▼
Tuesday, May 01, 2007

36. Italian Frederico Fellini's "Le Notti di Cabiria" (Nights of Cabiria) (1957): Christian Marxism of Fellini and Pasolini

›
It would be far too simplistic to feel that the film merely presents an optimist's commitment to live and enjoy life in an imperfect wor...
2 comments:
Sunday, April 22, 2007

35. US director Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (1978): Seeing heaven by twilight on earth

›
Director Terrence Malick strides the world of cinema as a colossus in the company of Soviet directors Andrei Tarkovsky (www.nostalghia.com)...
2 comments:
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

34. Canadian David Cronenberg's "Spider" (2002): What is real? Detection within the world of the insane mind

›
Insanity has been captured on cinema in myriad ways. David Cronenberg leads the viewer into the world of the unsettled mind in a manner few ...
Monday, April 02, 2007

33. Pasquale Festa Campanile's Italian film "La ragazza e il generale" (The girl and the general) (1967): Can neo-realism mix with humor?

›
Virna Lisi gives an impressive neo-realistic performance (The film, with dollops of satire, was made in lush technicolor, unlike the stil...
Monday, March 12, 2007

32. Iranian director Amir Naderi's "Davandeh" (The Runner) (1985): A gem of neo-realist cinema

›
Davandeh (The runner) is a cinematic ode to the spirit of Amiro, a young orphan boy who seeks to excel in what ever he does, to know more ...
2 comments:
Thursday, February 22, 2007

31. Chinese filmmaker Yimou Zhang's "Yi ge dou bu neng shao (Not One Less)" (1999): A marvelous neo-realist Chinese film, ideal for family viewing

›
Long after De Sica made Bicycle thief and Fellini his La Strada , neo-realist traditions grab me like no other in cinema history. The Chin...
5 comments:
Monday, February 05, 2007

30. British filmmaker David Lean's "Ryan's daughter" (1970): A complex masterpiece that never got its due praise when released

›
More than 30 years after the movie was made, Ryan's Daughter needs to be compared with his other important works-- Lawrence of Arabia,...
1 comment:
Tuesday, December 19, 2006

29. Iranian director Amir Naderi's evocative "Aab, baad, khaak" (Water, Wind, Dust) (1989): Evocative and uplifting film on human values

›
This is an unusual film of exceptional values--75 minutes long in color, with hardly any spoken dialogs. I saw this Iranian film in Farsi wi...
Saturday, December 16, 2006

28. Mexican film "El Violin" (2005) by director Francisco Vargas: Riveting debut performance by an elderly actor and impressive photography

›
Imagine that you look like a grandfather in real life. Imagine that your right palm has been amputated but you play a violin with a bow stra...
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

27. Canadian Sarah Polley's "Away from Her" (2006): Remarkable debut film and a superb performance by Julie Christie

›
Julie Christie's combination of talent, beauty and brains has enthralled me over four decades. Nearly a decade ago, her Oscar nominated ...
Monday, December 11, 2006

26. Polish film "Persona non grata" (2005): One of the finest films of Polish director Krzyzstof Zanussi

›
Director Krzyzstof Zanussi has made 75 distinguished films and is one of the three best filmmakers from Poland--the others being Wajda and K...

25. Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui's "Gaav" (The Cow, 1969): Stunning in simplicity but providing fodder for thought

›
This is a major work of cinema. It might not be well known but this film ranks with Fellini's La Strada , De Sica's The Bicycle Thi...
Thursday, December 07, 2006

24. US director Julie Taymor's "Titus" (1999): One of the most striking adaptations of Shakespeare on screen

›
Why did I like the film? I applaud any director making his or her initial film who chooses to film a complex subject like Shakespeare's...
Wednesday, November 22, 2006

23. British director Peter Glenville's US film "The Comedians" (1967): Relevant today as ever

›
W hile many viewers might have forgotten this film, the relevance of the subject of expatriates living in countries ruled by dictators and ...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006

22."Queimada (Burn!)" (1969): Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo's powerful political film with Marlon Brando

›
Q ueimada is a film I grew up with. I saw it for the first time in a movie theater in Kolkota, India, a year after it was made. It's a...
1 comment:
Monday, November 06, 2006

21. US director John Ford's "7 Women" (1966): a great swansong with a twist at the end

›
Ann Bancroft in one of her finest roles I wonder what feminists feel about this film. In my view, this is a fascinating ...
2 comments:
Monday, October 16, 2006

20. Little known US TV film director Charles Carner's "Judas" (2004): Recommended only for those who have courage to accept another viewpoint

›
This is a remarkable film. First, because it was made at least two years before the Gospel of Judas was unearthed in Egypt a few years ago ...
Thursday, October 12, 2006

19. New Zealander Jane Campion's "The Piano" (1993): Clever film that makes you wonder

›
This film won the Cannes Film Festival's top honor the year it was released. It is a good film. It's a clever film. You would love i...
Thursday, October 05, 2006

18. Italian director Guiseppe Tornatore's English/French film "La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano" (The Legend of 1900) (1998): a charming fable on celluloid

›
When asked by the Khaleej Times in Dubai to pick my 10 best films, I listed this movie The legend of 1900 as one of the top 10 movies made...
1 comment:
Wednesday, October 04, 2006

17. US filmmakers Michael and Mark Polish's "Northfork" (2003): A notable effort using surreal and absurdist images offering layers of entertainment

›
" I t all depends on how you look at it-–we are either halfway to heaven or halfway to hell ," says the ...