Tess is one of literature’s greatest tragic heroines, and Nastassja Kinski plays her with the meek passivity of nature which sets Tess up for many heartbreaks. The stunning cinematography within lush scenescapes makes it a real treat to look at, and the viewer is immediately swept into 19th century England for three hours that feel much shorter. Tess is a faithful adaption of Thomas Hardy’s tragic novel of the same name, and the screenplay effectively communicates the spirit and the content of the book. It’s a shame that some great films get less attention because they’re downers. It’s a masterclass of acting by everyone involved, and Michael Mann pulls off a monumental individual triumph rarely equaled in this genre or any other. With sleek cinematography and a driving soundtrack which keeps pace with the film’s ambition, Heat’s three hour runtime flies by. Al Pacino’s cop and Robert DeNiro’s criminal duel throughout the entire film, and their scene sharing a cup of coffee as complex, damaged men before resuming their societal roles is by now legendary. Heat opens with an iconic shootout in the streets of Los Angeles, and never loses momentum. With a cast like this (Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Natalie Portman, Jon Voight, to name just a few) it’s hard to go wrong, but inside of a lesser screenplay these titans could have dwarfed the story. Writer and director Michael Mann miraculously gives each subplot enough room to breathe that we walk away feeling like we know even the minor characters thoroughly. With an ensemble cast for the ages, Heat masterfully weaves many individual stories into an intimate epic. This list is far from exhaustive, but here are ten: This is a celebration of masterpieces that continue to stand the test of time – nearly perfect movies that help us remember and treasure the power of cinema. Like four sledgehammers driving home the same tent stake, word, sight, sound, and performance must work in perfect harmony and synchrony. Many nearly great movies have gone off the rails due to needlessly wordy dialogue, the wrong shooting location, a jarring soundtrack, a poorly executed accent, or an attention-seeking performance. Works of art like these do not allow the viewer to become aware that he or she is watching a movie they stand alone, almost like some initiatory rite to which one simply submits gratefully.įilms can also be endlessly divisive just because they involve so many different and potentially competing elements. When a painter’s eye, a designer’s sense of composition, a musician’s power over emotion, a storyteller’s words, and an actor’s poise work together seamlessly, the result can be an immersive experience.Įvery movie lover likely cherishes some film whose soundtrack can stand alone as an album its screenplay could be read like a novella and any shot chosen at random would be beautiful enough to frame and hang on a wall. Film is a unique art form because it represents the culmination of independent artistic expressions working in concert.
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