DVD review: Clone Hunter Often, sci-fi and low budget indie productions go together about as well as chocolate and onions. The high budget demands on special effects eventually hamper the entire story. Clone Hunter is indeed [ ... ] |
What to make of the ending to Inception? So far, my favorite film this year is Christopher Nolanís Inception. Not only does it deliver all the action and thrills expected of a big budget summer blockbuster, but it has inspired endl [ ... ] |
DVD Review: The White Ribbon The White Ribbon is a drama starring Christian Freidl, Ulrich Turkl and Burghart Klaussner. Directed by Michael Haneke. |
DVD Review: Shutter Island The film begins on an ominous note. Eerie strings play as the film fades to white. Soon, a ship appears out of the fog. Cut to a gumshoe, looking and speaking as if he has stepped straight out of a [ ... ] |
| Top 10 Biography Films |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Trent Daniel | |||||
| Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:34 | |||||
Page 1 of 3
 In my recent review of Milk, I admitted that biographies are not my favorite film genre, primarily for two reasons: 1) the story is already written, which can often hamper the artist in telling the story and 2) there is often a tendency for film biographies to fall too much in love with its subject, which can lead the film down a path of worship and away from perhaps telling the true story and/or from presenting the real subjectís flaws as well as his or her triumphs (which I felt was the case with Milk).
In making my Top 10, I noticed that my list was eclectic, that it included low level gangsters, failed musicians and file clerks alongside queens, emperors and generals. It does not focus solely on those who reached noble heights, but focuses as well on some people of dubious character who did not always succeed. However, I feel that each of these films is honest toward their subjects, showing their flaws as well as their triumphs. Furthermore, each works as a film, telling their stories in innovative, original and striking ways. Goodfellas (Martin Scorcese, 1991) Though known more as a ìmob movie,î Scorceseís masterpiece is actually a biography, a dazzling account (clearly influential on the TV classic ìThe Sopranosî) of the real life Henry Hill, a poor Irish-American kid who worked his way up through a New York crime family until he had no more soul to sell. The film is full of electric acting, particularly by Joe Pesci (ìAm I a clown? Do I amuse you?î), classic scenes (the long tracking shot through the restaurant; Tommyís death) and a perfectly chosen selection of oldies and classic rock songs to mesh with the proceedings. A great film. Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970) In simply one of the greatest performances in film history, George C. Scott is Patton, the brilliant, but irascible (not to mention borderline crazy) General who played a vital role in the Allies securing the European front from the Nazis in WW2. Like a great biography should, the film captures Pattonís flaws, which only serve to highlight his brilliance (he was a soldier that the Nazis truly feared and respected). The high point of the film (and one of the truly great scenes ever): Patton looks over the gruesome tragic remains of a recent battle and confesses: ìI love it. May God help me, I do love it so.î Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) One of the seminal films in history, with a style that was hugely influential on future great filmmakers, from Kubrick to Spielberg to Coppola. The film tells the story of the strange, likely homosexual British soldier T.E. Lawrence, who united the various tribes of Saudi Arabia to support the British Empire against the Turks. It daringly operates often as a silent film, letting its breathtaking visuals tell the story (most notably in the way it captures the fearsome yet beautiful emptiness of the desert, with human figures sometimes appearing as a mere speck on the horizon). Just as valuable, it does not make the mistake of ìlovingî its subject too much, but instead seems to keep a distance from him and analyze him, showing his flaws as well as his successes. A must for film buffs. |
|||||
| Last Updated on Thursday, 27 August 2009 17:57 |
SUBSCRIBE to the INDIE FILM KIOSK MINI CATALOG for valuable news, coupons and discounts! Get the pdf catalog downloaded to your computer and into your Itunes or other xml/rss feed reader:
Get the Walter Ego Podcast!
subscribe with Itunes!
Carina Lau and Chen Kun star in Flora Lau's melancholy drama about a Real Housewife of Hong Kong and her personal driver, both facing crises.read more
Read more...Veteran Hong Kong director Peter Chan returns with a familiar rags to riches story spanning 30 years and beginning in 1980s China.read more
Read more...Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu returns to the theme of children living apart from their families.read more
Read more...Best Buy Co., beginning May 19, will start selling Sony’s 4K ultra high definition televisions in about 700 Best Buy and Magnolia stores nationwide, according to a company tweet. 4K monitors offer four times the resolution (8.3 million vs. 2.1[…]
Read more...Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release 23 movies on DVD for the first time at major retailers from its Fox Cinema Archives collection over the course of the next five weeks. Launched in 2012, Fox Cinema Archives includes more[…]
Read more...Berenice Bejo shines in a superbly lensed in competition drama from "A Separation's" Asghar Faradi.read more
Read more...Theatrical, Direct-to-Video and TV Movies Title Formats Studio Beautiful Creatures DVD, Blu-ray Warner The Last Stand DVD, Blu-ray Lionsgate Parker DVD, Blu-ray Sony Pictures Side Effects DVD, Blu-ray Universal Stand Up Guys DVD, Blu-ray Lionsgate Lego Batman: The Movie: DC[…]
Read more...Redbox is becoming more attuned to consumer rental patterns, expects Blu-ray Discs to continue growing as a part of overall revenue and still anticipates overall rentals to increase 5% to 10% annually during the next three years, J. Scott Di[…]
Read more...Paramount Home Media Distribution has picked up the worldwide distribution rights to the horror comedy Ghost Team One. The independent film — produced by Flying Monkeys Entertainment and Foresight Entertainment — follows two roommates trying to impress a girl, and[…]
Read more...HBO Home Entertainment is giving “True Blood” fans a chance to win autographed copies of the fifth season, out on disc May 21. Through May 17, fans can enter missing words from a “Psalm of Lilith” (#fillintheblood) via the show’s[…]
Read more...LG Electronics’ latest connected HDTVs now offer the Redbox Instant application, joining Xbox 360, Apple devices and Samsung Blu-ray Disc players among other consumers electronics to carry the service. Google TV and Vizio are the next consumer electronics devices expected[…]
Read more...Two recent theatrical hits, both new on disc, bowed in the top spots on the national home video sales charts the week ended May 12. On the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, the romantic drama[…]
Read more...Rank Title Studio Share* 1 Star Trek Paramount 68.82% 2 Superman Unbound Warner 61.85% 3 The Avengers Disney/Marvel 48.61% 4 Jack Reacher Paramount 48.61% 5 Les Misérables Universal 47.01% 6 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Warner 42.68% 7 Django Unchained[…]
Read more...Rank Title Studio Index* 1 Jack Reacher Paramount 100.00 2 Safe Haven Fox 89.59 3 Mama Universal 38.67 4 Silver Linings Playbook Anchor Bay 36.78 5 Superman Unbound Warner 25.92 6 Django Unchained Anchor Bay 23.09 7 Les Misérables Universal[…]
Read more...This Week's Rank Last Week's Rank Title Street Date Studio Genre Days Since Release Box Office (Millions) 1 New Jack Reacher 5/7/13 Paramount Action 5 $80.07 2 1 Silver Linings Playbook 4/30/13 Anchor Bay Comedy 12 $131.96 3 2 The[…]
Read more...
