149. The Last Picture Show
How did New York’s Peter Bogdanovich make a masterpiece set in small town Texas when he had never set foot in the state?
Tag Archives: Oscar
148. Diner
Some of the best films have so much plot they are very difficult to sum up. Others give you too little. Barry Levinson’s classic serves you french fries and gravy.
145. Sweet Smell of Success
To make a masterpiece about greed, media manipulation and McCarthyism, you hire a director whose background is in comedy.
143. The Adventures of Robin Hood
The legend has endured for 500 years and Hollywood has filmed it a dozen times. But Errol Flynn is still the only Robin Hood.
140. Kiss of the Spider Woman
How do you make a film about Marxism, sexual oppression and Nazis? Set the whole thing in an Argentinean prison.
139. Repulsion
Repulsion was Roman Polanski’s first film he made after defecting from communist Poland. Its depiction of mental disintegration is also his first masterpiece.
138. Network
When Paddy Chayefsky set out to write Network, his aim was to satirise the medium that had given him his start. What he gave cinema was a tragic opera.
137. Fatal Attraction
Earning 5 Oscar nominations and $600m around the globe, the success (and controversy) of Fatal Attraction should be squarely laid at the feet of its producers.
136. American Sniper
Clint Eastwood’s latest film has earned 6 Oscar nominations and is breaking box-office records. But does it deserve all the controversy it is generating?
132. Mildred Pierce
Joan Crawford’s portrayal of martyred mother Mildred Pierce is the stuff of legend. It not only won her an Oscar but provided her with a career defining role.
127. Mike Nichols
Without question, Mike Nichols was one of America’s most feted entertainers. But how did he manage to break new ground and tell such compelling stories?
125. Out of Sight
Out of Sight is about second chances and it helped the three main players; Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez to relaunch their careers.
124. Frozen
Just how do Disney keep making such enormous hits? The elements of Frozen give away a very big clue: films for women about women supporting women.
121. Gone Girl
Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s best-selling thriller, David Fincher’s film keeps its most surprising twist until the final shot. And it’s not what you think.
120. The Fabulous Baker Boys
It’s called The Fabulous Baker Boys, but it was Michelle Pfeiffer’s Oscar nominated performance that earned the film its adjective.
119. Annie Hall
You can divide Hollywood rom-coms into two eras; before and after Annie Hall. The film also marked the arrival of one of America’s most individual artists.
118. Witness
Just how long does it take to write an Oscar-winning screenplay? In the case of Witness, it was 13 years. But how many drafts did it take and how many writers?
117. Good Will Hunting
Written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to launch their acting careers, the studio wanted Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
115. Doctor Zhivago
David Lean’s film of Boris Pasternack’s Nobel Prize Winning Novel whittled the sprawling epic down to a simple love story. Was it successful?
114. Robin Williams
Robin Williams was a force of nature the likes of which cinema had never seen. But what drove him to those incredible heights and then to the ultimate depth?
113. The Crying Game
Neil Jordan won an Oscar for his script, but only after every studio had turned him down saying his story was uncommercial, offensive and the characters unsympathetic.
109. Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate was such a flop, it sank a studio. But in the years since its release, its reputation has been growing. Is it the masterpiece some people claim?
108. The Usual Suspects
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist. Is this the greatest heist movie ever made?
107. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson may share his surname with other directors, but there’s no mistaking his films for anybody elses.
