance during the late eighties and early nineties, in a sure sign that there was more worth to be found in the murkier corners of cinema than critics had been previously prepared to accept. Something that Empire very much capitalised on.
The Thing was more or less ignored on release and I can remember the plot details being shared - with unusual accuracy - as hot playground currency when it emerged on home video. Other similarly gabbled-about efforts did not quite achieve such critical standing.
89. GREASE (1978)
Always a shoo-in for the lower end of this kind of list, as it's a self-consciously trashy piece of fluff that has somehow outlived its original modish box office moment in spectacular style, which even anyone who hates it has to applaud. Critics included.
Always a shoo-in for the lower end of this kind of list, as it's a self-consciously trashy piece of fluff that has somehow outlived its original modish box office moment in spectacular style, which even anyone who hates it has to applaud. Critics included.
I am famously not a fan of Grease, but when you grow up in a large and predominantly female household, there's only so many repeat plays of Beauty School Dropout while you're trying to read the latest Spider-Woman that you can tolerate.
88. A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1985)
Another whose stock has fallen dramatically since this list was published. Exceptionally well made and acted but also the reason why were essentially finger-wagged at to like mostly ropey Merchant Ivory movies to 'save' the British Film Industry.
Another whose stock has fallen dramatically since this list was published. Exceptionally well made and acted but also the reason why were essentially finger-wagged at to like mostly ropey Merchant Ivory movies to 'save' the British Film Industry.
All I can really find to say about A Room With A View is just how good Helena Bonham Carter is in that now pretty much unrepeatable episode of Rik Mayall Presents. Also, apparently it wasn't available on video in 1995.
87. MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979)
Would almost certainly be higher now. Staggering to think that at the time it was still only just emerging from the taint of controversy that had dogged it for over a decade. It was as though even just mentioning the name was blasphemous.
Would almost certainly be higher now. Staggering to think that at the time it was still only just emerging from the taint of controversy that had dogged it for over a decade. It was as though even just mentioning the name was blasphemous.
I was an enormous Monty Python fan but had the script book and the album of Life Of Brian - both obtained surreptitiously - for years before I saw the actual film. I eventually rented it in 1990, with my father, and it still felt like we were breaking a serious taboo.
86. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
Something about the Noir inclusions feels a bit tokenistic here - and this was, shockingly, the first time Empire had covered this movie in any form - but at least they picked the right ones. I mean you can still see the influence of this even now.
Something about the Noir inclusions feels a bit tokenistic here - and this was, shockingly, the first time Empire had covered this movie in any form - but at least they picked the right ones. I mean you can still see the influence of this even now.
I took a fair few Women In Cinema/Literature etc modules as part of my ug degree, and have very fond memories of the lecturers frequently using Golden Age Hollywood movies to illustrate their points. A fascinating perspective you were hard pushed to find elsewhere back then.
85. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
At this point probably still low down due the after-effects of attempts to push it to the wrong audience on the back of Star Wars and E.T., and the water-muddying caused by the first 'Special Edition'. All a lot clearer now.
At this point probably still low down due the after-effects of attempts to push it to the wrong audience on the back of Star Wars and E.T., and the water-muddying caused by the first 'Special Edition'. All a lot clearer now.
In our house, however, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind will always be known as the film where the man ate all the salt and the dog had a tear in its eye. It's a long story.
84. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1995)
Bet this one's a bit less widely known now. Actually a decent film but it was lucky enough to catch both the tailwind of grunge and the last gasp of classy enigmatic vampire lore before Buffy brilliantly reinvented it. Timing is important.
Bet this one's a bit less widely known now. Actually a decent film but it was lucky enough to catch both the tailwind of grunge and the last gasp of classy enigmatic vampire lore before Buffy brilliantly reinvented it. Timing is important.
Shortly after Interview With The Vampire came out, I threw a movie-themed fancy dress party at University and seven people came as Lestat.
Inevitably, I was Harry Palmer.
Inevitably, I was Harry Palmer.
83. BEN HUR (1959)
An immovable milestone of cinema which had to be on the list somewhere, although to generations who weren't there at the time it's probably never been much more than that film that was always two thirds of the way through on Boxing Day.
An immovable milestone of cinema which had to be on the list somewhere, although to generations who weren't there at the time it's probably never been much more than that film that was always two thirds of the way through on Boxing Day.
I can't remember what subject this was for and why, but we were shown Ben Hur at school, in forty minute chunks across six lessons. It did not make as much of an impression on me as when they showed us West Side Story. Which, incredibly, isn't on this list.
82. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
A movie I would suspect a lot of younger generations at the time only really knew from dreadful sketch show parodies written by people who hadn't seen it either. An absolutely belting piece of work though.
A movie I would suspect a lot of younger generations at the time only really knew from dreadful sketch show parodies written by people who hadn't seen it either. An absolutely belting piece of work though.
There's one parody of The Maltese Falcon I will always stand up for, though - The Case Of The Maltese Parrot, one of the serials in Gerry Anderson's criminally overlooked private eye spoof Dick Spanner. I still get excited when I remember the omnibus editions from Christmas 1987.
81. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)
Still little more than a word-of-mouth cult movie at this point so it's a genuine thrill to see it here. I love this so much. David St. Hubbins' face when the Stonehenge prop is lowered onstage makes me laugh out loud every time I think about it.
Still little more than a word-of-mouth cult movie at this point so it's a genuine thrill to see it here. I love this so much. David St. Hubbins' face when the Stonehenge prop is lowered onstage makes me laugh out loud every time I think about it.
We had read loads about This Is Spinal Tap but had no way of seeing it - we tried to get it out from the video shop but the tape had gone missing(!) - until it was on BBC2 late on Christmas Eve 1990. Me and my sister laughed so much at Stonehenge we were told off the next day.
I was recently on the Simpsons and Modern History podcast @_Retrospecticus talking about Spinal Tap's return in 1992. I loved doing this and I hope you listen to and enjoy it. http://retrospecticus.org/2020/12/24/episode-57-the-betty-boothroyd-show/
Movie News in this issue: Rumoured film starring Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar, first Virgin cinema opens in Dublin, James Whale to host Best Cinema Ad awards, Tarantino making vampire movie, Jurassic Park 2, has Demi Moore worn wigs for some roles, Empire Magazine 'Goes On-Line'.
80. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1969)
More a collection of great moments than a great straight-through story movie, but it was being frequently cited as a huge influence by the new wave of 'auteur' directors (Tarantino, Scorsese et al) which probably explains its placing here.
More a collection of great moments than a great straight-through story movie, but it was being frequently cited as a huge influence by the new wave of 'auteur' directors (Tarantino, Scorsese et al) which probably explains its placing here.
Nowadays my main takeaway from Once Upon A Time In The West is that Charles Bronson *really* isn't playing that harmonica.
79. THE GRADUATE (1967)
Time has not been kind to some of the character dynamics but this remains a well made movie that really gives a sense of mid-sixties 'polite' America on a corner with the respectable rich in one direction and The Velvet Underground And Nico in the other.
Time has not been kind to some of the character dynamics but this remains a well made movie that really gives a sense of mid-sixties 'polite' America on a corner with the respectable rich in one direction and The Velvet Underground And Nico in the other.
It took me a long time to getting around to watching The Graduate due to my deep-seated antipathy towards Simon And Garfunkel, who always seemed far too tweedle-eedle to someone who idolised Tim Buckley and Love. I think a woman at university eventually twisted my arm.
78. DIRTY HARRY (1971)
A misrepresented film that deserves to be recognised for posing difficult questions and seriously dark humour rather than people misquoting "feeling lucky, punk"? One of the early beneficiaries of Special Edition VHS with extras which explains its placing.
A misrepresented film that deserves to be recognised for posing difficult questions and seriously dark humour rather than people misquoting "feeling lucky, punk"? One of the early beneficiaries of Special Edition VHS with extras which explains its placing.
Around this time I used to DJ at 'Lounge' nights a lot. I would always play the Dirty Harry main title theme as there was a point halfway through where the kids in Adidas gazelles and loud shirts would suddenly go *berserk*.
77. MEAN STREETS (1973)
This one really has fallen off the radar a bit, hasn't it? Again, that's what happens when you come first, and others build on what you've done, especially with more modern and indeed postmodern efforts. Harvey Keitel in particular is outstanding.
This one really has fallen off the radar a bit, hasn't it? Again, that's what happens when you come first, and others build on what you've done, especially with more modern and indeed postmodern efforts. Harvey Keitel in particular is outstanding.
Mean Streets is of course a taut thriller with dark and light humour, which responded obliquely to the global political atmosphere it was made in and gave traditionally one-dimensional characters depth and nuance. Which, in all honesty, makes it little different to Iron Man...
76. FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)
So much in this that for a wide range of reasons doesn't feel right now - and some of it didn't even feel right at the time - but how many movies can you think of where minor lines of dialogue have entered everyday conversation to this extent?
So much in this that for a wide range of reasons doesn't feel right now - and some of it didn't even feel right at the time - but how many movies can you think of where minor lines of dialogue have entered everyday conversation to this extent?
Ferris Bueller's Day Off got quite a few late-night showings on BBC1 in the late eighties/early nineties, which no doubt helped to cement its reputation. I suspect a lot of viewers, like me, had been turned away from the Classic Cinema on Allerton Road for not being old enough.
In honour of the release of Four Rooms - a movie that even the people who were in it don't remember - the issue includes a set of spoof reviews of cinematic hotels. It ranges from the inevitable Bates Motel to Hotel Earle from Barton Fink, and is a lot funnier than I expected.
75. GHOST (1990)
Good fun and Patrick Swayze is brilliant, but also one of those post-Levi's ad movies that turned a 'Classic Americana' pop record into a hit all over again and it was hard to tell which was keeping the other afloat. Not certain it would make the list now.
Good fun and Patrick Swayze is brilliant, but also one of those post-Levi's ad movies that turned a 'Classic Americana' pop record into a hit all over again and it was hard to tell which was keeping the other afloat. Not certain it would make the list now.
I went to see Ghost on a date with a girl from Youth Theatre. There was a priest behind us in the queue and, yes, he was going to see Ghost. I've always wondered what that was all about.
(Long-time Followers - that was Beats International T-Shirt Girl!)
(Long-time Followers - that was Beats International T-Shirt Girl!)
74. JFK (1991)
A movie that's almost longer than John Fitzgerald Kennedy's actual presidency, yet it's a relentlessly compelling spiral into one man's determination to work out what really happened. Sometimes searing, sometimes batshit, but never, ever boring.
A movie that's almost longer than John Fitzgerald Kennedy's actual presidency, yet it's a relentlessly compelling spiral into one man's determination to work out what really happened. Sometimes searing, sometimes batshit, but never, ever boring.
Having loved JFK and Jackie, I would like to see a film about how the assassination affected the rest of the world, specifically the UK. They say everyone can remember where they were when they heard the news. Brilliantly, my parents were just listening to the radio.
73. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
A splendidly creepy movie that stands apart from anything else it gets bracketed with and the fact it deals with eternal concerns in a historical setting with nods back to cinema's past should guarantee it a place on any such list.
A splendidly creepy movie that stands apart from anything else it gets bracketed with and the fact it deals with eternal concerns in a historical setting with nods back to cinema's past should guarantee it a place on any such list.
An English teacher at school, trying to base a lesson around the idea that classic movies had narratives the same as the boring books we were being made to read, went as pale as a sheet when I suggested The Night Of The Hunter. He'd been that frightened by it way back when.
72. JEAN DE FLORETTE (1986)
The first full-blown aaaaaahhhhh! inclusion on the list, where art is paramount over content and Late Show presenters ask "do you not see?" instead of explaining why they like it. I mean it's good, but it's not Big Trouble In Little China.
The first full-blown aaaaaahhhhh! inclusion on the list, where art is paramount over content and Late Show presenters ask "do you not see?" instead of explaining why they like it. I mean it's good, but it's not Big Trouble In Little China.
Jean De Florette might not quite be my thing, but it's important to say here just how *pivotal* European cinema, in all its forms, was for me. It felt like you were being allowed access to a different way and pace of life, with fine living and intelligent women. Yes I was Remain.
71. DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1988)
The problem with movies this refined, sophisticated and highbrow is that there's very little that you can actually find to *say* about them, other than to showed them with awards and then place them on lists like this.
The problem with movies this refined, sophisticated and highbrow is that there's very little that you can actually find to *say* about them, other than to showed them with awards and then place them on lists like this.
The really weird thing about Dangerous Liaisons is that, at least in the UK, the original release publicity attempted to tacitly suggest it was some kind of nudity ahoy steamy romp. Who did they think they were going to draw in with that, and why??
Empire was always good for giveaways, and in this issue there's a coupon to see a preview showing of Robert Rodriguez's Desperado. Next month, meanwhile, there's a free one-hour VHS tape of previews of movies due in 1996. I still have the giveaway tape of The Grifters somewhere.
Pilfered from eBay, here's that issue and tape!
79. MANHATTAN (1979)
For obvious reasons - and to do with elements of the plot in fact - it's unlikely that anyone would casually put this on a list of the Greatest Movies Ever Made now. It looks and sounds amazing and crackles with wit, but can you separate art and artist?
For obvious reasons - and to do with elements of the plot in fact - it's unlikely that anyone would casually put this on a list of the Greatest Movies Ever Made now. It looks and sounds amazing and crackles with wit, but can you separate art and artist?
Manhattan always makes me think of how there were two New Yorks you saw on screen back then - the affluent sophisticated one and the grimy, noisy, frightening one you saw in Taxi, early rap videos and Sesame Street inserts. That's quite damning when you look back at it.
69. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
Never a favourite of mine but even so I'm surprised to see it this low. It has literally everything a certain type of moviegoer - well, the majority of moviegoers - is looking for, and even if you're not a fan, it unarguably does them all brilliantly.
Never a favourite of mine but even so I'm surprised to see it this low. It has literally everything a certain type of moviegoer - well, the majority of moviegoers - is looking for, and even if you're not a fan, it unarguably does them all brilliantly.
If truth be told, as a youngster I infinitely preferred Return To Oz to The Wizard Of Oz. I seem to have been alone on this, as everyone else I have ever mentioned this to was traumatised by it.
68. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
A genuinely brilliant movie that now needs rescuing from being little more than a source for Donald Trump memes and being inextricably bound with the less good sequels ("The Complete Collection is now yours to own!" "But I-" - "YOURS TO OWN!").
A genuinely brilliant movie that now needs rescuing from being little more than a source for Donald Trump memes and being inextricably bound with the less good sequels ("The Complete Collection is now yours to own!" "But I-" - "YOURS TO OWN!").
Have you ever seen the ITV daytime edit of Back To The Future? They've excised some of Biff's gang's more dubious dialogue, with the effect of now making it look as though a car load of black men attack them for no good reason. Whoops...
67. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
Another Academy Award Winner That Time Forgot, but again, when a movie is this good on a straightforward level it's actually quite difficult to find very much to say about it. Perfect for the nineties the way The Man With No Name was for the sixties.
Another Academy Award Winner That Time Forgot, but again, when a movie is this good on a straightforward level it's actually quite difficult to find very much to say about it. Perfect for the nineties the way The Man With No Name was for the sixties.
One of the many reasons that I love The Wire is that Chris and Snoop reference Unforgiven in suitably bloodthirsty settings. It makes absolute sense that they would have seen and connected with that rather than 'classic' Westerns (which the police inevitably reference).
66. A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
Another that delivers so effectively that it's difficult to find a worthwhile angle on it. The fact that even people who probably haven't even *seen* it recognise "You can't handle the truth" is remarkable, though.
Another that delivers so effectively that it's difficult to find a worthwhile angle on it. The fact that even people who probably haven't even *seen* it recognise "You can't handle the truth" is remarkable, though.
Actually, one thing you definitely can say about A Few Good Men is that it had the good fortune to come along at the moment when arthouse and blockbuster started to nudge closer together. It almost certainly wasn't supposed to have arthouse leanings but it slotted in effectively.
Less well remembered movies reviewed in this issue include Kenneth Branagh's In The Deep Midwinter, bizarre Patrick Swayze weird-out Three Wishes, Vanessa Paradis in Elisa (which had an *extraordinary* soundtrack), and woeful West End smash adaptation Sister My Sister.
65. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946)
I'm always a little wary of celebrating wartime movies for very obvious reasons, but it's interesting how this abstract, fantastical example of the genre and the difficult questions it poses is never mentioned by the cement-heads...
I'm always a little wary of celebrating wartime movies for very obvious reasons, but it's interesting how this abstract, fantastical example of the genre and the difficult questions it poses is never mentioned by the cement-heads...
I do like A Matter Of Life And Death but my favourite Michael Powell film is, inevitably, Peeping Tom. Which, for some strange reason, isn't on this list...
64. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
It's hard not to see this as anything other than the film that took up entire Bank Holiday afternoons when you were hoping for Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, but equally it's easy to forget just how amazing it looks. The heat haze shots in particular.
It's hard not to see this as anything other than the film that took up entire Bank Holiday afternoons when you were hoping for Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, but equally it's easy to forget just how amazing it looks. The heat haze shots in particular.
With Lawrence Of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, Omar Sharif really does make an impressive showing on this list. Almost as if there might have been more to him than playing Bridge.
Though no sign of The Parole Officer, sadly.
Though no sign of The Parole Officer, sadly.
63. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
It's difficult to think of a more powerful and compelling movie and it's equally difficult to believe it barely clocks in at much more than an hour and a half. Every HBO series that everyone tells you invented blah ultimately has its roots in this.
It's difficult to think of a more powerful and compelling movie and it's equally difficult to believe it barely clocks in at much more than an hour and a half. Every HBO series that everyone tells you invented blah ultimately has its roots in this.
If you grew up in the eighties, it could be hard to see why Marlon Brando was so revered. You only ever saw him looking shambolic in dreadful films and On The Waterfront and The Wild One were always on too late to watch. Lists like this saved his reputation.
62. SPEED (1994)
It's hard to shake the suspicion that the extremely recent release date may have had some bearing here, except for the fact that this remains one of the most dynamic - and most widely and heavily referenced - movies ever. The bus jumping the gap!
It's hard to shake the suspicion that the extremely recent release date may have had some bearing here, except for the fact that this remains one of the most dynamic - and most widely and heavily referenced - movies ever. The bus jumping the gap!
I'll always associate Speed and other similar blockbusters of a similar vintage with Student Unions putting on rowdy Movie Nights, cued in from a VHS and accompanied by ridiculous alcohol - oh alright alcopop - promotions. A simpler pleasure now completely lost to time.
61. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
A simple story told in thrillingly complex terms, with its strength building almost entirely from the fact that you learn almost nothing about the jurors that isn't directly related to their position on the verdict. What happens in that room *matters*.
A simple story told in thrillingly complex terms, with its strength building almost entirely from the fact that you learn almost nothing about the jurors that isn't directly related to their position on the verdict. What happens in that room *matters*.
It's easy to forget that the Hancock's Half Hour episode Twelve Angry Men is actually a direct and contemporary parody of 12 Angry Men, as it's so successful in dragging the setting into Tony Hancock's world. One of the funniest half hours of television comedy ever.
This issue's Q&A page features an explanation of what IMAX is and how it works, the relative costs of filming in black and white and colour, and some nitpicking about discrepancies between the various versions of Star Wars available on VHS. If only they knew what was coming...
60. REAR WINDOW (1954)
The first Hitchcock on the list, and let's face it, it's not going to be the last. Given that even the pastiche of it in The Simpsons was nailbiting, this is a movie that really does warrant his 'Master Of Suspense' tag.
The first Hitchcock on the list, and let's face it, it's not going to be the last. Given that even the pastiche of it in The Simpsons was nailbiting, this is a movie that really does warrant his 'Master Of Suspense' tag.
I will confess here that for a long time, having only really seen Frenzy (and for a long time only the opening minutes of it) and Psycho, I had a very wrong impression of Hitchcock and found some of his other films a bit... lacking. It was when I saw Rear Window that I 'got' it.
59. SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
Visually stunning and a huge structural influence on pretty much every action film that's followed, but it's also quite sobering to realise that a couple of years later, Enter The Dragon would have been on this list. In 1995, it still just wasn't 'art'.
Visually stunning and a huge structural influence on pretty much every action film that's followed, but it's also quite sobering to realise that a couple of years later, Enter The Dragon would have been on this list. In 1995, it still just wasn't 'art'.
I mentioned how good the Tony Hancock parody of 12 Angry Men is, but have you ever seen The Seven Steptoerai, in which Albert and some stuntmen dressed as old geezers learn Kung Fu from Bruce Lee movies and fight off some gangsters menacing the junkyard? It's real, honest.
58. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
More cynical moviegoers might say it was all effects and heartstring-tugging, made even more problematic still by Michael Jackson's unfathomable fixation with the stranded alien, but anything that massive must have got *something* right.
More cynical moviegoers might say it was all effects and heartstring-tugging, made even more problematic still by Michael Jackson's unfathomable fixation with the stranded alien, but anything that massive must have got *something* right.
I am now unable to ever see E.T. without thinking of @benbakerbooks' revelation - outlined in this Looks Unfamiliar Special - that he was too frightened to watch it as a child as he thought it was about a man who exploded and went inside out... https://timworthington.org/2018/10/31/looks-unfamiliar-halloween-extra-last-play-school-house-on-the-left/
57. THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)
Seems to divide people a lot more these days, but its stock had steadily risen during the eighties and rightly so. It's one of the most expertly paced comedy movies of all time and we could have done with more Aykroyd and Belushi vehicles.
Seems to divide people a lot more these days, but its stock had steadily risen during the eighties and rightly so. It's one of the most expertly paced comedy movies of all time and we could have done with more Aykroyd and Belushi vehicles.
It's odd to think of now but there genuinely was a time when Eveybody Needs Somebody To Love was well known to lots of people who hadn't even seen The Blues Brothers. In fact sometimes they'd know it was 'from' it without knowing what it was. A big favourite at Wedding Discos etc
56. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
It's interesting that there haven't really been any films on this list yet that are predicated on joy and high spirits from start to finish, but that's what this is. A movie that sets out to give you, well, a glorious feeling, and it succeeds.
It's interesting that there haven't really been any films on this list yet that are predicated on joy and high spirits from start to finish, but that's what this is. A movie that sets out to give you, well, a glorious feeling, and it succeeds.
Like all big joyful razzle-dazzle musicals, however, Singin' In The Rain always makes me think of Showbusiness - I Love It!, the highlight of this astonishingly good Radio Times parody a fourteen year old @charltonbrooker wrote for Oink!...
In a two-page special, this issue's Where Are They Now? tracks down the Von Trapp children from The Sound Of Music - including TV's Spider-Man Nicholas Hammond - and director Robert Wise, then in his eighties but full of admiration for modern blockbusters. What an example.
55. ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)
Let's be honest about this - before you've actually seen this it can feel impossibly daunting. More like extra homework than a movie. Yes it's brilliant, but putting it on this kind of a list is "I've SEEN IT!" grandstanding.
Let's be honest about this - before you've actually seen this it can feel impossibly daunting. More like extra homework than a movie. Yes it's brilliant, but putting it on this kind of a list is "I've SEEN IT!" grandstanding.
For a movie this serious, complicated and heavyweight, it's infinitely amusing to remember that it's been entirely undermined beyond highbrowness by Adam And Joe doing silly dances and making dreadful puns in the Bobby De Niro song.
54. WITNESS (1985)
Never a movie I've ever much been taken by, I have to be honest. Harrison Ford is always good and it won pretty much every award under the sun at the time, but when was the last time you heard anyone even mention it? It was even difficult to find a GIF.
Never a movie I've ever much been taken by, I have to be honest. Harrison Ford is always good and it won pretty much every award under the sun at the time, but when was the last time you heard anyone even mention it? It was even difficult to find a GIF.
Witness did, however, inspire the hilarious 1982 Amish sketch in Fist Of Fun, complete with @Herring1967's strict rules regarding the theological validity of Galaxians, so I'll always be grateful to it for that.
53. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1995)
This movie had barely been out for six months by the time it made it halfway up this list. Given how frequently it still gets referenced on social media, it would probably be placed even higher now.
This movie had barely been out for six months by the time it made it halfway up this list. Given how frequently it still gets referenced on social media, it would probably be placed even higher now.
At the time I'll admit I was a little resentful of The Shawshank Redemption as it seemed to get the attention that I felt The Hudsucker Proxy - a contemporaneous Coen Brothers movie starring Tim Robbins - should have got. Now of course I love both, but wish more people KNEW both.
52. SPARTACUS (1960)
One of those movies that you more or less get told that you like long before you ever actually get to see it, but Kirk Douglas is so good that you think of him before you think of it as a Kubrick film. That's no mean feat.
One of those movies that you more or less get told that you like long before you ever actually get to see it, but Kirk Douglas is so good that you think of him before you think of it as a Kubrick film. That's no mean feat.
Unfortunately, I've never been able to take Spartacus as seriously as I should do, owing to my tendency to refer to Kirk Douglas as 'Irk Ouglas' (alongside 'Urt Ancaster') thanks to some spoof credits in Monty Python's Flying Circus.
51. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
It was more unusual to see movies this deliberately offbeat and angular feted like this back then, but how could anyone deny how pretty much nigh on perfect it is? A straight line from this to The Prisoner if you ask me too.
It was more unusual to see movies this deliberately offbeat and angular feted like this back then, but how could anyone deny how pretty much nigh on perfect it is? A straight line from this to The Prisoner if you ask me too.
The first that I really knew about The Third Man was hearing The Harry Lime Theme on the splendid BBC Detective Themes, representing the now almost entirely overlooked spinoff television series. It sounded sinister and poking fun at itself both at the same time, like the movie.
50. BRAZIL (1984)
Deserves to be right near the top of this list not just for being an extraordinary movie but for the extraordinary story of its production. The history of cinema is littered with directors tinkering with films and making them worse, but Gilliam was *right*.
Deserves to be right near the top of this list not just for being an extraordinary movie but for the extraordinary story of its production. The history of cinema is littered with directors tinkering with films and making them worse, but Gilliam was *right*.
I've credited it as 1984 rather than 1985 because that's when Gilliam's proper original cut of Brazil should have come out. In all honesty, postponement on a whim over concerns that it spread too negative a message could not have happened to a more appropriate movie.
49. ALIEN (1979)
It may be the subject of deserved critical reverence now, but back in 1979, Alien was a film about space that was so scary you weren't allowed to see it, but you were still all too aware of it. It's that powerful, and that's why it's on this list.
It may be the subject of deserved critical reverence now, but back in 1979, Alien was a film about space that was so scary you weren't allowed to see it, but you were still all too aware of it. It's that powerful, and that's why it's on this list.
For a long time nobody believed me about this but a boy down the road had a toy of The Alien, which gnashed its teeth when you pressed a button. He was terrified of it and reportedly would not sleep with it in his bedroom. I was insanely, insanely jealous.
Global Village, the Empire section that looked at 'Independent, Foreign, Arthouse...', focuses this issue on Murder In The First, Angels And Insects and The Brothers McMullen. They really went in to bat for the last one, so it's weird it's now so forgotten.
Note To Self: Next time you're the guest on your own podcast, pick The Brothers McMullen. After all, you've already had The Young Poisoner's Handbook... https://timworthington.org/2019/10/10/looks-unfamiliar-50-tim-worthington-that-perfect-collision-of-time-place-and-loud-ties/
48. THE PIANO (1993)
Another that's largely fallen off the radar these days; this was, after all, right in the thick of its success as a low-key independent movie cleaning up at The Oscars and Anna Paquin crying when she got her award. Maybe it got a bit overexposed?
Another that's largely fallen off the radar these days; this was, after all, right in the thick of its success as a low-key independent movie cleaning up at The Oscars and Anna Paquin crying when she got her award. Maybe it got a bit overexposed?
The soundtrack from The Piano was ubiquitous at the time, particularly in student houses, and then a charity shop staple. It was after all an era when a lot of people were trying to prove they were 'cleverer' than anyone who liked Blur and Oasis. This Is A Low might want a word.
47. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
Remarkable to think that only a couple of years earlier this would probably have been considered a 'Video Nasty', yet it made a global icon out of a serial killer. Was it how skilfully it was done or were times changing?
Remarkable to think that only a couple of years earlier this would probably have been considered a 'Video Nasty', yet it made a global icon out of a serial killer. Was it how skilfully it was done or were times changing?
At the time, I developed a weird teenage intellectual high horse thing about The Silence Of The Lambs being too glossy and trivialising its subject matter and made a big deal about going to see Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer instead. I still think that has more to 'say'.
46. BLUE VELVET (1986)
Had mass walkouts and audience members demanding refunds on its original release, but it was rediscovered in the wake of Twin Peaks and it's probably still riding that wave of belated interest here. Very weird film for this list but a very welcome one.
Had mass walkouts and audience members demanding refunds on its original release, but it was rediscovered in the wake of Twin Peaks and it's probably still riding that wave of belated interest here. Very weird film for this list but a very welcome one.
The downside to Blue Velvet's rediscovery was that it somehow by association* propelled Bobby Vinton's never-interesting song of the same name back into the UK charts.
*Goodfellas hadn't been released in the UK when it charted. And *nobody* bought it because of a Nivea ad.
*Goodfellas hadn't been released in the UK when it charted. And *nobody* bought it because of a Nivea ad.
Non-cinematic stuff advertised in this issue includes Island Records' latest big albums (PJ Harvey!), Kahlua, Seiko Kinetic, Canadian Club whisky, Nintendo Ultra 64 and the Olivetti Envision CD-Rom Player. Not exactly aiming low there.
No wonder I had no money.
No wonder I had no money.
45. PLATOON (1986)
It's difficult for a certain generation to separate this - and Full Metal Jacket - from the nauseating late eighties Vietnam fetishisation, but the BBFC insisted on passing it uncut for the UK when theoretically it should have been. That's a mark of quality.
It's difficult for a certain generation to separate this - and Full Metal Jacket - from the nauseating late eighties Vietnam fetishisation, but the BBFC insisted on passing it uncut for the UK when theoretically it should have been. That's a mark of quality.
I had the Platoon game for the ZX Spectrum. It came with a second cassette containing Tracks Of My Tears by Smokey Robinson And The Miracles and nothing else, and in all honesty I think I played that more than I ever actually played the game.
44. STAND BY ME (1986)
For a long time it was difficult to see this for the movie it actually is due to Stephen King didacts, River Phoenix obsessives, and the nauseating "you like vintage Americana best" way it was promoted. It was just starting to escape that around now.
For a long time it was difficult to see this for the movie it actually is due to Stephen King didacts, River Phoenix obsessives, and the nauseating "you like vintage Americana best" way it was promoted. It was just starting to escape that around now.
No disrespect to Stand By Me the song itself, but it marked the moment at which the Now That's What I Call Music compilations, well, jumped the shark. They were never supposed to have revived 'Golden Oldies' on them, and after this they did as a matter of course.
43. JURASSIC PARK (1993)
Another that had barely been out for three minutes at the time this list was compiled, but it still delivers the exact same jolts it did back then and the effects have barely dated at all. It became a universal reference point straight away and still is.
Another that had barely been out for three minutes at the time this list was compiled, but it still delivers the exact same jolts it did back then and the effects have barely dated at all. It became a universal reference point straight away and still is.
Whenever anyone starts on with that boring new tendency to complain about cinema audiences sitting there in anything other than reverent silence, I always think of the shrieks and gasps that ricocheted around the screen when I went to see Jurassic Park. So much more fun.
42. FORREST GUMP (1994)
Really, really not certain this one would be on the list now, nor indeed that it should have been even at the time. You do need something more than a string of quotable lines in there somewhere.
Really, really not certain this one would be on the list now, nor indeed that it should have been even at the time. You do need something more than a string of quotable lines in there somewhere.
I went to see Forrest Gump with my sister when we were all back from University etc over Christmas that year. When we got home, another sister took one look at our faces and said "OK, I won't go to see it then".
42. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
Pleasantly surprising to see this on the list - at the time, the movie world had moved on to belatedly celebrating some of its darker and more violent contemporaries, and it felt a bit of a 'safe' choice that nobody got excited over.
Pleasantly surprising to see this on the list - at the time, the movie world had moved on to belatedly celebrating some of its darker and more violent contemporaries, and it felt a bit of a 'safe' choice that nobody got excited over.
My first exposure to anything related to Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid was via this, which led to me cultivating an irrational hatred of The Guy Whose Feet Are Too Big For His Bed.
Ironically I grew up to have feet that literally are too big for my bed.
Ironically I grew up to have feet that literally are too big for my bed.
Also, having a Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid poster on your living room wall is the hallmark of an excellent person...
If you actually like Forrest Gump, by the way, there's a full page advert in this issue for the Video CD release of it, spread across two discs. £19.99!!
40. WITHNAIL AND I (1987)
Difficult to credit it now but this was received with a wave of "what are Handmade Films playing at *now*???", and was little more than a cult favourite for many years. Empire hadn't even reviewed it until this issue.
Difficult to credit it now but this was received with a wave of "what are Handmade Films playing at *now*???", and was little more than a cult favourite for many years. Empire hadn't even reviewed it until this issue.
If you want something emblematic of just how off the radar Withnail And I was at that point, there's a track on Going Blank Again by Ride that opens with a dialogue clip, and I remember feeling surprised and thrilled that my favourite band had actually heard of it.
39. CINEMA PARADISO (1988)
A masterpiece but I'd wager most Empire readers hadn't actually seen it at that point. In fact it may not even have had a full cinema release until much later and had probably been on television first. This is very much cineastes fighting their corner.
A masterpiece but I'd wager most Empire readers hadn't actually seen it at that point. In fact it may not even have had a full cinema release until much later and had probably been on television first. This is very much cineastes fighting their corner.
Cinema Paradiso always gives me happy memories of that suspiciously underbrowsed World Cinema section in HMV, full of mysterious arty and subtitled BFI/Redemption/Second Sight tapes with tantalising titles that were just that bit too overpriced to take a chance on...
38. FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (1994)
Sort of sidelined now due to the pathos-heavy Richard Curtis efforts that have followed in its wake, but it's easy to forget just what an impact this had at the time. It made Elizabeth Hurley into a star and she wasn't even in it.
Sort of sidelined now due to the pathos-heavy Richard Curtis efforts that have followed in its wake, but it's easy to forget just what an impact this had at the time. It made Elizabeth Hurley into a star and she wasn't even in it.
I remember really enjoying Four Weddings And A Funeral when I went to see it, but I also always think of how much Chris Morris - who was a Radio 1 DJ at the time - *hated* it, and how entertaining his swipes at it were. Especially Emma Freud learning Love Is All Aroundon guitar.
As much as I like Four Weddings And A Funeral, I actually prefer Richard Curtis' little seen movie from a couple of years before that, Bernard And The Genie. Here's a chat I had with @benbakerbooks about it... https://timworthington.org/2020/12/24/looks-unfamiliar-selection-box-the-idea-of-an-annual-eric-idle-christmas-special/
37. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
The highest placed Western on the list, and deservedly so. Even anyone who doesn't particularly like the genre can enjoy it. It's pretty much got everything.
The highest placed Western on the list, and deservedly so. Even anyone who doesn't particularly like the genre can enjoy it. It's pretty much got everything.
In all honesty, my love of sixties movie soundtracks can probably be traced back to a chance hearing of the theme from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly as used in a school play when I was about seven. I *had* to know and understand what this weird, epic piece of music was.
36. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
Cultural impact aside, you'll probably find more people who actually prefer this to Star Wars itself these days. Which is coming up, though Return Of The Jedi isn't. Had the boring sneering at the Ewoks set in so deeply already?
Cultural impact aside, you'll probably find more people who actually prefer this to Star Wars itself these days. Which is coming up, though Return Of The Jedi isn't. Had the boring sneering at the Ewoks set in so deeply already?
The Empire Strikes Back was actually the first Star Wars movie I saw, though I already knew the plot of the first one inside out through toys, books games, the radio serial, Chad Valley projector slides, excited retellings from older relatives...
Many years later, I went to the Secret Cinema presentation of The Empire Strikes Back, and while there's a lot of sneering at these sort of events, walking into a full scale recreation of Tatooine and being drawn into a game of cards with Lando and some Jawas was mindblowing.
In this issue there's also a video review page for 'TV, Comedy And Music', looking at The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge, Divine Madness, Bon Jovi Live In London, Jenny Eclair: Top Bitch, Wallace And Grommit In A Close Shave and The Compleat Beatles. Which they give three stars.
35. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989)
It's difficult to think of many more movies that have had that immediate an impact without being actual blockbusters or historical dramas. It became universally known shorthand almost straight away, and deservedly remains so.
It's difficult to think of many more movies that have had that immediate an impact without being actual blockbusters or historical dramas. It became universally known shorthand almost straight away, and deservedly remains so.
I can't actually remember who I went to see When Harry Met Sally with, but I do remember that two kids from the year below at school were in front of me in the queue, and were turned away for being too young. The glowers they gave me were *epic*.
While I remember, here's a quick plug for the excellent episode of @BetamaxPod with @EmmaBurnell_ on When Harry Met Sally. https://betamax.podbean.com/e/whenharrymetsally/
34. DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989)
Not entirely sure this is as well regarded now, despite its brilliance. It's sort of become a movie that's just *there*, that everyone knows is good but never actually thinks about, and that's an enormous shame. It's more than just a meme.
Not entirely sure this is as well regarded now, despite its brilliance. It's sort of become a movie that's just *there*, that everyone knows is good but never actually thinks about, and that's an enormous shame. It's more than just a meme.
Someone I know went to see Dead Poets Society at the cinema late in 1989, and came out to be repeatedly told by complete strangers that the Eastern Bloc had started collapsing while he was watching a film. We would probably consider that a slow news day now...
33. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991)
It's hard to convey the impact that this had at the time, but the fact that it's considered the definitive Terminator movie despite the already brilliant first one should do it. It was like punk rock had smashed into a hi-tech blockbuster.
It's hard to convey the impact that this had at the time, but the fact that it's considered the definitive Terminator movie despite the already brilliant first one should do it. It was like punk rock had smashed into a hi-tech blockbuster.
Shortly after Terminator 2: Judgement Day came out, I was collared by an aspirant screenwriter about his brilliant idea for a film about a robot that was sent back in time to kill someone. It was *exactly* like the Billy And The Cloneasaurus bit in The Simpsons.
32. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
Surprising to see this here as John Wayne was kind of considered a bit old hat at that point. Not like that weird attempt to retrospectively 'cancel' him a while back, just that his movies like so many others of that era were viewed as being just *there*
Surprising to see this here as John Wayne was kind of considered a bit old hat at that point. Not like that weird attempt to retrospectively 'cancel' him a while back, just that his movies like so many others of that era were viewed as being just *there*
My favourite detail about The Searchers is that it was shot in the short-lived format VistaVision. As a youngster, I would often watch just the opening titles of movies on television to see these amazing names and wonder what they were and how they worked.
31. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
A masterpiece, but one that it was difficult to view on its own terms if you were outside the original target audience, as you were essentially told "YER LIKE THIS" again and again by cineastes on the one hand and 'hard' kids in school on the other.
A masterpiece, but one that it was difficult to view on its own terms if you were outside the original target audience, as you were essentially told "YER LIKE THIS" again and again by cineastes on the one hand and 'hard' kids in school on the other.
I have my own struggle with The Deer Hunter, as I can never watch it without thinking about Cavatina also being used as the The Gallery music on Take Hart. I keep expecting Christopher Walken to refer wistfully off camera to "our old friend pastel".
30. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
Astonishing that it's this low down, frankly. Absolutely not a frame, line, character, design, sound or even *silence* wasted, yet at its core it's still an exciting space movie anyone can enjoy. An example few have heeded.
Astonishing that it's this low down, frankly. Absolutely not a frame, line, character, design, sound or even *silence* wasted, yet at its core it's still an exciting space movie anyone can enjoy. An example few have heeded.
2001: A Space Odyssey is a very unusual movie in that it's likely that a lot of people will have seen its component parts via references and parodies long before they actually see the movie itself. I didn't see it on the big screen until relatively recently. Mind slightly blown.
After all, television showings of 2001: A Space Odyssey weren't always everything that they should have been... and you can hear more about one spectacularly misjudged BBC showing in this. https://timworthington.org/2019/10/31/looks-unfamiliar-53-richard-littler-this-is-all-that-is-left-of-a-wall/
The newly launched Multimedia review section in this issue is dominated by a look at Microsoft Cinemania '96, which serves as a reminder both of how exciting it felt at the time and how rapidly it became obsolete. Also featured: Charlton Heston's Voyage Through The Bible...
..an early Star Wars fan site, the promo web pages for The Indian In The Cupboard and Living In Oblivion, The Miramax Cafe - I was addicted to that - and Tekken and Striker '96 for the PlayStation. Staggering that there was so little movie content on the web back then.
29. THELMA AND LOUISE (1991)
If anything, this movie's stock has probably risen since this list was published. Back then it was still surfing the wave - or jumping the canyon - of being a big hit. Now it's widely and deservedly recognised as so much more than that.
If anything, this movie's stock has probably risen since this list was published. Back then it was still surfing the wave - or jumping the canyon - of being a big hit. Now it's widely and deservedly recognised as so much more than that.
I went to see Thelma And Louise with the Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl from school, both of whom I fancied - this was not reciprocated - and the main thing I knew about it beforehand was that Belinda Carlisle did the theme song. Don't dock me too many feminist points please.
28. PSYCHO (1960)
At the time, it was sometimes difficult to see this feted while other movies of equal ferocity and quality - from The Exorcist to Reservoir Dogs - weren't even allowed out on video. Hitchcock's Get Out Of Jail Free Card was a sore point for that reason.
At the time, it was sometimes difficult to see this feted while other movies of equal ferocity and quality - from The Exorcist to Reservoir Dogs - weren't even allowed out on video. Hitchcock's Get Out Of Jail Free Card was a sore point for that reason.
It's always interesting to consider that on its original release, Psycho was more of a pop culture sensation than a 'masterpiece', inspiring everything from cheap and nasty UK knock-off with the same composer Twisted Nerve to this jaw-dropping single...
27. LEON (1995)
This definitely would not make the list now. Very much a case of shock of the new. It was a well-deserved sensation at the time, and has weathered better than many of its contemporaries, but when was the last time you even heard anyone mention it?
This definitely would not make the list now. Very much a case of shock of the new. It was a well-deserved sensation at the time, and has weathered better than many of its contemporaries, but when was the last time you even heard anyone mention it?
If you were a student in 1995, it was impossible to move for Leon posters. Or Leon adverts cut out of magazines to act as cut-price posters. There's even one - albeit obscured - in this photo of the kitchen of an entirely random student house...
26. THE TERMINATOR (1984)
Surprising to see this was still considered superior to Terminator 2: Judgement Day - admittedly a close thing - but it also serves of a reminder of just how significant the original was. It was a movie the 'respectable' tried to ignore and couldn't.
Surprising to see this was still considered superior to Terminator 2: Judgement Day - admittedly a close thing - but it also serves of a reminder of just how significant the original was. It was a movie the 'respectable' tried to ignore and couldn't.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was a huge hero to us growing up - the bad acting jokes meant nothing in our house, he was simply the guy who was awesome in all these awesome movies - and I was briefly treated like a god for illicitly taping this from a television showing. It didn't last.
25. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
Updating old-fashioned adventure movies for modern youngsters instead of just pointing at the old-fashioned ones and tutting at them to like them was an ingenious move and it's no wonder this connected so effectively. Still tremendous.
Updating old-fashioned adventure movies for modern youngsters instead of just pointing at the old-fashioned ones and tutting at them to like them was an ingenious move and it's no wonder this connected so effectively. Still tremendous.
In fact, one of the main problems with every Indiana Jones movie post-Temple Of Doom is ironically that they began to trade in nostalgia for the first two movies. A self-reflexive logic bomb that works for precisely nobody.
I first heard of Raiders Of The Lost Ark in an interview with George Lucas on Children's ITV movie news show Clapperboard. It was in post-production and he talked about how he'd put the concept 'on the shelf' when Star Wars took off. I really thought he had an actual Ideas Shelf.
24. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
Is it contentious to say that despite it being a movie of enormous quality and importance whether it's to your tastes or not, there's also a vicious circle tied up with the 'Best Film Ever - No Arguments' manner in which it is aggressively promoted?
Is it contentious to say that despite it being a movie of enormous quality and importance whether it's to your tastes or not, there's also a vicious circle tied up with the 'Best Film Ever - No Arguments' manner in which it is aggressively promoted?
I can recall being genuinely bewildered by the news blitz that heralded the first ever television showing of Gone With The Wind in the eighties. It didn't seem to have nearly enough robots punching each other.
23. FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)
That rarest of movies - one that has a permanent position high up in lists like this, and deserves it, yet without either critics or audiences getting *that* excited about it. It's almost as if, well, they built it and they did come.
That rarest of movies - one that has a permanent position high up in lists like this, and deserves it, yet without either critics or audiences getting *that* excited about it. It's almost as if, well, they built it and they did come.
Shortly after Field Of Dreams came out, at a neighbour's New Year's Eve party, in the time-honoured 'younger ones room', a girl from down the street who didn't mix that often was going on a about how much she loved it while we were all trying to watch BBC2 pop bonanza Eighties.
21. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
Amusing to see that even then, everyone was already treating the third part of the 'Trilogy' as, well, much the same as they would Back To The Future Part III. The movie series that started Box Set Culture, and that's not entirely a good thing.
Amusing to see that even then, everyone was already treating the third part of the 'Trilogy' as, well, much the same as they would Back To The Future Part III. The movie series that started Box Set Culture, and that's not entirely a good thing.
Oddity, around the time that this list came out, you would barely hear the student population mention The Godfather Part II despite the huge influence the series had on so many newer movies they worshipped. Maybe the box sets were just too expensive?
21. ANNIE HALL (1977)
One of the most acclaimed movies ever made, and one that - with the majority of storyline and screentime dominated by the title character - seems to have weathered certain 'issues' more securely than the director's other works.
One of the most acclaimed movies ever made, and one that - with the majority of storyline and screentime dominated by the title character - seems to have weathered certain 'issues' more securely than the director's other works.
Like many, my first exposure to Annie Hall was via Polly's attempt to distract guests with the "lah-di-dah!" impression in Fawlty Towers. I have to say her hilarious 'recommendation' actually put me off the idea of watching it for a while.
20. GOODFELLAS (1990)
This went almost overnight into the upper reaches of best movie lists - it would be higher now - and deservedly so. It's got humour, horror, emotion, drama, the lot, and it doesn't waste a second. A little like, erm, a Marvel movie.
This went almost overnight into the upper reaches of best movie lists - it would be higher now - and deservedly so. It's got humour, horror, emotion, drama, the lot, and it doesn't waste a second. A little like, erm, a Marvel movie.
The worst thing about Goodfellas was the week after it came out, school was full of boys affecting bad Sicilian accents and attempt to 'swagger'. Days later, they were all saying "Now I do not BE-LIEVE you wanted to do that!!!". Proper wiseguys.
The Soundtracks review page in this issue is ALL orchestral readings of very old scores with a kicking for Goldeneye at the end. That's it. Seriously. It's difficult to read for entertainment and odd when you consider how more accessible soundtracks were selling at the time.
There's also a boxout with recommendations for 'pop picks' of 1995, including Radiohead, Passengers, Chemical Brothers and - yawn - Oasis, with a mention of 1. Outside by David Bowie that concludes "it's like Tin Machine never happened". Um...?
19. DIE HARD (1988)
We're about to take a sharp diversion away from fun as the top ten looms, but what a way to go out. At the height of a decade of MPs and other meddlesome ignoramuses railing against 'violent' action movies, along comes one that satisfies on every level.
We're about to take a sharp diversion away from fun as the top ten looms, but what a way to go out. At the height of a decade of MPs and other meddlesome ignoramuses railing against 'violent' action movies, along comes one that satisfies on every level.
It's never really remarked on what a gamble casting Bruce Willis in Die Hard was. At the time he was known for Moonlighting, light AOR hits, that episode of New Twilight Zone where he phoned himself and flop rock spoof The Return Of Bruno. He didn't seem like an action hero.
Anyway, never mind the Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie? debate, we now have to consider whether it's a Time Travel Movie, thanks to a more recent hit that is every bit Die Hard's equal... as you can hear me and @benbakerbooks discussing here. https://timworthington.org/2021/01/13/its-good-except-it-sucks-avengers-endgame/
18. TRUE ROMANCE (1993)
The one nobody really remembers from the initial outbreak of Tarantino-mania, and I doubt it would be ranked this highly nowadays. I remember enjoying it but thinking even on first viewing it didn't feel like it particularly invited rewatching.
The one nobody really remembers from the initial outbreak of Tarantino-mania, and I doubt it would be ranked this highly nowadays. I remember enjoying it but thinking even on first viewing it didn't feel like it particularly invited rewatching.
Staggering to think now that True Romance was effectively banned on home video for almost two years while they tried to work out how to edit THAT fight scene. I recall student parties where bootleg screenings were the main attraction. It's not even mentioned on Wikipedia now.
17. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
Until aound this time murky seventies movies were still seen as 'undesirable' despite wowing critics, and Taxi Driver of course had inspired real life violence, so it had sort of been one step up from a Video Nasty. Quality wins out eventually.
Until aound this time murky seventies movies were still seen as 'undesirable' despite wowing critics, and Taxi Driver of course had inspired real life violence, so it had sort of been one step up from a Video Nasty. Quality wins out eventually.
The first time I saw Taxi Driver, I didn't even realise it *was* Taxi Driver. I mistakenly thought it was an episode of Cagney And Lacey, and was wondering why the bits between Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly's scenes were going on so long.
16. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
Utterly baffled as to why this is universally accepted as one of the best films ever made without argument. It's one of the most fascinating, yes, but that fascination stems from the fact that it's falling apart at the seams. Compellingly, but even so.
Utterly baffled as to why this is universally accepted as one of the best films ever made without argument. It's one of the most fascinating, yes, but that fascination stems from the fact that it's falling apart at the seams. Compellingly, but even so.
Aged about fifteen, I once *belted* down the stairs on a Sunday afternoon on hearing The End by The Doors blaring out of the front room. Either I was missing The Wonder Years, or an archive clip of the band was on. I was not. It was Apocalypse Now. I'm told my face was a picture.
15. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
Inevitable that this would be in the upper reaches, though it's also one of those sort of movies that people tell you that you like long before you ever get to see it, which kind of does tend to have the exact opposite effect for some.
Inevitable that this would be in the upper reaches, though it's also one of those sort of movies that people tell you that you like long before you ever get to see it, which kind of does tend to have the exact opposite effect for some.
I didn't see It's A Wonderful Life until BBC2 showed it as part of A Perfect Christmas in 1991. I had been expecting something mind-blowingly Christmassy, not least on account of the first Red Dwarf novel endlessly banging on about it. That was not exactly what I saw.
14. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
In some ways it's a shame Orson Welles' legacy gets reduced to this, as he was so far ahead of his time in trying audacious artistic gambles, not least the War Of The Worlds radio play. But what a movie to have your legacy reduced to.
In some ways it's a shame Orson Welles' legacy gets reduced to this, as he was so far ahead of his time in trying audacious artistic gambles, not least the War Of The Worlds radio play. But what a movie to have your legacy reduced to.
Long before I saw any of Orson Welles' movies, he was already legendary to me after someone put his tantrum during recording a voiceover for a Findus advert at the end of a compilation tape. I still say "Here under protest is 'Beefburgers'" when I'm annoyed with my father.
It was the same compilation tape that had Father Cannot Yell by Can on it. And you can read more about that - and many other similar compilation tapes - here. https://timworthington.org/2019/03/17/tim-worthington-presents-tape-over-this-and-i-will-thump-you/
There used to be a particularly persistent and egregious - and openly racist - alt-right account on here that had Orson Welles as his avatar. That'll be Orson Welles, outspoken opponent of segregation and blacklisted suspected communist. Some people are so unspeakably dense.
13. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
It's very difficult to find anything to say about a movie that's been analysed this much - in different versions too - but to have that many modish 'futuristic' trappings of the era it was made in and *still* look like the far future is quite something.
It's very difficult to find anything to say about a movie that's been analysed this much - in different versions too - but to have that many modish 'futuristic' trappings of the era it was made in and *still* look like the far future is quite something.
The tremendous 1997 Cult TV/Movie compilation This Is... Cult Fiction Royale closes with Vangelis' Blade Runner Blues in full. Around then I often put it on as a romantic evening got to an advanced stage... forgetting that after fourteen minutes of silence the ATV jingle came in.
12. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
Doesn't put a foot wrong comedically, and what's more the very primitive playing around with aspects of alternative sexualities has worn much better than it has any right to. Also proof positive there was more to Marilyn Monroe than tragedy.
Doesn't put a foot wrong comedically, and what's more the very primitive playing around with aspects of alternative sexualities has worn much better than it has any right to. Also proof positive there was more to Marilyn Monroe than tragedy.
Marilyn Monroe always makes me think of a weird movie magazine I used to read in the eighties called Idols, which mixed Hollywood greats with the Pythons, Elvira, Russ Meyer, Bond etc. Never understood who it was for but I loved it and had the Mamie Van Doren poster for years.
There's a double-page spread on Brit movie names to watch in this issue, with profiles of Saffron Burrows, Kate Winslet, Ian Hart, Danny Boyle, Catherine McCormack and Georgina Cates. It's unusual to see one of these where they were pretty much on the money in every case.
11. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
Is this still highly rated now or has it been sort of forgotten about? It wasn't a movie that ever needed reviving or reappraising and it kind of feels as though critics eventually ran out of anything to say about it.
Is this still highly rated now or has it been sort of forgotten about? It wasn't a movie that ever needed reviving or reappraising and it kind of feels as though critics eventually ran out of anything to say about it.
The most astonishing fact about One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is that on its original release, for one week in the middle of its high grossing run it was outgrossed in New York by ridiculous faked murder on camera movie Snuff. Hype beating quality in jaw-dropping fashion.
10. CASABLANCA (1942)
Another that you get told that you like before you've actually seen it, and very difficult to watch in any sort of objective sense. Brilliantly made, unarguably, but is it outrageous to suggest it isn't for everyone after all?
Another that you get told that you like before you've actually seen it, and very difficult to watch in any sort of objective sense. Brilliantly made, unarguably, but is it outrageous to suggest it isn't for everyone after all?
There was an episode of Terrahawks called Play It Again Sram, where Zelda formed a band with avalanche-provoking roar monster Sram on drums. We imitated his solo number a *lot*. One day, some relatives were intently watching Casablanca and, well, you can imagine the rest...
9. JAWS (1975)
Actually quite a pleasant surprise to see this here. Obviously it was a massive hit, launched Spielberg's career and is still the subject of enormous critical praise, but you never really think of it in terms of sitting alongside Casablanca and the like.
Actually quite a pleasant surprise to see this here. Obviously it was a massive hit, launched Spielberg's career and is still the subject of enormous critical praise, but you never really think of it in terms of sitting alongside Casablanca and the like.
Despite not actually having seen Jaws - its reputation was that pervasive - I apparently asked lots of questions about it aged about six, prompting my parents to buy me The St. Michael Book Of Sharks in an attempt to shut me up about it.
I'm not convinced that it worked.
I'm not convinced that it worked.
Astonishingly, there was a Jaws game aimed at children, which an audibly still terrified @lisacartman told me about her experiences with in this edition of Looks Unfamiliar. https://timworthington.org/2018/01/03/looks-unfamiliar-11-lisa-parker-and-andrew-trowbridge-he-looks-like-a-normal-boy-with-a-nose/
