The Prestige's Prestigious films to immerse you

Not any?

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Ah cheers buddy. I too was inspired by a list. Pyro's Visual Pleasures list to be exact. Plus check out some of the other members list. Mark has a terrific and very comprehensive list as does Powered Water, 7th, MovieMan, Swedish Chefs, Lennon, Iro's, Classicqueen and, of course, Usual Suspects . All great lists with some hidden gems that were lost on me prior to reading them. Still waiting on what's sure to be HK's controversial list!!


And yeah, love Levitt, he is one of my favourite actors and really does put in back to back definitive performances in both Mysterious Skin and Brick. Also check out a decent heist thriller called The Lookout if you're a Levitt fan.

I could tell you right now if whether or not im going to have The Graduate, but then that would spoil the surprise


Yeah the ending definitely is thought provoking, but your perspective on it is refreshing. You hinting that Joey may still come out at the family should he be pushed? Interesting way of looking at it, yeah there is that uncomfortable silence between all of them, but I think it's more about the fear that their innocence as America's most sweetest and friendliest family is shattered and that it can never be reclaimed back. Plus, prior to the dinner scene, we saw Tom/Joey through away his chain in the water, all bare chested and stuff. Theres some strong religious overtones that suggest that Tom is finally cleansing himself of Joey and that he has to just go back and seek redemption.



Cheers dude. Of course I recommend watching EVERY film on my list, even the ones you have already seen. Brick really is a unique work in it's own, so it's hard to recommend you something similar. If you like your neo noirs then please go and watch Bound, The Last Seduction, Lost Highway and Following if you haven't already seen them. If you a sucker for teen orientated flicks with black humour then I can't stress the excellence of Heathers, Ginger Snaps and Scream.

Thanks young fella, you must have seen a few of the films I have listed surely???

Oh too true! He is terribly wonderful in his roles. I am excited to see his performance in not only Inception, but Hesher as well, as they are, yet again, roles he has yet to explore. I adored The Lookout; it is very smart when it wants to be. Have you seen Manic? While Don Cheadle is the more-powerful actor in the film, Levitt yet again proves how adaptable he is as a performer.

Yeah i've seen and own Manic. I liked it a lot and felt Levitt held his own against Cheadle. Some very accomplished performances in that film, but it doesn't have a whole lot to say unfortunately.

"You talkin' to me?"

4. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)



Martin Scorsese has been accused of a lot of things in relation to his incredible contribution to cinema. Accusations of blasphemy, condoning racism and glorifying the mobster life style have swung at him like haymakers. But the one thing he can never be accused of is compromising his vision for the sake of a profit or appearing politically correct, as evidenced by the genuinely disturbing cameo by the influential auteur himself. Such stubborness often results in highly personal works of art that pop up in essay questions.

Robert DeNiro is unsurpassed in his portrayal of the vietnam vet turned New York cabby who is trapped in a spiral of hell. God's lonely creature has had it up to here with the "scum" that plagues the street and he wants to do something about it as well as seek what appears to be impossible redemption by saving child prostitute Jodie Foster. This is a dark, disturbing world in which there is little distinction between hero's and tossers (my type of film then), and Scorsese explores this psychological craziness with the conviction of a god fearing knight.



DeNir'S Travis Bickle is the vehicle for the exploration, and the depths into his psych is truly a revelation into just how disconnected screenwriter Paul Schrader was when he wrote this. The sense of alienation, lonliness and disgust for crime is conveyed in a way that's very uncomfortable but, at the same time, very real amongst certain individuals. For example, it's inexplicitly implied that Bickle is hatred is directed towards the black citizens. He isn't quite KKK calibre, but there is a sense of him looking for an easy scapegoat and Scorsese films these scenes with uncomfortable close up shots of DeNiro's angry face looking down on the ethnic minorities. I interpreted these scenes as Bickle looking for anything to blame for the collapse of his world.

The film also features a bunch of extremely talented actors who more than hold their own against DeNiro such as Harvey Keitel's lowlife pimp Sport, his potential but hard to relate to love interest Betty and, of course, a young, beguiling Jody Foster who seems doomed from the moment we see her in her unflattering short pants barely fitting on her boyish, undeveloped hips.

The most amazing thing about this shocking, brave work is the slow tension build up to the inevitable. You know that there is something not quite right with Bickle from the start, but the majestic way his insanity fully emerges at the end of the film is perfectly executed. There is a line in 500 Days Of Summer where Joseph Gordon Levitt's character says, "loneliness is underrated". I would imagine Travis would somewhat agree, at least at the conclusion of this picture because the irony of it, of course, is that Travis insanity essentially frees him. It allows him to become accepted and recognised as a "hero". The very ID he tried to keep from rising is what gets him his redemption in the end, and only most powerful of filmmakers can get away with such endings. Bravo Mr Scorsese. Bravo.

Great pick for your top 10.

Love that line from (500) Days of Summer you threw in there. I guess you could describe Travis Bickle as a character diagnosed with terminal loneliness. The way in which he describes the people of New York in his diary ("scum" as you said) is very negative and condescending, but it does suggest some idealism within him. He sees things that displease him and throughout the film, he does make some efforts to improve the world he lives in. For instance, he tries to fight his loneliness by trying to get close to Betty. Furthermore, he attempts to save Jodie Foster from being a child prostitute.

In contrast to these attempts to improve his surroundings, is the way in which Bickle is systematically destroying himself. He drinks too much, eats junkfood and takes pills. Then when he finally scores a date with Betty, he sabotages his initial purpose (starting a relationship with her) by taking her to see a porn movie. When he finally "saves" Jodie Foster, he does so through hideous violence.

In this sense, Bickle is a character with a sort of split personality. On the one hand, he looks for ways to fight his loneliness and improve the world; on the other hand he sabotages himself in order to remain an outsider of society. Whether he does this consciously or unconsciously is unclear to me.

This makes Travis Bickle a very interesting character. And that's just his personality I talked about; the reasons as to why he became the way he is, could also be discussed at length. An obvious reason for Travis Bickle's behaviour and mental state could be the Vietnam war. However, I don't know if that's the sole reason, as it's only mentioned very briefly if I recall correctly. It's probably a combination of several factors: Vietnam, Nixon, rise in criminality, racial tensions in the 70s. In this way, Taxi Driver is a social commentary on the first half of the 70s.

Just my 2 cents on this brilliant film.

Keep 'em coming. Appreciate the effort you've put in these latest entries.

Thanks for the kudos dude. Yeah too really liked that Summer line too as it's something I sort of agree with on a personal level. I agree that he is a bit of an idealist and that he does try to better his world, but initially it's all futile becomes how damaged he is and his lack of emotional intelligence limits any sort of connection he can have with Betty or Foster. The way he goes about trying to help isn't very inspiring either, which begs the question, what was BEFORE vietnam and the whole poverty racial tension thingy? Do you think he was always socially arkward or was he more "normal" prior to his life changing events?




Pretty interesting that. I never really considered how much his poor lifestyle could be affecting his mental stability. I don't think this is deliberate though and that Travis, much like a lot of his fellow employees, is somewhat lazy and too involved in his own little world to think about his diet. Plus there was a bit of a rocky style sequence with him does an excessive amount of press ups and pull ups in order to stay strong and ready for his grand plans, so on a physical level, I don't think he intentionally wants to destroy himself.


.


Don't know much about the 70's to be honest, but I did get a feel for it with this film. Like you said mate, Bickle is an interesting character and the most interesting thing about it is that there are 1 millions Bickles out there. Not as messed up as he is but there are those who share a similar ideal.

Again thanks for the kudos and I will keep em coming don't you worry. Only 3 more to go!

Well, the '70s in the U.S. anyway (and probably many other places if you looked close enough) were about moral decay, especially in high places. We had the fiasco of the Vietnam War where the American people were being lied to by the people in charge. Then you had Nixon win an overwhelming re-election only to learn that the Vice President was so corrupt that he had to resign. Then came the revelations about Watergate and Nixon had to resign before he was impeached. The U.S. then had the only President in the history of the nation who was not elected to a position as V.P. or Prez. Movies got pretty dark. Look at Chinatown, The Conversation and Taxi Driver. On the other hand, the public hungered to get away from the malaise and swarmed to Jaws and Star Wars as a way to feel better about themselves and forget about their broken hearts concerning our country. It was pretty much a slap in the face to most people, and if it wasn't, it sure should have been.

Taxi Driver certainly delineates themes concerning these dark feelings since it directly introduces Vietnam and the 1976 Presidential election into the plot although it doesn't really go into too many specifics about what makes Travis tick concerning these events. I also want to point out that I don't really find Travis to be a racist character. He seems to find deep hatred and resentment for all races equally (something shared later by Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket - "Here you are all equally worthless." ) What do you expect a cabbie who drives anywhere, especially Harlem, to think? He wants to wash the scum, no matter where that scum presents itself. Of course, Travis doesn't seem to understand that by isolating himself from the world that he could become something as dangerous and hateful as the scum he despises.

When he's rightfully rebuffed by the most-beautiful woman he's ever met because his social skills are, shall we say, "lacking", he takes it hard. He really did want to save her from those big bad politicians and all those scummy political co-workers (Look out, Albert Brooks! Your ass could still very well be grass.) That, or maybe he's just got such an itch from visiting his local movie [porno] theatre that he decides to make his move. Now, in Iris (Jodie Foster), he probably really is trying to save her, but that's because he can probably see in her some things which may have got him stsrted down a path where there may be no return. Although the only thing we really know about Travis and Vietnam is that he was apparently tortured, I wouldn't be surprised if Travis enlisted before he could ever have been drafted. He seems like he could have been a problem kid, but somebody who could focus his hatred for the Scum of the world on fighting in a war, regardless of who he's fighting.

This all leads up to Taxi Driver's finale which has to be the most-controversial part oif the film for several reasons. The film was going to be rated X unless the color in the final scenes was desaturated or muted to make all the intense gore and horrific actions of the characters harder to see. As you say, after committing a vigilante crime, Travis is hailed as a hero, especially by Iris's Dad who narrates a Thank You letter to Travis in a voice which sounds a lot like that of Captain America, James Stewart. As discussed by me and others here but at a different site, this "ironic" ending is supposed to be some kind of commentary on what's going on in the '70s at the time. It's true that Iris was "rescued", but at what price? I'm not sure what it's saying. Travis beat Nixon and Agnew and got away with it? The '70s were so morally-bankrupt that we look at somebody like Travis Bickle as our new hero? Or is this the beginning of something resembling Badlands II where Travis and Iris run (drive) away and start their own killing spree to save us from ourselves?

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Great post as per usual Marky. It's good to have a further understanding of the 70's and how much of an impact a film like Taxi Driver had on the era. I was even more ignorant than I thought but I am definitely seeing things in hindsight. The way in which you described the 70s is very similar to how a lot of scholars describe post depression America in the 40s and the emergence of film noir as a result of that era. Wasn't the 70's where neo noirs were on the rise? I guess there really is a relationship between society and films.

You may not find Travis to be a racist character, but I do believe he comes across that way for most people. I'm almost certain I heard Paul Schrader admit that Travis was intended to be a racist character, and while your argument about him being more misanthropic than he is racist has some support (the way he despises Sport and the whitef upper middle class politicians), the evidence for his racism is not as latent. I do believe that his attitudes towards ethnicities change somewhat by the end of the film, though. As evidenced by the way in which he is slightly more amicable to the other black cabbie.

That's the thing with the conclusion, Marky. Scorsese and Scharader offer no easy answers, which is another reason why I consider this film a flawless victory (Mortal KombatTM baby) on their part. In some ways it would seem that your question about the 70's being so corrupt that even a renegade like Travis is considered a saviour would be right. It's all well and good that he saved Foster, but at the end of the day by doing so he became not too dissimilar from the very thugs he was rying to wipe out. And he had success in his transformation. It's disturbing I know but it does ring true.

You know, you've only got four more days to post your last three films, Pres? Are you going to make it?

Hmm, good question. I honestly don't. I think there is a good chance that I can make it but it really depends on how I push myself. Actually, sod that, I WILL make it. I've got no choice

That's it, Pres. Go for the gold!

Always mate, always

Today's the last day, Pres. Tomorrow's the 16th.

Are you waiting this out to put Inception unto the list? Honestly, it looks damn good to me.

I don't think so. As good as Inception may look, I don't think Prez is the kind of guy who would stick a brand-new release into his top 3 films straight after seeing it, even if he likes it.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Iro's pretty much right, it doesn't matter how good Inception turns out to be, it is not making my list, specially this high. I will have had to have seen it 3 times at least before I can make an assessment, and I won't be updating my list with new entries for a good couple of years from now so yeah, don't expect it anytime in the near future guys. It also depends on how good it is. I might turn out to dislike it, though I doubt it very much.

I was joking about it making top 3 haha.

Yeah yeah sure you were. Stop trying to style it out.




"I got one question for you. Do you consider yourself English or Jamaican?"

3. This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006)




Shane Meadow's This Is England is a remarkable slice of British cinema that perfectly encapsulates the bleakness of 80's Thatcher Britain just after the Falklands War. Drawing on his own childhood experiences, the film starts off as a coming of age drama that tells the story of 12 year old Shaun (a charmingly cheeky Thomas Turgoose) who finds himself befriended by a gang of nice and friendly and multiracial skinheads. The boss of the group is Woody, who is Shaun's first mentor and confidence, and arguably the one responsible for Shaun's subsequent growth from boy to teenager.

The introduction of skinhead Woody (amicable Joe Gilgun) and co is Meadow's challenging our notion of skinheads, immediately educating us on the origins of the skinhead culture. Most people around the age of 30 and lower are not too aware that the original skinheads were, in fact, a very lefty subculture who were heavily influenced by social interaction between the white were class and black jamaican immigrants. This subculture listened to reggae, ska and other types of black dominating music genres. There are no fixed stereotypes in these groups, just a bunch of music, weed, fun lovin' groupd of youngins who enjoy nothing more than to drink pints of beer and hang around abandoned wharehouses so they can get up to some innocent havoc.



A touching and genuinely halirious first half gives way to something far more disturbing and uncomfortable as Shaun becomes seduced by another group, the more familiar hardcore skinny's who make up neo nazi gangs. This group leader Combo (the incredible Stephen Graham) is just as charismatic as Woody, but backs the far right and is extremely violent, angry and ultra aggressive. He is a hardcore skinhead, a poster boy for the hate campaign against immigrants and a big nasty piece of work to boot. The spectator can only hope Shaun can get as far away from Combo as soon possible.

Shaun's alliance shift is very dramatic but feels completely plausible and authentic at the same time, which is a testament to the writing as well as the performances. Even though most of the film features improvised acting, Meadow's dialogue can be felt, specially the power of Combo's now infamous "This is England" speech. Graham has never been better as he effortly and fearlessly allows venomous words to leave his lips. He is powerful, an enigma and scarily convincing.



He's also a bit of a bastard but I guess that I more or less indicated that with the whole nazi thing. Anyways, instead of having fun drinking and meeting girls, Shaun's association with Combo includes National Front meetings, tattooing the St George's flag and racial verbal abuse at other minorities. It's chilling stuff and the way in which the racism creeps up on you is handled in as honest way as possible.

Take Combo's indirect verbal assault on Milky, the black member of the nice skinhead group. It's a perfect sequence of tension, sadness, and eventually, anger. It's done slowly and deliberately and Meadow's makes sure that we catch every motion of Milky's humiliated face, and the weakness of his friends who feel too threatened and uncomfortable to stick up for him. It's an amazing scene and probably the best scene I have ever seen that depicts the realities of racism and it's effect on both the individual and the group. You are not just seeing the physical ramifications such bigoted cruel acts have on people, but also how the verbal actions can be as bad as a physical one.



Look at films like American History X and terrible Romper Stomper. Films that deal with similar themes to TIE, but neither have the skill and clairty to really convey what they are saying. Both of those films unintentionally attracted a group of neo nazi who worship the films as some sort of fascist media bible. Both features acts of violence on ethnicities we never get a chance even get a chance to see properly and both don't seem to know what they want to say about race and consequences of such weird groups. If you go on imdb you will find a lot of dodgy types saying how much they like the aforementioned films. But the TIE imdb board features none such things, and that's reflective of how amazing Meadow's vision was and how he is one of the few contemporary directors to really show the disgusting nature of racism in it's full glory.



So, is this England? Yes and no. The film's title is tricky, and full of lots of different meanings, but to me it suggests asserts the claim that England, despite it's rich history and it's seemingly down to earth inhabitants, still has a very long way to go to in terms of letting go of 'purity' and nationalistic pride. Just my 2 pence.



"They'll believe...

"WHAT I WANT THEM TO BELIEVE"

2. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)



Officially the greatest film debut ever made is just one of the many tags you can put on a Citizen Kane poster. Orson Welles' perfect debut was one of the first mainstream American films to challenge the conventions of storytelling using flashback techniques, overlapping dialogue, long takes, cellinged sets and psychologically strong characterisation.

This much applauded art is widely considered the best of the best, the creme de la creme, the greatest film of all time, the big bad booty daddy, etc. And there is a damn good reason for that. Orson freakin' Welles. Welles was 25 years old when he made Kane. He got most of his experience from stage and radio work. He was instrumental in the success of the Mercury Theatre company, of which he used fellow colleagues to perform in Kane for him. The result is the defining film of American cinema. Believe it or not, I was actually torn about whether to place this film at number one or not because truth be told, Kane is the granddaddy of all these great films that have come after it. The Godfather, There Will Be Blood..I think that it is almost safe to say that none of those films would have existed if it hadn't been for the greatest debut of all time. Hell, half of the films in my top 100 would not have existed if it hadn't been for Kane.



Despite his youth, Welles was a one man production having co-wrote, produced, directed and starred as the lead. And he handled each role like a pro. As far as I know, it was rare back then for somebody to take on multiple tasks in the film world. I mean being your own producer, star, director, etc is something that only few can understand. The stress, time and money drained out of you is something that I can only imagine, but doing that at such a young age only for the film to become talked about 7 decades later is something that's even beyond a remarkable achievement. He raised the ante on film noir and general filmmaking by experimenting with all these techniques. And I use the word experimenting loosely because, obviously, the film feels anything but experimental.

One of the most immersive things about Kane is the sheer visual quality of it. It's a visual feast and a lot of that has to do with with his dp, Greg Toland. The look is incredible, specially when you consider that it's black and white. A black and white film that feels colourful, if you will. The moody slightly horrish opening sequences gives you an idea of what to expect, or rather, doesn't as it's a film that really is unpredictable (i'm not even going to bother going into the infamous 'rosebud' ordeal as it's beend discussed heavily elsewhere on this board) and just exciting on so many levels. The budget wasn't very high and I think that Welles and Toland do an exceptional job in disguising that.



There are 1000000 things I want to say about this film but like I mentioned before it's been talked about to death already on this board. Wha I will say though is that this is visual drama at it's most purists and aesthetically pleasing. If you haven't seen it, believe the hype. Utterly unmissable art by the artist known as Awesome Welles. Landmark film personified.