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When you register for an account on the Criterion Collection's website, they allow you to make a top ten list of your favorite films in the collection. I think it would be interesting to see everyone's top ten; it may expose me to some films I wouldn't otherwise be interested in. The site lets you sell out and "tie" two movies for a singular spot, hence why some numbers have two films.
10.) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie reeks of low level sleaze; and that's why I love it.
9.) Mafioso (1962)
From the more fraternal Sicilian Mafia to the syndicated New York Mafia, I love the duality
of how the Mafia is portrayed in Mafioso.
8.) Pickup on South Street (1953) TIE
A solid noir by Samuel Fuller which adapts to the paranoia of the Cold War. Equally solid performances by the amazing Richard Widmark and the beautiful Jean Peters.
8.) The Naked City (1948) TIE
Decades ahead of its time in realistic, police procedural dramas. Another film that doesn’t get the praise that it deserves for its influence on modern culture.
7.) Night and the City (1950)
If not the best noir, Night and the City is definitely one of the most hard hitting and cruel. Can't say enough good things about this movie.
6.) Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The first time I saw Ralph Meeker in a movie was his role as Bugs Moran in Roger Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). I thought Meeker was the perfect fit for the role; he seemed like the only actor that could buck the great Jason Robards' over the top portrayal of Capone. I then saw Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957), and his portrayal of Corporal Paris made the movie for me. By the time I got to Kiss Me Deadly (1955), I was excited to see Meeker in a lead role in a film noir. Meeker's viciousness as Mike Hammer makes Kiss Me Deadly one of my favorite noirs, with an apocalyptic ending appropriate for the closing of the classic period of the genre.
5.) Homicide (1991) TIE
David Mamet has a great talent for writing dialogue that convinces me that's how people really talk; and the dialogue in Homicide boarders on poetry.
5.) Thief (1981) TIE
What I love about Thief (1981), and can be seen in Mann's Heat (1995), is that Mann's criminal underworld is an ecosystem, filled with different criminals specified to do different jobs.
4.)The Hit (1984)
What I love about The Hit is its basis in reality. In the beginning of the film, when Stamp is being led out of the courtroom after informing on his gang, the accused start singing "We'll Meet Again". This was a real event that happened to Derek Creighton "Bertie" Smalls, the first major informant, which they call "supergrass” that struck a deal with the government in exchange for testimony in 1974; sort of like a British Joe Valachi. Given a new identity, Smalls went to Spain, but quickly came back to London. But in the late 70s, several British gangsters would lam it in Spain, following the collapse of the extradition treaty between Spain and the United Kingdom.
3.) The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
This is John Huston in top form. The brutish, yet human, Dix Handley, brilliantly portrayed by Sterling Hayden, makes this my favorite Huston film and Hayden performance.
2.) The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) TIE
I don't think any other actor could have captured the inherit masculine sadness of the role of Eddie "Fingers" Coyle like Robert Mitchum. Operating on the fringes of the Boston underworld, Coyle and his "friends" eke out a meager existence in low level crime. The release The Friends of Eddie Coyle is well timed in hindsight, given the revelations of Irish gangsters like Whitey Bulger cooperating with authorities while they continued to commit crime.
2.) The Long Good Friday (1980) TIE
Razors: Who's big enough to take you on?
Harold: Well, there were a few.
Razors: Like who?
Harold: Yeah, they're all dead.
For some reason, since the first time I saw The Long Good Friday (1980), that conversation always stuck with me. I think it not only summarizes who Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) is, a violent thug that killed his way to the top of the London Underworld, but foreshadows the violent conclusion of the movie, which seals his fate.
1.) Blast of Silence (1961)
This is a mean movie. Not only does Blast of Silence (1961) hold up extremely well, but its influence on the modern gangster genre goes almost unrecognized
10.) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie reeks of low level sleaze; and that's why I love it.
9.) Mafioso (1962)
From the more fraternal Sicilian Mafia to the syndicated New York Mafia, I love the duality
of how the Mafia is portrayed in Mafioso.
8.) Pickup on South Street (1953) TIE
A solid noir by Samuel Fuller which adapts to the paranoia of the Cold War. Equally solid performances by the amazing Richard Widmark and the beautiful Jean Peters.
8.) The Naked City (1948) TIE
Decades ahead of its time in realistic, police procedural dramas. Another film that doesn’t get the praise that it deserves for its influence on modern culture.
7.) Night and the City (1950)
If not the best noir, Night and the City is definitely one of the most hard hitting and cruel. Can't say enough good things about this movie.
6.) Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The first time I saw Ralph Meeker in a movie was his role as Bugs Moran in Roger Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). I thought Meeker was the perfect fit for the role; he seemed like the only actor that could buck the great Jason Robards' over the top portrayal of Capone. I then saw Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957), and his portrayal of Corporal Paris made the movie for me. By the time I got to Kiss Me Deadly (1955), I was excited to see Meeker in a lead role in a film noir. Meeker's viciousness as Mike Hammer makes Kiss Me Deadly one of my favorite noirs, with an apocalyptic ending appropriate for the closing of the classic period of the genre.
5.) Homicide (1991) TIE
David Mamet has a great talent for writing dialogue that convinces me that's how people really talk; and the dialogue in Homicide boarders on poetry.
5.) Thief (1981) TIE
What I love about Thief (1981), and can be seen in Mann's Heat (1995), is that Mann's criminal underworld is an ecosystem, filled with different criminals specified to do different jobs.
4.)The Hit (1984)
What I love about The Hit is its basis in reality. In the beginning of the film, when Stamp is being led out of the courtroom after informing on his gang, the accused start singing "We'll Meet Again". This was a real event that happened to Derek Creighton "Bertie" Smalls, the first major informant, which they call "supergrass” that struck a deal with the government in exchange for testimony in 1974; sort of like a British Joe Valachi. Given a new identity, Smalls went to Spain, but quickly came back to London. But in the late 70s, several British gangsters would lam it in Spain, following the collapse of the extradition treaty between Spain and the United Kingdom.
3.) The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
This is John Huston in top form. The brutish, yet human, Dix Handley, brilliantly portrayed by Sterling Hayden, makes this my favorite Huston film and Hayden performance.
2.) The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) TIE
I don't think any other actor could have captured the inherit masculine sadness of the role of Eddie "Fingers" Coyle like Robert Mitchum. Operating on the fringes of the Boston underworld, Coyle and his "friends" eke out a meager existence in low level crime. The release The Friends of Eddie Coyle is well timed in hindsight, given the revelations of Irish gangsters like Whitey Bulger cooperating with authorities while they continued to commit crime.
2.) The Long Good Friday (1980) TIE
Razors: Who's big enough to take you on?
Harold: Well, there were a few.
Razors: Like who?
Harold: Yeah, they're all dead.
For some reason, since the first time I saw The Long Good Friday (1980), that conversation always stuck with me. I think it not only summarizes who Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) is, a violent thug that killed his way to the top of the London Underworld, but foreshadows the violent conclusion of the movie, which seals his fate.
1.) Blast of Silence (1961)
This is a mean movie. Not only does Blast of Silence (1961) hold up extremely well, but its influence on the modern gangster genre goes almost unrecognized
