1953: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Mon, 03/14/2005 - 02:03
Tags:
Loved
Stalag 17
... Any self-respecting Chicken Run fan has to watch this movie and The Great Escape. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to this one. I'm going to assume this was the impetus for Hogan's Heros, which is a dubious honor at best. Indeed, I think the occasional cartoonishness of the Nazis and some of the POWs undermines the movie a bit, which is otherwise genuinely engaging and tense. The mystery is clever, and its gradual revelation is handled well. I was surprised at how much this reminded me of Cool Hand Luke, actually. I wonder if it was much of an influence?Really Liked
From Here to Eternity
... Damn Montgomery Clift was great. He did indeed get a raw deal. He's been the best part of the few movies of his I've seen. Anyway, I was surprised at how much I liked this, especially considering how melodramatic it was at times. The first three-quarters were particularly strong, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Cool Hand Luke, which can't be a bad thing. The ending left me a little cold, and the attack felt a bit tacked on, but I swear to god they really did strafe some poor guy in the courtyard. It startled me, it looked so realistic. Anyway, the melodrama and the ending cost it points, but otherwise I give this a pretty high ranking. Oh, and Frank Sinatra could clearly do more than croon (as if The Manchurian Candidate wasn't proof enough).Wages of Fear
... While my film history is shaky at best, it surprises me that a movie this dark and violent (at least one scene) was made in the early 50s. This is the story of four desparate men that are hired to drive nitro-glycerin trucks over a hazardous route. The film delivers plenty of tension, along with a fine dissection of fear as it is differently embodied in our four protagonists. But I just don't know what I'm supposed to take away from this movie: Desperate times call for desperate measures? There is no God? Life is nasty, brutish, and short? How am I to evaluate a movie with no apparent moral center? Is THAT the point? Very interesting, this one.Glad I Saw
Tokyo Story
... This seems to be happening to me a lot: where to place an excellent movie that didn't move me personally? I can't really criticise the movie, as it seems a nigh perfect capture of subtle family relationships, love vs. responsibility, traditional vs. modern Japan, etc. It's beautifully shot and beautifully acted. Much of the action is cloaked in small talk, like the implications of what to have for dinner. The movie will probably reduce me to tears in about 20 years. Remind me I owe this one a rewatch then.Guilty Pleasures
- None Yet
Could Have Missed
- None Yet
Should Have Missed
Peter Pan
El Sucko Grande
- None Yet
Unranked
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
Shane
The War of the Worlds
Cloned From:
You've got most of the best films of 53 still to come! Tokyo Story, Ugetsu Monogatari, The Band Wagon, The Earrings of Madame De are great masterpieces, Voyage to Italy, Roman Holiday, The Big Heat excellent. Wages of Fear is certainly very tense. Clouzot had quite a pessimistic view of human behaviour. Sour, malicious, manipulative cynical characters. See also Le Corbeau, Les Diaboliques (if not already). I'd like to see Quai des Orfevres.
Thanks for the ideas! I saw Tokyo Story a couple days ago, so it's now included above. I hope you'll forgive me my philistine views!
I believe I preferred Les Diabloique to Wages of Fear, but it's an awfully tough call.
As for the rest, I have them to look forward to, which is a nice position to be in.