AFIs #65 - The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

FBI agent-in-training, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), is called in to help with the case of a serial killer. Agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) believes that the incarcerated Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins), a serial killer himself and once renowned psychologist, may have information or theories that can help them in the search for an active serial killer. But Lector won't talk to anyone. That is, until he meets Clarice and takes an odd special interest in her. There are more victims and kidnappings and Clarice must reveal personal information about herself to secure information from Lector. Clarice finally gets the lead that takes her to his door. She just doesn't know it. At the same time the other agents think they have the killer cornered, and Clarice is on her own. Concluding with one of the most terrifying endings I've ever had to sit through!

Jonathan Demme's "Silence Of The Lambs" was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won five:Adapted  Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Director and Picture. It is the only horror film to win Best Picture. Also, "Silence Of The Lambs" is one of only three pictures to take all five top awards at the Oscars. The other two being "It Happened One Night" and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".  

AFIs #66 - Network (1976)

In Sidney Lumet's "Network", aging TV anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is told he will be fired with two weeks notice due to declining ratings.  He uses this time still on the air to go stark raving mad on live tv. The executives think this is further reason to fire him immediately. Then Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), the new Vice President of Programming, notices that ratings have gone up with his tirades and insists he be given his own show where he can rave non-stop.  He is. We watch as his world, Diana's, and their co-worker Max Schumacher (William Holden) lives spiral out of control. 

Relevant satire?? Sure. But hard to watch. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards "Network" won four: Best Actor (Peter Finch), Best Actress (Faye Dunaway), Best Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight), Best Original Screenplay (Paddy Chayefsky). As usual, William Holden was robbed of the Oscar. 

AFIs #67 - The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Just back from the Korean War, Major Ben Marco is plagued by PTSD nightmares in which his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw, murders two members of their squad. He goes to his superiors and they put him on sick leave. So he goes to visit Shaw where he finds a Korean man he remembers from his dream. Upon Raymond's return as the winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor his mother, Elanor Iselin, turns the occasion into a political rally for her husband, a senator. As the complicated plot unraveled, Marco and Shaw figure out whats happened, that Shaw has been brainwashed into being a political assassin upon his return to the States. The two men agree to work together to stop Shaw from acting against his will. Will it work?

Starring Frank Sinatra as Marco, Laurence Harvey as Shaw, and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Iselin. Also starring Janet Leigh. This John Frankenheimer film was nominated for two Oscars. 

AFIs #68 - An American In Paris (1951)

Jerry is an American living and painting in Paris in the years following World War II. An heiress takes an interest in his art AND Jerry. But Jerry falls for Lise, a young girl engaged to someone else. Lots of overacting and doe eyes. Lots of singing and dancing. The end. 

AFIs #69 - Shane (1953)

Alan Ladd plays the title character of  "Shane" in George Stevens' classic western that marks the battle between the ranchers and the encroaching homesteaders. 

A stranger passing by the Starrett farm, Shane is quickly pulled into the lives of Joe (Van Heflin), Marian (Jean Arthur), and their son Joey (Brandon De Wilde), and seemingly happy for it. Shane is a gunslinger. We are not really told this by dialogue, but rather see it by his side arm and by how he seems on edge, always alert. 

Part of the magic of this film comes from what the movie SHOWS us, rather than a fancy dancy wordy script. Which is also fair to say about another of Stevens' great classics, a little film called "Giant".  We see respect grow between Shane and Joe, we see how lost Shane feels, we see a building (but never acted upon) passion build between Shane and Marian. And we see the great state of Wyoming and understand why both the ranchers and the homesteaders would fight for her. 

So what happens? The ranchers make strike after strike against the homesteaders, tying to scare them off. And it works for some. But yet others stay. Including the Starrett family. And Shane. Eventually they bring in a hot shot gunslinger, Wilson, (Jack Palance) to push the homesteaders even harder. The homesteaders argue that "God didn't make all this land for just one man!"

Eventually one of Starrett's friends is killed by Wilson, leading to Joe and Shane discussing facing him. Marian counters with "You're both out of your senses! This isn't worth a life! Anybodies life! What are we fighting for? This shack? This little piece of ground? And nothing but work work work?" Joe feels he must go face Wilson himself. Shane says no and the friends fight. It's a tough fight to watch, but in the end Shane ensures that he goes to face Wilson alone, protecting his friends, the Starrett's. Sometimes you want to walk away from your past, but it comes back nipping at your heals. 

George Stevens had originally cast Montgomery Clift as Shane, and William Holden as Joe. Wouldn't that have been something?! When they both ended up picking different projects "Shane" was nearly abandoned. Stevens went to the studio head and asked who was available. Looking over a list he had the film cast in three minutes! His old friend Jean Arthur came out of semiretirement for this picture, which would be her last.

During the funeral scene the dog wouldn't look into the grave. So Stevens had the dogs trainer climb in. It worked! As they kept filming the scene they lowered in the coffin, weighted down with rocks. This was too so bad. But when the harmonica players stated playing Taps the extras started shoveling dirt in onto the poor trainer too!

During the fight between Shane and Joe the horses we supposed to act frightened. When they didn't Stevens had two men put on bear costumes to scare the horses. Makes watching the fight scene pretty funny!

Nominated for six Oscars, it walked away with only one: Best Cinematography. Only one, but a worthy one indeed! In 1954 the other Best Picture nominees included: The Robe, Julius Caesar, Roman Holiday, and the winner, From Here To Eternity. Steep competition! 

AFIs #73 - Wuthering Heights (1939)

Made in 1939, THE quintessential year of American film, "Wuthering Heights" begins when a traveler seeks shelter from a winter storm as he passes The estate known as Wuthering Heights. A servant then tells him the story of the sorrow that hovers over the house. 

One day Mr. Renshaw brings home a near wild boy he discovered on the streets of London. He gives him the name Heathcliff and raises him like a son. Heathcliff befriends (and later falls in love with) Renshaw's daughter, Cathy, but makes an enemy of his son, Hindley. Two years later Mr. Renshaw dies and Hindley, still hating Heathcliff, kicks him out to live with the servants. 

Issues of class and prejudice lead Cathy to marry another, upon which news Heathcliff disappears for a few years, to one day reappear as a well to do man. But what can be done as Cathy is married to another. Such a sad, sopping story. Go. Watch. Now. 

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, but winner of just one for B&W Cinematography, this William Wyler classic is nonetheless one to watch. 

AFIs #71 - Forrest Gump (1994)

"Forrest Gump" follows the story of a man (who is not very bright) as his life intersects with historic events and pop culture. Always with his true love just out of reach. Or is she?

Nominated for 13 Oscars it won 6: Visual Effects, Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture. 

AFIs #72 - Ben-Hur (1959)

William Wyler's "Ben-Hur"-

The story begins with the birth of Christ, who is a contemporary of our story's lead character, Judah Ben-Hur. Their paths cross throughout the film. 

Early in the picture we see Ben-Hur meeting with a childhood friend. Both men are now grown and passionate about the direction of their lives and the future of their people. The problem is they are on opposite sides. This old friend, Messala (played by Steven Boyd), is now an officer of the Roman Legions, while Judah Ben-Hur (played by Charlton Heston) is a prince of the Jewish people. 

By means of an accident thought to be an attempt on the Governor's life (that he did not commit), Messala takes the opportunity to rid himself of the problem of Ben-Hur and imprisons him for this act. Ben-Hur spends years as a slave in a galley boat, until one day he is able to escape, saving the life of a Roman warship commander, who later adopts Ben-Hur, making him his legal heir and a Roman. Messala and Judah have their showdown in the epic chariot race. 

Meanwhile, during all of the years Ben-Hur was a slave, his mother and sister were imprisoned. Upon Judah's return and demands to see them Messala tracked them down, discovering they had both been stricken with leprosy. They fled and asked others to tell Judah they had died so that he would not pursue them and see them in pain. 

Ben-Hur learns that they are alive and living in a leprosy colony. He tries to respect there wishes, but on the news that his sister is succumbing to the disease he intercedes and takes them to meet the Prophet Jesus he has heard about. They meet him as he is on his crucifixion walk and fear all hope is lost. But it isn't. 

Ben-Hur is a Hollywood epic that lives up to the title. Nominated for twelve Oscars and winner of eleven, the first of three films to ever be nominated for 11 awards.  The others were Titanic in 1997 and Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King in 2003. Several of the categories these films won dos not even exist yet when Ben-Hur won eleven, making Ben-Hur's 11 all the more impressive. They were: Music, Special Effects, Editing, Sound, Costume, Art Direction, Cinematography, Supporting Actor, Leading Actor, Director and Picture.

AFIs #70 - The French Connection (1971)

William Friedkin's "The French Connection" follows New York City narcotics cops, Popeye and Buddy (Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider), as they follow leads and suspects connected to a rumored import of heroine from France. Know for its car chase sequence. 

Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, it walked away with five: Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Actor (Hackman), Director and Picture.  

AFIs #74 - The Gold Rush (1925)

Can't stand silent films. Or maybe just Chaplin. The Tramp goes to Alaska to prospect for gold. The soundtrack is nauseating. The end. 

AFIs #75 - Dances With Wolves (1990)

Lt. John Dunbar is accidentally dubbed a hero after a Civil War battle in which his act of carelessness helped win a battle. In recognition for his heroism he is awarded the horse he rode and a position of his choosing. He chooses a remote post on the western frontier, but finds it abandoned except for a curious wolf. 

When he first encounters the Dakota people it is tenuous. They don't trust him. But with time and actions, such as alerting the tribe of a passing herd of buffalo, he is not only accepted, but welcomed into the tribe. 

He discovers a white woman who was raised by the Dakota among them and falls in love with her. He joins the tribe and they marry. But just as they are breaking camp to leave for winter camp he remembers the journal he was writing explaining how he came to know the Dakota as a peaceful people. It is back at the post and he rides to retrieve it, encountering a brutal band is soldiers when he arrives there. 

The screenplay was adapted by Michael Blake from his book. As directed by Kevin Costner the film was nominated for 22 Oscars, winning seven including Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. 

AFI's #77 - American Graffiti (1973)

A great portrait of American teen social culture of the 1960s. The film follows recent high school grads Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steve (Ron Howard) on their last night in town before leaving for college. There's lots of cruising and cars. Curt has second thoughts about leaving after seeing "the girl of his dreams" whisper "I love you" from a passing car. He spends the rest of the night trying to find her. Steve and his girlfriend Laurie (Curt's sister) spend the evening "negotiating" their future. The story also follows their friends Terry and John in their adventures with girls and it all ends with a dramatic drag race. "American Graffiti" was directed by George Lucas and co-written by Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. It was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and Gary Kurtz. The film was nominated for five Oscars, for Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. 

AFI's #78 - Rocky (1976)

Rocky Balboa has been a small-time fighter for years. To make ends meet he works in collections for a local loan shark-mobster. He has a crush on his best friends sister, Adrian, who is so shy she won't talk to him. Not a very promising future, aye? Well, then the unthinkables a start happening. Number one, Adrian goes out with Rocky and they hit it off. Number two, the heavy weight champion of the world, Apollo Creed, is looking for a ringer for a special bicentennial match and he chooses Rocky thinking he's an easy guy to beat. But Rocky sees his chance to be somebody and he goes for a future with Adrian and puts his heart into his training for the fight with Creed. If you're not moved when the match is over and Rocky's calling for Adrian as she fights the crowd to get to him, check your heart. 

Featuring iconic scenes of Rocky training in Philadelphia, this is the movie that made Sylvester Stallone. Casual fans of the film may not know that Stallone wrote the screenplay for this film. It's also important to note that Talia Shire is a sister to the director Francis Ford Coppola and the mother of actor Jason Schwartzman. Nominated for 10 Oscars (including Stallone's screenplay) it won for Best Editing, Best Director and Best Picture.  "Rocky" has been followed by six sequels, if my math is correct. 

AFI's #79 - The Deer Hunter (1978)

The story of three friends, Michael (Robert de Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage) before, during and after a tour of duty in war torn Vietnam. We see their social circle of family and friends at Steven's wedding to Angela, which also serves as their farewell party before deployment. Michael and Nick are both in love with Linda (Meryl Streep). We see them in battle and as captives of the Vietcong (the famous Russian roulette scene takes place here). The real story is about how the war breaks them and who comes out alive. 

Nominated for 9 Oscars and winner of 5 for Editing, Sound, Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken, Best Director and Best Picture.