Instant_Palmer

Woody Allen’s 5 Must-See Films Endeared by a Wide Array of Audiences. I placed ‘Sleeper’ (1973) at #5 as one of Allen’s funniest films - Along with the Herb Ross directed ‘Play It Again Sam’ (1972) using Allen’s play and screenplay of the same name, these are his best early 70’s pre-Annie Hall films. Sleeper more slap-stick and Play It Again Sam a precursor to Annie Hall, but both set up several scenes like a stand-up routine patched together into a film story-line. It worked better in Sleeper and Sam than any of his earlier slap-stick and satire comedies, and Allen mastered this technique to just the right frequency - a little goes a long way, and no one does this better than Allen. Ross brings his astute choreographic skills to ‘Sam’ giving this film a unique “romp” feel to compliment Allen’s movie making process. Sam has several scenes set up like we will later see 5 years later in Annie Hall, using Keaton and Roberts to play off of, with the film location moving from Manhattan to LA at midpoint in the film, all blue prints used in Annie Hall. Play It Again Sam is one of Allen’s hidden gems that most every Allen fan has seen, but at-large Gen-X Y and Z audiences may not have seen. The quips are non-stop but not manic. Exceptional pacing and editing by Herb Ross raises the bar of this film. Ross clearly influenced Allen’s film making style, refined and paying-off in one of the all-time greatest comedy film classics ‘Annie Hall’. After the success of Sleeper, Allen began to take on a clearly different mission in film making, aiming at making more complex Ingmar Bergman styled films (among other great influences) focused on the complexities of neurosis laced love relationships, but still integrated (saturated) with Allen’s quips in almost every scene, lest we forget he is at his core a comedy writer. His efforts in Play It Again Sam were clearly the direction he wanted to take, and one of the all-time greatest romantic comedies was on the horizon. Allen’s most popular film ‘Annie Hall’ (1977) is a truly iconic 1970s film. At least partly autobiographical, the story integrates Allen’s and Keaton’s real-life off-screen love relationship (and individual neurosis) into the story. The connection with the audiences of that period was huge - Keaton’s character styling even created a wildly popular fashion style “the Annie Hall Look”. Annie Hall is simply a “must-see” film, and sits on many Top 100 Greatest Films lists for good reason - it is Allen’s greatest and most endearing film, and #4 on my “Top 10 Greatest Comedy Films” list (1960-Present). There is simply no comedy film Director/Screenwriter that does this narrated story telling form better in the comedy genre than Woody Allen. Frank Capra was witty and humorous, but Allen keeps the comedy on equal or greater ground than the drama (tied to complex relationships and personalities, focusing on the protagonist’s inner angst) - he resides atop the genre he evolved and redefined for 5 decades, influencing film-makers/screen-writers like Judd Apatow, Charlie Kaufman, Wes Andersen, and the Coen Brothers, making Woody Allen one of the most influential and important film makers. He also established the interstate highway for stand-up comics to make the jump to hyper-space of serious oscar-worthy acting, opening the flood gates for comics like Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, and many others. After Annie Hall, Allen attracted pretty much any actor he wanted, so his films’ casts are loaded with top talent, especially those that work well in an ensemble format, and often leaning on his favorite alumni for key roles. Woody Allen’s studio lot is almost always his beloved Manhattan, never failing to capture the city’s architectural beauty, style, and vibe. No film has done that as well as ‘Manhattan’, a truly beautiful work of cinematic art empowering Director of Photography Gordon Willis to film in b&w in order to capture the contrasting shadows and shades of grey of New York City.

IMDb 25 Best Buddy Comedy Movies • “Instant_Palmer” Movie Reviews for IMDb.

5 Greatest Living Actors

Top 10 Greatest Comedy Films; 1960-Present (Click on movie icon links below for trailers!) 1. The Graduate* 2. Pulp Fiction 3. The Sting 4. Annie Hall 5. Almost Famous 6. Silver Linings Playbook 7. American Graffiti 8. Groundhog Day 9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 10. Toy Story

******************************** You can read my IMDb “instant_palmer” movie reviews which are often rotated onto IMDb’s top 5 “most helpful reviews” section for the following films on this list:

• The Graduate • Almost Famous • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off • Toy Story • American Graffiti • Annie Hall

One of the most challenging “Top 10 lists” one can assemble is for comedy films. Great comedies (that are also great films at large) are far and few between - one of the most difficult genres to pull off by even the best directors and actors.

A film must be at least 5 years old from its release date to be considered for this list.

This list is fluid, and films are periodically added to and removed from the list, and the list order subject to change in position ranking.

I purposely left out the “Golden Age” (pre-1960 by my definition) and “Silent Era” of film (eg. one would have to include the great early silent films which are pantomime and/or slap stick based - deserving of its own category, and an unfair comparison to today’s modern filmmaking considering that era’s primitive “film technology” and lack of verbal dialogue).

These 10 films represent with excellence in script (great story/witty dialogue), direction, cinematography, editing, overall film-making prowess, acting, and of course the all-important comedy-factor. They all received my 10/10 IMDb rating (I don’t give 10s easily).

Five of these films have legendary soundtrack syncs that are instrumental to the story-telling. I didn’t notice that fact until reviewing my list, but illustrates the impact that music often has in film.

The two latest additions to this list [December, 2022] are ‘The Sting’ (Seven Oscar Awards, including Best Picture of 1973), and ‘Silver Lining Playbook’ (2012).

‘Pulp Fiction’ is often cited at or near the top of Best Comedy Film lists, despite being categorized as a Crime Drama, and still stands as Tarantino’s greatest film, ranked on almost every Top 100 Greatest Films list published.

David O. Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is a brilliantly-written comedy-romance with a top-shelf ensemble cast that delivered inspired performances, including one of Robert De Niro’s best (this one in a supporting role).

‘Silver Linings Playbook’ earned 8 Oscar Award nominations in 2013, including for the first time in 31 years, Oscar nominations in ALL 4 major acting categories, with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver each getting the nod for Best Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress respectively, plus Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing).

Jennifer Lawrence’s impressive performance in the film resulted in her taking home her first Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar award at just 22 years old, and propelled her onto Hollywood’s “A-List” of the most sought-after actresses for major film roles.

The immensely popular ‘American Graffiti’ is the “Godfather” of coming-of-age movies. It was Director George Lucas’ first full-length major film release, with production/financing money-raising support spearheaded by The Godfather’s Francis Ford Coppola and Universal Studios after every other major studio had turned it down. ‘Graffitti’ ended up being one of the biggest box office successes of the 1970s, and received a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

Lucas based the ‘American Gradfiti’ screenplay of one end-of-summer-night-to-remember for three 18 yo friends on his own teen years in Modesto, CA. However, Lucas believed Modesto had grown too large to represent his 1962 era. So instead of filming in Modesto, the film was shot entirely at night (in just 4 weeks) on location in San Rafael and Petaluma, CA.

Lucas was famously multi-tasking during ‘Graffiti’s’ production, working on completing production of his sci-fi film ‘THX 1138’, and writing his screenplay for the first ‘Star Wars’ film episode.

‘American Graffiti’ marks the beginning of Lucas’ long-time working relationship with actor Harrison Ford (this his biggest movie part at the time). Lucas made a point of telling the Graffiti cast he was not considering any of the actors for Star Wars as they inevitably wanted in on the film. This did not deter Harrison Ford who later found a way to get a casting referral for the film while working on a construction job at the home of one of the studio executives.

‘Graffiti’ was instrumental in kick-starting the late 50’s/early 60’s nostalgia craze of the 1970’s, and led directly to the creation of the long-running TV show ‘Happy Days’ that recruited Graffiti’s lead star Ron Howard for a similar lead role in the TV series (the show’s story was also set in a similar California Valley town in the same early 1960’s era), and also casted ‘Graffiti’ co-star Cindy Williams in a role on the show (who later co-starred in her own ‘Happy Days’ spin-off TV series ‘Laverne & Shirley’). Even Graffiti’s “Mel’s Diner” set was migrated over to ‘Happy Days’, including its iconic neon sign and 1962-period interior set, in which many of the episodes were filmed.

‘American Graffiti’ was eventually inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Archives for its cultural significance. ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ also holds that honor.

There are MANY other films I considered for this list - At the end of the day, these are my [current] top 10 picks for the best best comedy movies since 1960.

* Headlining my Greatest Comedy Films list at #1 is ‘The Graduate’… ‘The Graduate’ thrives on the film industry’s greatest “soundtrack sync”, after Director Mike Nichols’ self-professed “epiphany” (while in pre-production planning) of utilizing the melancholy and introspective music of Simon and Garfunkel as an integral part of the film’s storytelling. Surely the best soundtrack decision ever made by a Director.

‘The Graduate’ stands alone at the very top of best movie comedies, and is a flawless example of film art in its finest form - the experience of watching it stays with you long after the credits roll.

7 Oscar, 7 BAFTA, and 7 Golden Globe nominations, taking home 10 of those awards.

Click on movie icon links* below for trailers of each film!

Note: Annie Hall’s “original trailer” is located in the “Videos” section found by clicking on the movie link provided below and scrolling down a bit, where you will see a link to the original release trailer.

Enjoy! ________________________________ * See my “instant_palmer” IMDb Review of ‘The Graduate’ entitled: “Best-EVER Soundtrack Sync. #1 Greatest Comedy”

[The following is an excerpt from that review, currently ranked #3 out of 800+ User Review’s]:

“…For baby-boomers, this is an iconic film - a snap-shot of rapid cultural change that occurred in mid-1960s suburbia, complete with its post-college let-down, introspection, angst, and confusion. Baby boomers perceived things much differently than their Greatest Generation parents, and Nichols (along with screen-play writer Buck Henry) integrated the resulting "generation-gap" in a way no film had done before….”

10 Best Living Actors/Actresses Without An Acting Oscar (Lead or Supporting Role):

1) Ralph Fiennes 2) Glenn Close 3) John Malkovich 4) Willem Dafoe 5) Ian McKellen 6) Amy Adams 7) Helena Bonham Carter 8) Edward Norton 9) Woody Harrelson 10) Bradley Cooper ********************** Jessica Chastain, Sam Rockwell, Gary Oldman, and Brad Pitt came off this list since it was started - Bravo!

Each film achieves excellence in EVERY element of film making, and can be legitimately characterized as a flawless work of cinematic art. A minimum of 5 years from release date is required to make this list.

1. The Godfather 2. Lawrence Of Arabia 3. Shawshank Redemption 4. There Will Be Blood 5. Spotlight*

My ‘Spotlight’ IMDb Review* is pasted below. Spotlight made the Top 5 list in its first year of eligibility (2021). Spotlight accolades include 71 awards, among them the 2015 Best Picture Oscar. This Tom McCarthy directed film made my Top 100 List in its first year of release, rapidly rose inside the Top 25 over the past three years, and makes many “best film of the past 20 years” type lists by critics - I was an early promoter of that designation and apparently like many, was completely surprised (“blown away”) by this film’s excellence, going in with no expectations other than “looks interesting” and “only film out right now worth seeing” attitude.

* IMDb Review of Spotlight:

Tom McCarthy's 'Spotlight' portrays the true story of the Boston Globe newspaper’s investigative articles on the Catholic Church's cover-up of pedophile abuse by a significant percentage of its priests in the Boston area.

The movie wastes no time in it's 2 hours and 9 minutes with on-the-edge-of-your-seat pacing and editing. Every interaction is meaningful, and every character believable, as layer after layer of the Catholic churches systemic cover-up is unfolded. It is the best newspaper movie ever produced, and one of the very best films period.

But the underlying relationships of the "Spotlight" investigative team that thrives as a proxy family is the element that makes this movie so appealing.

Idealic respect shared between the characters and the professional bond that the diverse personalities have for each other is laid out by McCarthy over the course of the movie. Like close siblings whose common bond, and mutual respect and love allow for overlooking each others idiosyncrasies, the characters navigate the religious, social, community, family, political and legal challenges of bringing such an impacting story to press. An in-depth investigative story on such a tragic subject has especially dramatic impact in Boston, where the Catholic Church has entrenched the fabric of the community for generations.

'Spotlight' is flawless in execution. Every facet (writing, casting, acting, direction, cinematography, and editing), mixes together to yield 2015's Best Picture, and resides at the very top of my list of best films since 2000, and ONLY film to ever make my "Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time" in its first year of release.

Starring:

Michael Keaton Mark Ruffalo Rachel McAdams Liev Schreiber John Slattery Brian d'Arcy James Stanley Tucci

71 Awards (138 Nominations):

Awards include: 2015 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Original Screenplay (out of 6 total Oscar nominations); Critic's Choice Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Acting Ensemble; SAG Award for Outstanding Cast/Ensemble.

Gross Sales/Theatre Attendance:

Distributed/opened in November, 2015 primarily through "Art Movie" theatres, and in a blockbuster year that included Stars Wars, 007, and Jurassic franchise films, Spotlight barely cracked the top 100 domestically In 2015.

Since 2015, however, its rental/pay-for-view and at-large streaming numbers have done quite well, with a 300% increase in gross revenue via both positive word of mouth testimonials and critics' praises, making the film financially relevant.

'Spotlight' continues to return profits to it's investors, and gives evidence that great films are in high demand by audiences, can succeed financially, and make excellent investments for the movie industry at large.