Topic By M.L. Ashok
Let us list out the all time Great Movies ever made..
Here I start
Sound Of Music
Responses
Pandian
Ulagam Surtum Valiban
Venkat Raghavan
Bridge on the River Kwai
Enter the Dragon
Mackennas Gold
Gautham
Godfather
Karnan
Gowravam
Nayagan
Sriram
Thambikku Endha ooru
Basha
First Blood
JC
12 Angry Men
B. Krishnan
From the yesteryears the following 3 movies could be added
1) Ten Commandments
2) Benhur
3) Mahatma Gandhi
From the recent ones, for strong story, dialogues/ suspense, the following 2
1) Oh My God : Good take on superstitions, godmen.
2) Kahani : The suspense was kept intact till the end.
From Hollywood in recent years, for gripping stories:
1) Gladiator
2) CastAway
3) Life of Pi
S. Ganesh
Kaadhalikka Neramillai
Bama Vijayam
Nayagan
Devar Magan
Mullum Malarum
Moonru Mugam
Annaamalai
Sholay
Good Bad Ugly
The Predator
Michael Madana Kamaraj
Hari Suseendran
Mary Poppins
The Great Escape
Liar Liar
The spy who loved me
The good the bad the ugly
The Shining
Amadeus
River Wild
Gandhi
Dr. Zhivago (just Lara's theme is enough)
Salangai Oli
Sankaraabaranam
Bale Pandiaa
Bama Vijayam
Anbe Vaa
Sholay
Karnan
Thiruvilaiyadal
Indru Poi Naalai Vaa
Pudhiya paravai
Bharani
Home Alone and Rush Hour, especially the first part of these series - no matter how many times it is telecast, we always stop to catch a glimpse, as we flip thru the channels.
Aaradhana, Bobby, Yaadon Ki Baarat for songs; Rangeela and Lagaan for Aamir.
Shankarabaranam is in a class of its own.
Ninaithaaley inikkum, 16 Vayadhiniley, Roja, Indian - for the stalwarts in Tamil movie direction.
Mohan
Blazing saddles and duchess and the dirtwater fox.
Completely brain dead but hilarious movies !!
Sumathi
Mozhi
Moonram pirai
Sudha Rani
Day of the Jackal
Field of Dreams
Blue Velvet
When Harry Met Sally -> dont know how many times I have watched this movie.
Schindler's List
Some of my other favs have already been included in the list such as Great Escape, Sound of Music and Gauravam.
S.K. Ravichandran
Pesum Padam,
Devar Magan,
Mozhi,
Anbe sivam
Swarna Ramesh
Titanic
Surya Kolluri
As you know I have been taking various cuts at this list -best western movies, best movies from around the world, best movies representing cities, best business movies etc. But I have not yet done the 'best movies' without a qualifier.
Perhaps the time has come to put a stake in the ground.
My assessment criteria would be:
- Popular (readers should have heard of the movie even if they have not seen it)
- Critically acclaimed (in as much as box office and critical praise are not correlated, critics still play a role)
- Unskewed (in general a quota system is not good, but good global representation makes a list interesting)
- Must possess soul (a movie with a bad plot can work, yet a movie with a good plot may not work; movies, like people have an intangible that can make them soar).
And finally,
- Can bear repeated viewings (i.e. there are new layers, nuances to be discovered with additional viewings - and the viewer wants to do so)
My Top 10 All Time Great Movies list includes:
10. Gods must be Crazy - magical movie. The Kalahari Bushmen, animals, banana republic politics, romance and action was one amazing cocktail. I saw this with our son again - and he ROTFL with the lion and and the man on the tree scene.
9. Roshomon - Kamal's Marudhanayagam was made based on Akira Kurasawa's Roshomon. Great movie. Shows you how unreliable our perceptions are.
8. Gundamma Katha - as a joint-family viewing, I cannot even say how many times we have seen this movie. Great acting by NTR, ANR, SV Ranga Rao, Savitri, Jamuna. Spectacular songs. Basically Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
7. Wall Street - The seductive power of money. Anyone in finance tends to quote liberally from this movie. The most famous quote of course being, "Greed is Good.' My own favorite is, "Man stares into the abyss and finds nothing staring back at him. That's when he finds his character.'
6. Nights of Cabiria - Italian director Fellini's masterpiece about a prostitute who seeks the spiritual. Just amazing. The last scene is beyond haunting.
5. Thaneer Thaneer - a finer political movie is tough to find. Great dialogues ('boy-kattiduvom'). K. Balachandar at his peak. Not to say this too loudly, but Lagaan is a pale imitation of Thaneer Thanneer.
4. Lawrence of Arabia - such vistas. With the Arab Spring blooming and fading, it is worthwhile watching this Arab uprising during WWI - the aftermath of which is predominantly the cause of todays issues in that part of the world (artificial boundaries carved up by the British and the French)
3. Sholay - example of how a stock story can magically transform into THE movie of the 70s. 'nuff said.
2. Casablanca - romantic sacrifice. Escape from tyranny into the new world full of possibilities. Nobility even among the corrupt ('round up the usual suspects'), fantastic music ('knock on wood'), male-bonding ('Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship).
Casablanca should be the #1 movie on my list, except that the king of all movies awaits...!
1. The Godfather.
Steven Speilberg was in India and was on stage being interviewed by Amitabh Bachchan with many of the upcoming directors of Bollywood in the audience. Spielberg was asked who among his contemporaries was the best director. The list included himself, Martin Scorcese, Roman Polanski, Ridle Scott, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. He said there was good conversation, healthy competition and partnership among all of his contemporaries. He said that The Godfather was the best movie that came out of that era, and went on to say that he thought it was the best movie ever made. Now, that was Spielberg!
I have always felt this about Godfather. Another movie, where the dialogues are embossed on the brain ('leave the gun, take the canoli..' or 'Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes..'). All the standard criteria listed above apply to this movie for sure. But there is something more, which I would like to point out:
- Family and yearning. All of us want our families to do well, regardless of circumstances. The Italians were highly discriminated against in the US in the early part of the twentieth century and only the strong survived. The older Don says to Michael, "I refuse to apologize'.
- Rust colored photography. Unlike the blazing color of Sholay and other technicolor movies, the Godfather is shot in rusty brown frame - like an antique photograph. That adds to the classic feel of the movie
- Michael Corleone. The sweet baby of the family, the war hero, the one who the family has high hopes of becoming a Senator ends up killing a police officer and then ends up becoming the Don. It is seems a bit trite now 40 years later. But once you start watching the movie, you will be guaranteed to get swept by Michael Corleone all over again.
- Haunting Music.
- Great, great dialogue with great, great scenes.
The one and only - The Godfather!
Here I start
Sound Of Music
Responses
Pandian
Ulagam Surtum Valiban
Venkat Raghavan
Bridge on the River Kwai
Enter the Dragon
Mackennas Gold
Gautham
Godfather
Karnan
Gowravam
Nayagan
Sriram
Thambikku Endha ooru
Basha
First Blood
JC
12 Angry Men
B. Krishnan
From the yesteryears the following 3 movies could be added
1) Ten Commandments
2) Benhur
3) Mahatma Gandhi
From the recent ones, for strong story, dialogues/ suspense, the following 2
1) Oh My God : Good take on superstitions, godmen.
2) Kahani : The suspense was kept intact till the end.
From Hollywood in recent years, for gripping stories:
1) Gladiator
2) CastAway
3) Life of Pi
S. Ganesh
Kaadhalikka Neramillai
Bama Vijayam
Nayagan
Devar Magan
Mullum Malarum
Moonru Mugam
Annaamalai
Sholay
Good Bad Ugly
The Predator
Michael Madana Kamaraj
Hari Suseendran
Mary Poppins
The Great Escape
Liar Liar
The spy who loved me
The good the bad the ugly
The Shining
Amadeus
River Wild
Gandhi
Dr. Zhivago (just Lara's theme is enough)
Salangai Oli
Sankaraabaranam
Bale Pandiaa
Bama Vijayam
Anbe Vaa
Sholay
Karnan
Thiruvilaiyadal
Indru Poi Naalai Vaa
Pudhiya paravai
Bharani
Home Alone and Rush Hour, especially the first part of these series - no matter how many times it is telecast, we always stop to catch a glimpse, as we flip thru the channels.
Aaradhana, Bobby, Yaadon Ki Baarat for songs; Rangeela and Lagaan for Aamir.
Shankarabaranam is in a class of its own.
Ninaithaaley inikkum, 16 Vayadhiniley, Roja, Indian - for the stalwarts in Tamil movie direction.
Mohan
Blazing saddles and duchess and the dirtwater fox.
Completely brain dead but hilarious movies !!
Sumathi
Mozhi
Moonram pirai
Sudha Rani
Day of the Jackal
Field of Dreams
Blue Velvet
When Harry Met Sally -> dont know how many times I have watched this movie.
Schindler's List
Some of my other favs have already been included in the list such as Great Escape, Sound of Music and Gauravam.
S.K. Ravichandran
Pesum Padam,
Devar Magan,
Mozhi,
Anbe sivam
Swarna Ramesh
Titanic
Surya Kolluri
As you know I have been taking various cuts at this list -best western movies, best movies from around the world, best movies representing cities, best business movies etc. But I have not yet done the 'best movies' without a qualifier.
Perhaps the time has come to put a stake in the ground.
My assessment criteria would be:
- Popular (readers should have heard of the movie even if they have not seen it)
- Critically acclaimed (in as much as box office and critical praise are not correlated, critics still play a role)
- Unskewed (in general a quota system is not good, but good global representation makes a list interesting)
- Must possess soul (a movie with a bad plot can work, yet a movie with a good plot may not work; movies, like people have an intangible that can make them soar).
And finally,
- Can bear repeated viewings (i.e. there are new layers, nuances to be discovered with additional viewings - and the viewer wants to do so)
My Top 10 All Time Great Movies list includes:
10. Gods must be Crazy - magical movie. The Kalahari Bushmen, animals, banana republic politics, romance and action was one amazing cocktail. I saw this with our son again - and he ROTFL with the lion and and the man on the tree scene.
9. Roshomon - Kamal's Marudhanayagam was made based on Akira Kurasawa's Roshomon. Great movie. Shows you how unreliable our perceptions are.
8. Gundamma Katha - as a joint-family viewing, I cannot even say how many times we have seen this movie. Great acting by NTR, ANR, SV Ranga Rao, Savitri, Jamuna. Spectacular songs. Basically Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
7. Wall Street - The seductive power of money. Anyone in finance tends to quote liberally from this movie. The most famous quote of course being, "Greed is Good.' My own favorite is, "Man stares into the abyss and finds nothing staring back at him. That's when he finds his character.'
6. Nights of Cabiria - Italian director Fellini's masterpiece about a prostitute who seeks the spiritual. Just amazing. The last scene is beyond haunting.
5. Thaneer Thaneer - a finer political movie is tough to find. Great dialogues ('boy-kattiduvom'). K. Balachandar at his peak. Not to say this too loudly, but Lagaan is a pale imitation of Thaneer Thanneer.
4. Lawrence of Arabia - such vistas. With the Arab Spring blooming and fading, it is worthwhile watching this Arab uprising during WWI - the aftermath of which is predominantly the cause of todays issues in that part of the world (artificial boundaries carved up by the British and the French)
3. Sholay - example of how a stock story can magically transform into THE movie of the 70s. 'nuff said.
2. Casablanca - romantic sacrifice. Escape from tyranny into the new world full of possibilities. Nobility even among the corrupt ('round up the usual suspects'), fantastic music ('knock on wood'), male-bonding ('Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship).
Casablanca should be the #1 movie on my list, except that the king of all movies awaits...!
1. The Godfather.
Steven Speilberg was in India and was on stage being interviewed by Amitabh Bachchan with many of the upcoming directors of Bollywood in the audience. Spielberg was asked who among his contemporaries was the best director. The list included himself, Martin Scorcese, Roman Polanski, Ridle Scott, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. He said there was good conversation, healthy competition and partnership among all of his contemporaries. He said that The Godfather was the best movie that came out of that era, and went on to say that he thought it was the best movie ever made. Now, that was Spielberg!
I have always felt this about Godfather. Another movie, where the dialogues are embossed on the brain ('leave the gun, take the canoli..' or 'Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes..'). All the standard criteria listed above apply to this movie for sure. But there is something more, which I would like to point out:
- Family and yearning. All of us want our families to do well, regardless of circumstances. The Italians were highly discriminated against in the US in the early part of the twentieth century and only the strong survived. The older Don says to Michael, "I refuse to apologize'.
- Rust colored photography. Unlike the blazing color of Sholay and other technicolor movies, the Godfather is shot in rusty brown frame - like an antique photograph. That adds to the classic feel of the movie
- Michael Corleone. The sweet baby of the family, the war hero, the one who the family has high hopes of becoming a Senator ends up killing a police officer and then ends up becoming the Don. It is seems a bit trite now 40 years later. But once you start watching the movie, you will be guaranteed to get swept by Michael Corleone all over again.
- Haunting Music.
- Great, great dialogue with great, great scenes.
- Horse's head in the movie producer's bed (Khartoum is the name of the horse!)
- The brother-in-law being strangled and kicking out the windshield (used in Nayagan)
- The wedding in Sicily
- Killing of the corrupt cop in the restaurant
- Sonny being shot by a machine gun at the toll booth
- The baby being baptized.
The one and only - The Godfather!