As summer approaches and we all fantasize about warm nights out with friends, an outdoor concert, or a vegan barbeque, the reality is that many will find themselves with a few humdrum evenings that could be filled with cinema. With Netflix being ubiquitous, I’ve perused the current catalog and curated a shortlist of films you should see for the first time, or for the hundredth time. There are no revelations here for true cineastes, this is a list for those who were born too late or those who were not paying attention. So grab a bag of popcorn, a glass of wine or a cup of almond milk, put your phone away and absorb a director’s vision before they leave one streaming platform for the next.
- Pulp Fiction (1994) directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman. This is the second feature film from Tarantino and likely his best. The film made stars of Ving Rhames, Samuel L. Jackson and reignited the career of aging Hollywood hunk John Travolta and taught us all what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris. This film is presented in a non-linear story structure, so we often know the outcomes of our characters before we are even introduced. Pulp Fiction popularized extraneous dialogue, no longer are the characters speaking to advance the story, they are just having a conversation. The film was considered violent when released but certainly not by current standards. Watch with a friend who has never seen it, that way they don’t spoil all of the good lines.
- The Fifth Element (1997) directed by Luc Besson and starring Bruce Willis along with relative newcomer Milla Jovovich. The Fifth Element takes us on a wild ride to planet Earth far into the future. If you have seen Metropolis or Blade Runner you’ll immediately recognize that Besson is paying homage to the aesthetics of those two masterpieces. While the film is certainly science fiction, it is simultaneously funny and philosophical. Chris Tucker’s Ruby Rhod gives us an example of just how bad television personalities may get in the future but Leeloo (Jovovich) teaches us the importance of love while admonishing the human race for its propensity to make war. You will certainly have fun with this movie, the violence is almost comedic, and unlike Pulp Fiction it is safe to watch around younger family members.
3. The Graduate (1967) directed by Mike Nichols and starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. If there ever was a movie that made young people rebel against their parents this has to be the one. Ben (Hoffman) has no idea what he wants to do with his life now that he has finished college, but he does know that his parent’s lifestyle is not one he desires. Ben finds himself in an unconventional, and for the time; scandalous relationship with a family friend followed by an even bigger mistake. To say more would spoil the fun. This is certainly a great date night film, the music is a classic folk-rock from Simon and Garfunkel, the pacing is akin to modern cinema, and an homage to Breathless(1960) by Jean-Luc Godard.
4. A Clockwork Orange (1971) directed by the master himself Stanley Kubrick and starring Malcolm McDowell, takes us on a wild ride through the “ultraviolent” life of Alex (McDowell). This movie is not for anyone who is sensitive to anything. Violence, sexual violence, language,
lactose, you will be offended by this film, but in its depravity, there is a certain calm. While the film is not for everyone, like all of his work; this is a Kubrick masterpiece and should be viewed in that context. Kubrick creates his own world with each of his films and while the world created in this film seemed inconceivable to its original audience, it certainly does not seem so today.
5. Scilence of the Lambs (1991) directed by Hitchcock devotee Jonathan Demme starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins is a hair raising detective story that introduces into popular culture the idea of FBI profilers and skin suit aficionados. Clarice Starling (Foster) a fresh recruit in the FBI is tasked with getting information from cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins). While Starling is immersed in the world of cannibals, and serial killers, film audiences are along for the ride and on the edge of their seat or on the arms of their companion. No film has done more to advance our fascination with serial killers than Silence of the Lambs. While there were certainly prior films about the subject, this film brought the obsession into popular, mainstream culture and out of the dark grindhouse theatres.
Those are five films you really should spend some time with and if you make it through those check out the following:
6. All The President’s Men (1976) directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Don’t be surprised when Richard Nixon reminds you of someone else you see on television every day.
7. Under the Skin (2013) directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. Do not watch this film with younger family members around. It may be the perfect double feature companion to Silence of the Lambs. While Johansson is no stranger to skin tight costumes from her Marvel films, this is altogether different.
8. 20 Feet from Stardom (2013) directed by Morgan Neville and featuring Darlene Love. This documentary schools the audience in the often overlooked but completely necessary world of backup singers. See and hear wonderful performances by classic rock and blues acts with the main vocals removed. Darlene Love’s chilling performance on the Rolling Stones classic “Gimme Shelter” makes the film worth watching all on its own.
If you are looking to get out of the house for a movie The Music Box Theatre and The Gene Siskel Theatre in Chicago continue to show movies on actual film. Get out there and enjoy the flicker of light that is absent from digital cinema projection. Locally, The Catlow in Barrington is showing first-run films in a pre-depression era movie house. Support local cinema.
Brian L. Shelton is an Assistant Professor of Communication Arts at Harper College and not ashamed to be a film snob.