A-Z of favourite films - S part two

Okay, bring out the bunting, sound the celebratory alarms.It’s time for the second part of the S blog in my favourite A-Z films of all time.

PART TWO!

As you may or may not recall, we paused our S blog at the end of the 1960s due to there being just too many damn films beginning with S. We shall resume our story where we left off at the beginning of 1970s

1970s

From 1971 came the cult classic Shaft, though to be honest it’s not one of my personal favourites. The same year, the controversial shit hit the fan with Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, the brutal tale of a man turning to extreme violence in order to protect his own home. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George, the film was banned from being released on video or DVD in Britain right up until 2002. Controversial also for its rape scene, it’s not an easy film to watch, but I don’t think it deserved the widespread revulsion it received on release. A less controversial film from 1972 was Silent Running, a minor science fiction classic with an eco-message which clearly had a major influence on the recent Wall-E. A couple of films from 1973 notable for bravura performances from their main actors were Serpico with Al Pacino as the cop refusing to bow to corruption, and Save the Tiger, with Jack Lemmon winning a Best Actor Oscar as the executive struggling with how the world is changing, and considering underhand tactics to try and save his company from going under. If you only know Lemmon from his excellent comic turns, this exhibits the darker side to his acting, and very powerful it is too. Also in 1973, The Sting provides excellent fun and capers, with Robert Redford and Paul Newman reprising their partnership from Butch Cassidy in this tale of a couple of con-men trying to battle against head honcho Robert Shaw. The film is pure entertainment and won the Best Picture and Director Oscars for the year. Less entertaining for me was Pasolini’s Salo – its controversial scenes just left me bored. Other 70s movies which are worthy of a mention include Cronenberg’s Shivers, Don Siegel’s The Shootist (John Wayne’s last film, also featuring James Stewart), Superman featuring the first outing for Christopher Reeve, and Alan Clarke’s hard hitting Scum, the story of life in a young detention centre starring Ray “Who’s Your Daddy” Winstone. Oh, and I nearly forgot a small film from 1977 in Star Wars. I know, I know some people love it and fair enough and all that, but for me it’s a glorified toy commercial. More to my taste from the same year was Dario Argento’s Suspiria, a horror tale set within a ballet academy. Featuring an astonishing use of colour and visual imagery it’s a treat for the eyes and contains a few shocks too.

My winner for the 1970s will be The Sting – top notch cinema entertainment.

1980s

Into the 1980s and from 1980 we have The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s slow burner of a horror film, featuring Jack Nicholson as the writer slowly going mad in an isolated hotel putting his wife and son at risk. Kubrick’s typically detached style of filming suits the tale of isolation and though the shocks may be few and far between, they’re all the more effective for it. Also in the early 80s we have comedy with Bill Murray in Stripes, and gangster tales with Al Pacino in Brian De Palma’s showy remake of Scarface. You can’t ignore a love story between Tom Hanks and a mermaid, and that’s what Splash provides. Daryl Hannah is the said mermaid and John Candy provides fine support in a charming feel good film. Much less feelgood, but most effective was Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Killing. Before you start wondering how many points his name would be worth at Scrabble, you should know that his film examining the ins and outs of a murdered being put to death is stark, unrelenting, but ultimately successfully provokes the sort of questions one imagines it intended to do. After watching it, you’ll probably feel the need to watch something a bit more light-hearted like Stakeout, or Scrooged, both comedies from the 80s.

So the 1980s a bit light on quality films compared to the next two decades but I’ll put The Shining through – the horror film as art.




1990s

Right, I’ve seen 48 S films from the 1990s, so forgive me if this category turns into a bit of a list, rather than the usual “incisive commentary” – yeah right! Anyhoo, we have Anthony Hopkins chewing the scenery as well as other things in Silence of the Lambs, a film that won a hatful of Oscars. Skipping over Stop or My Mom Will Shoot (it came close to winning, but just missed out), we have Schindler’s List from Spielberg, a stark film about the Holocaust, but uplifting in a way due to its examination of one man’s human kindness. Changing tone entirely, So I Married an Axe Murderer is always a favourite comedy of mine with Mike Myers in pre Austin Powers territory. From Japan comes Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine though I enjoyed his later films more. Danny Boyle emerged on the scene in the UK in 1994 with Shallow Grave, a darkly comic tale. In the same year came The Shawshank Redemption, one of my all time favourites starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins as prisoners inside the prison of Shawshank. Pretty much ignored on release, it then built up a following on video and now frequently finds itself at or near the top of polls to find the public’s favourite film of all time. From the same year came Speed with Keanu Reeves and the lovely Sandra Bullock (that is her full name – “lovely” Sandra Bullock) and from American Independent cinema there came Spanking the Monkey. It’s not quite as rude as the title implies, but as it deals with incest, isn’t for the easily offended. Reaching the mid-point of the nineties we have the serial-killer tale Se7en with an all star cast, and this side of the Atlantic came my favourite Mike Leigh film Secrets and Lies, which is uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time – if your eyes don’t moisten in one scene, you’re not human. We’ll gloss over Showgirls and Species, but Wes Craven’s post modern horror Scream reinvented the genre – you can’t really blame it for opening the floodgates for hundreds of inferior copies – yes, the Scary Movie franchise, I’m looking at you. Also worth watching are Shine, Slingblade and Swingers. I’ve also got a guilty secret that I quite liked Starship Troopers – it’s actually deeper than it first appears, honestly! The 1998 Oscar battle for Best Picture was between Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love, both fine films. The latter won out eventually, though sadly so did Gwyneth Paltrow – I’m still trying to get that Oscar speech out of my mind even a decade later. A Simple Plan from Sam Raimi is an underrated gem; Sliding Doors was a successful British film, Sweet and Lowdown was a decent Woody Allen film, and then the sleeper hit of 1999 was The Sixth Sense. Don’t worry, I won’t give away the ending here if you’ve not seen it. (it’s a sledge)

Well a lot to choose from the 1990s, but my final vote goes to The Shawshank Redemption. When I first saw it around 1998 I knew it would be one of my favourite films, and not much has changed since.




2000s

Moving into the last decade – “only” 40 S films seen this decade. I liked Sexy Beast, the gangster film with Ray Winstone and a quite astonishingly profane performance by Ben “Gandhi” Kingsley. Snatch from Guy Richie was ok but a bit “meh” with its gangster laddishness. Shrek and its sequel (not seen third one yet) were brilliant examples of the levels that animation has hit with its mix of adventure for the kids and savvy postmodernness for the parents with its multiple references and in-jokes. From Italy, The Son’s Room deals with a family’s grief following the death of their son. It’s clearly not a laugh a minute, but is wonderfully filmed with fine performances and a real honesty to the subject that is quite refreshing. From 2002 came Secretary, which I’d better not say too much about, but has the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal (yes, her first name is “lovely” too) as the secretary in question embarking on an odd relationship with her boss James Spader. Yes there’s spanking, but it’s actually quite a good hearted film – honest. A couple of decent films from South Korea were Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring – very different films, but both great examples of the recent growth in popularity of East Asian films here in the West. 2003 also sees a marvellous golden nugget of a movie – The Station Agent. A low budget affair, I was bowled over by its charm and it remains a firm favourite of mine still. My two favourites from 2004 are Shaun of the Dead from this side of the Atlantic – simply put the best British comedy for several decades, and Sideways, Alexander Payne’s low-key masterpiece about a couple of men celebrating an upcoming wedding by going on a wine road trip. It’s difficult to explain why the film’s so good. To say it's an intelligent film makes it sound pretentious but it isn’t – it just doesn’t feel forced to aim for the lowest common denominator. The pacing is perfect, the characterisation spot on and the characters all too believable. Gentle comedy is a horrible term as it brings up memories of Last of the Summer Wine but Sideways is a gentle comedy in the best possible sense. Moving on, I felt Syriana was a fine film, tackling difficult issues (plus it’s got Mr Clooney in it), Son of Rambow was a charming British film, and of course I believe Slumdog Millionaire was quite successful and won a few awards. Rounding off the decade, 2 films from 2009 are also worth a watch – State of Play, and finally Guy Richie brings his directing career back from the dead in Sherlock Holmes.

So the winner of the 2000s is difficult. Hmm, it’s down to Shaun of the Dead, The Station Agent or Sideways. It’s difficult to separate them but I think my final vote will go to Shaun of the Dead.


Well, that’s nearly 200 films whittled down to 9 and it’s taken bloody ages!



The final list is:

Pre 1940s Stagecoach
1940s Shadow of a Doubt
1950s Singin’ in the Rain
AND Some Like it Hot
1960s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
1970s The Sting
1980s The Shining
1990s The Shawshank Redemption
2000s Shaun of the Dead

So I guess I’ve got to pick a winner out of that lot. Damn. Do I have to? Ah, yes. Right, I’ll go for Some Like it Hot – classic Hollywood at its best.