At the risk of repeating some things Bethel has already said, here’s my suggestion for redeeming every Labor Day Weekend from America's favorite pastime, shopping. Watch Elia Kazan’s brilliant On the Waterfront. Mobsters infiltrate the unions; the protagonist rises above all odds; and bonus—a favorable portrayal of a Catholic priest!
I long ago quit watching the Oscars, but I’ll never forget 25 years ago when the Motion Picture Academy gave Kazan, by this point well into his eighties, the Lifetime Achievement Award. There sat Nick Nolte (who never rose above the performance the brilliant Walter Hill got out of him in 48 Hours), with not one one-hundredth of the talent that Kazan had in his pinky toe, with his arms folded across his chest refusing to applaud much less stand up. The vastly overrated Steven Spielberg (his best film was Jaws, by far, though Hooper in the book is not a sniveling kid), if I recall, did applaud but refused to stand. At least he recognized genius. Ed Harris (who is very talented and just nothing but great in Apollo 13)) also sat still and glared, hands folded in his lap.
Why? Kazan had identified communists, not, interestingly enough, in Hollywood, strictly speaking, but writers for the New York stage—among them Arthur Miller. We dismiss the whole business now as “red scare,” and the (also much overrated) Cohen brothers lampoon the period in their (admittedly funny) Hail Caesar, but those of us who move every day in the business of distinguishing truth from falsehood know how harmful the latter can be to a polity, and we know the duty of the state to identify it and expose it.
I was very taken by A Man for All Seasons when I first saw it long ago. I even have a soft spot for the Charlton Heston (let's be clear--more movie star than actor) remake, which is more faithful to the script, if memory serves. But in the end the play is a defense of conscience, not truth, and Bolt is explicit as Bethel says. Fun fact: Vanessa Redgrave, in the Scofield film, plays Anne Boleyn. It's not a speaking role. (It's not among the players for the stage production.) She briefly appears exchanging goo-goo eyes with Henry (the brilliant Robert Shaw, who steals Jaws) before he enters court near the beginning of the picture. Its a masterful scene: Zinnemann (watch High Noon, Day of the Jackal, and the Nun's Story) shows in a few frames that Henry is throwing it all away for for a piece of flesh. Of course his "Great Matter," as it came to be called, is the most "impactful" event in modern history, spawning the ugliness of the industrial revolution, the ethnic cleansing and genocide of natives of today's United States, and a schism in the Church yet to heal.
Redgrave's role is among the two greatest non-speaking roles in cinema. The other is Robert Duvall's Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. Screenwriter Horton Foote (watch A Trip to Bountiful and Tender Mercies) takes a children's book, as Flannery O'Conner put it, and with Gregory Peck makes a pretty compelling if sentimental film.
Ben Hur, the 1959 version. Quite possibly the best action sequence ever filmed is in this movie. Jesus isn’t in this much, but His presence is substantial.
I know this will seem strange considering the context of best Christian films, but the Godfather parts 1 and 2. The rise and fall of a good man consumed by violence and wiping out all his enemies. A cautionary tale, a biblical tragedy, or maybe a Greek one.🧐
I really enjoy Best Years of our Lives. A melodramatic window into post-WW2 America. Great deep focus cinematography, too.
Not an Oscar winner as far as I know, but I would also recommend High and Low, a Kurosawa/Mfune collaboration. The film is centered on a powerful moral dilemma. Great blocking especially in the first act.
Yes, I love the deep-focus shots in Best Years too!
Ben-Hur is returning to theaters this year, so I might rewatch it then. It's a great spectacle but I never quite connected with it. The book is better.
I actually also considered sneaking a Godfather movie on here! A pivotal scene does partly take place in a church, after all...
Thanks for the Kurosawa recommendation, one of these days I'll get properly caught up with his catalogue.
Of course Gibson was never going to win an Oscar for The Passion. It is good, a work of tortured genius, although maybe not the best Passion film. (Still need to watch Pasolini.)
I wasn't aware that Pilgrim's Progress was a film!
I saw Amazing Grace as a kid--I remember baby Benedict Cumberbatch. :) John Newton pottering around in literal sackcloth was weird, but a very fun film.
I Confess by Hitchcock really outlines the challenge of the priest/pastor-penitent privilege from a legal and moral foundation. I haven't seen all of Hitchcock's films, but it's a TERRIFYING scenario. Viewed following the abuse scandals, it takes an even more interesting/challenging turn with lots of good discussion to come.
Babette's Feast, slow but wonderful story about generosity vs. austerity of heart and a picture of the joy of feasting together.
For documentary, the hard to find (but still available on Apple I believe) Restless Conscience, which is focused on the conscience-based resistance to the Nazis, including a heavy showcase of one of my personal heroes, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke.
Bella & Amistad are also great ones.
The 1955 Missouri Synod-sponsored Martin Luther is a pretty solid work all considered, if somewhat dated.
I would have to say Barabbas, with Anthony Quinn and Jack Palance, is on my list. It’s the one “Easter movie” we watch every year. While there are some modernist, “Mainline” elements to it, I think it powerfully tells the story of the kind of person one comes across occasionally, the one who would like to believe, can’t really reckon with his/her own choices that make that belief impossible, and yet is sometimes so, so close.
At the risk of repeating some things Bethel has already said, here’s my suggestion for redeeming every Labor Day Weekend from America's favorite pastime, shopping. Watch Elia Kazan’s brilliant On the Waterfront. Mobsters infiltrate the unions; the protagonist rises above all odds; and bonus—a favorable portrayal of a Catholic priest!
I long ago quit watching the Oscars, but I’ll never forget 25 years ago when the Motion Picture Academy gave Kazan, by this point well into his eighties, the Lifetime Achievement Award. There sat Nick Nolte (who never rose above the performance the brilliant Walter Hill got out of him in 48 Hours), with not one one-hundredth of the talent that Kazan had in his pinky toe, with his arms folded across his chest refusing to applaud much less stand up. The vastly overrated Steven Spielberg (his best film was Jaws, by far, though Hooper in the book is not a sniveling kid), if I recall, did applaud but refused to stand. At least he recognized genius. Ed Harris (who is very talented and just nothing but great in Apollo 13)) also sat still and glared, hands folded in his lap.
Why? Kazan had identified communists, not, interestingly enough, in Hollywood, strictly speaking, but writers for the New York stage—among them Arthur Miller. We dismiss the whole business now as “red scare,” and the (also much overrated) Cohen brothers lampoon the period in their (admittedly funny) Hail Caesar, but those of us who move every day in the business of distinguishing truth from falsehood know how harmful the latter can be to a polity, and we know the duty of the state to identify it and expose it.
I was very taken by A Man for All Seasons when I first saw it long ago. I even have a soft spot for the Charlton Heston (let's be clear--more movie star than actor) remake, which is more faithful to the script, if memory serves. But in the end the play is a defense of conscience, not truth, and Bolt is explicit as Bethel says. Fun fact: Vanessa Redgrave, in the Scofield film, plays Anne Boleyn. It's not a speaking role. (It's not among the players for the stage production.) She briefly appears exchanging goo-goo eyes with Henry (the brilliant Robert Shaw, who steals Jaws) before he enters court near the beginning of the picture. Its a masterful scene: Zinnemann (watch High Noon, Day of the Jackal, and the Nun's Story) shows in a few frames that Henry is throwing it all away for for a piece of flesh. Of course his "Great Matter," as it came to be called, is the most "impactful" event in modern history, spawning the ugliness of the industrial revolution, the ethnic cleansing and genocide of natives of today's United States, and a schism in the Church yet to heal.
Redgrave's role is among the two greatest non-speaking roles in cinema. The other is Robert Duvall's Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. Screenwriter Horton Foote (watch A Trip to Bountiful and Tender Mercies) takes a children's book, as Flannery O'Conner put it, and with Gregory Peck makes a pretty compelling if sentimental film.
Ben Hur, the 1959 version. Quite possibly the best action sequence ever filmed is in this movie. Jesus isn’t in this much, but His presence is substantial.
I know this will seem strange considering the context of best Christian films, but the Godfather parts 1 and 2. The rise and fall of a good man consumed by violence and wiping out all his enemies. A cautionary tale, a biblical tragedy, or maybe a Greek one.🧐
I really enjoy Best Years of our Lives. A melodramatic window into post-WW2 America. Great deep focus cinematography, too.
Not an Oscar winner as far as I know, but I would also recommend High and Low, a Kurosawa/Mfune collaboration. The film is centered on a powerful moral dilemma. Great blocking especially in the first act.
Yes, I love the deep-focus shots in Best Years too!
Ben-Hur is returning to theaters this year, so I might rewatch it then. It's a great spectacle but I never quite connected with it. The book is better.
I actually also considered sneaking a Godfather movie on here! A pivotal scene does partly take place in a church, after all...
Thanks for the Kurosawa recommendation, one of these days I'll get properly caught up with his catalogue.
Good list. Seen all multiple times except for Spotlight. Not gonna watch Spotlight. I'll take your word that it's good.
Chariots of Fire and a A Man for All Seasons are tip-top.
The Passion of the Christ is good/great, tough to watch.
Of course Gibson was never going to win an Oscar for The Passion. It is good, a work of tortured genius, although maybe not the best Passion film. (Still need to watch Pasolini.)
It would be cool to get your thoughts on best Passion films.
That's a good idea, I should watch some in preparation for Passion season.
Other similar options:
Bella (2006)
Amistad
Pilgrim’s Progress
Amazing Grace - even if not 1000% accurate
I wasn't aware that Pilgrim's Progress was a film!
I saw Amazing Grace as a kid--I remember baby Benedict Cumberbatch. :) John Newton pottering around in literal sackcloth was weird, but a very fun film.
Bella was beautiful.
I still need to see Amistad!
I Confess by Hitchcock really outlines the challenge of the priest/pastor-penitent privilege from a legal and moral foundation. I haven't seen all of Hitchcock's films, but it's a TERRIFYING scenario. Viewed following the abuse scandals, it takes an even more interesting/challenging turn with lots of good discussion to come.
Babette's Feast, slow but wonderful story about generosity vs. austerity of heart and a picture of the joy of feasting together.
For documentary, the hard to find (but still available on Apple I believe) Restless Conscience, which is focused on the conscience-based resistance to the Nazis, including a heavy showcase of one of my personal heroes, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke.
Bella & Amistad are also great ones.
The 1955 Missouri Synod-sponsored Martin Luther is a pretty solid work all considered, if somewhat dated.
High Noon is another one I forgot.
To Kill a Mockingbird
I would have to say Barabbas, with Anthony Quinn and Jack Palance, is on my list. It’s the one “Easter movie” we watch every year. While there are some modernist, “Mainline” elements to it, I think it powerfully tells the story of the kind of person one comes across occasionally, the one who would like to believe, can’t really reckon with his/her own choices that make that belief impossible, and yet is sometimes so, so close.
I've never heard of it but you have my attention with that cast!