79. A Mighty Wind (2003)
Directed by Christopher Guest
Written by Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy
Starring loads of people. Just IMDB it, I can't single out 4.
Oscar Nominations: 1
The mockumentary is an art form. Nomrally with a movie, an actor just needs to convince the audience that they're playing a part. In the documentary, they have to convince us that they're something else that's worthy of being filmed. A heavy amount of improv ability is also often needed. Christopher Guest is a master of this. A lot of his work appears on this list. Anyway, what makes this movie truly great that in addition to being hilarious, the music is just phenomenal. I don't much care for folk but A Kiss At The End of the Rainbow is one of my favorite songs of all time. Once again, the actors do all of their own singing so that just makes it all the more awesome because there's no bad lipsyncing. We needs as little of that as possible.
78. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Directed and written by Nicholas Ray
Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo
Oscar Nominations: 3
James Dean is a legend. The man did three films and none of them suck. He died young which ensures his legend lives on. Rebel Without a Cause cements that. The story of a troublemaker, his girl, and best friend is a classic. All three leads turn in some of their best performances and the best part is that they sound like real teenagers. Another note of comment is Plato, portrayed by Sal Mineo. Plato is one of the first gay characters to be portrayed with anything resembling decency in Hollywood. He's not a stereotype and the only real problem is that, like in The Children's Hour, he gets killed off. Still, it's all good.
77. Amadeus (1984)
Directed by Milos Forman
Written by Peter Shaffer from his play
Starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge
Oscar Nomination: 11 Wins: 8 (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor F. Murray Abraham, Costumes, Art Direction, Makeup, Sound)
I like biopics. As said before, this is not one. That doesn't make it any less powerful though. For starters, unlike many films in the genre, it doesn't seek to put it's subject on a golden pedestal. Instead, it decides that the subject is a flawed human being who sins. A lot. More than that, Amadeus is a story about one man's descent into madness. Salieri is just an awesome character, an actors dream part due to the levels of complexity that he must send out. Another great factor to the movie is the use of Mozart's music. It is part of what makes the movie. Without it, the movie would mean so much less.
Next Time: "Children can be nasty, don't you think?" "A sword by itself rules nothing. It only comes alive in skilled hands." "I don't believe in hell. I believe in unemployment, but not hell."
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