Friday, June 22, 2007
Some shameless promotion of the best films to come out of Australia.
We Aussies know how to make great cinema, and you would be wise to remember that. Regarding my inclusion of Romper Stomper, I would just wish to stress that I am NOT a white supremacist in any way whatsoever. It found its way onto this list because it's one of the very few movies ever produced in Australia which held a mirror up to Australia and dared to expose the darker side of Australia without pulling any punches.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Why '80s cinema reigned supreme
The '80s. For our parents it was a time of peace and hope between the ominous shadows of two immoral wars. For us, it is an era we can laugh at, what with its one-hit-wonders and appalling fashions. Now, having popped out of my mummy's tummy in 1988, obviously I have no recollections of the '80s except for what I've seen on television, but movies and music are two things that never die (although with each decade there are bad examples of each).
Back in the '80s, the news headlines were dominated by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concerts and the explosions of the Challenger space shuttle and the Chernobyl power plant. Synth-pop and power ballads ruled the charts. And at the movies, Michael J. Fox travelled through time in a plutonium-powered DeLorean, a space turd and a lonely ten-year-old boy rode past the moon and created a logo, and Luke Skywalker found out he was the descendant of the same man he wanted to kill (but, seriously, didn't we all feel that way about our father at least once when we were young?)
The 1980s remains my favourite decade for film chiefly because for me it heralded an awakening in film. Sure it didn't produce as many talents as the '70s or saw as much rule-breaking as the '90s, but in the '80s the talents that came out of the '70s saw their impacts flet the most, and their followers paved the way for filmmakers who came out of the '90s. Also, it was arguably the last time in which cinema could for the most part be enjoyed by the whole family.
Steven Spielberg had perhaps his most consistently great decade, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed the year later by E.T. (which would become the highest-grossing movie of all time until He welcomed us to Jurassic Park in 1993), before going into "serious" mode with the terrific The Color Purple (1985) and the sadly forgotten Empire of the Sun (1987). His mentee Robert Zemeckis stormed on through with Back to the Future in 1985, before becoming the first filmmaker to successfully blend animation with live-action with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), which today is rightly cited as one of the most technologically groundbreaking movies in history. Marty Scorsese, by this time a recovering drug addict, opened the decade with his best film, Raging Bull (1980) and then poured his talents into a number of projects not originated by him. His most noted inheritor was Oliver Stone, who established himself as different from the pack by exposing the other side of America, something no other filmmaker was then willing to do. Also, James Cameron gave us action films that finally had substance, and John Hughes created the genre we all love to hate: the teen comedy (and he's still the only person to have made truly brilliant examples of those).
Closer to home for me, the '80s was when Australian cinema went international. While in the '70s it enjoyed a renaissance, in the '80s the legacy of that renaissance was felt most, just as the renaissance for American film in the '70s. Members of the Australian New Wave like Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Mel Gibson all gained work and success overseas, and the Aussie cultural landmark that became Crocodile Dundee (1986) grossed $45 000 000 Down Under and more than $300 000 000 worldwide (you little ripper!).
The 1980s, while not as artsy as the '70s or as confronting as the '90s, remains my favourite decade for film, for the reasons I've stated above. I'm sure you can tell I'm one for blockbusters (and the '80s were the heyday of the popcorn blockbuster). The fashion of the '80s were, indeed, cringe-worthy, but the films of the 1980s (mostly) are so great they wipe away all awarenesses of '80s fashions for us not young enough to remember the '80s, and for our parents they are like old friends.
I hope I have argued my point well.
Back in the '80s, the news headlines were dominated by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concerts and the explosions of the Challenger space shuttle and the Chernobyl power plant. Synth-pop and power ballads ruled the charts. And at the movies, Michael J. Fox travelled through time in a plutonium-powered DeLorean, a space turd and a lonely ten-year-old boy rode past the moon and created a logo, and Luke Skywalker found out he was the descendant of the same man he wanted to kill (but, seriously, didn't we all feel that way about our father at least once when we were young?)
The 1980s remains my favourite decade for film chiefly because for me it heralded an awakening in film. Sure it didn't produce as many talents as the '70s or saw as much rule-breaking as the '90s, but in the '80s the talents that came out of the '70s saw their impacts flet the most, and their followers paved the way for filmmakers who came out of the '90s. Also, it was arguably the last time in which cinema could for the most part be enjoyed by the whole family.
Steven Spielberg had perhaps his most consistently great decade, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed the year later by E.T. (which would become the highest-grossing movie of all time until He welcomed us to Jurassic Park in 1993), before going into "serious" mode with the terrific The Color Purple (1985) and the sadly forgotten Empire of the Sun (1987). His mentee Robert Zemeckis stormed on through with Back to the Future in 1985, before becoming the first filmmaker to successfully blend animation with live-action with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), which today is rightly cited as one of the most technologically groundbreaking movies in history. Marty Scorsese, by this time a recovering drug addict, opened the decade with his best film, Raging Bull (1980) and then poured his talents into a number of projects not originated by him. His most noted inheritor was Oliver Stone, who established himself as different from the pack by exposing the other side of America, something no other filmmaker was then willing to do. Also, James Cameron gave us action films that finally had substance, and John Hughes created the genre we all love to hate: the teen comedy (and he's still the only person to have made truly brilliant examples of those).
Closer to home for me, the '80s was when Australian cinema went international. While in the '70s it enjoyed a renaissance, in the '80s the legacy of that renaissance was felt most, just as the renaissance for American film in the '70s. Members of the Australian New Wave like Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Mel Gibson all gained work and success overseas, and the Aussie cultural landmark that became Crocodile Dundee (1986) grossed $45 000 000 Down Under and more than $300 000 000 worldwide (you little ripper!).
The 1980s, while not as artsy as the '70s or as confronting as the '90s, remains my favourite decade for film, for the reasons I've stated above. I'm sure you can tell I'm one for blockbusters (and the '80s were the heyday of the popcorn blockbuster). The fashion of the '80s were, indeed, cringe-worthy, but the films of the 1980s (mostly) are so great they wipe away all awarenesses of '80s fashions for us not young enough to remember the '80s, and for our parents they are like old friends.
I hope I have argued my point well.
Monday, May 28, 2007
The twenty greatest films of all time, according to me
These are in no order. I shall attempt to sum up my love for each of these films in just one sentence:
STAR WARS/THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK/RETURN OF THE JEDI (George Lucas, 1977; Irvin Kershner, 1980; Richard Marquand, 1983) (as one film)
No words to say...these films were the films that sparked my interest in cinema.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) (as one film)
In attempting to turn a novel deemed unfilmable even by the man who wrote it into a movie - and there would be a carpark sitting where New Line Cinema's studios are now if this had failed - Peter Jackson took cinema into the twenty-first century.
PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
It revived one career, catapulted three others, and blasted a massive hole in conservative '90s cinema.
SCHINDLER'S LIST (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Everyone with eyes needs to see this movie - not just because it documents an historical issue that must never be either repeated or forgotten, but because it's a perfect example of the the kind of magic people can conjure up when armed only with a movie camera.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont, 1994)
For my money the most inspirational movie of all time.
FORREST GUMP (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
As a disaffected kid who got bullied throughout his entire school career, this film taught me everything I needed to know about life.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY (Peter Weir, 1989)
What can I say, I discovered it at the perfect time and it resonated with me.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Milos Forman, 1975)
This movie has more layers than a machine has cogs.
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
A whistful, timeless comedy adventure from the king of genre-fusion, Bob Zemeckis.
BLADE RUNNER (Ridley Scott, 1982)
An intoxicating fusion of cyberpunk and future neo-noir that only gets better with age.
RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
This is the closest Marty has ever come to making a cinematic exact replica of the Mona Lisa.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
One of the most ideal examples of what happens when gifted actors work with a great director on great material.
THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
The best horror film of all time.
KILL BILL (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-2004) (as one film)
My favourite director letting his imagination run wild on a martial arts action epic...my dream is complete!
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
There really is nothing like escapism, and Spielberg, Lucas and Ford are the Three Wise Men of escapist fun.
ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, 1954)
It coulda had phoniness, it coulda had shallowness, it coulda been a bomb... instead of a timeless masterpiece, which is what it is, let's face it.
E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
An eternally moving and uplifting testament to the power of friendship, peace and tolerance.
THE LION KING (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994)
A great deal of this one's importance to me is purely sentimental, as it was the first film I ever saw (as far as I can remember, that is) but my awareness of its incredible thematic richness has only increased as I've gotten older - it's the most profoundly moving, yet joyful animanted film there's ever been.
TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Undoubtedly the most unflinching and accurate cinematic depiction of urban malaise and isolation ever commited to celluloid.
THE MATRIX (Larry & Andy Wachowski, 1999)
It's cyberpunk for the post-grunge generation, and whether you love it or not it's one of the most parodied movies in history - that has to amount to something.
STAR WARS/THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK/RETURN OF THE JEDI (George Lucas, 1977; Irvin Kershner, 1980; Richard Marquand, 1983) (as one film)
No words to say...these films were the films that sparked my interest in cinema.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) (as one film)
In attempting to turn a novel deemed unfilmable even by the man who wrote it into a movie - and there would be a carpark sitting where New Line Cinema's studios are now if this had failed - Peter Jackson took cinema into the twenty-first century.
PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
It revived one career, catapulted three others, and blasted a massive hole in conservative '90s cinema.
SCHINDLER'S LIST (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Everyone with eyes needs to see this movie - not just because it documents an historical issue that must never be either repeated or forgotten, but because it's a perfect example of the the kind of magic people can conjure up when armed only with a movie camera.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont, 1994)
For my money the most inspirational movie of all time.
FORREST GUMP (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
As a disaffected kid who got bullied throughout his entire school career, this film taught me everything I needed to know about life.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY (Peter Weir, 1989)
What can I say, I discovered it at the perfect time and it resonated with me.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Milos Forman, 1975)
This movie has more layers than a machine has cogs.
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
A whistful, timeless comedy adventure from the king of genre-fusion, Bob Zemeckis.
BLADE RUNNER (Ridley Scott, 1982)
An intoxicating fusion of cyberpunk and future neo-noir that only gets better with age.
RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
This is the closest Marty has ever come to making a cinematic exact replica of the Mona Lisa.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
One of the most ideal examples of what happens when gifted actors work with a great director on great material.
THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
The best horror film of all time.
KILL BILL (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-2004) (as one film)
My favourite director letting his imagination run wild on a martial arts action epic...my dream is complete!
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
There really is nothing like escapism, and Spielberg, Lucas and Ford are the Three Wise Men of escapist fun.
ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, 1954)
It coulda had phoniness, it coulda had shallowness, it coulda been a bomb... instead of a timeless masterpiece, which is what it is, let's face it.
E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
An eternally moving and uplifting testament to the power of friendship, peace and tolerance.
THE LION KING (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994)
A great deal of this one's importance to me is purely sentimental, as it was the first film I ever saw (as far as I can remember, that is) but my awareness of its incredible thematic richness has only increased as I've gotten older - it's the most profoundly moving, yet joyful animanted film there's ever been.
TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Undoubtedly the most unflinching and accurate cinematic depiction of urban malaise and isolation ever commited to celluloid.
THE MATRIX (Larry & Andy Wachowski, 1999)
It's cyberpunk for the post-grunge generation, and whether you love it or not it's one of the most parodied movies in history - that has to amount to something.
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