#13 Star Wars

1977
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford

One of my all-time favorites, and one I've seen more times than I care to admit.  If you haven't seen this movie, there might be something wrong with you.  (Just as a side note- I watched this movie twice; once just by itself and once with a Rifftrax.  Google it if you've never heard of it!!)

Nothing more to say other than it's the reason why people go to the movies- entertaining as any movie can be.  Looking forward to see the sequels being filmed now!

Trivia: George Lucas was so sure the film would flop that instead of attending the premiere, he went on holiday to Hawaii with his good friend Steven Spielberg, where they came up with the idea for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Up Next: The Searchers

# 14 Psycho

1960
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh

What a great movie! I haven't seen it in years, and it holds up. Every shot is perfect and purposeful.  What more can be said!

Trivia: Every theater that showed the film had a cardboard cut-out installed in the lobby of Alfred Hitchcock pointing to his wristwatch with a note from the director saying "The manager of this theatre has been instructed at the risk of his life, not to admit to the theatre any persons after the picture starts. Any spurious attempts to enter by side doors, fire escapes or ventilating shafts will be met by force. The entire objective of this extraordinary policy, of course, is to help you enjoy PSYCHO more. Alfred Hitchcock"

Up Next: Star Wars (!!!!!!)

#15 2001: A Space Odyssey

1968
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester,

Stanley Kubrick's classic film, which I hadn't seen in about 20 years. The story follows mankind, starting with early apes, who come across a strange monolith on earth.  Modern man then discovers a similar monolith on the surface of the moon, and the race begins to find the origins of the strange structure.  Astronauts set out on a mission with the assistance of HAL (a computer/AI), who then turns on them.  I found myself loving the score, but the movie wouldn't be classified as one of my favorites.

Trivia: There is no dialogue in the first 25 minutes of the movie (ending when a stewardess speaks at 25:38), nor in the last 23 minutes (excluding end credits). With these two lengthy sections and other shorter ones, there are around 88 dialogue-free minutes in the movie.

Up Next: Psycho

#16 Sunset Boulevard

1950
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Gloria Swanson, William Holden

I hadn't watched this one since I was a teenage and it did not disappoint.  Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond, a silent film star, who has been put to the silent by talking pictures.  She is now a recluse living in am enormous crumbling mansion. Joe Gillis, a small-time writer, stumbles upon the house and they strike up a business deal that turns into a love affair.  Norma dreams of a big comeback into movies, but things don't go her way.  Murder and mayhem ensue.

Trivia: The name Norma Desmond was chosen from a combination of silent-film star Norma Talmadge and silent movie director William Desmond Taylor, whose still-unsolved murder is one of the great scandals of Hollywood history. (On the morning of Febriary 1, 1922, Taylor was shot and killed in his Hollywood bungalow. His killer was never identified.)

Up Next: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

# 17 The Graduate

1967
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross

Director: Mike Nichols

Recent college grad Ben Braddock, played by Hoffman, doesn't know what he is going to do with his post-college life.  After a run in at his homecoming party with Mrs. Robinson, he begins an affair with her, only to then fall in love with her daughter Elaine.  After Elaine learns that Ben had slept with her mother (who tells Elaine that she had been raped by Ben), she wants nothing to do with him.  Ben follows Elaine to Berkley, hoping to win her back.  But to be honest, he turns into quite the stalker there for a bit.  Eventually, Elaine is set to marry someone else, and Ben finds the church to take her away.  The two run out of the church together and hop onto a bus.  It's all joy and elation at first, but the last shot of the movie shows the two of them on that bus with a look of "what the hell did we just do" on their faces.  I'm left with the feeling that it may not work out in the end.

Up next: Sunset Boulevard

# 18 The General

1926

Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack

Silent movie taking place during the civil war.  Keaton's character is the conductor of a train he loves named "The General."  When war breaks out, he desperately wants to enlist, mainly to impress his lady Annabelle and her family, but is told he cannot because of his occupation.  When "The General" is taken by enemies with Annbelle aboard, he embarks on his own rescue mission.  Keaton's timing is perfect, and the movie is genuinely funny!  And I have to admit that I kinda got goosebumps at the end when - spoiler alert- he saves the day and earns his uniform.  This movie is a perfect example of how acting and music can make a movie great even without words. 

Up Next: The Graduate

#19 On the Waterfront

1954
Director: Elia Kazan
Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint

Brando's Terry Malloy is a could-have-been fighter who works on the docks for a corrupt union boss.  Terry witnesses a murder by two of the thugs under the boss' orders, and eventually falls for the murdered boys sister.  Terry starts to want more than working for the wrong people, and tried to take on boss Johnny Friendly.  Acting is great, a little slow at times.  Brando's charisma makes it impossible not to watch him.  Not one of my favorites on the list, but I enjoyed watching.


Up Next: The General