AFIs #24 - Raging Bull (1980)

"Raging Bull" is Martin Scorsese's story of Jake LaMotta, former middle weight boxing champion. LaMotta's brash tone is perfect in the ring, but the problem is that he brings that tone home with him too. He turns his own self-doubt into arguments with family and friends. It's a miracle anyone stays with him through to the end. 

This movie isn't about boxing, it's a character study. Grossly overhyped, "Raging Bull" should only be noted for DeNiro's insistence to gain sixty pounds to portray the older, fatter LaMotta. This amount of weight gain for a part had never been done before. It's also interesting to note that Jake is never shown working out, he's only shown fighting in the ring. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won two: Best Film Editing and Best Lead Actor for Robert DeNiro. 

AFIs #25 - E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

In the forest just outside of town an alien space ship has landed. These aliens have stopped to collect botanical specimens from Earth. Their explorations are interrupted by a group of men with flashlights who run and chase the aliens. The lead man wears a noisy keychain on his belt loop. In their haste to leave quickly, one alien is left behind. Frightened, this alien wanders into town and into the shed in Elliott's backyard. 

Elliott (Henry Thomas) waits outside to meet the pizza delivery guy for his brother. On his way back into the house, he hears a noise in the shed. He throws a baseball into the shed, and something throws it back out! Later that night Elliott explores again and comes face to face with E.T. They both scream and the creature runs for the forest!

The next day, Elliott heads into the forest, on his bike and with a bag of Reese's Pieces, hoping to find the creature, only he spots the man with the keys first. Later that night Elliot is outside and the creature comes right up to him, returning some of the Reese's Pieces Elliott had dropped in the forest. Elliott then lures the creature into the house and into his bedroom.

As E.T. learns about our culture and eventually, how to communicate with Elliott and his brother, Michael (Robert McNaughton), and sister, Gertie (Drew Barrymore), the man with the keys continues to pursue him. As Elliott and E.T. spend more time together, it is clear that their spirits are becoming interwoven, interconnected. E.T. is at home raiding the fridge and drinks a beer, Elliott acts drunk at school. E.T. watches the classic scene of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara kissing in "The Quiet Man" and Elliott grabs a girl he has a crush on and acts out the scene with her. It's priceless, and it's never explained. 

E.T. builds a machine that will send a signal to his family in space. The kids work out a plan to sneak E.T. out of the house posing as Gertie disguised for Halloween. E.T. and Elliott spend the night in the forest, but Elliott wakes up alone and heads for home, sick. Elliott sends Michael to the forest clearing to search for E.T., and finds him nearby in a creek, also sick. It's not long before the kids have to tell their Mom (Dee Wallace) and shortly after that the man with the keys is at the door with many people in what looks to be space suits. They are their for E.T. They set Elliott and E.T. up in side by side beds. E.T.s condition worsens, and he dies.

The man with the keys allows Elliott a few minutes alone with E.T. to say goodbye. As Elliott is walking away he notices that the flowers E.T. had revived are alive again, and so is E.T.! Michael and Elliott hatch a plan to get E.T. to the forest to meet his family.

Nominated for nine Academy Awards, E.T. won four: Best Original Score for John Williams, Best Sounds Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects Editing, and Best Sound.

E.T. is a beautiful story of friendship that explores our natural curiosity for other species. 

AFIs # 30 - The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)

Fred Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) are two down-on-their-luck Americans trying to find work in Mexico. When they do find work it's hard labor and their boss swindles them out of their pay. Overhearing old timer, Howard (Walter Huston) talk about successfully gold mining but wanting partners to help in the work, they find a way to team up with him and head for the mountains. 

The men are very successful, but immediately Dobbs begins to doubt the integrity of the others. They are soon invaded by a man insisting to join them in their luck, and shortly after they are raided by bandits led by a man named Gold Hat, ending in a shoot out in which the uninvited man is killed. They are able to continue mining, but Dobbs is still haunted by his own greed. 

Later, once they have mined enough gold to live off of for years, they head to town to sell out. First Howard, who knows some basic medicine, is asked by some locals to help a sick child. He agrees willingly, entrusting his gold to Dobbs and Curtin. Dobbs, however, can't escape the greed monster and tries to murder Curtin on their journey in to town. He doesn't succeed, but he does proceed with all the gold. And then he meets up with Gold Hat again.

Directed by John Huston, "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre" was nominated for four Academy Awards and won three: Best Writing, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Walter Huston, and Best Picture for John Huston. This was the first time a father and son won Oscars at the same award ceremony.

AFIs #29 - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Frank Capra's classic "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" follows naive idealist Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) as he is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. Smith is the organizer of the Boy Rangers, a group similar to the Boy Scouts. He is picked because the powers that be, namely newspaper magnate and political puppet master, Jim Taylor,  expect Smith to be easy to manipulate. 

At first, Smith looks to the senior Senator from his state, Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), a hero of Smith's and best friend of his late father. Paine encourages Smith to write a bill to give him something to do. When Smith gets an idea to write a bill to fund a national boys camp, his Chief of Staff, Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur), tries to talk him out of the idea by explaining how many steps are involved in getting a bill passed. But he pushes on with the process. And his choice location for the camp is Willett Creek, from back home.  The exact same creek, we come to learn, that Taylor and Paine are planning to dam. 

Paine tries to back out of the dam plan as he does not wish to crucify Smith to see this project through. But Taylor is not so willing to dump the plan. In fact, he produces fraudulent 'proof' that Smith owns the land he proposed the government buy for the camp and forces Paine to reveal this information on the Senate floor. Smith is so stunned he flees the Senate floor and they call for his expulsion.

Saunders, believing in Smith's innocence, tracks him down and explains to him the process of a filibuster. She convinces him that he might have a chance if he can stall the vote on his expulsion and rally support from those who know him at home. Smith talks nonstop for hours while the Boy Rangers print and distribute papers broadcasting his innocence. Taylor's goons prints and distributes the opposite. It all comes to head in a dramatic conclusion.

Nominated for eleven Academy Awards it won only one: Best Writing. Revered as one of Capra and Stewart's best pictures, one should not overlook the brilliant comedic performance by the incomparable Jean Arthur. Also note that this is another picture from 1939, the best year ever in American cinema.

AFIs #26 - Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb" is a satire about nuclear war. Insane Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Stirling Hayden) orders thirty-four B-52s into an attack plan that is a nuclear air strike via a backdoor route that circumvents the authority of the president. Ripper is so crazy that he believes the U.S. program of putting fluoride in drinking water is actually a Soviet plot to poison the U.S. populace. 

We then meet the crew of one of the B-52s, led by Major 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens) as they call in to confirm they have been given the correct code and then proceed as ordered to attack. Simultaneously we also visit the War Room at the Pentagon. Here we find President Muffley (Peter Sellers) and General 'Buck' Turgidson. Turgidson tries to convince the President to take advantage of the strike and eliminate the Soviet threat. 

Meanwhile, Ripper's executive officer Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers in his second role) comes to believe the airstrike is a test and pleads with Turgidson to recall the B-52s. Then the President invites the Russian ambassador to join them in the War Room. The ambassador put the War Room in touch with Soviet Premier Dmitri Kissoff, who informs the President that the Russians have installed a computerized Doomsday Device that will ensure armageddon if they are attacked. 

The President then calls upon wheelchair bound Dr. Strangelove (Sellers in his third role) a former Nazi and strategy expert. Strangelove is a mad scientist whose oddities include a severe case of 'alien hand syndrome' which causes his own hand to sometimes try to strangle him. 

After Ripper's suicide, Mandrake is able to discover the three letter code to recall the bombers, and following great effort is able to call the code in. The code is issued and all plans are recalled, except our friends on Major Kong's B-52 as their radio has been damaged by anti-aircraft firing from the Russians. The bomb bay doors have also been damaged and will not open. Major Kong climbs into the bay to work on repairing the wiring and must sit on the bomb as if he were riding a horse. He makes the repairs just as  they reach target and launch the bomb, Kong riding it like a rodeo cowboy and shouting whoops and cheers. The explosion triggering the Doomsday Device. 

"Dr. Strangelove" was nominated for four Academy Awards, but won none. Sellers was the first actor to be nominated for a single Academy Award for performances as three different characters in one film. 

An interesting note is that title designer, Pablo Ferro, stated that the concept for the titles came about after he remarked to Kubrick that all machines invented by men had a sexual aspect. In the context of the film this made Kubrick think of the in-air refueling of the B-52s and suggested that Ferro arrange a shoot to capture the images used in the opening credits. Ferro was certain that the Air Force was so proud of its invention that it would have already filmed it. He was right, and found stock footage that he was able to use in the opening credits.

AFIs #28 - Apocalypse Now (1979)

Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" takes place during the Vietnam War and was loosely based on Joseph Conrad's novel, "The Heart Of Darkness". Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a dangerous secret mission into Cambodia to find and execute rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). 

Willard is ordered to ascend the Nung River and assigned an escort by a Navy patrol boat. Along the way they encounter the equally insane Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall) who commands a helicopter squadron. They need his help to start up the river, but they must wait while he attacks a village and surfs it's shores. Kilgore is responsible for the horrific quote "I love the smell of napalm in the morning - smells of Victory!" 

While Willard and team slowly work their way upriver, Willard reviews the files he was given on Kurtz and learns how deeply his betrayal runs. Several crew members are lost along the way, so that when Willard finally arrives at Kurtz's camp, in an old village ruins, there are only two men still with him, Lance and Chef. They are met by native Cambodians and one American, a photographer played by Dennis Hopper, who is in an of Kurtz and tries to explain away the dead bodies lying everywhere.

Willard goes into the village with Lance, leaving Chef behind with instructions to call in an airstrike if they don't return. Later, once captured, Chef's head is tossed in Willard's lap. Willard remains a captive for awhile, but is eventually freed and allowed to roam as he pleases, listening to Kurtz lecture on war and humanity. Being sucked in to Kurtz' thinking. Until he finally attacks Kurtz with a machete, Kurtz' last words being "the horror, the horror…" Upon which Willard leaves, taking Kurtz' typed manuscript, and upon finding Lance among the Natives, the two men return to their boat and leave, with Kurtz' last words in voice over hauntingly as they leave, "the horror, the horror…".

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won only two: Best Cinematography and Best Sound. Known for its long and troubled shoot in the jungles of Vietnam as well as its long edit process. Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming, which further delayed the shoot.

AFIs #27 - Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Arthur Penn's "Bonnie & Clyde" is renowned today for its new take on violence in cinema. The movie begins with the meeting of Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty, who also produced the picture). It is the Depression era, and the two hit it off instantly, Bonnie goading Clyde into proving he can use his "gun", so he robs a store and they run off together. 

In early scenes of intimacy, Clyde is impotent and unable to consummate their relationship. It is not until nearly the end of the film before they do so. Apparently the real life Clyde was bisexual and had a relationship with C.W., which the writers chose to leave out of the film. 

So, to sum up this picture, Bonnie and Clyde rob banks. They pick up extra people along the way, including mechanic, C.W. (Michael J. Pollard), and Clyde's brother, Buck (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Blanche (Estelle Parsons). They are pursued and shot at. They are written about in the newspapers. Ordinary people are shocked to encounter them. C.W.'s father negotiates a lenient sentence for his son in exchange for setting up a trap for Bonnie and Clyde, in which they are killed in perhaps the most dramatic conclusion in film history. Their bodies are riddled with bullets and seem to "dance" their way to death.

Nominated for ten Academy Awards, it won only two: Best Cinematography and Best Supporting Actress for Estelle Parsons.

AFIs # 31 - Annie Hall (1977)

A neurotic guy, dating. 

Best Picture? Best Director? 

Confused viewer, wondering.

AFIs # 32 - The Godfather Part II (1974)

Part two of an epic trilogy continues the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) into the 1950s as he struggles to maintain control and expand his mafia "family". Also, as told in flashback, we learn the story of the family's patriarch, Vito (Robert DeNiro), from his youth in Sicily to his early days in crime in New York City.

The first sequel to ever win Best Picture, it also won Best Supporting Actor - DeNiro, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Writing and Best Director - Francis Ford Coppola. 

Despite all of the syrupy praise for this film, I think it is seriously overhyped and overrated. "The Godfather Part II" is unnecessarily long, filled with boring dialogue interspersed with a few murders. 

AFIs #33 - High Noon

Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" begins with the marriage of marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) to a Quaker woman (Grace Kelly). Upon their marriage he resigns as marshall, as Quaker's don't believe in guns and violence. Just moments later, however, word reaches the wedding that a man he sent to prison, Frank Miller (Ian McDonald) is returning in just over an hour on the noon train. Miller had sworn to seek revenge against Kane for sending him to jail.

At first, Kane leaves town with his new wife. But he can't. He knows Miller will follow him wherever they may go. So he goes back to his gun and puts the badge on. But as he turns to his deputy, friends and towns people asking for help, they leave him to stand alone. 

Nominated for seven Academy Awards it won four: Best Musical Score, Best Original Song ("Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'), Best Editing, Best Actor - Gary Cooper. 

AFIs 34 - To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

"To Kill A Mockingbird" follows lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) and his two young children, Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham), over the course of several seasons  as they live in small town Alabama in the 1930s, where racism is very rampant. Atticus defends a black man falsely accused of rape. Told through Scout's point of view, the kids learn life lessons and make valuable friendships. 

Based on Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, this movie is a true masterpiece of American cinema. With outstanding performances and an award-winning story, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is one of our best pictures. 

AFIs 35 - It Happened One Night (1934)

Frank Capra's "It Happened One Night" begins with heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) being sequestered on her father's yacht after rashly marrying a famous aviator. Following a fight with her father she jumps overboard and swims away. She buys a bus ticket to New York heading back to her fiancé, and this is where she meets out of work reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Peter learns Ellie's identity as an heiress, and offers to escort her back to her husband with rights to her story, otherwise he'll tell her father where to find her. After several days on the bus and other mayhem, and several nights in a hotel room divided by a blanket (the Walls of Jericho), plus a night spent sleeping in hay - they fall in love. Ellie proposes to Peter, but when he disappears in the middle of the night she (and the motel owners) presume he's run off. Ellie goes back to her husband. What really happened with Peter though, is he wouldn't agree to marry her broke. So he rushed off to New York and sold his romance story to his old editor for $1,000, only to find her gone upon his return. Will they ever get together!?

"It Happened One Night" is the first film to win the top five Oscars - Best Writing, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. 

AFIs #36 - Midnight Cowboy (1969)

John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" follows Joe Buck (John Voight) as he leaves his home in Texas and travels to New York to seek his fortune as a male prostitute. He does terribly on his own, even giving money to one of his "clients". He meets up with Enrico Rizzo, or Ratso to friends and enemies alike (Dustin Hoffman). Ratso is sleazy, crippled,  sick and getting by as a thief living in a condemned building. The cowboy and the cripple find something in each other that they haven't found before in the world - friendship. If there is attraction there too, it is subtle enough to be subjective to the viewer.

The only movie to ever win a Best Picture Oscar that was rated "X". Upon a later re-release the rating was dropped to an "R". Nominated for seven Academy Awards, it won three: Best Writing, Best Directing and Best Picture. Also important to note is the music and theme song, "Everybody's Talkin'", written by Fred Neil and performed by Harry Nilsson, it won a Grammy. And it sticks in your head. In a good way...

AFIs #37 - The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

William Wyler's "The Best Years Of Our Lives" follows three servicemen returning home from World War II, who first meet on a transit flight home. They were in different branches of the service and return to different positions in their home town. Readjusting back to civilian is hard for each of them, and their stories represent just a trickle of the stories of the many veteran's who returned from World War II.

Al Stephenson (Fredric March) returns to a wife, Milly (Myrna Loy) and two children, Peggy (Teresa Wright) and Rob (Michael Hall). He has a good job to return to at the bank, and is in fact offered a promotion to Vice President, yet he struggles to real comfortable in that position. Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) married a woman hastily before shipping out. Unbeknowst to him she has moved out of his parents house and taken  job. Once reunited, it's quickly clear that they don't click. And Fred, after meeting Al's daughter, Peggy, has feelings for her. But he's married to someone else… And finally, Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) lost both hands in the war and once enthusiastic about getting married to Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell), now thinks her continued interest in him is just pity. 

Both a critical and popular success, "The Best Years Of Our Lives" still holds the test of time. To me, one of the best scenes in the film happens early. All three men are uncomfortable upon their return and go out for drinks, eventually meeting up at Homer's uncles' bar. The rapore between these characters is fabulous, especially the drunk men and the sober Milly and Peggy. It's just delightful! Making the struggles of these characters hit home all the harder as the film progresses.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards it won seven, plus a special award: Best Music, Best Editing, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor - Harold Russell, Best Actor - Fredric March, Best Director and Best Picture. The special award went to Harold Russell "For bringing hope and courage to his fellow veteran's through his appearance in "The Best Years Of Our Lives". It is important to note that Russell was not a professional actor, although I don't think you can tell by his performance. His special award makes him the only actor to ever win two Oscars for the same role. 

AFIs # 44 - Birth Of A Nation (1915)

On one hand, D.W. Griffith's "The Birth Of A Nation" is a landmark of cinematic innovation. Stories just hadn't been told like this yet, building a subplot to run against a historical storyline. Yet, "The Birth Of A Nation" is painful to watch for it's blatant racist perspective. Even racist in its time. Why?

The story follows two families through the Civil War and Reconstruction. However, it is a Reconstruction in which the blacks run the south, and in response our white protagonist starts the Klu Klux Klan.

At over three hours long, really, don't bother. Just read about it and move on.

AFIs # 38 - Double Indemnity (1944)

"Double Indemnity" is a revered classic of the film noir genre. Directed by Billy Wilder, it was written by James Cain and adapted for the screen by Raymond Chandler. Insurance Salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is seduced into a murder for insurance plot by the wife of a client (Phyllis, as played by Barbara Stanwyck). 

Walter knows his job. He knows the methods and types of death that would bring suspicion, and he also knows what causes of death are eligible for "Double Indemnity" - so rare that they pay double the money ($100,000 instead of the standard $50,000). Phyllis feels trapped in a bad marriage and tells the gullible Walter that her husband won't divorce her. Walter's desire for the sexy Phyllis is no match for his common sense. 

After the murder, it all falls apart. For the characters, that is...

MacGuffin List Contender - Sleepless In Seattle (1993)

Sam (Tom Hanks) and his son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), move to Seattle after the untimely death of their wife and mother. Sam decides to move far away from their home in Chicago as his grief is so deep. But the move doesn't help, which brings Jonah, just 8 years old, to call a radio relationship doctor's show to ask for help and eventually gets his dad on the line. Sam, somewhat reluctantly, opens up about his love for his wife and how much he misses her. To a national audience… 

One of the people listening is Annie. Annie has just left her parents' house on Christmas eve and is driving to her fiancé's parents house. Annie (Meg Ryan), a Baltimore-based newspaper writer, falls head over heals for Sam's story. She uses her research skills to learn more about Sam and even goes so far as to hire a private investigator. Eventually she writes him a letter, as thousands of other women also have.

But Jonah singles out Annie's letter from the thousands of others, and tries desperately to get Sam to read it. Sam has started dating a woman that Jonah finds terribly annoying. He just knows that his dad and Annie are "MFEO" - "Made For Each Other" and puts a plan into action that has him flying solo across the country to meet her.

Writer and director Nora Ephron's greatest comedic script, this movie just has "the magic", which is only enhanced by the delightful songs chosen for the soundtrack, namely "Make Someone Happy" by Jimmy Durante and "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" by Louis Armstrong. Featuring fun pop culture references to "An Affair To Remember", "Gunga Din", "The Pride Of The Yankees" and "The Dirty Dozen". So great writing and direction, believable leads with a powerful lineup of supporting players (Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Victor Garber, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell and Gaby Hoffman), inspiring soundtrack - "Sleepless In Seattle" has it all!

AFIs #40 - North By Northwest (1959)

At this very moment, pictured above, all hell breaks loose for Roger Thornhill. He had just decided to send a telegram to his secretary and turned to call the attention of the porter, when the porter says "Paging Mr. George Kaplan". Two goons are watching to see if anyone answers that page. They've been trying to uncover the identity of Kaplan, a government agent on their tale, for some time and take his flagging of the porter as evidence that he's Kaplan. They kidnap Thornhill and take him to a house where they question him. Then, to cover up, they pour an entire bottle of bourbon down his throat and send him off in a car. Finally, Thornhill is picked up by the police. So begins Hitchcock's finest "Wrong Man" picture. 

The next day, after appearing in court for drunk driving and car theft, he retraces his steps from the night before. In trying to uncover the identity of George Kaplan, he inadvertently assumes his identity. Next, he accidentally assumes the identity of a murder. And then he meets a girl. 

It's a chase that starts in New York and doesn't end until South Dakota. Featuring some of the most iconic scenes in all of motion pictures (crop dusting scene, chase on Mt. Rushmore), a fabulous cast and fantastic Bernard Herrmann score, Hitchcock's "North By Northwest" is a true masterpiece of cinema. 

MacGuffin List Contender - An Affair To Remember (1957)

Nickie Ferrante and Terry McKay meet on a transatlantic cruise. Both are engaged to others but a friendship begins on board and as they spend time together, they can't help falling in love. Especially after a charming trip to visit Nickie's grandmother. Upon arriving in New York harbor they are still struggling to decide what to do with their feelings and their future. Spontaneously they decide to meet in six months, atop the Empire State Building, if they are free.

They both break off their engagements. Nickie also wants to prove that he could paint professionally and make a living, which he does. Nickie and Terry jubilantly head to their meeting spot, until tragedy intercepts their dreams. Is their romance over, or can it persevere?

The dialogue is sharp and witty. The unexpected romance, believable. It's got that touch of magic!

AFIs # 39 - Doctor Zhivago - (1965)

"Doctor Zhivago" is a tragic love story set in Russia during World War I and the Russian Revolution. It follows the life of Yuri Zhivago, whom we first meet at his mother's funeral. He is just eight years old. Yuri is taken to live with friends of his mother who have a daughter close in age to Yuri, named Tonya. 

Fast forward to Yuri as a young man (played by Omar Shariff), who is studying to be a doctor and now romantically involved with Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin). Just before their engagement is announced Yuri first meets Lara (Julie Christie) when called to the home where she lives. Lara interrupts the engagement party by shooting Victor Komarovsky, her mothers' lover whom she has also started sleeping with. Lara's fiancé, Pasha, carries her out of the party and Komarovsky does not press charges.

War is unraveling all around them. Four years later Yuri and Lara meet again on the front lines. Yuri is working as a military doctor and Lara is looking for her husband, Pasha, while working as a nurse. They spend six months together as colleagues in a make shift hospital before returning to their homes. Yuri and Lara have fallen in love, but maintain a platonic relationship during this time.

When Yuri returns home he finds the home of his stepfather inhabited by thirteen additional families. It's not long before he learns that he'll need to flee Moscow for safety as his poetry is not in favor by the current ruling politicians. Yuri's half brother, Yevgraf (Alec Guinness), arranges travel papers and passage on a crowded boxcar. 

While they are traveling the train stops mid-route and Yuri wanders away, only to stumble upon the train of a communist general. Here he discovers Lara's husband, now known as Strelnikov, who doesn't seem much interested in returning to a life with Lara and their daughter. He allows Yuri to return to his family, but only after Yuri learns Lara is living in a community called Yuriatin, near where he will be staying.

It's not until over a year later that Yuri ventures into Yuriatin and finds Lara. They begin an affair immediately. Later Yuri decides he cannot live with the conflict of the affair, especially with Tonya pregnant with their second child, and rides towards Yuriatin to break off the affair with Lara. On his way home he is intercepted by the Red Army and drafted into their service as a surgeon. 

A year and a half later he sees a chance to leave and deserts, heading back to Yuriatin. His family has fled back to Moscow, so Yuri seeks shelter with Lara. Komarovsky appears and offers them a way out of Russia, but they refuse. Instead they seek shelter at the remote estate where he had been living with his wife. They spend a winter together here with Lara and Pasha's daughter, before Komarovsky again arrives offering them a way out. Lara takes it, Yuri promises to follow. But doesn't.

The film concludes as eight years later Yuri has been found by his brother, restored to health and Yuri is headed back to work as a doctor. This is when he sees Lara, and in trying to reach he, he has a heart attack. Insert tragic tears here. 

"Doctor Zhivago" is a about a country in turmoil as much as it is about a man in turmoil. Try as he might to resist Lara, Yuri is still drawn to her. Due to the political upheaval happening in his lifetime Yuri leads a patchwork life. He falls in love, then goes to war. He comes home, and must flee. He resists Lara because he loves Tonya, happiness seems to be only with him for fleeting moments.

David Lean's masterful production of Boris Pasternak's classic novel is truly an epic film that you must see. Nominated for ten Academy Awards it won five: Best Score, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematrography, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

AFIs # 41 - West Side Story (1961)

"West Side Story" is a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet". In the film the two families are represented by rival gangs on the streets of New York, the white Jets  led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn) and the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). "Without a gang, you're an orphan." When Riff's best friend Tony (Richard Beymer), and Bernardo's younger sister Maria (Natalie Wood) meet up at a dance, no one can stop their budding romance. Maria and Tony meet in secret, while the gangs agree to a rumble to decide once and for all who rules the neighborhood. 

There's singing, there's dancing, there's murder.

Nominated for eleven Oscars it won an astounding ten: Best Music, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris), Best Director (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins) and Best Picture.

AFIs # 42 - Rear Window (1954)

Professional photographer L.B. Jeffries, "Jeff" (James Stewart), breaks his leg when hit by debris while shooting a car race. Confined to his apartment during his recovery he passes the time by spying on all of the neighbors out his "rear window". He watches arguments, romance and loneliness, but this hobby becomes an obsession when everything he sees leads him to suspect one neighbor of murdering his wife. Jeff is very isolated during his recovery, only being visited by attending nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) and Jeff's girlfriend, Lisa Freemont (Grace Kelly). They try to be voices of reason for Jeff, but eventually get pulled into his suspicions too.

Hitchcock uses his soundtrack masterfully, once again. The peppy rhythm of jazz adds to the suspense and tension we feel. At other times all we hear is what Jeff would hear: street traffic and neighbors playing piano. 

The viewers' experience in "Rear Window" is very much the same as someone watching a movie in a theatre: we're planted in place. And so is Jeff. I think you don't truly feel this until Lisa is in Thorvald's apartment and Thorvald returns. The viewer is squirming in their seats with worry for Lisa. Such a claustrophobic feeling. I read that Hitchcock didn't go to the other apartments to give direction, he stayed in Jeff's apartment and used radios and earpieces to relay his instructions to the cast.

Hitch opens the film very cinematically. He shows us a sweating Jeff, in his wheelchair, we pan down his cast and across the room to his broken camera. Then the pictures he took that are on the wall. Jeff starts out using binoculars to spy on his neighbors, but quickly switches to his camera and big telephoto lens: the tools of his trade. And very definingly, Jeff also uses the tools of his occupation to defend himself when Thorvald attacks. Hitch is brilliant. 

It is an interesting side note that Hitchcock made Thorvald (Raymond Burr) resemble producer David O. Selznick. 

We know we're not supposed to spy on others, but it's so tempting. As Roger Erbert says in his review of "Rear Window", we go to the movies to spy on the lives of others, to be voyeurs. When we go to the movies we watch someone else's lives, just like Jeff does in this picture. Stella says to Jeff early on that "We've become a race of peeping toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change." But we don't, we keep going to the movies.