2 more and the last honourable mention (which is a special one).
3. Alien (1979)Directed by: Ridley Scott
Featuring: Sigourney Weaver (among others)
Did anyone expect this one? Nor did I and when I initially started making my list, I forgot about this one, but I had to include it anyway. And wow, did it end up high on my list or not? WHat we have here, is in my opinion the best science fiction film ever made (of course, only counting the ones I have actually seen) and - not only that - this is also the scariest film I have ever watched in full. I must have been around 10-12 when I first saw this and it's the impact that it had on me back then that makes it score so ridiculously high on my list. I was scared shitless and literally couldn't fall asleep for about two weeks straight. I've always had problems falling asleep anyway, but this film augmented that to insane degrees of insomnia. And it wasn't because I was scared of an alien popping up from under my bed or anything, but the way the story in the film was told. This way seem very silly nowadays and I probably wouldn't really find it scary if I ever saw it again now (last time must have been some years ago, can't really remember), but the way it scared me then was more than enough to warrant it being on this list. This film is about a shapeship that discovers a tracking signal on a nearby planet and the passengers are awakened as they set to discover what the source was from. They come to an alien vessel, in which numerous egg-like things are planted and out of one of them a creature jumps that attaches to the face of one of the passengers. He's taken on board, where they succesfully take the thing off, but when everything seems alright, an alien bursts out of his stomach, killing him instantly before it escaped. So now the ship is in space again, with an unknown creature on board that grows rapidly and stalks the passengers, killing them off one by one. That's the gist of it and it's brilliant. There's some backstories going on as well and our hero is Sigourney Weaver, playing warrant officer Ripley, which in itself is a stand-out for the male-dominated genre of science fiction for a woman to portray the main character. Without spoiling much more, I will just say that this is a unique work in science fiction and that it's just awesome all the way through, scaring you to death occasionally, not particularly by sudden random scares, but by the atmosphere's it creates. This film spawned 3 sequels and a film that linked the Predators from the science fiction film Predator (which is pretty awesome as well, I must say), but none of those sequels manage to live up to this one, at least for me. In space, no-one can hear you scream.
Honourable Mention: The Shining (1980)Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Featuring: Jack Nicholson
I had to give this one a mention for the same reason Alien is on the list; this film holds my itle as scariest film ever. The only reason it's not on the list is because I have never watched it in full. I stopped watching about half-way (I was about 12 again, I think), because I couldn't take it anymore. That fucking kid on his tricycle, those twin, the blood coming out of the elevator, it was too much for me and I was once again scared to death and couldn't sleep for days, because of what I saw. By now, I believe I've seen most of it through random clips (and I still don't like watching it), but I have yet to view the thing in full.
2. The Deer Hunter (1978)Directed by: Michael Cimino
Featuring: Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken & Meryl Streep
Not another Vietnam film! Well, yes, this is yet another Vietnam film and one of my all-time favourites. With this one, as well as with the number one, which is coming tomorrow, I'm not going to comment muc on the plot, since this has to be viewed in order to be experienced. Spoil yourself all you want by reading the (very lengthy) description on wikipedia, but I'm not doing it. This film takes place in Vietnam for a good part of it, but it actually starts out in a small town in Pennsylvania, where 4 friend prepare for marriage and military service. What ensues is the most heartbreaking story I have ever seen to film, my number 1 doesn't top it and nothing does and that's what makes this film good. The way it's filmed, the way the characters are, their traits and personalities and how they deal with the shit that's thrown to them is portrayed beautifully and pretty much impossible to describe without starting to talk nonsense, instead of just experiencing it yourself. There's a couple of recurring theme throughout the film (of which the most notable is Russian Roulette, which was highly controversial, apart from the fact that making films about Vietnam in the first place was a controversial act in itself). Robert DeNiro is our protagonist, playing Michael, the reluctant 'leader' of his group of friends and the way his character develops from beginning to end is nothing short of brilliantly executed. The Vietnam scenes are horrifying to watch, basically, but they still manage to maintain a level of reletive 'neutral-ness' if you prepare yourself not to be overwhelmed by them, although that's probably very difficult. Then why the title? Yeah, the title doesn't really show this to be a film about Vietnam, but the gist is that they all hunted deer before going into military service. Actually, the deer hunting plays a pretty big role in the overall plot, as the act of hunting is very important for the character development. I suppose I've rambled on long enough without really saying anything, so I recommend you watch this one as well if you haven't yet. It's a pretty overwhelming film all in all and one that left me sick in my stomach and heartbroken at the same time. This is some of the best the Vietnam genre has to offer.
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NUMBER 1 will arrive shortly.
Topic: Top 20 Films/Movies Thread - Up now: toro (Page 25) (Read 77205 times)
