The Greatest Film of All-Time?

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick). By Kyle Picknell, Staff Writer.

SYNOPSIS: An imposing black structure provides a connection between the past and the future in this adaptation of an Arthur C. Clarke short story. When a group of astronauts are sent on a mysterious mission, their ship’s computer system, HAL, begins to display increasingly strange behavior, leading to a tense showdown between man and machine.

“It’s difficult to do justice to a film like 2001, or any pantheon film really, in the space of a few paragraphs. I understand the resistance to them, too, the lofty, irrepressible weight that comes with the likes of Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Vertigo…..It almost makes you not want to watch them at all. Nothing could possibly be as good as some people think those films are. What I’m saying is expectations are boring, and they’re worth fighting, and nothing I will write here can make you want to go and see a film like 2001 if you haven’t already. I understand that.

There’s a very real chance you won’t make it through the sparse opening chapter of the film, The Dawn of Man. Nothing happens, really. My girlfriend at the time of my first viewing didn’t and fell asleep to those aching landscape-painting shots of a primitive earth. I was left to traverse the rest of Stanley Kubrick’s space nightmare turned moral quandary turned ecstatic meditation on the human condition, and life and art, alone.

I was overwhelmed. I’m not ashamed to say that. She awoke to find me in a kind of paralysis, unable to express anything about what I had just seen. What was the film like? Well… I don’t actually know. I don’t know what it was like. I’m still thinking about it, and I don’t know. And I might never know.

Since then, thanks to an ill-advised University dissertation and an equally ill-advised Master’s in Film that I didn’t complete, I have watched 2001 more than I have watched my family give and receive Christmas presents around the tree and more than I’ve watched the football team I support win actual football matches. I have watched 2001 more than I’ve watched the sun come up. The most recent viewing came at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square a few months ago, a special screening in unrestored 70mm print. Even in a sold-out theatre I still felt the same restless loneliness I felt in a living room somewhere in the Midlands, even as a head lay on my shoulder.

Every frame of 2001 is a body blow, and it leaves you bruised, and scared, and helpless. The third act, whatever technological advancements we have seen or ever will see, will remain the most effective annihilation of the senses you will ever experience. I promise you that. Movement, sound and colour collide into darkness. And quiet. Stillness and confusion. The knockout punch hits you like a last kiss to the forehead does. When the credits rolled a girl two seats down from me began sobbing. Loudly. She could have been feeling anything from a visceral, overwhelming joy, to a cold eternal sadness. Or it could be all that LSD she might have taken during the intermission (yes there was an intermission, yes it sucked).

I sat there too, not to comfort her – I could see her head tilted onto someone else – but to soak in that same afterglow. Even as I listened I was glad just to be there, I was happy just being. I guess you could call it facing the lofty, irrepressible weight of existence and being OK with what you see. I guess you could call 2001 the antidote.”

There Will Be Blood (2007, Paul Thomas Anderson). By Rich Cooper, Senior Producer

SYNOPSIS: Ruthless silver miner turned oil prospector Daniel Plainview moves to oil-rich California and cons landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview’s motives, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

“There are a hundred ways to read There Will Be Blood. Most obviously the film is a commentary on capitalism, the way it ruins the people and places left in its wake, and how it scrapes away the soul of its instigators. But the film has a wider scope than this. The savagery of civilised life; fraudulent religions; the definition of a family; killing the old ways and carving a new frontier. All can be read into There Will Be Blood. Above all, it’s about a man who denies himself love in the pursuit of power, domination, and self-destruction.

Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance as oil prospector Daniel Plainview brought the actor his second Oscar. In Plainview, Day-Lewis has crafted one of modern cinema’s greatest monsters. While much of There Will Be Blood is gnarled and roaring, it is the quiet moments of pain, where Daniel lets go of his monstrousness, allows himself to be vulnerable, and is betrayed, that keep bringing me back for another viewing. This is uncompromising, dark, searing cinema at its absolute finest.

Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemeckis). By Vikash Jasani, Brand Partnership Director.

SYNOPSIS:A brisk trot through events in American history since the 1950’s via the eyes of the amiable idiot-savant, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks). The story is told through a series of flashbacks as he sits on a park bench waiting for the return of his beloved Jenny.

“Forrest Gump is the greatest film of all time. No matter what genre of film you like there is something for everyone. It’s comedy, war, drama, underdog and romance all wrapped in to one feel-good package. It’s obviously full of timeless quotes, it’s given us a great collection of GIFS, but above and beyond everything else, Tom Hanks pulls off a brilliant portrayal of human transformation, from a young disabled boy to a National Hero. You watch as he grows both emotionally and physically throughout the film, from someone you think you’ll pity to a man you just can’t help but fall in love with. By the time the credits roll you’re left with the message that if you’re a good person and you do the right thing, everything will turn out pretty much OK. He also taught Elvis how to dance. True story.”

American Beauty (1999, Sam Mendes). By Stan Evans, Account Executive.

SYNOPSIS: A telesales operative becomes disillusioned with his existence and begins to hunger for fresh excitement in his life. Funny, sad, wistful and occasionally hopeful, it’s a peek behind the curtain of the American Dream that features astonishing performances across the board.

“I recently re-watched American Beauty for the first time in a few years and realised that everything about it is basically faultless. Seriously, show me something that’s wrong with this film (apart from the obvious and justified objections to real-world Kevin Spacey). The direction, the cinematography, the soundtrack, the writing, the acting (Chris Cooper, you’re the real MVP), it’s all perfect. Lester Burnham is one of the all-time great movie characters. I imagine myself re-enacting his greatest hits on probably a weekly basis; discovering his wife’s affair at the drive-thru, throwing the plate against the wall at the dinner table, “This isn’t life! This is just stuff!”, reflecting on it all at the end. Sometimes I get scared that this means I’m going to turn into him one day. Maybe that should worry me, but it doesn’t really, because I just find it all so fascinating and hilarious and beautiful and sad. I guess what I’m saying is bring on the utter despair of middle-aged, middle-class non-existence! Can’t wait!”

Dead Man’s Shoes (2004, Shane Meadows). By Alex Roberts, Fitness Editor.

SYNOPSIS: A disaffected soldier (Paddy Considine) turns angel of vengeance as he heads back to his Derbyshire home town to get even with a group of locals who brutalised his mentally-challenged brother.

“This film has absolutely everything; it’s a tale of revenge that has you questioning how far you’d take your own morals. No spoilers, but the mesmeric Considine does some absolutely unspeakable things to get his own back. Some of which are arguably more twisted and degrading than what he’s seeking revenge for as Meadows and his lead take ‘anti-hero’ to the absolute extreme. You are ultimately left wondering whether your own sense of justice – and society’s as a whole – is acceptable. It also contains one of the most iconic scenes you’ll find in any of the other 19 films on this list – see below. Considine has never been better or more menacing as he faces up against Gary Stretch’s Sonny for the first time outside some abandoned garages, rain glistening in his hair. “I’m not threatening you mate. It’s beyond fucking words. I watched over you when you were asleep and I looked at your fucking neck and I was that far away from slicing it. You’re fucking there mate!”

 

American History X (1998, Tony Kaye). By Melissa Reddy, Senior Football Correspondent).

SYNOPSIS: Upon his release from prison, neo-Nazi Derek (Edward Norton) vows to change his ways and prevent his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong) – who idolises Derek – from following in his footsteps. As he struggles with his own deeply ingrained prejudices, Derek wonders if his family can ever overcome a lifetime of hate.

“Despite premiering 21 years ago, American History X – with its blood-filled, bone-breaking dive into the caustic world of white supremacy – packs a greater punch today. The film follows budding neo-Nazi and high school student Danny Vinyard, who chronicles the events that led to his older brother Derek’s incarceration for the murder of two black men. The elder sibling’s story swings from forming an LA gang of white supremacists to his rehabilitation in prison, but the full redemption tale is thwarted by a hate-fuelled tragedy.

Listening to Derek, played by the chameleonic Edward Norton, at the beginning of his journey – “Our border policy’s a joke. So, is anybody surprised that south of the border, they’re laughing at us? Laughing at our laws?” – is akin to – gulp! – a tweet from the actual President of the United States now. Billed as a message movie, a warning of sorts, American History X is scarily the reality we live in today. One major difference is that booted-up skinheads inked with Nazi insignia are no longer the definitive markers of a racist – these days they blend in, their rhetoric is normalised and given mainstream airing. Moreover, some of them have been given the power to shape the world.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya10UH1UdTk

Saving Private Ryan (1998, Steven Spielberg). By Richie Driss, Presenter.

SYNOPSIS: Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines during World War Two to locate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Includes one of the most brutal opening scenes in the history of cinema, which cost $11 million to shoot and involved more than a thousand extras.

“OK, first things first; yes I’m aware that the theme tune for this movie could be the “America, fuck yeah!” anthem from Team America, and that it’s George Bush Jr.’s favourite film, and that I’m now potentially giving you reasons not to watch it. But let’s just take it for exactly what it is shall we? A contained (based on a true) story about a close-knit group of U.S. Rangers during and in the following days of, the Omaha Beach invasion of June 6^th 1944, who, having survived that, then have to potentially lay down their own lives to save one man whose three brothers have been killed in action. It then poses an important question: when is one life more important than another?

The opening 23 minutes is a cinematic tour-de-force. What follows is another two hours of moral ambiguity: risk vs reward, incredible acting, zero compromises and eventually, five Academy Awards out of its eleven nominations, including ‘Best Director’ (how it lost out on “Best Film” to Shakespeare in Love’ is a massive nonsense….the proof being: I don’t see that film on this list). There are certain films that are essential, important viewing for everyone; Schindlers List, 12 Years A Slave and I, Daniel Blake to name but a few. This absolutely belongs in that pantheon, in fact, personally, it created that pantheon. Masterful, emotive film making in every aspect.”

Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorcese). By Mike Kneebone, Videographer.

SYNOPSIS: A story told across 30 years of the lives of a group of neighbourhood crooks as narrated by Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who progresses from taxi rank punk to robbery, hijacking, extortion, GBH, drug dealing and, finally, informing. With stunning performances from Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and notably Joe Pesci, it is Scorcese’s masterpiece.

“Goodfellas is ranked fifteen on the list of films that most frequently use the word “fuck”. The year it was made (1990) it was ranked number one. Fuck yeah! Also – it’s the best mafia mob gangster movie ever made. If you disagree I will fight you. No, I lie, I won’t fight you. I will politely disagree and then wonder what life would be like if I wasn’t polite. Maybe Goodfellas represents my yearning to be impolite. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. Or maybe it’s simple – I like guns, violence and crime on the big screen. Scorcese, De Niro and Pesci. Fuck yeah indeed.

There’s one scene that continues to knock my fucking socks off. Every single time. To the point where I’ve stopped wearing socks. Henry and Karen walk into the Copacabana restaurant while ‘Then He Kissed Me’ by The Crystals is playing. Great track by the way. Henry guides Karen toward a secret entrance, casually bribing his way into the kitchen. In one LONG impressive take the pair make their way through the restaurant to their table – which is assembled upon their arrival. Henry is gifted a bottle of champagne by a neighbouring table as the couple settle into the best seats in the house. Karen says: “What do you do?” Henry lies and says, “I work in construction”. So, so good. Tell me you wouldn’t enjoy that. If you do, I will…… politely disagree.”