It is a difficult task to declare which are the ten most important films ever made. Any attempt on such a small scale will fail and inevitably overlook many works that have changed cinema just like the ones on our list.
Therefore, we have collected ten examples of films that changed cinema, supported Hollywood productions and in any case were able to leave an indelible mark on the seventh art. Films that have influenced the way we watch films, analyze them, make them and direct them.
GQ’s selections below are just an introduction to a story that can be found, at large, at the touch of a remote, in the age of streaming. This list by no means claims to be an exhaustive survey. There will be too many movies to include. We just limited ourselves and have the pleasure of presenting reference coordinates.
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fourth power
Life had three fixed rules: death, taxes and imaginative and innovative obituaries orson welles just above the decennial survey of sight and sound Best movies in history. Sure, it’s only in third place, but fourth power This is an original film. Focusing on the life of a ghostly Murdochian reporter, it set new standards in cinema for ages to come, ranging from its rejection of a systematic chronology, to exciting, bold and varied images rich in symbolism. When asked how he achieved such great success with his first film, Welles replied: “Ignorance… pure ignorance. There’s no protection that’s going to last. Only if you really know a profession.” If you’re shy or wary, take this impeccable joke with you to your next job interview.
psychoanalyst
think about it, we might be inclined to describe psychoanalyst like before slasher Absolutely. In the decades following the psycho-thriller there have been many critics Alfred Hitchcock gave birth to the most famous film soundtrack that was not composed john williams, It’s easy to see the influence he left behind in cinema. Most obvious is the shower scene, with its seventy-eight shots and fifty-two cuts, which eschew gory images in favor of only suggested terror: the ringing sound and the closing of the eyes. Then comes the bloodiest death, of the affable detective arbogast, was shot in the face by an invisible assailant and Martin Balsam fell down the stairs in horror in the midst of the shooting. In another of his comic roles, William H. Macy Puccioso would have played the detective in the remake of Gus Van Sant, was widely ridiculed. Well, what inspired Drew Barrymore’s unfortunate end? the Scream If it isn’t the shocking murder of Janet Leigh in the middle of the movie? No matter what style you put it in, psychoanalyst He created history.
till last breath
The crime thriller has been described by one critic as “the definitive manifesto of novella velocity”. Jean-Luc Godard It is fueled by the youthful energy of a director who is always on the cusp of an idea, an event, a movement. it leaps and sways rapidly, smoothly moving from moment to moment, driven by Jean-Paul Belmondo Who doesn’t care about humans. On the other hand, the woman, or Patricia American’s jean seberg, lies in the center of his interests. He is unable to take his eyes off her. 400 stroke his contemporaries Francois Truffaut, which tells the story of a young worker with no luck, boiling with silent sadness and can be considered the second reference film for newcomers to French cinema; But till last breath It is one of the hundred films you must see before you die… because Hollywood cinematography owes a great deal to it.
night of the Living Dead
Such has been the genre’s growth as a crowd in the past decade that, today, the media uses zombies to make us run to the remote, not because we’re scared, but because we’re bored ( Thank you, the walking dead, It was not always like this. How amazingly scary it must have been to live the days of the bloody sloths rampant in the movies George Romero from the living dead zombie Ahead? but it all started from here night of the Living Dead, In 1968, inspired by Haitian voodoo myth, Romero invented a new type of cinematic monster: human-faced skeletons condemned to endlessly wander mundane purgatory as they search for fresh brains to eat. Were. Not only did he start a horror sub-genre from which an endless conveyor belt of loathsome filmmakers would craft their wacky tales, but Romero can also be considered an early follower of “advanced” horror, as each one addresses the living dead. There are films of Socio-political issues of the time, from racism to gourmet consumerism, to nuclear terror.
the Exorcist
What’s so weird about horror movies and their memorable soundtracks? We digress, let’s get back to us. In the Exorcist There’s not only music, there’s also an obsessed teenage girl urinating on the carpet, her pus-spewing head rolling around on her neck as she screams at a priest that “her mother is having a good time in the darkest depths of hell”. “. Local reports at the time were abundant that the satanic film D the Exorcist made audiences unwell, causing nausea, vomiting and blackouts in theaters across the United States. Unfortunately, they don’t make movies like they used to. film answer, starring ellen burstynwas so groundbreaking that it became the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and remained the highest-grossing horror film at the box office until the remake. This of 2017.
Shark
We are so used to summer blockbusters by now that it is hard to imagine a non-covidized world in which the middle of the year is not dominated by studio films with budgets equal to the GDP of micro-states. I am talking about before 1975. Earlier a budding young man named Señor Spielbergo wrestled with a mechanical shark for five whole months, actually, it didn’t work out that way. his lo sWho It was a turning point in the history of theatrical distribution, ushering in the era of big budget films in the summer. fulfill the famous wish of Roy Scheider To keep a big boat, was released in an extraordinary number of theaters for the time, backed by a marketing that emphasized advertising campaigns and sales ties, the kind of thing we’re used to in 2023, only It was the first time.
Titanic
Bet against James Cameron and you will be laughed at, as the old saying rings true. This man, absolutely does not know how to be a box office flop. Not even with a romantic film based on one of the biggest maritime disasters in the history of mankind that focused on failed love. Kate Winslet And Leonardo Dicaprio, Not of two houses equal in dignity, but of two economic classes separated by bunk space. It would not be at all unreasonable to argue that Leo was already a movie star before Titanic, he was already happy birthday mr grape And Romeo + JulietBut this film allowed him to enter the Olympus of cinema, so much so that in the end he gave us one of the greatest cinematic characters of all time, Rick Dalton. Once upon a time…in Hollywood, So, as far as Hollywood influences go, this two billion grosser is probably the film that has traveled the longest in time.
Human Error
if you indicate Human Error As a radically queer text, it runs the risk of sending all of New York’s gay cinephiles into high blood pressure because of its frankness. But first, follow me. It is true that a film like gang boys (1970) was equally groundbreaking in bringing gay faces to American screens; next task of William Friedkins, cruisingThe story may sound out of date for its focus on a New York City policeman obsessed with the city’s dirty gay men, but it is an important artifact of a long-lost gay social scene. Sure, There Are Deeper Cuts To Consider: Maybe You’ll Choose scorpio riseOr fiery creaturesOr victimOr Controversy, or later works of cinema about AIDS such as what about willy?Or parting glimpses, a function of new queer cinemaPerhaps; poison For example, this is one of the best gay movies of all time by Haynes. The point of this advance defense is that there are a lot of strange functions that one could list as feasible, but Brokeback — a traditional romantic drama, then derogatorily called a “gay cowboy movie,” now mercifully ironic, centering on the decades-old love between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger’s rough, sheep-like hands has marked a major change in mainstreaming American queer films. Without this we would not have got films of this level Moonlight Or call me by your name,
iron Man
Depending on one’s cinematic inclinations, one could view the emergence of the Marvel Industrial Complex in 2008 as one of the largest warehouses in Hollywood history; or as the beginning of a steady artistic decline that is becoming more and more acute. In any case, iron Man Certainly the world of cinema has changed. Although this was not the first successful comic book adaptation to hit the big screen, it has happened before. Spider Man More about movies by Sam Raimi X Men by actor Bryan Singer Robert Downey Jr. The demand for superhero movies increased. The first post-credits scene in history – before post-credits scenes existed – predicted the crossover format in which the films would be seen. the avengers Break the box office. Fifteen years later, the studio revenue model was established. iron Man And by their peers it’s idealized, now-familiar characters and intellectual property have been elevated to originality. Of course, comic book fans are rejoicing…
avatars
that this is the second film James Cameron Which we choose for this list. After all, his films have had the same effect on American cinema. From a technical point of view, avatars it is important how Titanic, if not more. To this day it remains one of the only examples of 3-D being used as a tool for artistic advancement rather than a gimmick, until its first sequel, waterwayand of course avatars He will come. In 2009, one of the last years before streaming took over multiplexes, the film was an important reminder of why the cinematic experience should be protected. In a scary new world where Netflix threatens to turn movie theaters into niche businesses like vinyl, it’s even more inescapable. If you don’t believe us, trust the moviegoers who invested their hard earned money to make it the highest grossing film of all time worldwide.
The article was originally published in British GQ