The final movie of this goal!!

Told from the memoirs of his secretary, Traudl Jung, Downfall tells the story of the final days of Adolf Hitler. It shows Hitler, played by Bruno Ganz in an amazing performance, descending into madness and losing control of Germany. As he slowly realizes Germany is lost, he refuses to leave Berlin, even as the Russians close in. Surrounding him are his loyal followers, including Eva Braun, Magda Goebbels and Joseph Goebbels. There are also many other loyal Nazi soldiers trapped in the bunker with Hitler.
What is powerful about this movie is the realism of the war torn Berlin as well as the dedication and loyalty of the Nazis. Even when urged to flee Berlin, most of the Nazis vow to stay with Hitler even to death. They were willing to die by Russian hands or commit suicide for Hitler. This is an eye opening testament to the power Hitler held over the Third Reich.
One of the saddest scenes of the film shows Magda Goebbels revealing her complete dedication to Hitler and National Socialism. She would rather herself and her children die than live in a world without National Socialism. This is proven in a heartbreaking scene where she gives her children a sleeping potion and then returns a few hours later to give each child a cyanide pill. What kind of man can demand this of his followers?
Special notice must be given to Bruno Ganz and his portrayal of Hitler. I have read that it is a sympathetic portrayal of Hitler, but I did not see that. I do not agree. Ganz plays Hitler as a man whose madness drove a nation to insanity and death. His cruelty and madness is brought to life by Ganz. It is a performance deserving of an Oscar.
Downfall is a film worth watching. It will open your eyes to what happened in the final days of WWII and how Hitler ran the country. It is not an easy film to watch but is a film worth investing the time to see.

Watched a few over the past couple of days. Due to bad goings on at work and my grandmother in the hospital, I’m not gonna take time to review the.

160 Night of the Hunter

Fabulous movie. Scary. Robert Mitchum is truly terrifying as “Pastor” Harry Powell.

198 The Lady Vanishes

Early Hitchcock. Really enjoyed this, funny and suspenseful. Well worth watching.

161 Stand by Me

Great early Rob Reiner. Sweet story about boyhood friendship.

00 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

When I started goal, this was number 231 but has since fallen off. It was a good movie, but not one of my favorites. It’s a Western that shows that life is not always fair or as it seems and “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Only one left and this goal is done!!!!! Downfall.

The Seventh Seal is proof that cinema can be more than just mindless entertainment. Cinema can raise questions about life that can lead to viewers contemplating life, death and the existence of God. While a bit heavy handed at times, The Seventh Seal is Ingmar Bergman’s attempt to allow moviegoers to examine their own beliefs.
The film takes place in the Middle Ages and centers around Antonius Block, a knight who has just returned from ten years fighting in the Crusades. He is accompanied by his squire, Jons. Upon their return, Block finds himself confronted by Death. He is at first surprised, but Death reminds Block that he has always been beside him. In an attempt to keep living, Block challenges Death to a game of chess. It is a disjointed game, carried out over several days. After all, the plague has broken out and Death is busy. As Block and Jons make their way back home they have many eye opening experiences.
At one point, they come upon a church in which a man is painting images of the plague and death. He is told it will scare people, but he paints it because it is true. It is what people see every day. Block finds himself at a confessional and vents his frustrations. He states to the figure in the booth, “I want God to put out his hand, show his face, speak to me. I cry out to him in the dark but there is no one there.” It is this question that drives him. He wants to know if God exists, and was what he fought for in the Crusades. The figure he to which he speaks his confession is Death, always close and constantly following him.
They meet a troop of actors, most notably a couple named Jof and Mia, whose English names are Joseph and Mary. They have a one year old named Michael. They are a happy couple, always singing and inviting guests to eat their limited food. Jof is blessed with visions and sees the Virgin Mary walking the baby Jesus. He is moved to tears by the vision.
They meet the theologian who sent Block on the Crusades. Jons meets him first and angrily confronts him on the pointlessness of sending them to fight in the Crusades. The man is now forced to steal from the dead to survive.
They meet a woman in a stockade who is going to be burned for sleeping with the devil and, in doing so, brought the plague upon the country. The Knight, ever curious for life’s answers, asks her about the devil. After all, the devil will know of God’s existence. She tells him to look in her eyes to see the devil, but he sees only terror. Later, as she burns, Jons looks at her but sees only emptiness in her eyes. The Knight can’t believe that.
Block and Jons meet several other travelers as they journey, including a smith, his cheating wife and a young girl Jons saves from being raped. This young girl never speaks a word but is always there looking and puzzling over what the group sees.
Throughout these travels, Death continually meets the knight to continue the game. As they play, the knight believes he will win. One encounter sees him tricking Death into sacrificing a knight. The knight foolishly tell Death he will continually always be a step ahead in the game. A future encounter has Death taking the knight’s queen. It is here, the knight realizes the futility of the game. However, he knows it should just be him, not the party he is traveling with.
As they play, Jof sees Death playing chess with the knight. Mia only sees the knight playing chess. Jof comprehends that they must leave to escape Death. He and Mia gather their belongings and sneak off. The knight sees this going on behind Death as he understands the futility of the game. He fumbles with his cloak, knocking the pieces over. Doing so causes Death to reach over and replace them. This provides the distraction Jof and Mia need to escape. They es
The final scenes reveal Death coming for the party at the knight’s castle. They stand before Death recognizing their end is here and the words are spoken by the young girl, “It is finished.” The final haunting image is seen through Jof’s eyes as he views Death making the party hold hands and dance a macabre dance.
The Seventh Seal is a film with images that will haunt a viewer. The knight playing chess with Death. The woman burning. A group of worshipers flogging themselves in hopes to appease God. The final image of the group in a line holding hands and dancing.
It is film that asks hard questions. It is a depressing film that seems to offer no hope to viewers. God does not show his face to the knight despite his pleadings. The plague ravishes the land. Even the devil seems to be nonexistant as Jons points out when viewing the burning woman. The film asks, without the devil, can there be God?
However, there is hope. Joseph and Mary are the symbolic characters that show the existence of the God the knight is searching for. They are raising a child in a world ravaged by plague. A miracle. They share their food with travelers although they have little. Compassion. They love each other in hard times while people around them cheat and kill. Love. The knight saves them from Death during his chess game. This action reveals that people can be saved in the dark times they live in.
The Seventh Seal is a film that is not easy to watch. It is depressing and bleak in its presentation of life, made even more so by its stark black and white imagery. Despite this, if one views the film with an open mind, one will find a message of hope and even proof of God.

I love Charlie Chaplin and am glad this goal has allowed me to be exposed to more of this work. The Kid features his famous Tramp character and what happens when he finds an abandoned child on the sidewalk. A desperate mother places her child in a fancy car in hopes he will have a good life. However, the car is stolen by thugs who promptly leave the poor child on the sidewalk. The Tramp raises the boy as his own and they experience conflict with a doctor, an orphanage, a bully and the police. The child actor, Jackie Coogan, is incredible. He mimics Chaplin’s Tramp with great accuracy. The two have great chemistry and work well off of each other.
One highlight of the film has the kid throwing rocks at windows so the Tramp can get paid to fix them. As they carry out their little scam, a policeman gets involved and father and son expertly maneuver an escape. When the kid gets in a fight with a bully, the Tramp urges him to win, but the the bully’s older brother steps in and threatens the Tramp. What follows is classic slapstick as the Tramp bounces around the street and off objects avoiding the brother’s punches.
What makes this movie great is not only the slapstick but the humanity. When the kid and Tramp sit down for a pancake breakfast, the kid starts eating syrup off his knife. The Tramp sees it and steps in as a parent. He grabs the knife and shows the kid how to lick off the dull side of knife. Later, an orphanage comes to take the kid. In an elaborate chase, the Tramp scrambles over rooftops to chase the truck carrying the kid away. He jumps from the rooftops into the moving truck to rescue his son and the camera closes in on their faces. The tears and expressions on their faces reveal the love the Tramp has for his son and vice versa.
The Kid is a fantastic film and I think would be a great intro for someone who has never seen a Chaplin film or even a silent film. It is short, only 50 minutes, yet is packed with humor while still telling a sweet family story.

Beauty and the Beast was on the IMDB Top 250 when I started this goal, but it has since fallen off. That is really a shame because Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast is a, pardon the pun, beautiful film. It is filled with imagination and is an example of movie magic at its finest. Be aware, it is nothing like the Disney animated movie but it is a movie watching experience everyone should view.
It follows the familiar story – a Beast who lives in a magical castle trades a father’s life for his daughter’s love. As the daughter lives in the Beast’s castle she learns to care for the misunderstood Beast.
While it may seem a straightfoward and simple plot, the film’s special effects help to elevate it into something magical. As the father first enters the Beast’s castle, his way his lit by candles that light themselves and are held by human arms jutting out of the castle wall. Statues turn their heads and watch people pass by. Magical mirrors show the looker what they really want to see. Doors open by themselves. Curtains are drawn by magical arms. The Beast himself is a sight to behold. Even completely covered in hair, the Beast evokes powerful human emotions as he tries to be understood and loved by Belle.
A wonderful movie experience and I hope it moves back up into the top 250 movies. It certainly deserves the honor.

Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel is brought to life by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. While Rebecca is not the typical suspense film one generally associates with Hitchcock, it is masterfully made and is a faithful adaptation of the novel. It was the only film Hitchcock won an Oscar for, it won best picture and best cinematography in 1941.
Rebecca was deserving of the awards. The imagery that comes alive in the novel is masterfully shown on the screen. Manderley is a beautiful and fantastic place that anybody would want to visit. It is a place of dreams, and unfortunately, memories.
As in the novel, a young woman, Joan Fontaine, marries Maxim de Winter, Laurence Olivier. Upon returning home with him, she learns he lost his wife Rebecca in a boating accident the year before. The housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, brilliantly played by Judith Anderson, does everything in her power to keep Rebecca’s memory alive and torments Mrs. de Winter with those memories.
Again, I don’t want to spoil the surprises that come, but I will note that there are some changes from the novel. Despite the fact, that Daphne du Maurier was reportedly happy with the adaptation, I felt it lacked the intensity of the novel. There were other things at work in the adaptation, such as the Hays code, so the changes are expected.
While not your typical Hitchcock, Rebecca is a film well worth visiting. After all, who wouldn’t want to live at the Manderley estate.

A Stanley Kubrick film I had never seen and what a disappointment it was. The film was beautiful, almost like watching a painting for over three hours, but it was long and, in my opinion, boring. The film follows Lyndon’s life as he tries to become what he feels is success. He does despicable things to get to the top and the characters around him behave in the same manner. However, the pacing drags and drags. I can appreciate the beauty of the film surrounding these horrible characters, but it moved a laboriously slow pace. Don’t think this one should be in the top 250.

Let the Right One In is a very recent film, 2008, and it is a Swedish vampire film. However, it is a very different type of vampire film than Hollywood churns out. The film centers around a 12 year old boy, Oskar, who lives a lonely life. One day he meets a strange girl who lives in an apartment next to his and the two form a strange attachment. This is where the film separates itself from the typical vampire flick. It is a story of friendship and empathy. He learns she is really a vampire, but that doesn’t scare him away. He wants to learn about her and even protect her despite her horrific way of life. Take away the vampire angle, and you would actually be watching a sweet coming of age story. As it is, the film is elevated into a scarier yet deeper story.
The film feels cold and desolate. The characters live in a snow filled town that is always overcast and dark and the cinematography reflects that perfectly. It also takes it a step further by showing the emptiness that is the lives of the two characters.

I watched this several weeks ago and forgot to write something about it. It is a German film that explores human lives and the freedoms they should be allowed. It follows a member of the Secret Police in East Berlin as he listens to every word uttered by a man he believes is hiding something. As he listens to the man’s life, he begins to explore his own feelings and ideologies.
I know I’m not really saying much, but rest assured, this is a film everyone should see. It is worthy of the high ranking on the IMDB list.

Der Untergang (Downfall)
Seventh Seal
The Night of the Hunter
Stand by Me
Let the Right One In
The Lady Vanishes
The Kid
La Belle et la beta (Beauty and the Beast)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

These are all being shipped to me by Blockbuster but most have long wait or very long wait so it will be several weeks or months before I finish. This is my final list due to the top 250 constantly changing. I will consider this goal finished after these ten. Even since I last checked the list a week ago, four new movies have entered the top 200s.