209. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Thirty-five years old, Spielberg’s classic was inspired by more than just the Saturday matinee serials he watched as a child.
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208. The French Connection
William Friedkin’s Oscar-winner may be a gritty thriller but it owes an enormous debt to a classic of 19th century American literature.
207. Jerry Maguire
“Show me the money.” “Shut up, you had me at hello.” For such a quotable film, Jerry Maguire’s most important line is “Fewer clients. Less money.”
206. Blazing Saddles
We like to think of ourselves as modern and sophisticated, but is the humour of Blazing Saddles too outrageous for anyone in Hollywood to make it today?
205. Fargo
When released in 1996, Fargo was seen as the Coen brothers’ breakthrough film. As the years roll by it has increasingly become a lynch pin in their canon.
204. The Most Influential Films Ever Made – Part Two
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often ones few people have seen.
203. Son of Saul
While cinema has a moral duty to bear witness to history, the problem is that to witness something you have to see it. How can you show the Holocaust?
202. #Shakespeare400
He died in 1616 but the fact that over four hundred films have been made from his plays shows how much The Bard knew about human nature.
201. The Most Influential Films Ever Made – Part One
The films that really changed the course of cinema are often the ones few people have seen.
200. Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s radical adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella is one of the most astonishing achievements in the entire history of cinema.
199. Se7en
Mention Se7en and chances are talk will lead to the head in the box. But while that makes the ending so unforgettable, it’s also the film’s biggest problem.
198. Reel Space/Time – Part Two
In his Poetics, Aristotle wrote that drama needs a unity of space, time and action. How does cinema deal with such restrictions?
197. Reel Space/Time – Part One
In his Poetics, Aristotle wrote that drama needs a unity of space, time and action. How does cinema deal with such restrictions?
196. Blue Velvet
David Lynch’s shocking and mesmerising look at suburbia’s underbelly also showed he could turn popular music into a nightmare.
195. Minority Report
Critics often chide Steven Spielberg for inappropriate optimism and not knowing when to end his films. They should reconsider Minority Report.
194. All The President’s Men
This Oscar winning adaptation of Woodward and Bernstein’s book is one of the great masterpieces of American cinema.
193. Aliens
James Cameron took a risk in tackling a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. But his follow-up added other elements to the sci-fi/horror: action, adventure and all out war.
192. Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s novel has been filmed over 25 times. Is there a line between radical interpretation and reckless desecration?
191. GoodFellas
GoodFellas is more than just a breathless tale of middle-management in the Mafia. It’s one of Martin Scorsese’s many films in which he seeks enlightenment.
190. Groundhog Day
One of the most original screenplays to ever emerge from Hollywood, this seriously funny comedy ponders the very meaning of our existence.
189. Genocide in Cinema
Blighted with massacres since Biblical times, the word genocide was not coined until 1944. How has cinema faired in depicting it?
188. David Bowie
Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust or The Thin White Duke. Who was David Bowie is the wrong question to ask. Much better to ponder on what he made and why.
187. The Revenant
Originally pitched as a simple story of revenge, under Alejandro Inarritu’s direction The Revenant became a journey of spiritual release.
186. Spotlight
Spotlight is more than just an investigation into the child abuse scandals that riddled Boston’s Archdiocese. It is an examination of the institutions we create.
