Far From Heaven – 2002 Haynes
You can’t watch the film or discuss the film without mentioning the work of Douglas Sirk—Haynes entirely apes his style—this doesn’t have John Waters Cry Baby irony and pastiche—it’s no PT Anderson “doing” Scorsese with
The 11th Best Actor of All-Time: Marcello Mastroianni
best film: 8 ½ has crawled past La Dolce Vita on my all-time list over the years. They’re both absolutely marvelous but the more imaginative/surrealistic set-piece brilliance of 8 ½ has won me over. Still-
East of Eden – 1955 Kazan
Dean’s lead debut, first archiveable film, first nom, and the only film that was released prior to his death in Sep 1955 First film for Kazan in color and widescreen Trademark yellow sweater for Dean
The 12th Best Actor of All-Time: John Wayne
best film: The Searchers is the best film of all-time. I’ll be the first one to admit that I can’t prove this—there are 5-10 other films that I think you could make the case for
The 13th Best Actor of All-Time: Henry Fonda
best film: Once Upon a Time in the West. Fonda was in three masterpieces but only one made the top 100 of all-time (#52). Most critics think it’s Leone’s masterpiece (I still have The Good,
The 14th Best Actor of All-Time: Paul Newman
best film: Cool Hand Luke. Newman has only actually been in two masterpieces, this and Butch Cassidy. It’s a weakness if you’re looking at his resume and comparing him with the other all-time greats. However,
The 15th Best Actor of All-Time: William Holden
best film: The Wild Bunch. William Holden was in four masterpieces but none better than the 1969 Peckinpah fatalistic western. Holden leads the crew of rugged desperados (excellent work from Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and
The 16th Best Actor of All-Time: Klaus Kinski
best film: Aguirre, the Wrath of God is the 31st best film of all-time and it is Herzog’s masterpiece. Kinski has actually been in some sneaky-good films outside of his famous collaborations with Herzog (Doctor
The 17th Best Actor of All-Time: Dustin Hoffman
best film: The Graduate remains Hoffman’s sole top 100 all-time film and it’s fitting because it’s also his best performance. I love Bonnie and Clyde and there are other important American films to mark the
1776 – 1972 Peter Hunt
Stylistically unambitious but successful musical stage adaptation I admire the black and white drawing credits William Daniels (John Adams) and Howard Da Silva (Ben Franklin) are inspired—funny, believable in their roles—Daniels best know for playing
The 18th Best Actor of All-Time: Gene Hackman
best film: The Royal Tenenbaums. This category is putting me to the test with my allegiance (as always, based on merit) to Wes Anderson and his crowning masterpiece, The Royal Tenenbaums. I don’t want to
The 19th Best Actor of All-Time: Clint Eastwood
best film: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was at #46 on my top 100 of all-time. It’s the strongest of the “Dollars” or “Man With No Name” trilogy though Fistful of Dollars (essentially