An Introduction for Cineast Beginners
Interested in movies but don't know where to begin? Don't worry. Here's a small list for you with some essential viewings for any cineast out there. Great movies, great actors and great directors. I've tried to make sure all the big names are included on this list, and I think I've done a pretty good job.
Now, get off the internet, turn on your movieviewing plattform of choice and start to watch these masterpieces.
Now, get off the internet, turn on your movieviewing plattform of choice and start to watch these masterpieces.
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- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.German Expressionism.
A classic horror story, in fact it's a thinly vailed ripoff of Dracula. Same story (until the climax at least), different names. But what makes this movie great is its use of shadows and twisted imagery. Because when you can tell a good story without the use of sound or dialouge you are a true visual artist. Respect the silent films folks. They started it all. - DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.During the silent era, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were bitter rivals, and even today people argue wich one of the two were the better comedian and filmmaker. I won't force you to choose but instead recommend you to see both this and the Chaplin movie further down the list and decide for yourself.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.More German Expressionism. This time by Fritz Lang, a true master of cinema, both the silent and later on with sound.
Like all good science fiction, this film is both visually stunning and has an intruging story set against the fantastical backdrop. And, like all films on this list, must see. - DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.In the 1930's and part of the 40's, Universal studios was known for their monster horror films. Dracula, The Mummy, Wolfman and of course: Frankenstein.
While the general audience prefer the sequel Bride of Frankenstein, I say the original is more suited to represent the Universal Monster movies on this list. - DirectorLeo McCareyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxRufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.You can't have a list like this and not include the Marx Brothers.
Wether you prefer this or "A Night at the Opera" is up to you, but both come highly recommended. - DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.Not the Peter Jackson version. The original is were it counts. A "beauty and the beast" story in a way, it's also a monsterflick, an adventure movie and a bit of a metafilm, too. Since the main characters, besides Kong himself, are a filmcrew on their way to Skull Island where they'll meet Kong. The Eight Wonder of the World.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.Silent Comedy from the master himself.
You'll have to see at least ONE Chaplin film, and this is my pic since I think it's his best. - DirectorWilliam CottrellDavid HandWilfred JacksonStarsAdriana CaselottiHarry StockwellLucille La VerneExiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.The First Animated Feature film made by the Walt Disney studio started a small revolution. Without this film you wouldn't have Pixar or Dreamworks today. The studio has had its ups and downs but there is no doubt about it: Disney started it all.
- DirectorMichael CurtizWilliam KeighleyStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandBasil RathboneWhen Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence in 1190s England, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a resistance movement.Classic Swashbuckler with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Steven Spielberg, Sergio Leone: They've all been inspired by John Ford.
See this movie as the Blue-print on which all modern action-movies are made after. - DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.The Epic movie against wich all Epic Movies are measured. I'm not a big fan myself but it's worth seeing for the shere scop of it.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.A classic in three different genres: Family, Fantasy and Musical. And all in glorious Technicolor.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.Ford and Steinbeck join forces in this great movie about the depression age america. It was, for a while, consider the greatest american film until 1958 saw the re-relase of the next movie on this list.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'"The Greatest Movie of All Time"
Well, that's what the critics "in the know" calls it. You might as well check it out to see what all the fuss is about. Plus, I needed to represent Orson Welles. - DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.The first Film-Noir and the springboard that made Humphrey Bogart a star.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.The CLASSIC Hollywood movie.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.Another film-noir. This time by the master Billy Wilder.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.A Classic feelgood and holiday classic. Plus it would be wrong not to have Frank Capra on this list. So here you go.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.When BFI (Brittish Film Institute) made a list of the Top 100 british films this one topped the list. Great thriller with terrific acting, lightning and music. And a brilliant script full of quotable dialouge and smart twists.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsVivien LeighMarlon BrandoKim HunterDisturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.The Movie that brought Method Acting to Hollywood. Great acting and a must see when classical trained actress Vivien Leigh clashes with method actor Marlon Brando.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.The Musical often considered to be the Best.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.A list like this wouldn't be complete without a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. So here he is, represented by his greatest movie: Rear Window.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.Akira Kurosawa is one of Cinemas greatest directors. In this he shows why.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.A wonderful mix between a fairytale and a thriller. This is one beautiful picture with one of the greatest movie villains of all time.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames DeanNatalie WoodSal MineoA rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.James Dean is an icon and here he proves that it's not just because he died young. A great film.