The early part of the decade is very problematic for international cinema. Very few countries outright stopped making movies but the quality and quantity of those pictures dropped off in nearly every film producing country aside from the good old US. For this seemingly self explanatory reason the war years were a time of some rather fantastic Hollywood offerings and some rather forgettable or unseen foreign offerings. Simply ignoring the output of anything but domestic film from this period would be incredibly short sighted of me. Japan and Germany certainly weren't the only nations making flag waving propaganda during the war. Sure films like Jud Suss might seem appalling today, but there's nothing Nazi-esque about Veit Harlan's second best known film Opefergang, which was quite a prestige picture in glorious color. Fellow German Helmut Kautner made slightly less offensive films and at least in the case of Under the Bridges a quite respectable art film that recalls Vigo's L'Atalante at times. Still German film is problematic from this period because aside from foreigners even the Germans seem rather complacent to forget their generic offerings. So it's hard for anyone (at least in the US) to be any sort of expert on the subject, but perhaps we'll get a revival one of these years. It would be another two decades before a new wave of German films would begin to draw outside attention.
The other great Axis power, Japan didn't stop making films but again their output is problematic from this time. Most of their films were certainly patriotic and either blatantly (Kurosawa's The Most Beautiful) or paradoxically (Mizoguchi's 47 Ronin) all their films seemed to be about the undying Japanese will. I've never been a fan of the films from Japan I've seen from this period, although Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata is certainly a cut above. When US forces occupied Japan immediately after the war most of the wartime films were banned, and the industry was a bit erratic. Mizoguchi did make a few interesting films and Yasujiro Ozu returned to filmmaking and by decade's end produced one of his very finest with Late Spring.
It was the Italians though that made the largest splash of the decade with their Neo-Realism. This is a touchy subject for me in the simple regard that this movement is largely known more by reputation than the actual films. Sure everyone knows Open City, Shoeshine, The Bicycle Thief, etc but it seems a whole movement is being judged by the few films circulating. A recent retrospective of nearly every classic neo-realist film made it's way to New York but sadly I'm still waiting in Chicago for films like Outcry, To Live in Peace, The Tragic Hunt, Under the Sun of Rome, and In the Name of the Law to make their way here. Perhaps I'll cross my fingers and hope the good people at Eclipse will smile upon us, but I'll just have to rely on "reputation" to judge this movement. The available films though certainly can attest to a tremendous quality of Italian cinema in the immediate post war period. Even such war time films as Luchino Visconti's Ossessione and Vittorio De Sica's The Children are Watching Us show that the Italians could deliver. It was this wartime generation and the "big four" (Antonioni, Fellini, Rossellini, and Visctonti) that would help define Italian cinema for the next several decades.
If we've started to notice anything from the dawn of cinema, it's that France doesn't seem to go through too many extended period of mediocrity. During the occupation they managed to produce a few classics like Marcel Carne's Les Visiteurs du Soir, Bresson's Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne, and Hernri-Georges Clouzot's Le Corbeau. Their post war output though would be very exceptional, with Children of Paradise topping many critics list of the greatest of all French films. Like Italy the post war period would generate a whole new generation of French filmmakers who would move away from Carne's poetic realism and foreshadow the New Wave, directors like Bresson, Jacques Tati, Jacques Becker, Jean Pierre Melville, and others.
Britain seemed to recover quite well from the loss of Alfred Hitchcock who went to America and got off to a great start with the Selznick produced Rebecca. Britain would develop two new filmmakers who would help add prestige to their national cinema with Michael Powell (and his partner Emeric Pressburger) as well as editor-turned-director David Lean whose later conquering of Hollywood couldn't have been predicted by even his most ardent admirer back when he co-directed Major Barbara in 1941. British film also made Academy history when Laurence Olivier's Hamlet became the first foreign produced film to win a best picture Oscar.
So pardon my flag waving nationalism, but this is once again an American dominated list. However they had a near five year head start on every other country and well the US did produce what is in my opinion the greatest film ever made by anyone. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, read on and proceed to smack yourself in the head if you didn't guess it. Hollywood too was changing and in 1948 the Paramount decision was passed and Hollywood's legal monopoly was soon to be broken up, thus giving rise to the independents and spelling the destruction of the classic studio system. In case you were worried, Hollywood did seem to recover from it quite fine but the industry would be forever changed. Roughly half of this list was produced before that decision which says something for the extraordinary quality of those studio produced gems.
With each passing decade it seems to get harder and harder to limit my choices to just ten. I haven't resorted to cheating, there are still only ten films but keep in mind (yet again) that just because a film isn't on my list doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be. Unlike the previous two lists I even did some last minute research (rewatched Laura, The Red Shoes, and Late Spring) before settling on my final list. At times I wish I could make a top 40 of the 40s, but well we said right from the start that this would be a top ten, and no sense deviating from that plan now. So feel free to complain (for the third time) but keep in mind that my future decade lists are bound to raise even more eyebrows. Without further ado:
10. White Heat (1949) US Raoul Walsh
It was not easy to leave off my favorite gangster films from the 30s list. Both William Wellman's Public Enemy and Howard Hawks' Scarface could have easily gone on, but sadly both missed the cut which may have made my 30s list a little comedy friendly, but well you can't blame me for
preferring the Marx Brothers or Bringing Up Baby. Raoul Walsh who started his directing career in the 1910s seemed the perfect Hollywood tough guy filmmaker. He made "men's movies" and I'm not sure if White Heat is his manliest (What Price Glory and The Bowery certainly make strong cases for themselves), but for my money it is his finest hour as a director. Even though James Cagney hated it (and would subsequently avoid gangster roles in the future) I could easily rate this as his finest performance. It falls into that part noir quality of the post war films with that fascination with character psychology and Cagney is one of the most multi-faceted gangsters we've ever seen with a serious Oedipal conflict. As a gangster film it may not have the same bite as the pre-Code gems of Warner Bros. but it more than makes up for in depth and stands out to me as the finest in the genre. An absolute must for anyone who loves gangster movies or James Cagney, it doesn't get much better than this.9. The Philadelphia Story (1940) US George Cukor
Screwball comedies might seem like a uniquely 30s phenomenon and truth be told there isn't much "screwy" about this film. However it is easily one of the funniest film Hollywood ever
produced and features a trio of stars that would probably be on Hollywood's Mt. Rushmore (Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katherine Hepburn). Forget that this resurrected the career of Hepburn and helped her continue to rule Hollywood for another four decades. Forget that it brought Stewart his one and only Oscar. You can even forget that it reunited Grant and Hepburn for their greatest film yet. This simply is a great movie. It is the third time Cukor would work with Hepburn and Grant, and this definitely was the charm, as evident with the very first sequence which is probably the best silent breakup in movie history. The loveable exes is nothing new in Hollywood, Grant himself wound up making a bit of a name for himself in the subgenre with Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth. However unlike that film this offers a rather remarkable other other with Stewart who is neither the front runner nor the suitor but still finds himself complicating matters. This trio is unlike any other in film and wouldn't be seen again until the film was remade with another trio of great stars who somehow just couldn't fill the monolithic shoes of their predecessors. It indeed is mighty "yargh".8. Oliver Twist (1948) UK David Lean
Alfred who? David Lean was certainly on a roll in the 40s. After scoring a best picture nomination with In Which We Serve (co-directed with Noel Coward) he made Brief Encounter and Great Expectations (which also received Oscar nominations). Oliver Twist was his second
Dickens' adaptation and for my money the best film he made from the 40s. I find it much better than Olivier's Hamlet but not without similarities. Like Olivier's film this is taken from a rather large source and trimmed generously. Like Hamlet, Oliver Twist has been filmed easily over a dozen times (including Carol Reed's appalling musical abortion of the story which inexplicably won a best picture Oscar in 1968) but perhaps both films had their best adaptation in '48. Shakespeare purists will probably forever deride Olivier's version, but I love it's expressionist touches. Speaking of expressionism, the opening storm sequence in Oliver Twist looks like the best moments of a German silent and recalls the use of deep focus compositions that made Citizen Kane so acclaimed. Lean was completely in his element and I'm sure Dickens' enthusiasts would complain about how much of the novel is missing from the film, but that's nothing new for adaptations of this period. What Lean has managed to do is make a purely cinematic story that doesn't ever feel like a novel adaptation, but a completely unique and original work of art, which certainly isn't easy for such a well known source.7. The Bicycle Thief (1948) Italy Vittorio De Sica
Well it would seem daft if I completely ignored the contributions of Italy in the 40s. In the case of some of the "Neo-realist" films their very attributes can be their flaws. Bad sound recording,
deteriorated film stock, etc but in the case of de Sica's masterpiece there is enough technical know how to bypass the gritty drawbacks. As a story it's depressing as all hell, but would you expect anything else? By the time De Sica made Umberto D in 1952 neo-realism seemed to be into self parody. It still seemed sincere and genuine here. There is no welfare or unemployment compensation. Simply an out of work father whose sold about everything he could who finally gets a job and in desperation has to search for his only means of living. It is the father-son dynamic that makes the film so compelling and universal. We might not know what it's like to look for work in post-war Italy, but we can sympathize with the feelings of helplessness when it comes to raising a family. Somehow it doesn't feel sad for the sake of wringing tears, but as a genuine record of a rather troublesome time and what people had to go through. There are no easy solutions and we only have to assume that life will in fact just have to go on, good or bad.6. Children of Paradise (1945) France Marcel Carne
The fact that this epic was produced under the noses of occupying Nazis makes people sometimes overlook just how great a film it is. Described by some as the French Gone With the Wind it is the final triumph of the poetic realist school that first drew attention in the late 30s. Uncharacteristically epic for a mid-40s French film its sheer audacity would warrant mention in the annals of film his
tory. Like Gone With the Wind it feels almost like two complete films and by the end of the first part you wonder just how that's going to be topped, but they certainly find a way. It's a film despite it's length needs to be seen as much as possible. For us English speakers the French dialogue flies so fast that it's very easy to miss something the first time around, but the more you see the better it gets. The grandeur of the story, the massive crowd shots, and the trio of people that make it all so compelling. The ultimate culmination of the Carne and Prevert team and one that would effectively signal the end of the classic style of French filmmaking. The industry was changing and it's hard to imagine anyone trying to make a film like this, and doing any better. Luckily it at least is available, and in glorious condition too which is making me think about perhaps revisiting it yet again, after all for a film that seems to get better with each viewing, why not go back to it, hard to think of a better way to spend three hours.5. They Live By Night (1949) US Nicholas Ray
Of all the legendary cult directors to try their trade in Hollywood perhaps none were as talented and interesting as Nicholas Ray. Unfortunately it would be awhile before Ray would be able to live up to his promise (although the next year he would make In a Lonely Place). This film (which was later remade as Thieves Like Us by Robert Altman) is just your standard lovers on
the run story to a point. The difference is that rather than the psychosis of the couple in Gun Crazy or Bonnie and Clyde, Bowie (Farley Granger) and Keechie (Cathy O'Donnell) seem like genuine innocents who seem more like victims than perpetrators. It is this quality that makes them instantly more compelling and sympathetic than those other two couples. In particular it is O'Donnell who absolutely breaks your heart here, something she was surprisingly quite good at in films. It's worth noting that amidst all this idyllic compassion and doomed lovers are some trademark Ray flourishes including some of the earliest helicopter shots used in film that give this frantic getaway movie such a unique flair. Ray would expand greatly on these touches in subsequent films, but even from the earliest he seemed to be pushing things. Unfortunately the box office failure of the film pushed Ray away from independent productions for awhile and he became a bit of a hired gun for RKO pictures where he made flawed but interesting pictures for the next several years. As for me, I'll actually take this over Johnny Guitar or Rebel Without a Cause and this is the first place someone should go when they want to know what the cinema of Nicholas Ray is all about.4. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) US William Wyler
Before Kane there was Wyler and Toland. Cinema's first great proponents of deep focus composition had nearly perfected the style by the beginning of the decade (look at The Letter or Little Foxes), but it was Welles who wound up getting most of the credit. The war temporarily
broke up their happy marriage as Wyler went to serve following the release of the best picture winning Mrs. Miniver. This was their reunion and easily their finest collaboration. In addition to those great compositions that Wyler and Toland were known for the film featured three equally compelling stories about three very different veterans coming home. Frederic March won his second best actor Oscar for the film, one of seven the film took home as well as a special honorary Oscar for real life amputee Harold Russell. It's slightly ironic that March did win the Oscar considering both Dana Andrews and Russell give more impressive performances. The trio of women (Myrna Loy, Theresa Wright, and Cathy O'Donnell in her film debut) are equally impressive yet each failed to receive even a nomination. O'Donnell is the standout from this group who began her career under Wyler here and made her last screen appearance in Wyler's Ben-Hur 13 years later. Much of the films heart was lost on me when I first saw the film (I did like it) but catching it a few years later it really hit me just how incredible a picture it is and remains one of the smarter choices the Academy ever made for best picture. Ambitious and unflinching it unfortunately took some heat for what were considered "leftist" leanings in the 50s but all's well that ends well.3. The Maltese Falcon (1941) US John Huston
There was something in the water with directorial debuts in the 40s. Screenwriter John Huston whose father was a well established leading man (who received a best actor nomination that year in The Devil and Daniel Webster) had served time as a screenwriter before becoming the third director to adapt Dashiell Hammett's best known pot boiler. In completely coincidental news the day I'm typing this is actually Hammett's birthday. Huston tried as best he could to stay faithful to the original material, which would probably explain why its vastly superior to the two previous adaptations. Humphrey Bogart who took over for George Raft firmly establishes himself as a preeminent movie star with his role as Sam Spade and it set up one of the better director-actor partnerships in film. The story is compulsively re-watchable and sets up many of the trademarks of future film noirs without so much low key lighting. If someone wants to ask me of a film that I could literally watch every day this would probably be it, not sure if I'll ever get tired of this. The cast is remarkable throughout with Mary Astor as a rare femme fatale (compared to the motherly roles she typically played at MGM), Peter Lorre as the eternally creepy and effeminate Joel Cairo, and Sydney Greenstreet with the ironic name of Gutman in his film debut. Huston also preferred some extended takes before they were en vogue and allows his actors to play out incredibly lengthy portions of the film without interruption. As good a detective film as there will probably ever be.2. Casablanca (1942) US Michael Curtiz
Well if we can have a 1-2 punch with Cathy O'Donnell why not Humphrey Bogart? I can't imagine having to justify my ranking of this film to anyone. Absolutely required viewing by any cinephile and the film that holds some special place in my heart as the one that started it all.
Perhaps another film would have triggered my near 12 year obsession with cinema but Casablanca was the one I watched that made me go out and check out every acclaimed classic I could find. The film that saved me from a lifetime of summer blockbusters and garbage horror remakes, one that opened the door to the finer things in life. I'm sure if my family would have known the monster that would be unleashed they would have done something, but well it is what it is. I can't even count how many times I've seen Casablanca since that summer in 1999 when I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Amazing to think how many people who still haven't seen the movie, I have no problem being the one to introduce it to them. Iconic in nearly every way without a shot or line of dialogue out of place. The ultimate Bogie, the finest work from workhorse director Michael Curtiz and perhaps the finest example of the classic Hollywood factory in action. You'd be hard pressed to find a better film anywhere . . .1. Citizen Kane (1941) US Orson Welles
If you're surprised then slap yourself, hard! There's a reason why this has topped nearly every greatest film list made in the past 50 years, because simply put it IS the greatest film of all time. Seriously I challenge anyone to name me a better film. You may have one that you like more, but is it really "greater"? Orson Welles is the third director to have a debut feature in my top ten and it's sad to say that it would be all downhill for him (and to a lesser extent Huston and Ray), but well there's no shame in not being able to follow up the greatest cinematic achievement of all time. In fact not just Welles but no one has done any better than this. It would be like a new band trying to be better than The Beatles, just not going to happen. From its structure, cinematography, editing, score, wow there's no getting better. Anytime I even foolishly think
that maybe All Quiet on the Western Front or The Godfather are better within 10 minutes I'm thoroughly reminded of just why Kane is simply the best there is. I'm lucky if I can hold out to the "News on the March" sequence before re-crowning this. Any serious cinephile who hasn't seen the film at least 5 times should get re-acquainted with this. Few people will instantly declare a film the greatest ever after one viewing, but the more you watch Kane the more you realize there's a reason why it's been so universally acclaimed almost to the point of overkill. In fact its tendency to be over analyzed may make you want to use the phrase overrated but again ten minutes into it should change your mind. So just so we're on the same page, none of my future top ten lists will feature a better film. Feel free to email me if you think there's a piece of cinema greater, go for it, just try.
No comments:
Post a Comment