My top five film list

I'm planning to get quite a bit of work done on this screenplay thing this weekend. So, right now I'm indulging in a time-honored tradition of all writers, everywhere--I'm screwing around with something trivial to put off getting into something important.

So, I decided to post my top five films, along with my thoughts about each. I will reiterate that, on my list, while numbers 2 - 5 will change positions depending on my mood (but it'll still be the same five films), #1 has consistently been #1 since I first saw it in the theater in 1979, and I don't see any upcoming films that have the potential to dethrone it.

So, here you go:

1. Alien. There. I said it. Anybody who knows me will tell you I'm obsessed with this movie, and they'd be right. The sequels--not so much, really. Why? Because the characters are relatable, the setting looks and feels authentic, the creature is terrifying. It's a film that has an agenda--to scare the hell out of its audience. It succeeds. It's a perfect organism, with no fear, no remorse, no delusions of morality. Everything about it is perfect--the film score sort of puts the viewer in a place of unease from the opening titles, the soundtrack is disconcerting throughout. The pacing is perfect. The cast doesn't spend any time winking at the camera like in so many other horror movies--they take it seriously, allowing the viewer to buy into the idea that the stakes are life-and-death. And, yes, this is a horror movie, with science fiction trappings, but still, its primary bloodline is horror.
2. The Sixth Sense. People seem to consider this a scary movie, or a horror movie, and I don't really see why. Sure, there are ghosts, but they aren't very scary. It's actually a touching, beautiful story of a young boy and his mother adjusting to life after his father leaves them. I watched this with my eleven-year old goddaughter recently and she didn't find it scary, though she loved it. She also got to see me cry, as I always do, at that scene near the end, with the boy and his mom in the car. When he says, "Grandma says she saw you dance," the waterworks switch on for me. Dammit. Every time. One reason I love this movie is because it's even better when you watch it after you already know the big surprise at the end. Watching it again, knowing the big secret, will reveal a lovely, sad, touching story of a woman mourning her husband, unable to move past his murder. Beautiful performances all around. I know he has his detractors but I like Bruce Willis in a role like this. He was wonderful. As was everyone else.
3. Citizen Kane. This is the only movie on my list that I don't actually have in my collection. I realized that yesterday and promptly ordered the 70th Anniversary edition on BluRay. Considered by many critics to be the best film ever made--I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's a damned fine effort, especially considering it was Orson Welles's first feature film. Welles knew nothing of making movies when he got the gig with RKO to make five of them, so he was learning as he went. He and his brilliant cinematographer, Gregg Toland, found a way to shoot a deep background shot where both the foreground and the background are in focus. The screenplay, by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, tells a compelling story of Charles Foster Kane, a man whose life story bears a striking resemblance to that of William Randolph Hearst. It's not one of those movies that'll put a spring in your step and a song on your lips--it's kind of a downer. But it's one of those that, if you say you love movies, you have to see at least once.
4. Casablanca. Yeah, another black-and-white movie. This one mixes a dark sense of humor with a gripping story. When you watch it, remember the context of the time in which it came out--it was 1942, and the war in Europe was far from decided. Keep that in mind in particular during the "La Marseilles" scene in Rick's café. That one scene is my favorite in any movie anywhere. It'll get your blood to pumping. It's also an example of an economical scene, too--it shows why Victor Laslo's followers are willing to die to protect him, why the Germans were so afraid of him, and why Ilsa was so in love with him. It's also a dramatic f@ck you! to the Nazis. My god, I love that scene so much.
5. The Godfather. A great example for writers to use when learning their craft. How much exposition to you absorb during the first, say, ten minutes or so? You aren't even aware of it, even though quite a few times you have a character who is just explaining what's going on. It's so interesting you don't care. Brando's performance shows why he was considered one of the greatest actors ever. Duvall was wonderful, as always. Pacino was great, able to handle the dramatic evolution of Michael from an honest citizen and war hero to the head of a major crime family--trust me, there aren't many actors out there who could pull something like that off. Diane Keaton turned in a performance of great subtly, too, as a deeply religious woman in love with Michael, even though he becomes someone she considers a monster before the end. I'm not as big a fan of the sequels, though the second one is very good, but see this one, anyway.

Okay, I think as soon as my copy of Citizen Kane gets here I'm going to have a film festival!

So, what would your list be?