Scott’s Favorites (Rated 9-10)

[9] The grand-daddy of ‘anti-war’ war movies is Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front, the first non-musical ‘talkie’ to win the best picture Academy Award. The film is stylistically way ahead of its time, with sweeping camera movement, realistic (non-theatrical) acting, deep layers of action in the photography, and sophisticated action choreography — all of which you just don’t see in most other …

[10] Fritz Lang directed and Thea von Harbou scripted this grandfather of science-fiction films about violent class warfare in a futuristic city. The hero of Metropolis is Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), a privileged playboy who enjoys a life of luxury until a chance encounter with the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm) brings him to discover the city’s entire working class is living in the harsh underground to …

[9] Silent-screen star Buster Keaton plays a train engineer who gets rejected by the Confederate army because his job is too important to leave vacant. But he gets his chance to serve the South when Union soldiers steal his beloved locomotive, ‘The General,’ with his girlfriend (Marion Mack) onboard. The General is non-stop comedy and excitement as Keaton single-handedly pursues the kidnappers, rescues his train …

1 17 18 19