Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

[4]

I knew I would eventually have to watch this 3-hour 20-minute behemoth and thank goodness it’s over. Doctor Zhivago is a sprawling epic about the Russian Revolution as seen through the eyes of a doctor (Omar Sharif) who wants to have his cake (his wife is played by Geraldine Chaplin) and eat it, too (his mistress is played by Julie Christie). The first half is dense with plotting and myriad characters — I was getting pretty sleepy. But once Zhivago becomes an exile, I became more alert and the movie picked up speed. Still, when it was all over, I was underwhelmed. He loved two women, he inspired a nation, and I just didn’t care.

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

[8]

Leo McCarey won the best director Oscar for The Awful Truth, released the same year, but told the Academy they’d awarded him for the wrong picture. He may be right. Make Way for Tomorrow is a disarming, bonafide love story between an elderly couple (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when the bank forecloses on their home. The film is remarkably restrained and unsentimental for its time. The characters constantly mask their true feelings, fending off melodrama by acting against our immediate expectations.

Green Mansions (1959)

Green Mansions (1959)

[5] Bizarre, lavish misfire featuring Audrey Hepburn as a jungle girl who falls in love with a political refugee played by Anthony Perkins. The movie's beautiful in a kitschy kind of way, but the story is slow-moving and suffers from the lack…
An Ideal Husband (1999)

An Ideal Husband (1999)

[9] Who said period pieces have to be stuffy? Director Oliver Parker equips a talented and charming ensemble cast with the eviscerating words of Oscar Wilde. Rupert Everett owns the role Arthur Goring, a self-centered playboy who runs from responsibility and commitment,…
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

[9] Julia Roberts stars in this devilish romantic comedy from director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding) and writer Ronald Bass (Rain Man) about a jealous woman who tries to stop her best friend from marrying another woman. Dermot Mulroney plays the best friend…
Titanic (1997)

Titanic (1997)

[9] By anchoring his screenplay in one of the most inherently compelling tragedies of the twentieth century and placing the the weight of the story on Kate Winslet's able shoulders, James Cameron concocts a recipe for the biggest money-making movie of all…
The Piano (1993)

The Piano (1993)

[10] Holly Hunter picked up an Academy Award for her performance as Ada, a rebellious mute who finds solace and a means of expression only with her beloved piano in Jane Campion's gorgeously crafted and erotically charged The Piano. Ada is married…
True Romance (1993)

True Romance (1993)

[9] This is a fucking cool-ass movie.  The screenplay by Quentin Tarantino is an exciting blend of violence, sweetness, and dark humor.  Director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide) brings it to life with his usual polished style, and attracts a large…
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

[9] Director Michael Mann (Manhunter, Heat) adapts James Fenimore Cooper's novel (with additional credit to the screenwriters of a 1936 version of this movie) set during America's French and Indian War. Three Mohican fur trappers, the last of their dying tribe, rescue…
The Fisher King (1991)

The Fisher King (1991)

[10] Jeff Bridges stars as Jack, a shock radio host who inadvertently encourages a mad man to go on a killing spree. Guilt ridden, he teeters on the brink of self-annihilation before an eccentric homeless person named Parry (Robin Williams) helps him…