20. Charade (1963)
Directed by Stanley Dohen
Screenplay by Marc Behm and Peter Stone
Starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, and James Coburn
Oscar Nominations: 1
Charade is one of the most brilliant movies I have ever seen. Hepburn stars as a woman who's husband has turned up dead and she's trying to find answers. The mystery comes when we see the odd people at the funeral and find that the man who she met on vacation is somehow involved. What follows is one of the best screenplays on the list because you never know what turn the plot is going to take or who you can actually trust all the while getting some of the most kickass dialogue that you'll hear in quite a few movies. It also has something that is rather rare: an organic romance subplot. Usually movies that take place over a short period of time have fairly uninteresting romances that really come out of left-field. In Charade, you can see the attraction between the two characters and even though Hepburn can't really trust her suitor, she does grow visibly fond of him.
I don't talk enough about cinematography but I think I will right now by saying that this movie is eye porn. Actually, it's pron for the senses. You start out in the Swiss alps with a shot that just makes you feel chilly and then we're is Paris, the city of lights at it's most gorgeous. All the while, the score is there, pushing your emotions around, making you believe something is going on but you're not quite sure what. It does what good movie music does, heighten the tension, relieve it when necessary, and make the audience comfortable and uncomfortable where necessary. I'm sure the movie doesn't taste good but I haven't tried but it's at least a east for those two senses.
19. Spirited Away
Directed and Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring the Voices of (Japanese) Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, and Mari Natsuki (English dub) Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, and Suzanne Pleshette
Oscar Nominations: 1 Oscar Wins: 1 (Best Animated Film)
Often called the Walt Disney of Japan, Hayao Miyazaki is perhaps one of the greatest people to ever work in the medium of animation. While in most Disney films, the story can often be a little manipulative, in a Miyazaki film, everyone acts in character, the plots are very natural, the heroines are never helpless. The plot, that of a young girl forced to work to save both her and her family, is often times moving and adventurous. Spirited Away does all this and more. It is a visually beautiful film, often times both gorgeous and stylish. The film takes place in a bathhouse for the spirits so it's filled with colorful characters. These are all things you find in Miyazaki films, all of which are worth watching. Next time, I'll probably put a few more on the list.
One of the reasons that the movie succeeds is the voices. Both in the original and dub versions, the character's voices are very real. One of the reasons I love the dub is that the translators took time to work with the original animators to get the words to fit the mouths, something that previous films have done at the expense of being true to the original work. The fact that it was Disney working with them is the icing on the cake. You might as well go with one of the leaders in animation, getting access to their stable of voice actors in the process. The reason why Chihiro, the main character works, is because she sounds like a scared little girl. The witch sounds like a witch without being ridiculous.
Next Time: "With enough courage, you can do without a reputation." "Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality. Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family. In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson."
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