There are those film buffs who can decipher the works of Woody Allen and recall the entire filmographies of both Ingmar and Ingrid Bergman. Then there are those who proclaim themselves connoisseurs of film because they saw “Avatar” in 3-D six times. For film enthusiasts and those who want to add spice in their movie palate, this list of films recommended by members of the UCLA Film, Television and Digital Media Department will appease the tastes of any insatiable moviegoer.
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“Paper Moon”
Chair of the UCLA Film, Television and Digital Media Department Barbara Boyle’s pick is “Paper Moon” (1973). The archetypal grifter movie, “Paper Moon,” depicts the relationship of an estranged father-daughter duo who bond over their mutual interest in conning and grifting. Mirroring the tumult between real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, who are both actors, “Paper Moon” showcases the highs and lows of establishing that paternal bond through Bible scams and eluding the authorities. “It really is the perfect movie,” Boyle said. “There isn’t a false note in the film, not in the dialogue, not in the character, not in the situation.”
“Citizen Kane”
Heading every top 10 list of best movies known to man, including UCLA visiting associate film Professor Jonathan Kuntz’s list, Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” (1941) examines the life of ruthless newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, depicting the pitfalls of being a megalomaniacal media mogul. “It’s rated No. 1 in the (American Film Institute’s) top 100 movies, and everybody would say that the aspects of cinematography, story structure, acting and the flashbacks really made the movie excellent,” Kuntz said. The summation of Kane’s life ends with “Rosebud,” the last word uttered by the lonely goat in his empty estate, prompting legions to guess the significance of the word. And one knows a movie belongs at the top of every critic’s list when an entire narrative can be compiled from a single word.
“Dog Day Afternoon”
A bank robbery goes all wrong and calamity ensues in the heist drama and UCLA film Professor Nancy Richardson’s pick “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), provoking a hostage standoff between robbers and the authorities. The film hits a chord in that spot that makes one shed a silent tear for the antagonists, as the desperation of the robbers Sonny and Sal, played respectively by Al Pacino and John Cazale, increases in volume. The unforgettable scene of Pacino chanting “Attica!” sends chills up the spine, testifying to how rawly emotional and powerful the movie is. “It should be part of our film literature,” Richardson said. “It features a truly great performance by a young Pacino, and it’s also a love story, a story about desperation and really just a great story.”
“Midnight Cowboy”
“Midnight Cowboy” (1969), the poignant film chosen by film Professor Richard Walter, was rated X when it was released in 1969. The film unveils the downtrodden nature of living in New York through the characters of the dim cowboy hustler Joe Buck, played by Jon Voight, and foul-mouthed thief Ratso Rizzo, played by a brilliantly disheveled Dustin Hoffman. Yes, the movie has some overt sexuality and coitus atop a television remote, but some of the film’s finest scenes exist in the nuances, where a simple scene of Buck eating ketchup with crackers offers realism of living on the streets of New York. Likewise, Buck’s friendship with Rizzo becomes a focal point of the greatness of the film not as a sexual relationship, but as a showcase of the common human predilection for companionship. “The film is about darkness and despair in the hell hole that is New York in the early ’70s, a terrible period with rampant homelessness, hustlers of every kind, but it’s really a love story about trying to connect to someone else,” Walter said.
“The Godfather”
UCLA screenwriting Professor and Co-Chair Hal Ackerman chose “The Godfather” (1972). The quintessential mobster movie was the work of director and UCLA alumnus Francis Ford Coppola. “The Godfather” delves into the intricacies of the Corleone family, full of moral disquietude, mafia standoffs and plenty of garroting. “The writing is excellent, and the movie is just a great example of really great film. It’s very violent, but a lot of the really great movies have the most violence,” Ackerman said. Violence does permeate the movie, in which the threat of waking up next to a bloody horse head or being shot while innocuously standing next to a fruit stand becomes eerily realistic. However, it is the psychological complexities of sustaining the family business that differentiate the film from other trigger-happy movies, and also feature what is arguably Marlon Brando’s finest performance as head of the family, Don Vito Corleone. “The Godfather” resides as a key part of the history of American film, and continues to influence legions of moviegoers and popular culture in general, which explains why it was picked twice ““ also by Howard Suber, UCLA professor emeritus of film. “”˜The Godfather’ is by far the most influential and widely known American film of the past 50 years. It also is routinely named in all kinds of polls as one of the three greatest American films. I teach it often and always find the class ranks it very highly. I personally continue to find something new in it every time,” Suber said.
“The Wizard of Oz”
Sequined red shoes and a sassy terrier named Toto became immortalized in this childhood classic and UCLA film Professor Becky Smith’s pick, “The Wizard of Oz,” (1939) the film that proved that there really is no place like home. The film realized every angst-filled preteen’s dream to run away from home, as Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, frolics off into a tornado that turns into a dream sequence in which Dorothy encounters all sorts of witches and flying monkeys. In the end, she returns to Kansas, realizing this is the place where she truly belongs. “The film takes unexpected twists and turns, (and) the story resides in a fantastical, original world, sandwiched on both sides by what seems like an ordinary existence,” Smith said. “The film can be enjoyed on many levels and explores fundamental questions of friendship, courage and integrity.”
“Dogville”
Director Lars von Trier is known for torturing his leading actresses in the subplot of his movies, and that is no exception in the viscerally brutal from 2003, “Dogville,” the pick from visiting assistant film Professor Vincent Brook. Told in the format of a play, “Dogville” stars Nicole Kidman as Grace, a young woman hiding out from gangsters in a small town, working for the initially welcoming townspeople, who steadily become crueler toward Grace as more about her past is uncovered. Von Trier’s signature sadism is at its finest in the film, as Grace becomes a receptacle for emotional and physical torture, all the while utilizing a rather minimal setting to magnify the common malevolence found in every human. “It’s an unusual film, not everyone’s cup of tea, but it should really be seen on the big screen,” Brook said. “It’s a film that has biblical symbolism, Greek mythology, gangsters ““ all set in a small town in 1930s middle America, and it is very violent, very gruesome.”
“Searching for Bobby Fischer”
Movies about precocious young geniuses are usually the stuff of Macaulay Culkin’s greatest hits, but “Searching for Bobby Fischer” (1993) ““ selected by William McDonald, vice chair of undergraduate studies for the School of Theater, Film and Television ““ delivers more of an emotional and visual appeal to the child prodigy genre. The movie features the internal battle of chess wunderkind Joshua Waitzkin, played by Max Pomeranc, who struggles with his natural soft side and the demands that he should be as ruthless as chess champion Bobby Fischer. “Yes, it is a film about chess, but it is visually dynamic, and it is really the cinematography of Conrad Hall that produces the images that support the story,” McDonald said. The movie features a strong performance from the cutesy Pomeranc and stunning aesthetics, juxtaposing the board game and its players to create a compelling film about the seemingly innocent subjects of children and chess.
“2001: A Space Odyssey”
UCLA digital media Associate Professor Fabian Wagmister’s picked the 1968 film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Stanley Kubrick’s futuristic film features the evolution of mankind, from early ape to space exploration. The film begins with apes howling all over the place while discovering a strange monolith that sets forth the evolution of mankind into space and technology. Mankind’s curiosity in the monolith increases in the future, when technology and evolution forcefully collide. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is innovative in both its narrative as well as technological effects, by which the image of a floating fetus juxtaposed against Earth became the foundation for a vast array of interpretations and meanings. “Kubrick was an inventor in film that came up with many ideas for special effects, and that opened new meaning in a very open storytelling approach,” Wagmister said. “It gives a lot of power to give meaning to the open ending and the open narrative.”