Top 10 UK Films
'Ello ladies and gents! Grab a spot of tea, fancy yourself a crumpet and mosey on down to movie town for a pint! Join me as a stereotypical conservative American man who's barely left the country and only knows as much about the UK as any neighbor from across the pond might say. Today my goal is to give you the most mainstream (but
LET IT BE KNOWN:
I'm gonna get this out of the way right now. British films hold a higher standard in their rankings as far as "classy films" go and I just wanna make a note right now that even though I haven't forgotten said classy films (I took an entire class on UK films alone), as predictable as I am, I will not be including films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Bridge on the River Kwai, Four Weddings and a Funeral (still dying to see Death at a Funeral. Pun intended?), Pride and Prejudice or any other highly regarded and well criticized flicks with English-speaking folks... Also, out of some sense of a bizarre method of fairness in my mind I will also be excluding all Bond films, all Harry Potter films and MOST mainstream UK films that have found an audience in America....... That last one was a bit of a lie.
ALSO
As always, please take a look at fellow rankers' columns from Tom and Mickey. These lists will hopefully inspire different, unique outlooks from three very different people who wish to gracefully share their irrelevant opinions on movies with all of you special people. Each list complements the other and as one ridiculous unit of movie judging, we hope to provide nothing but sheer entertainment for our fans:
Mickey
Tom
Don't be a wanker now
Now, with most of my offensively stereotypical English slang out of the way, LET'S MOP THE BLOODY FLOOR WITH THE YANKS OF CINEMATOGRAPHY!
Honorable Mention:
The Full Monty
Because what does any deadbeat dad do to get money and respect for his son? Gets a merry gathering of uncoordinated, unattractive men to join him in forming an alliance of unlikely male strippers. No but really, the movie is hilarious in a nude kinda way.
*Bonus*
A Fish Called Wanda
Let's start you wankers off with a bloody comedy and aw bollocks, wouldn't you know it, it's fittingly appropriate to start the day with John Cleese. Arguably one of the most British people to ever grace the screens, Cleese usually takes a film and makes it all his own. Even in a star-studded movie like Rat Race, Cleese remains one of the more memorable of the zany cast but here, instead of stealing the show, he's oddly even placed amongst Kevin Kline, Michael Palin and a shockingly hilarious Jamie Lee Curtis.
Perhaps it's just the American in me, but she shines the most here. Giving early signs of outrageous comedy she would later perform in Freaky Friday, Curtis takes the role of fellow crook and title character Wanda and owns both the role and Kline's Otto with an iron fist. With phenomenal chemistry with all the actors (as stated, most notably with Kline who she repeatedly puts down for being a fool), she shines as a strong comedian with lots of range. It makes you wish she did more comedy.
The film itself is quirky and likable featuring an unlikely gathering of some of the least merry crooks you can cross. In some senses, it's a tale as old as time as the crooks inevitably don't get along, consistently cross each other and argue in ways that prove the humor is not just British but intelligent (it's vulgar, as one argument points out, but brilliant nevertheless).
It's got crime, love and affairs, betrayal, lots of swearing and pure humor. It's a great way to kick off this bloody belligerent band of Brits.
10) 28 Days Later
I almost didn't add it because I consistently praise this film time and time again (the most recent time was on my horror movie countdown last year) but when it comes to not just horror movies but British movies, I really don't think 28 Days Later can go without mention. It's just too damn good and too damn notable to leave out. Sure, I won't add the classics but I will add the ever popular zombie movie that set the ball rolling on the undead sprinting that would later be mimicked by Zack Snyder in a particular remake; a zombie movie that not only almost-always tops horror movie lists, but one that's inspired a sequel, a rumored threequel, a huge following and a name for Danny Boyle here in the land of the free.
Days needs to be mentioned because above all else, it's a revolutionary landmark; a game changer. As I stated, it was big for horror not just because it introduced running zombies (and an actual reason for them running as they're no longer literally undead from six feet under rather they're infected [a would-later-be very popular trend amongst future zombie flicks]) but because it was smart horror. The biggest problem with 21st century horror is that it's SO bogged down by gore and stupidity; cheap jump scares instead of actual tension, so for Boyle to come along in the early millenium and give us a movie that's... well, actually scary is a huge feat. Sure, the film is plagued with maniacal scenes of the undead running and chomping after poor, naked Cillian Murphy but to see the streets of London; to see Big Ben and all its surroundings totally and completely isolated; with not one person walking past the touristy attraction, alone, is purely horrifying and the tension builds throughout the quiet streets of an abandoned England sending shivers down our spine. Save for the fact that it was a big move for the UK, it was also a big deal for America, as we were never blessed with British horror like this; not to this caliber. It's a pure mind f*** and it's purely terrifying.
9) Snatch
I know what some of you could be thinking. "Snatch? British?" The truth is, most people don't deem the flick as English because the huge cult following the movie has rests mostly here in America. I was first introduced to Snatch early on in college and as a college moviegoer, the movie was pure gold. And not to classify (or demean) any younger folk, but for me at least, high school and college me as a moviegoer was attracted to a very specific kind of genre and I GUESS the genre you could call it is mind boggling; not necessarily confusing movies but movies that purely tested the brain to have us pick apart the narrative and attempt to read between the lines. I still stand by the fact that the best kind of movies are some of the most mind boggling (I personally think Memento is one of the greatest movies of all time, period) but I think back to the movies I was attracted to in school and movies like Donnie Darko, A Scanner Darkly, Requiem for a Dream and Boondock Saints come to mind. Now, most of those movies I still love (and I'm not calling Boondock Saints mind boggling at all) but the fact of the matter is, if a movie was thought provoking or superbly action packed, I was swept off my feet and if it was both, I was buying the DVD before even finishing the film; where today I'm a tad bit more grounded in realizing the pretentiousness that exists in these sub-genres but alas, I AM RANTING. All this to say is, I found that perfect blend of mind boggling suspense and pure adrenaline-fueled action in Snatch almost seven years ago and where most of the former movies I've mentioned, I don't get as much out of anymore, I gotta say Snatch is one of the few flicks I've watched fairly recently and arguably fell in love with it even more now then I did as an angsty freshman.
I'm not gonna get into why Snatch is so awesome. It's an early Guy Ritchie flick and follow up to the almost list-worthy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It's filled with a phenomenal ensemble led by Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro & friends but more notably a rowdy, fighting Brad Pitt who doesn't let up one word of comprehendible English (and I'm not even talking British, I mean it's nearly impossible to understand one word the man says as he speaks some sort of lightning-fast Irish slang) but the movie gets caught up in a bedazzle of robbery and all the crime that ensues in the search for diamonds. Like Wanda, we follow thieves but here the cast of crooks are a very large number, they're all scattered and a LOT happens. You need to keep your brains on for this one folks as the plot moves at the speed of cracked out jackrabbit.
It's such a relief to see an action movie that has both jittery action and wicked comedy that's reminiscent of Boondock Saints yet the wits and skill of a director as crafty as Tarantino or Scorsese. Snatch literally makes up the kind of film that gets me as a moviegoer; it's got it all: fast action, black humor, great characters and tons of twists. It's a quick film that from the opening moments, floors the gas pedal and doesn't let up until the final credits. It's a film that zips by so quick, if you miss one pivotal moment you can miss the whole movie. It does feel like it's trying to be a bigger film than it actually is, but as an early craftsman Ritchie keeps his zany universe grounded and doesn't always let his madness become unhinged the way he does (and totally lets loose) in his later followup Rock'n'Rolla; a pure misfire that tried to mimic the style of an early goldmine as rich as Snatch.
For Brits and Yanks alike, Snatch is phenomenal, as both an action movie and a smart film of fast writing that's reminiscent of a scribe on cocaine. It's not Crank status, for those who are skeptical of Statham, but it does get mildly wild. It's a film that should be viewed by anyone who can keep up with its pace. It not only holds up well today but there are still many gems to be found amongst this crime caper that may have been missed in all past viewings.
8) The King's Speech
I guess I can't say much about The King's Speech because what can really be said about it that hasn't been said already? It won Best Picture of 2010 and still feels fairly recent. Everyone can still remember the movie fairly well and no one can deny that in such a fierce competition of great films, it was one of the better films even if it wasn't favored (more people tend to talk more about The Social Network, Black Swan or Inception) but there's a reason Speech took home Best Pic that year and there's no mistake that the most sincere reason was Colin Firth.
Save for the fact that he had exceptional chemistry with speech therapist Geoffrey Rush to the point where just these two gents standing alone in a room chattering (or perfecting the art of chatter as the plot suggests) was entertaining and exciting enough as a film, Firth holds the film by himself by keeping King George VI a tragic and therefore believable character.
Roll your eyes all you want and declare that Social Network or Inception were the better movies. Favored? Absolutely. More entertaining? Hell yes. But better? See, I have a problem with people bashing great films because they have the attention span of a mustard seed. Sure, it's easy to write-off a film when you're falling asleep but don't be ignorant now. "The Academy got it wrong again!" is an excuse that can only be used so many times. The reality is, the reason films like Frost/Nixon, Doubt, The Artist, or 12 Years a Slave are recognized, is because they're GOOD films even if they are the slower of the bunch and King's Speech is no exception.
Perhaps it's just part of getting older, but I take sincere enjoyment from watching films such as these and finding reasons to fall in love with them. As time marches on and the more films I watch, I attempt to keep quieter about my negative criticism on films I don't give a legitimate chance. It's truly amazing to me that not even seven years ago, I could be so quick to write-off films like No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood and then finally see the absolute value in the artistry as I re-watch the films with time. Speech provides me with that sense of reassuring certainty that maybe the Academy isn't necessarily wrong rather than me realizing my own blind ignorance. That's not to say I've become soft in my resentment for Oscars past (Believe me, I will never understand how Shakespeare in Love beats Saving Private Ryan) but instead, I've become a little more understanding in great cinema rather than just purely entertaining cinema. And as both a British and American landmark, The King's Speech is a truly inspiring and phenomenal film.
7) Trainspotting
The movie that put Danny Boyle on the map, Trainspotting feels very much like an early picture from an upcoming director and I couldn't mean that as more of a compliment. When I say "early picture" I mean that it feels like a clearly skilled filmmaker worked with a very limited budget in order to put a lot of eggs in one basket to show craft in the most indy sense as a sign of paving the way for a career as a notable director. Think of Mean Streets for Scorsese or Reservoir Dogs for Tarantino; BRILLIANT movies that because of limited budget had to stick to well scribed screenplays, colorful characters and sharp direction. That's what Trainspotting is for now Oscar winning director Danny Boyle; it's an early work of craft that not only holds up today as a phenomenal movie but one that, much like Streets or Dogs, is ranked among the best of the filmmaker's work and the genre it tackles.
Though an early work, yes, Trainspotting is bloody brilliant in more ways than one. For one, it gave actors like Ewan McGregor a career and proved the guy could act before he became mainstream in Moulin Rouge or Big Fish. The cast is superb and nails it all around though McGregor is the most notable actor for us yanks. The story is fairly thin but the film really isn't about the story rather than the characters and the polluted world of drugs they live in. As far as narrative, one could compare it to Pulp Fiction in the sense that we follow different colorful characters during different strands of time as they all cross paths and collide in one big crack-smacked, heroin-addicted, coke-consumed universe of tragedy and therefore black humor. At the end of the day, it's mostly labeled a comedy nonetheless but much of the subject matter is no matter to laugh at. But that's where Boyle steps in. His use of craft takes the uneasy world of drugs and wraps it around real, raw, fleshed out characters who maintain a sense of flawed but three-dimensional everyday people who can maintain a sense of humor and realism amongst the sad truth that they're all slowly killing themselves. Whether on the pipe, the pill or the needle, the characters are all problematic in their addictions, not unlike Requiem for a Dream but the real difference between Requiem and Spotting is that where in one world characters are dramatically dying in a tragic art-house statement against all drugs, here the characters have not only accepted their fates but integrate their addictions as a part of everyday life and that's just the norm for them and the world they live in. Trainspotting is a drug-awareness film to an extent, yes, but the film isn't about addiction rather than the characters. The drugs play a pivotal part of the film but addiction takes a backseat to who these characters are as realistic, lifelike people and that's what drives the film and ultimately that's where Boyle really knows how to crawl under the audience's skin (pun intended?) and feed us a film of people we can somehow relate to.
It's a universal theme but being able to connect to these characters is what counts and by doing so, Boyle starts his career not with a big bang but with a purposeful pop.
6) Withnail and I
As far as breaking the mainstream, this will probably take the
Arguably one of my favorite UK films it's also just a defining picture no matter what part of the world you hail from. I'm not going to go into a history about film school but I was indeed first introduced to Withnail during a "British Films" course I took in college and I'm extremely thankful for such classes where we study films because amongst all the films I blew off to make comics during class, Withnail is one of the few that's honestly stuck with me more than most during my four years of study.
The universe the film is set in immediately grabbed my attention because it's focused on the rising rebellion of the 1960s but more so the character study of those who just want to live life to their fullest even if that living just consists of getting high, drunk and encountering an incredulous amount of mischief while driving around with your best bud. To call the title character of Withnail a "best bud" is risky. He's rude, careless, mean spirited and seemingly cares about not much more than consistently feeling a buzz off life (as well as copious amounts of drugs and alcohol). In short, Withnail is a truly unlikable guy. So why bother following him for two hours? Because he represents the tragic coming of age in any change of an era.
The film is brilliant because while the world is set in such a disgusting, polluted world of rebellion politically, economically and forceful, Withnail couldn't care less about what's going on in the world rather than just taking stride in getting what he can out of life while he wastes away. I always find it interesting when filmmakers set the stage in a world where nothing seems positive and in the change of the 1960s, there were a lot of negative aspects to life's changes. And what keeps the film's momentum going is the comedy. It's a dark comedy but comedic nonetheless. From burnt out drug dealers to classy but creepy gay house-warmers such as the late Uncle Vernon, the film is a mixed bag of colorful characters who are all but cheerful. We relate to the nameless "I" of a man who follows Withnail on this polluted journey through funny mishaps and consistent trials of bizarre encounters. And because the film's plot is thin we soak in more of the sad, broken world they live in, allowing characters to truly breathe and give life to the era.
Behind all the wacky comedy is a political message of change and adapting to the environment but it does so without beating its audience over the head. For a film unknown to many, it's surprisingly probably one of the more important films to the UK and therefore to America and film everywhere. It's a racy, dark and despicable world but one filled with a frightening sense of realism.
5) In Bruges
If Fargo is America's definition of black comedy then In Bruges is England's. A dark horse of Martin McDonagh's early career, Bruges has thankfully found an audience and it shows because over six years the movie has found a deep cult following and there's reason for it. McDonagh properly uses Colin Farrell the way he should be used as Irish hitman partnered with Brandon Gleeson and with a simple premise of following the life of two hitmen and their comedic mishaps in the city of Bruges makes their odd and violent journey of killing all the more joyful.
Everything about the film just works. Farrell is the funniest he's ever been and though Gleeson isn't as satisfying comedically as the trusty sidekick as Sam Rockwell would later be in McDonagh's followup Seven Psychopaths, he makes the film just as much. As far as performances go these two carry the film almost entirely but what keeps their adventures in Bruges all the more worth it is the villain of a flawless Ralph Fiennes. As Wes Anderson would later unlock in The Grand Budapest Hotel, McDonagh has discovered that Fiennes amongst being a phenomenal dramatic actor has a true knack for comedy. Not to say Fiennes should permanently stick to comedy but his acting chops here are truly memorable in the best way possible. It's like McDonagh has caught lightning in a bottle because what's funnier than two hitmen casually partying and conversing in a new city while on a mission to kill? Having their crime boss be even darker and even funnier than either of the leads. Granted he doesn't play a major part of the film, Fiennes steals the show and to see such a threatening antagonist be so comedically satisfying is just too good to pass up (the "inanimate object" exchange with his wife is laugh-out-loud hilarious).
But make no mistake, it is a dark comedy in the end. The last half hour of the film shifts tone dramatically but not jarring as the hunt is on and Fiennes is out for Farrell's blood. Set in the bright but grim city of Bruges, it's ironic that such touristy but bizarre and colorful place (in more ways than one) is the placeholder for a grim and bloody climax that ensues in violence and death. The whole film is essentially a building block to the ambiguous open-ended ending but when we get there we realize it was all worth it. Among all the jokes about fat people, midgets, and murder we subconsciously realize we've been following a collection of real three-dimensional characters and the fact that we truly crawl inside the mind of killing criminals makes the character study as memorable as something of a more classy nature like The King's Speech.
It is a film that will continue to find an audience because it feels real. Granted, it gets dramatic, we follow the drama through realistic characters, unreal dialogue and if you have the cynical personality, it's all the more rewarding because in retrospect, it's funny as hell.
4) Help!
When one thinks of The Beatles, they think of the music; the collection of albums and songs that have become not just timeless but culturally important and relevant making Paul, John, George and Ringo the biggest and some of the most important stars of the world and that's no exaggeration. But when one becomes as famous as The Beatles (which when it comes to pop culture, no one has), music doesn't just cut it. You need merchandise; shirts, posters, apparel; hell, tattoos and children named after them. It doesn't just end with music but it only begins and where better to launch than the big screen? You would think that The Beatles making a movie would not only just be a further cash-cow for them but more publicity to exploit their wonderfully cultural music but make no mistake friends, their movies became so popular that this trend continued, movie after movie including a full-blown animated feature (voiced by the fab four) and an entire musical about 1960s hippies with debatable covers of their music as the film's soundtrack. Their influence has gone so far that a love for these movies still exists today and in its audience, is a strong love at that. And hey, love is all you need right?
Arguably not as critically acclaimed as A Hard Day's Night nor as cult-satisfying as Yellow Submarine, Help! in no way, shape or form was gonna be uncharted today not just because it's literally one of the most British movies ever but because it's my personal favorite.
The plot is absurd as our beloved Beatles stumble upon a royally rare gem that is being hunted by the most goofy diamond thief this side of London (or wherever he's from) has ever seen. The film (to even call it as such) is straight up ridiculous because it's not a film at all, more than a series of collected moments and music video breaks. Taken straight from the phenomenal album, Help! is literally just a series of tracks with scenic music-video-like backdrops as the fab four trek through a foolish and unexpected journey of wacky hijinks while being chased by dastardly villains.
I'm going to pause for a moment since that's pretty much all the film amounts to plot-wise and talk a little bit about how ridiculous the moments in this movie really are. Now, I know drugs were popular everywhere at the time, but good Lord it really is a magical mystery as to who came up with this stuff and how they were literally influenced. A villain depicted as borderline-racist as something from Aladdin is only the faintest of bizarre occurrences. The events that ensue not only make no sense but they're just strange. I understand this is still a comedy so the events don't really matter so long as they're funny bit it's a movie of odd proportions to say the least. We're talking about a movie where Paul shrinks down to miniature size and a scene where the gang sings a man-eating tiger to sleep; a movie that ends with a climax on a beach in the Bahamas (because if they have the money, might as well write in a scene that allows a trip to the Bahamas) and consistent fast-paced chase scenes through all sorts of doors, popping up from sewers and peeking out behind curtains to the tune of catchy Beatles numbers, a la Scooby Doo.
It's absurdity at its finest and in that sense, it's all the more British because pure British humor (as we'll later explore) is nothing less than bizarre humor. It's one to take home and one to share for all the ages of the timeless Beatles to come. With each viewing it becomes more and more strange all the more hilarious and baffling because of it. And if nothing else, it's a phenomenal time capsule to look back at the glory days of the fab four in their prime and for that, it's a rare gem all in itself.
3) Shaun of the Dead
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's Cornetto "Blood and Ice Cream" Trilogy has spawned such a cult following that it might be safe to say it's not even cult anymore. Granted, in a perfect world I would include all three segments of the unexpected trio but to play fair I'll keep it at one and what a better choice than the first chapter?
Arguably the best of the bunch, Shaun works on all levels not just as a British comedy but as a statement that redefined both the zombie genre and the horror-comedy genre. The man hasn't done much but Wright has proved himself as nothing short of a cinematic genius, at least when it comes to lampooning genre-films and making them all his own. In my opinion it's really difficult to do comedy right because you need to be able to made a wide range of audiences laugh and not many people have that gift but even more so, I think it's even MORE difficult to peg the horror genre because to do horror the right way, you need to make something scary but something people won't laugh it... Unless the laughs are intended. Which is why Shaun is a near flawless picture.
Let's look at the facts. Before Shaun, zombies had become popular and had become overcooked. By 2004, George Romero not only gave life to the undead genre but his formula was repeated, mocked, lampooned, carbon-copied and never in an amusing way. Over time zombie movies became great and then all of a sudden slowly started feeling routine. Dawn of the Dead was a magnificent follow up to Romero's breakout B-movie Night of the Living Dead and from there, Romero's sequels and followups each became less exciting than the previous entry. Imitators came along and the undead had started to rot. The 80's gave way to "punk zombies" with Return of the Living Dead and introduced the craving for brains and the 90's became very quiet for the walking dead. Zombies had briefly died and nothing but the classics were worth mention. So along comes Wright and in a brilliant turn of events, totally lampoons the horror genre without making a crappy excuse for parody as seen with the grade school-level humor in all of the tragic "Scary Movie" entires.
Wright is a gifted filmmaker because instead of relying on pop culture jokes that would become stale only months after making them (again, looking at you Wayans Brothers), he stays within the zombie realm and sticks to strictly undead and/or horror jokes and references. What really makes the film shine is that while it's indeed a parody, it's not poking fun at the genre rather than making the genre fun. With self awareness and a relevant taste of what makes this kind of movie work, Pegg and Wright truly do wonders and the fact that their lightning fast humor whizzes by with quick dialogue and sharp editing makes the movie all that much more tense giving it even more reason to proudly put aside with not just other zombie movies or horror movies but great films anywhere.
The film is a true landmark for all things horror, comedy and cinema everywhere. It's satisfying because you're watching a funny horror-comedy parody but it's anything but stupid and anything but disrespectful. It's literally a bloody brilliant barrage of humor that still holds up well ten years later and in a new golden age of zombies (thanks to the Walking Dead) the film is arguably even more relevant now than it was in 2004. It's a true gem and was early proof (as launched from the cult series 'Spaced') that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have some of the best on-screen chemistry than most actors, whether they be in horror films, comedies or Oscar winning dramas. The movie is graphic, gory and not for the faint of heart to say the least. But it's also equally flat out funny, amazingly smart, a pure goldmine for any fan of film, genre and the UK no matter what country you're eating brains in and you will never be able to listen to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" the same way ever again.
2) A Clockwork Orange
Inevitable that the film is making a list, A Clockwork Orange is notable for many rankings; Most disturbing films, Best Kubrick films, Best films period, Most sickening use of 'Singin' in the Rain' to say the least, and that's just a start. When you hear people talk about great cinema, if they truly know great films, Clockwork will be referenced at some point. You just can't have a "great films" talk without mentioning Kubrick and while yes, 2001 is arguably the better film, Clockwork JUST might be more talked about... Just maybe.
I can go on and on about why the film is a true gem in film. It broke the mold for being visually disturbing, disturbingly written and brilliantly (but disturbingly) performed by Malcom McDowell, and that's all saying a lot for the 1970s; when films had trouble being racy as it was a time where showing a boob on screen got critics in a howl of hatred and any indication of non-consensual sex was considered X-rating worthy (it was also ironically and coincidentally the decade where movies started to get REALLY good [yay being racy for the win]). All that to say is, as notable as Kubrick's dark masterpiece is, it's not for the easily offended, purest of souls or those who are unable to open their mindset to a really f**ked up story. The film itself is a landmark for being racy and shocking alone. Without even diving into what makes it a great film, the fact that it's as shocking as people might say is alone worth noting. Granted it's true, you'll NEVER be able to listen to 'Singin' in the Rain' the same way EVER again (improvised singing during a home invasion/rape scene all inspired by McDowell), the film is one that stays with you more than anything else.
Ironic that a heavy portion of the film's plot relies on the demented Alex being exploited to subliminal imagery (in one hell of a correctional facility), the film's visuals through its warped story are some that will literally be burned into your mind. Granted I'm making it sound like you'd have to force yourself to watch something of a torture, make no mistake the film is still a PHENOMENAL film in the end. It's a tour de force and one that is entirely carried by both Malcom McDowell's twisted performance and the gifted hands of legend Stanley Kubrick. In my humble opinion, the man's best films are his most mainstream: The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and A Clockwork Orange. Granted 2001 and some other films are worthwhile if anything because they're prime examples of great film, it is these three that stand out beyond being just great films but films that are consistently and timelessly watchable no matter how disturbing the final product (I'm sorry Kubrick fans, I just... can't watch Space Odyssey over and over again. Brilliant soundtrack but really.... I-I just can't bring myself to do it).
All it to say is, I haven't even talked about the actual film rather than the status the film has achieved and to say the film is an achievement is a pure understatement and it's all the more reason to praise Kubrick as one of time's greatest filmmakers and the UK for bringing this brilliant picture over the pond.
1) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I had to do it. I just had to. I had no other choice. With the cavalcade of Monty Python films that have had a cultural influence of comedy in film, there is no other film to make a prime example of than the legendary, cult-followed (in maybe the most mainstream sense ever) Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
To actually take the time and discuss why this movie is a gem would take the entirety of this ranking and possibly a six-page thesis paper. The film is a landmark; possibly THE landmark on British cinema and it just might be one of the most British movies ever made. The fact that it's as stupid and stupidly funny (and often stupidly brilliant) as it is though, makes it one of the most worthwhile movies to mention in the history of cinema. DRAMATIC, I know. BOLD, I know but in all honesty, there's no man-made words to describe the absolute lunacy of this holy quest. To put short, if I were to pick two comedies to define perfect humor in every sense of the word, it would be Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein and this. There are literally no possible explanations as to how zany, out of control and mind-numbingly idiotic these movies are, more so this than Frankenstein. The actual content this movie consists of can't even be mentioned because it would just go on forever. The movie is endlessly quotable and CONSTANTLY referenced even today. If there were one Monty Python movie to show anyone, it's this. Yes, there are more and arguably better Monty Python flicks but if you're gonna start somewhere, start on the quest for the Holy Grail. As stupid as it is, the movie bafflingly gets better and more rewarding with each viewing. King Arthur's quest has never been funnier and never been more satisfying. The movie is a pure comedic gem and the British humor is SO odd, so far out there and so bonkers that it's too ridiculous to pass up. It's literally one the most influential and therefore one of the best comedies of all time. So the fact that it's from the UK makes it all the more notable for this list.
I get that this has just been a long rant on praising the movie but there are literally no shrubberies, coconuts, rabbits, dragons, black knights, trolls, murdered reporters or holy grails to make up what this movie is. It's literally insane and one of the best movies ever. If you haven't seen it, what in the Holy Grail's name are you waiting for? GO WATCH IT YOU BLOODY BLOKES
BRILLIANT!!!
Now that we've dished off that biscuit, let's take a bloody jab and see what you wankers want from us yanks in the future.
Action movies? Sex? Chicken wings? What do YOU wanna see next?
Please refer to Mickey or Tom's post and scroll all the way to the bottom in order to vote for what you want us gents to rank for next time.
That is all. May the Lord be with you.
