Cinemaafficionado's 300 Most Memorable Movies

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66. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Guillermo Del Toro creates a masterpiece, interwining fantasy and stark horror that is the post Spanish Civil War.
To escape from her cruel reality the step daughter of a sadistic Franco army officer creates her own magical world.
The cinematography is equisite and masterfully directed and coreographed.
In 2007, this movie was nominated for 6 Oscars, out of which it garnered 3: Best Cinematography -Guilermo Navaro, Best Art Direction - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Rivuelta and Best Make-up - David Marti, Montse Ribe.



67. The French Connection (1971)

The ultimate cop movie from the seventies with a perfect pairing of Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, brilliantly adapted to the screen by Ernest Tidyman and brilliantly directed by William Friedkin.
This movie had a really gritty and realistic atmosphere for the time and one of the most unforgetabble car chases.
Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle is a relentless, down and dirty NYPD narcotics officer in persuit of the elusive and dapper drug smuggling French connection, Fernando Rey.
In 1972, this movie was nominated for 8 Oscars, out which it garnered 5:
Best Picture, Best Director - William Friedkin, Best Actor - Gene Hackman, Best Adapted Writing - Ernest Tidyman, and Best Film Editing - Gerald B. Greenberg.



68. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)

One of the most enduring war movies from one of my favorite directors about a Japanese POW camp and a detremined group of British prisoners building a bridge that they'll have to destroy. Their charge Colonel Nicholson portrayed flawlessly by Alec Guiness is the kind of role every actor would die for.
In 1958, this epic was nominated for 8 Oscars and managed to get 7:
Best Picture, Best Director - David Lean, Best Actor - Alec Guiness, Best Cinematography - Jack Hyldyard, Best Adapted Screenplay -Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson, Best Film Editing - Peter Taylor and Best Music Score - Malcolm Arnold.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Bridge on the River Kwai is excellent. Was actually one of my very early reviews on here. French Connection didn't really do much for me when I saw it, but it's been a few years and I'll need to try it again someday. Pan's Labyrinth I'm a little unsure of now. It had been in my top 100 list last time out but having rewatched it 2/3 months ago I'm not sure if it would be now. I still greatly admired it as a technical masterpiece in terms of cinematography, effects, direction etc but for whatever reason I didn't feel the same emotional connection as before. Hopefully it was just that one viewing, that I wasn't in the right mood or something.

You continue to do good work CA, a lot of quality on here.



69. No Country For Old Men (2007)

All the hard work finally payed off for the Coen Brothers in this cautionary tale of a hunted hunter.
The casting for this movie is exceptional and the three main characters could not have been better played by Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones.
The cinematography is great and the pacing extra-ordinary as the Coen Brothers masterfull juxtaposition of savagery and innocence is unleashed on the enraptured movie public.
Javier Bardem ends up remaining one of the great screen villians of our time.
In 2008, this outstanding movie was nominated for 8 Oscars, out which it garnered 4: Best Picture, Best Director - Ethan and Joel Coen, Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem and Best Adapted Writing - Ethan and Joel Coen.



70. Scarface (1983)

Arguably Al Pacino's greatest performance, overlooked for the Oscars.
The Tony Montana character is one of a kind, an intense Cuban refugee hick that knows no fear.
Brian De Palma masterfully directs this epic crime drama that takes us from Castro's Mariel boat lift to the cocaine flowing streets of Miami and a Cuban petty criminal who's drive and daring makes him Miami's number one cocaine cowboy.
Michelle Pheipher and Steven Bauer shine in their supporting roles.
Long after some other crime movies that have received more acolades fade into obscurity, Brian De Palma's Scarface will forever be remembered.
" Say hello to my little friend! "



71. Ben Hur (1959)

One of the first great epics of our time, it's a timeless masterpiece of friendship, betrayal and revenge. It takes place in Jerusalem, at the time of Christ, where a prominent Jewish family is betrayed and perssecuted by a Roman, Messala - Steven Boyd, who grew up as a child under their care, and himself was a bastard child of a powerful Roman Senator.
At the time of the betrayal, Massala wa the Roman garrison commander under Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea. His childhood friend, Judah Ben Hur - Charleton Heston, was falsely accused of staging an uprising against the visiting Governor, when in fact, the only thing he was guilty off was accidentaly disloging a roof tile from above, that wound up falling and striking Pontius Pilate.
For this trangression, Ben Hur was originaly slated for Crusifiction and his mother and sister were to be put to death by strangulation, thus ending the House of Hur. Unbeknown to him, Massala intervened and sent him off to the ship gallows as a rowing slave, where Ben Hur maged to save the life of the Captain, Roman Admiral of the whole fleet, Quintus Aries - Jack Hawkins, thus enabling Ben Hur to set off on his quest for revenge.
William Wyler beautifuly directed this sprawling epic.
In 1960, the film was nominated for 12 Oscars and was the first of only three movies ever to receive 11 Oscars, Best Actor - Charlton Heston, Best Supporting Actor - Hugh Griffith ( Sheik Ilderim ), Best Director -William Wyler, Best Cinematography - Robert Surtees and Best Picture - Sam Zimbalist, all included.