KuBrickKhan's Top 5 Films

Ok, so it's my turn to chime in here - we start in a very similar place, and I don't think I completely disagree with the films in LLD's list. But here's my take on my favorite great films.

1) Casablanca (1942)
Ok, so we start out on the same page here (I guarantee it’ll change from here). But it’s hard to argue with the placement of this film either. It’s what every film that has any element of drama, suspense, romance, or intrigue aspires to be. There’s not a moment here that’s not spot on, and any countless number of moments that are referenced in culture even over 60 years after its production. But beyond being monumental, it’s also a very enjoyable film, and one that improves each repeat viewing.

2) Citizen Kane (1941)

If Casablanca is what every film strives to be, this is the “How-To” book for any modern filmmaker. Welles basically writes the book on a technical level, but it’s also a fantastic exploration of the American Dream, the struggle of one man to find love – from those around him, to the public that he wants so much to adore him. And with Orson Welles, you have one of the most dynamic performances on screen of all time – it’s a shame that he never made a film that even approached his first (his last real work in the industry was providing a voice in Transformers: The Movie!).

3) The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
To me, this film (considering all three releases as one complete work) is a representation of everything that a film can be. Before anything else, it’s as entertaining a work as I’ve seen, and one of the most visually stunning works of fantastic fiction ever produced. Beyond its value as pure entertainment, though, it has an emotional core that is as true as any other great work of literature or cinema. The argument that highly “fictional” works like fantasy or science-fiction can’t be as “great” as more “realistic” films is a false one. It’s made on the premise that we have to be able to place ourselves in the film to somehow make it more relatable – but any work of cinema is fiction – living in the Shire is no more fantastic to me than living in 1930’s Morocco. What’s important is that a film moves us, inspires us, and this film does this on a number of levels.

4) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
While the films above are examples of great narrative, characters, and an emotional connection between them and the viewer, this film is the opposite. The characters are actually rather uninteresting, there is little to the narrative, and what is there is often confusing. And there is little connection that the audience feels towards characters or events. Kubrick’s masterpiece (among other great films) is a visual and symbolic exploration of human development, intellect, and potential. It’s a film that take great care in every element having a clear purpose – no shot or moment is wasted. It’s, as Ebert calls it, a philosophical statement on film, meant to inspire and awe more than entertain or tell a story. But in that, it succeeds on levels that few films do.

5) Pulp Fiction (1994)
In many ways, a celebration of a number of things that make film enjoyable – sex, drugs, violence, and rock and roll. It’s one of those films that is humorous even when it is absolutely dire and twisted, and has some of the greatest moments of dialogue in film. QT always entertains, but he also innovates – even while he constantly refers to or steals from an entire history of exploitation films and hard-edged cinema. The work never feels stale or retread, even at its most derivative.

Honorable Mentions: The Godfather, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Star Wars, Rashomon, American Beauty, Requiem for a Dream, Pan’s Labyrinth.