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What makes a modern movie classic?
Our chief film critic makes his choice of the eight greatest films of our time
What are the modern great movies, and why do they arouse so much passion? My quest for answers has led me to a caravan near Epsom, Surrey, and Stephen Woolley, one of the doyens of British cinema. The producer of Interview with the Vampire, The Crying Game and Scandal can lay claim to several classics. Kirsten Dunst, the star of his latest film (How to Lose Friends and Alienate People), has her own ideas about what makes a modern great. But will the age gap – she is 25, half his age – have any bearing on her choices?
My quest to unlock the secrets of the modern great precedes a six-week season of classic films on Sky Movies (from July 22). What instantly becomes clear is that one person’s modern classic is another’s idea of hell. I was stunned when Woolley admitted that he didn’t have the time of day for the underground epic Easy Rider (1969). For me, this is where the modern era of film-making, certainly in Hollywood, began. Dennis Hopper’s road movie threw the whole idea of conventional narrative – some may argue the entire point – out of the window. For Woolley it was like watching paint dry. His idea of modern great movies begins with the French auteurs of the Nouvelle Vague. This, he argues, is where real independent cinema comes from.
But the producer has a truly eclectic idea of what a modern great might be. He speaks eloquently of his fondness for Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1982). And he gives a hair-raising account of watching one of the few performances of A Clockwork Orange (1971) in a public theatre before Stanley Kubrick pulled the film, supposedly after death threats against him.
Dunst’s modern cinematic hero is Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (1990). “How can you not love Johnny Depp?” she argues, as if the whole matter of the modern matinee idol was now done and dusted. But interestingly most of the modern greats she nominates were made before she was born: in particular Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977) and Liliana Cavani’s The Night Porter (1973). The latter film made her weep from start to finish like a baby, she says.
“Our idea of great modern cinema is intensely personal,” Woolley empathises. “It often boils down to specific circumstances: where and when you see the film, how receptive you are at that moment, and what is going on in your life.”
What I find surprising is the ease with which Woolley and Dunst scrap the received critical wisdom that a film can only be hailed a classic when viewed through the prism of time and a set of technical achievements. Cineastes are weaned on the idea that directors such as Godard and Scorsese are gods in the pantheon of auteurs – indeed, that they ushered in the era of modern cinema as we understand it today. But there is a far more fluid instinct for what constitutes a modern great than one might suspect, and it is not defined by any fixed idea of the high and mighty.
Steven Soderbergh was 12 years old in the summer of 1975 (and thus underage) when Steven Spielberg’s Jawschomped his conception of cinema to bits. It was part of a wave of 1970s shock movies – including Straw Dogs, Deliverance (the director Neil LaBute’s seminal memory), The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre– that terrified a generation. For Soderbergh it was the first time he became conscious of the process of making a movie.
For Stephen Daldry, Samantha Morton and Nick Broomfield, the modern great that branded itself on the imagination was Ken Loach’s bittersweet comedy, Kes(1969). Clearly, watching a film at an impressionable age has as much if not more bearing on what constitutes a classic than anything the critics might say. John Cusack was 14 when he saw Apocalypse Now (1979). “When it comes down to it, all criticism is bull****,” he says. “A piece of art just makes you feel . . .”
When Michael Mann, the director of Heatand The Insider, first saw Dr Strangelove (1964) in a creaky theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, he simply didn’t want it to end. Matthew Vaughn, the director of Layer Cake, was so besotted with Star Wars (1977) that he didn’t know whether he wanted to grow up to be George Lucas or a Jedi knight.
Curiously, the greatest resistance to the idea of the instant modern classic comes from the public. In a live poll that Tessa Dunlop and I conducted on BBC radio for the “all-time best animated feature film”, we were amazed that masterpieces such as Toy Story, Shrek and Monsters Inc barely figured. They were trounced by nostalgic votes for Bambi (1942), Dumbo (1941), Fantasia (1940) and The Jungle Book (1967). The poll was dominated by the palpable feeling that “they don’t make ’em like they used to”.
My list of eight modern greats might not chime with any authorised list of the greatest modern films ever made. But I challenge you to pitch better. Each of these films changed the manner in which contemporary screen stories are told and painted. You can make an eloquent case for any number of films that set out to change the world, from Chinatown to Groundhog Day. But every single one of the films here has a crucial ingredient that distinguishes it as a true modern great. Enjoy.
— Modern Greats – Close Up, featuring Kirsten Dunst, is on Sky Movies Modern Greats on Sunday (1.30pm) and Sky Movies Premiere on July 20 (7.30pm). James Christopher will introduce each film before it is screened
The Conversation
A requisite of a modern great is the confidence to let the audience impose their own fears and fantasies on a film. In short, to let them read between the lines. This masterpiece from 1974 of Cold War paranoia has never been bettered. The plot, about a surveillance expert sucked into a fiendish government conspiracy, does little to lighten the heart. But the power of the film is how so much emotion and pressure can be conveyed with so very little. Gene Hackman has never been better as the tortured agent at the top of his (mind) game. July 29, 10pm
The Terminator
The modern great reinvents familiar genres to reinvigorate its audience. No contemporary film illustrates this better than James Cameron’s Terminator films. There is something awesome about the robot in the 1984 original, sent from the future to destroy a pair of humans who hold the destiny of the human race in their hands. With an inexperienced director behind the camera and Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of it, the film should never have worked. But it became the template for every major sci-fi action spectacular. Aug 26, 10pm
Saturday Night Fever
A contemporary classic needs a definite sense of time and place. In this respect John Badham’s 1977 “musical” is the Zeitgeist-defining movie of them all. If you couldn’t relate to the handsome young kid looking for his first break as a dancer, you were out of the loop. The career of John Travolta as a snake-hipped disco god began the moment his loafers hit the chequerboard dance floor. But the film delved far deeper into the blue-collar angst of Italian immigrants than the line-dancing, mirrorballs and Bee Gees songs might suggest. July 22, 10pm
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The infectious joy of John Hughes’s 1986 film ushered in a new genre of slacker comedy. Matthew Broderick with Mia Sara and Alan Ruck, is Ferris, the charismatic teenage hero who drags his best friend on a day-long road trip to introduce him to a few illicit pleasures before adult responsibilities lay claim to his soul. There are few more perfect illustrations of the teenage itch. In a previous decade, the happy-go-lucky Ferris would be a insufferable geek. Here he is the most enduring high-school clown in 1980s cinema. Aug 12, 10pm
Sin City
An instant classic whose impact is so novel and immediate it is impossible to put in a box. Adapted from Frank Miller’s comic books, Robert Rodriguez’s dazzling film, released in 2005, intertwines the lives of pulp fiction characters in a seedy crime-world. Presented in glorious monochrome, with the odd lurid splash of colour when blood is spilt, the film is littered with startling images that have already entered the grammar of popular cinema. What’s so startling is how it blurs the line between graphic art and film, forcing us to think about the film-making process itself. Aug 19, 10pm
The Fly
In Hollywood, you tinker with science at your peril, and in the modern era there is no more chilling experiment than David Cronenberg’s version of The Fly (1986). The “transporter” seems the next logical leap in communication until its inventor, Jeff Goldblum, accidentally interacts with a fly during a test run. The rest is history. Cronenberg can be relied upon to put a serrated edge on dark stories, but this remake of Kurt Neumann’s black and white classic from 1958 is relatively restrained. As a result he transformed freaky and implausible thrills into mainstream chills. Aug 5, 10pm
Easy Rider
The film that broke the mould and changed the look of cinema. In Dennis Hopper’s film, released in 1969, a pair of drug-dealers roar across America on motorcycles. They have scant regard for convention, whether it be Hollywood or the lynch-minded squares they meet in provincial towns. The film is fuelled by the charismatic cast, which included Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. There were many pretenders to cinema’s counter-cultural crown, but nothing epitomised the 1960s quite so vividly as this movie. Aug 25, 10pm
The Godfather
Once in a blue moon the cinematic stars align and something magical happens. Francis Ford Coppola’s elegiac portrait of a Mafia family at war is one of the most beautifully painted pictures of the modern era. The film, from 1972, hinges on the transfer of power between a monstrous patriarch and his reluctant youngest son (Al Pacino). There’s a creamy luxury about the film wherever you turn, be it the acting, the costumes, cinematography or music. You can feel history being made almost frame by frame. This is cinema at its most sublime. Aug 27, 10pm
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Forget violence please it may shock and stun but it glorifies it like gratuitous killing in the Godfather is that what we want when this country is agonised and terrified of gangs of kids commiting murder forget digital tricks stunts quirky ideas - nouvelle vague Easy Rider attack on narrative nonsense stick to proper movies and proper acting -enjoy the reality creativity emotion wit tears & heartbreak of life . Try this lot, some may contain violence but are part of history and within context .........(Foreign section Cinema Paradiso,The Last Metro La Dolce Vita Au Revoir Les Enfants Conformist ).... and in no particular order Quiet American Madness of King George Mrs Brown Pianist Apartment Dr Strangeglove Cabaret Cider House Rules Traffic Billy Elliot The Hours Iris Million Dollar Baby Ray Man For All Seasons Chariots Of Fire Dr Zhivago The Aviator About Schmidt Graduate Beautiful Mind, I could write an essay about every one if you like !
Leon Smith , London,
It is impossible to choose a definitive top ten unless you have 10 years to sift through your own memories because no sooner have you written your list, you remember yet another that springs to mind. Though not definitive, my list would have to include:
1. Blade Runner
2. Once upon a time in the west
3. Goodfellas
4. Alien
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. Close encounters of the third kind
7. The good, The bad and The ugly
8. The Maltese falcon
9. North by Northwest
10. Scum
I could probably write a list of my favourite 100 and still not include my 'favourite' films. I do find it difficult to undestand how some films reach the '100 best films of all time' when quite clearly some do not deserve to be in the top 10,000. But again, that is all down to personal choice and we'll all be here for next 1000 years arguing about it.
Ian Brown, Hull, England
Some good films here, but, come on people above, how can you not have these 10 films in your list unless you've not actually seen them or you're leaving out obvious classics because they're too popular.
(in no particular order)
Bladerunner
Highlander
Sleuth
Godfather
Das Boot
The Crow
American Beauty
Gladiator
Star Wars
One Flew over the Cookoo's Nest
A list of 10 is so difficult as I had to leave out: A Simple Plan, It's a Wonderful Life, Die Hard, Charlie & Choc Factory (Depp), The Deerhunter, The Hunger, argghh I could go on...but I'm jealous of anyone out there who hasn't seen any of these because you've still probably got that pleasure in front of you!
Mike @ Ace Murder Mystery
Mike Evans, Chester, England
The following eight films are ones that changed the way I personally apporach film and also,in my opinion, reshaped the cinematic landscape into which they entered. They are, in every sense of the word, 'modern greats':
1. Rear Window
2. Apocalypse Now
3. The Matrix
4. The Exorcist
5. Romeo and Juliet
6. Fanny and Alexander
7. Children of Men
8. Funny Games
The problem with this is that as soon as you limit yourself to a specific number it pains you to have to exclude films of undeniably genius. 'Withnail and I' is a prime example. 'I assure you officer, I'm quite alright, I've only had a couple of ales.'
Tom Seymour, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
In no particular order, mine are -
True Romance
The Usual Suspects
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Fight Club
Sixteen Candles
Life is Beautiful
The Shawshank Redemption
Lost in Translation
Natasha Ross, Bournemouth, UK
Closely Watched Trains
Unforgiven
Godfather
Dr Zhvago
Lawrence of Arabia
The Hill
Dreams
Birds
Frank E Boyd, Flintstone(yes), Ga USA
Ferris Bueller's day off will always be a classic it introduced the very succesful teen genre to many an audience. While it may not make my top 8 movies i surely appreciate its place in movie history. With that i submit my top 8 moviesas of now in random order.
1.Shawshank Redemption.
2.GodFather 1&2.
3.ScarFace(Al Pacino as Tony Montana).
4.Indiana Jones(Raiders of the Lost Ark/Temple of Doom)
5.Beneath the Planet of the Apes(1st.Movie Watched on Vhs)
6.The Good the BAd & the UgLY(Western).
7.Kill Bill Vol.1
8.Usual Suspects.
Charlie, Nairobi., Kenya.
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Singing in the Rain" - Gene Kelly's joy making up for cutsie Debbie Reynolds and the Lina Lamont scenes all spring to mind. "
YES! I love the old musicals and for me the best is "Seven Brides..." The songs, the brothers, the dances and the big fight.... i could, and have seen it countless times. How about "West Side Story" and then, Danny Kaye in the "Inspector General"?
Anything with James Stewart too, particularly "Rear Window", in fact , I didn't see any Hitchcock in the lists above.
To pull my list more into the modern day, "In the Mood for Love" is unforgettable and of course, the only film that had my mother, my sister and I crying so much at the end that we emerged from the hall long after everyone else had gone, Comencini's "Misunderstood", the older version with Anthony Quale, from the 70's.
I know I've forgotten nearly everything I would want to include, I hate making lists!
saman asif, besançon, france
Here's my top 8 in no particular order
Cocktail (Tom Cruise classic)
Warriors
Blues Brothers
Usual Suspects
The Shawshank Redemption
The Big Lebowski
You've Got Mail
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Craig Adamson, Hull,
In no particular order,
The Godfather I & II
Apocalypse Now
The Fellowship of the Ring
Seven
Fight Club
Cyrano De Bergerac (Depardieu)
Casablanca
Das Boot
My Life as a Dog
Lawrence of Arabia
Sean, Limerick, Ireland
I must say I'm baffled by the fact that there are only American films on your list. And also that you included as a modern classic a film made almost 40 years ago (Easy Rider). And speaking of Easy Rider, is it really more challenging to conventional narrative than, say, Point Blank (1967) or Faces (1968), to name but a few. It seems to me that your article should rather be called "What makes an American mainstream film a classic."
Fredrik, Stockholm, Sweden
I'd have to put in City of God - even my generation X mates couldn't believe the favelas are actually worse than that film, Alien for Ridley Scotts take on the Haunted House story (and for scaring me to sleep with the light on I was 12!), and for me Oldboy, the most shocking film I ever saw
Darren, Grantham, Lincs
Scarface (Al Pacino)
True Romance
Wild At Heart
Raising Arizona
Airplane
Hoosiers
The Outlaw Josey Wales
There you have, every genre and classics at that!
Thank you very much.
Colin Bowley, London, UK
I'm surprised by some of the "modern classics" mentioned in the article. If you are talking about ground-breaking (but not necessarily good) films - what about Tron with it's original mix of graphics and live action?
I totally agree with Shawshank Redemption and Seven and would like to add The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs. Momento and The Sixth Sense to the mix - films that made people think and talk for a long time after they watched them.
Elaine, London,
The Godfather (1&2)
Raging Bull
The Shawshank Redemption
Unforgiven
Apocalypse Now
To Kill a Mockingbird
Schindler's List
Once Upon a Time. . . in the West
Steven Whitney, Studio City, CA, USA
Ferris Bueller's Day Off? This is probably one of the worst teen comedies. Especially since none of the principle actors were teens.
I respectfully request you replace it with Sixteen Candles.
And if you want to include a Matthew Broderick comedy, Election is a much better choice.
Maldoror, Osaka,
James, Christopher, just as many films are categorized as chick flicks, this is a guy action list. Any list with Ahnold Schwartzenneger sp? as a classic makes me wonder about the film critic's ability? Acting, hmmmm!!??!!
I agree with the poster who mentioned Gandi, a great film, except for The Godfather, your list kinda medicore at best.
mj, houston, tx
The best film of modern times is, of course, "Mirror" by Tarkovsky; but then it's not American, so I suppose that rules it out.
JL, Birkenhead, UK
The Scent of Green Papaya,was a breath of fresh air in film making.
The mix of the wonderful music , the visual beauty,and the
sneaky way the camera wandered behind bookshelves picking out objets d'art as the story of a little Vietnamese servant girl
slowly unfolds and develops into a love story.
Just breath-taking.
colin, Vernon BC, Canada
I prefer the sitcom Prisonbreak .Firstly,it provides the audience
with a compact plot and bewitching visual joy and which made it outstanding compared with its contemporary works.Secondly,
it advocates love,justsice,sympathy and enterprise.Lasty,it creates a reasonable background.Such as the big company,which controls the political structure and the new interrelationship between the wardenry and the prisoner,the white and the black,etc.under the trend of globalization and anti-terrorism.
What's more,it makes people clever and imaginative after enjoying it.
Liu Jinyang, Kaifeng, China
If 1974 is "modern", then a raft of movies get my vote.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Life Is Beautiful
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise
One Flew Over The Cukooo's Nest
Amelie
and I'll even give nods to
Blade Runner
Serenity
Spirited Away
and others.
Baron Dave Romm, Minneapolis, MN
I am pleasently suprised to see ferris Buellers Day off mentioned but in agreement that modern greats , like all film topics, are very much personal choice and open to debate.
My greats would be
True Romance;Raiders of the Lost ark;a river runs through it
Pulp Fiction;Frankie and Johnny
steven Wharrad, redditch, England
I was born exactly a month before India gained her Independence from Britain, and never guessed that I would be working with a grandson of Mahatma Gandi in India for over three years. Rajmohan Gandhi, a journalist and biographer of his grandfather, thoroughly approved of Richard Attenborough's movie of Gandhi. When I went to the press launch in London the entire audience applauded at the end. It is an epic that captures the spirit and soul of the sainted politician who was not without faults. His grandson was touched that a British film-maker could show the failings of the British so starkly, not least the appalling Amritsar massacre committed by General Dyer. The film pulls no punches. But it is also deeply stirring. Ben Kingsley must have been born for the role of Gandhi which he portrays so superbly. Gandhi has had a lasting influence and the film is a true epic for our times.
Mike Smith, Wimbledon, London
How can an article about 'modern classic' movies be credible without a Quentin Tarantino's film? Surely 'Reservoir Dogs' or 'Pulp Fiction' deserve a feature, and arguably both should be there.
What about David Lynch? Is this list meant to be serious????
As for Sin City....despite being a Robert Rodriguez fan I can't stand idly by and see this film feature as one of the eight. It was one of the most disappointing I'd seen - there was massive hype but it was a total waste of time.
On a positive note, Saturday Night Fever is definitely worth its place!
Adam Isle, London,
As the years pass, I'm delighted to see where Bill Forsythe's films -- particularly Local Hero -- continue to climb the critic's "best of" lists. Whenever I talk to serious film buffs, writers and directors, this glorious little film always pops up. It's about as perfect as the genre gets.
Robert Darden, Waco, Texas, USA
Earth, part of Deepa Mehta's trilogy. Its imagery and cinematograpy were beautiful (the dancing kites, the Old Masters quality of the sequence showing refugees trying to reach a safe place), and the story was totally horrifying. I was gutted after seeing it. I always recommend it highly as one that must be seen, but I am not sure I could ever sit through it again.
P Sory, nr Tewkesbury, England
Curious that one man's classic is another man's turkey!
Can't come up with a top ten personally because so many others mentioned by the other commentators here have struck a chord (Unforgiven for one and Ferris Bueller - possibly the best time management information film of all time, for another).
Neil Tipping, Leicester, UK
Too many films being made; no way to objectively grade greatness.
My list: Citizen Kane, Ikiru, Man with the Movie Camera, Wreickmeister Harmonies, Persona
Freke, Baton Rouge,
Just three words: The Matrix trilogy! Long black coats and guns, lots of guns.... It spawned many imitators, including Underwold, and Equilibrium. Surely the best trilogy to come down the pike since Star Wars and the Terminator series. This should keep The Lord Of The Rings out of the SF/fantasy trilogy top spot.
M.Robson, Croydon, UK
How on earth can you ommit The Matrix? An absolute classic, genre defining, CGI igniting movie of recent times! And Pulp Fiction: this movie brought dialogue to the forefront in movies and with it's genius banter and subtle but clever cinematograpghy cannot be ignored!
While i'm on the topic, here's my top 8:
The Matrix
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
Saturday Night Fever
The Godfather
Sin City
Fargo
The Life of Brian
Andrew Kean, Glasgow,
Has everyone forgotten the original "All quiet on the western front"? A very real classic.The most powerful anti-war movie ever made. Also "The informer" The IRA made visible. .
By the way, it is an error to call all Americans Yanks. In our south, a Yank lives above the Mason Dixon line. Above the Mason Dixon line a Yank is someone who lives in New England. In New England a Yank is someone who lives in Vermont. In Vermont a Yank is someone who eats apple pie for breakfast.
I live in the south.. I was sixteen before I learned that damn yankee was two words.
henry cowan, Linthicum, USA/Maryland
Someone already spoke of Blade Runner and Laurence Of Arabia.
For me a classic was another Peter O'Toole film "The Ruling Class" his transposition from christ to the evil ripper is remarkable
Paul, Shoreline, Wa USA
Being of a different generation: "He Who Must Die" - Jules Dassin, blew me away. Also "David and Lisa" because similar things happened to me and I had a child's facination for undercurrents, Orson Wells in "Jane Eyre". Later on: an episode in "The Ascent of Man" on the telly. More recently: "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Hairdresser's Husband" for sheer eroticism, " the Godfather" parts1 and 3 especially, but also the whole set, the first "Planet of the Apes" only for its ending ( you don't forget it!), "Fantastic Voyage", "Lawrence of Arabia" and the Indiana Jones set of 3 for travel and adventure, "Star Wars" trilogy for its fully realised fantasy world and its possibilities, and for a relax, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Singing in the Rain" - Gene Kelly's joy making up for cutsie Debbie Reynolds and the Lina Lamont scenes all spring to mind. Depends on the mood. perhaps more interesting are the ones I wish I'd never seen in the first place!
Carlyle Braden, Croydon, U.K.
The Fly?! Ferris Bueller?!
Someone feeling nostalgic, too?!
Movie greats?
Goodfellas
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Matrix (part 1 only, I'm afraid)
Terminator II
Seven
Raging Bull
The Life of Brian
Adaptation
Kieran, Dublin,
The Knack - Richard Lester
There are only seven stories - It's how you tell them.
I thought this film was perfect for it's time (the Sixty's). But it's pure unadulterated and uninibited style brings joy to the scree. It stands the test of time - see it again!
Ken Tuohy, London,
The greatest American modern movie classics.... No interest or time for the Rest of the World.
Jatinder Sidhu, Ealing, London,
In any list of Modern Greats the credendials of two wonderful American 'feel-good' movies should not be overlooked. One, Breaking Away (the tale of a small-town, wrong side of the tracks, racing cyclist, is a joy simply due to the fine ly contrived balance drawn betwenn angst and unbridled joy.
The second, and arguably one of the finest films ever made is The Shawshank Redemption. It is probably one of the greatest and most complete cinematic expeniences that one could ever hope to be party too.
Alan Mead, London, UK
My modern classics are:
- Hana Bi;
- Trainspotting;
- Thin Red Line;
- Lord of the Rings;
- Batman Returns.
Pedro Goncalves, Coimbra, Portugal
David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive'.
This is a film. people will be mulling over way into the future.
I have always been on David Lynch's wave length and it has been absolute bliss for me to realise, as, each new film of his is released, I am still there, climbing up the ladder with him!
I was intrigued to learn, after watching an interview, on tv,with him and his 'Mulholland Drive' cast and collaborators, that, he directed his film in vivid 'metaphors'.
Love or hate 'Mulholland Drive', you cannot in all honesty, deny it's power and complete originality.
It is the film noir to end all film noirs!
It's central performance by Naomi Watts, is a tremendous achievement for this young actress and she is supported by the entire cast, admirably.
'Mulholland Drive', is my modern great.
Make of it what you will!
prudence eely bond mcguire, Herne Hill,London, England
Dr. Strangelove, Scarface, Annie Hall... they're all great films, but the all-time greatest is The Godfather, a movie that have crossed the boundaries of Cinema, and have turned into a classic work of political reference togehter with The Prince of Machiavelli, The Art of War of Sun Tzu, or The Peloponesian War of Thucydides
Roberto Arnaud, Oaxaca, Mexico
Surely Alien should be in there somewhere? The Two Towers as well? Also: Blade Runner, Akira, Goodfellas, Brazil, The Shining..
Owen, London, UK
Unforgiven - dir. Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman.
Portsmouth Odeon screen 2 - feeling at the end of having seen a perfectly made film.
Saw it once - no need ever to see it again.
Adam, Eastcote, middx, uk
Lorenzo's Oil.
Three male 20 year old students leave Portsmouth UCI cinema - none of them speak for at least 20 minutes.
Adam, Eastcote, middx, uk
Withnail & I, of course. How could you leave it out? Ferris Bueller's day off, indeed. That was just a 'me too' film after Risky Business (which was an excellent film). Sorry for being sarcastic but 'Withnail & I' is my favourite film.
Lottie, Christchurch, New Zealand
Come and See - the true horror of war writ large. The central performance by 14 year old Aleksei Kravchenko is incredible. This is a must see movie yet most people have never even heard of it!
Paul Wilkinson, Lancaster,