These aren't movies that are going to make you cry, or make you say "man, that was amazing!" to your friends. No -- here are five movies that will literally change your life, because they will change the way you look at art, at people, at power -- at everything.
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: Riefenstahl's Disturbing Masterpiece, Triumph of the Will.
All film is spectacle, it has been said, and there was no larger and more grotesque spectacle than Hitler and his Nazi party. This film celebrates them with movie techniques that were pioneering in its day, and since it is such a celebration of his party, it is so ultimately disturbing that it alters how you see 'tribute' films forever.
#4: De Sica's Genius on Display in Bicycle Thieves.
Ultra-simple -- a man gets a bike, and a job, when Rome is very poor after the second world war. He then loses the bike, and tries to steal another one so he can keep the job. There isn't much else to the plot, but it contains a whole world.
#3: Chinatown.
If you don't feel like going through all the old film noir movies of the 30s and 40s, watch Chinatown instead. Not only is it a ridiculously good homage to all of those, but it arguably does 40s Hollywood better than 40s Hollywood did itself. This is one of those movies you can come back to, literally hundreds of times over.
#2: Vertigo.
When people talk about deep novels with layers of meaning that you can return to again and again, this is the film equivalent of those. You can watch this for fun, for James Stewart, for San Francisco, or for Hitchcock's complete dismantling of how he directs films, treats women, and sees the world.
#1: The Godfather.
It doesn't matter that this film is about the mafia -- it's actually about family, power, children, America, crime, and politics. It's also told so unbelievably well that sometimes you literally cannot believe it doesn't have a bad moment. Which it doesn't. The ultimate example of film's completely unique cultural position.
Check out this list of 5 that I've compiled here, and see why these ones are compulsively viewable but still insanely powerful at the same time.
#5: Riefenstahl's Disturbing Masterpiece, Triumph of the Will.
All film is spectacle, it has been said, and there was no larger and more grotesque spectacle than Hitler and his Nazi party. This film celebrates them with movie techniques that were pioneering in its day, and since it is such a celebration of his party, it is so ultimately disturbing that it alters how you see 'tribute' films forever.
#4: De Sica's Genius on Display in Bicycle Thieves.
Ultra-simple -- a man gets a bike, and a job, when Rome is very poor after the second world war. He then loses the bike, and tries to steal another one so he can keep the job. There isn't much else to the plot, but it contains a whole world.
#3: Chinatown.
If you don't feel like going through all the old film noir movies of the 30s and 40s, watch Chinatown instead. Not only is it a ridiculously good homage to all of those, but it arguably does 40s Hollywood better than 40s Hollywood did itself. This is one of those movies you can come back to, literally hundreds of times over.
#2: Vertigo.
When people talk about deep novels with layers of meaning that you can return to again and again, this is the film equivalent of those. You can watch this for fun, for James Stewart, for San Francisco, or for Hitchcock's complete dismantling of how he directs films, treats women, and sees the world.
#1: The Godfather.
It doesn't matter that this film is about the mafia -- it's actually about family, power, children, America, crime, and politics. It's also told so unbelievably well that sometimes you literally cannot believe it doesn't have a bad moment. Which it doesn't. The ultimate example of film's completely unique cultural position.
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