Frankly, choosing the ten best films ever made is incredibly difficult. When considering such a list there are endless criteria from which one could choose to base their list off: popularity, originality, box office success, how it did at the Oscars. Really, there is no one single way of creating a definitive list of the greatest movies ever made. Even if I were to only take in my own personal opinion, I know that I would change my mind week to week. After all, I haven’t seen every film ever made, I have a lot of catching up to do; who’s to say I wouldn’t swap out something for Interstellar or Stagecoach when I finally get around to ticking those off the list?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there is the fear of the backlash I may receive by leaving certain films off the list. I don’t have any John Ford on the list, which means that Steven Spielberg will hate me, and I just know the middle class art students are going to come for me due to the lack of Godard, Truffaut or Varda.

Making a top ten greatest films ever made list is a lot of pressure, something that is not lost on me. All I can do is provide the top ten films which, until this point in my life, have had the most profound effect on me. Those films that I have not stopped thinking about since the day I first saw them, that I have introduced to whomever will let me, and that I have watched and rewatched until my heart’s content over the last twenty-six years. Wish me luck.

Follow me on X (Twitter) – @MarkJurassic

10. Aftersun (2022)

Aftersun Review

The only film on this entire list that was released during my time writing for The Film Magazine. Thus far, only one of two new releases I have given full marks to (alongside Celine Song’s beautiful Past Lives).

Since I first saw Charlotte Wells’ debut feature film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, I have seen it a further three times in the cinema and have both directly and indirectly introduced many to the film. My passion shines brightly for this one.

With Aftersun, Charlotte Wells introduced herself to the world as an immensely talented director whose delicate portrayal of a father-daughter holiday in Turkey plays out like a gentle hand on your shoulder, leading you carefully through the complex relationship between the pair that eleven-year-old Sophie is yet to understand.

Releasing the same year as the wonderful Everything Everywhere All at Once, another film that handles the relationship between a daughter and a parent, Aftersun handles the relationship in a much more natural manner, making use of the finer details of the film to provoke the issues facing the pair, and equally providing two of the years most natural performances from Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. 

It is a simple film told in a relatively simple way, but one which is filled with layers of subtext that linger on the mind long after the credits have rolled. Frankly, given more time to cement its legacy, the debut feature of Charlotte Wells could find itself much higher on this list.

Aftersun is not only one of the greatest feature film debuts of all time, but could be one of the greatest films of all time.

9. North by Northwest (1959)

Let’s not kid ourselves, this spot is essentially a revolving door for Hitchcock projects, and though the likes of Psycho and Rear Window have not been chosen this go around they most certainly would be any other time. Right now, I do genuinely believe that North by Northwest is the great director’s most impressive achievement.

Coming years before the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962), North by Northwest is incredibly ahead of its time in regard to not only what would come in the form of the Bond series but how action cinema would evolve as a whole.

Cary Grant’s advertising executive Roger Thornhill is no secret agent, though after being thrust into a story of espionage and mistaken identity he proves that he has all the charm, wit and cunning that one would hope for. Given its immortal recognition as an early formulation of the James Bond-style film, Cary Grant more than lives up as an early iteration of that type of character. And of course, Hitchcock more than lives up to the Bond style with sex references and innuendos galore.

Most importantly, however, Hitchcock takes the action scenes needed to make a film of this magnitude work and crafts sequences that are impressive by today’s standards but simply revolutionary for the cinema of the 1950s, ultimately changing the way action movies would be created forever.

Recommended for you: Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films

Klaus is a 2019 animation directed by Spanish director Sergio Pablos and distributed by Netflix. It features the voices of stars such as Jason Schwartzman, Joan Cusack and J.K. Simmons, and was produced by Pablos’ own animation company Sergio Pablos Animation Studios. The story follows Jesper’s (Schwartzman’s) trials and tribulations of being a postman on an island that doesn’t send letters, his unlikely friendship with a woodsman (Simmons), and how the duo transform the gloomy, feud-ridden island into a place of joy through delivering presents. It was a nominee for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2020 Oscars, and won the equivalent award at the 2020 BAFTAs.

It has been lauded by many as one of the great animated films made outside of the Hollywood studio system in the past ten years, but what makes Klaus so special? In this Movie List, we’re looking at this Christmas themed animated feature to offer 5 Reasons Why Klaus (2019) Is an Amazing Christmas Film.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for updates on more articles like this one.

1. The Animation

In an age of animation inhabited almost exclusively by 3D releases, 2D animation is a breath of fresh air. With both 2D and 3D animation styles being blended together, Klaus is full of added depth but stays true to its nostalgic and unique art style.

Smeerensburg, where the film takes place, is inspired by German Expressionism in its design, both in terms of the buildings and the town’s inhabitants. The colour scheme also plays a large role in the atmosphere building throughout the film; Smeerensburg’s first appearance is dark, grey and rundown, but as time goes on, warmer tones begin to take over, especially in scenes of isolated happiness such as during the first present delivery.

Unlike the bland and corporate offerings of some of the US’s biggest animation studios – Illumination Entertainment, Warner Animation Group, etc. – every aspect of Klaus’ animation really adds to the emotional weight of its story, helping it to connect with audiences young and old.

2. It’s an Original Look at Santa’s Origin

The origin of Ol’ Saint Nick has been revisited time after time, both in literature and on screen, so to have a film in 2019 have a fresh take on the beginnings of Santa is already impressive, but to then have it be emotional, comical and magical takes the film to the next level.

The story behind why Klaus makes toys is enough to reduce any adult to tears, but then the comical edge of Jesper’s struggles with the actual delivering of the presents helps to ease the emotional tension. Jesper’s involvement in the story is actually very important, since it finally gives credit to postal workers – the ones who work extra hard to deliver the Christmas presents over the holidays.

Vitally, this change in perspective and in tone doesn’t kill the magic of Father Christmas, as despite the legendary figure’s disappearance, he still delivers presents every year.

Working Girl (1988)
Director: Mike Nichols
Writer: Kevin Wade
Starring: Melanie Griffiths, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Kevin Spacey, Olympia Dukakis

Working Girl proves that a simple plot can be transformed with a star-studded cast, and reminds us that rom-coms can be a backdrop to an empowering female narrative.

Down on her luck Tess McGill (Griffiths) is struggling to find success in a man’s world when, in just 48 hours, she transforms from unemployed Staten Island singleton to a Wall Street wonder thanks to her feisty new female boss Karen (Weaver). Tess decides to steal her boss’s identity upon discovering Karen is stealing her ideas, thus entering a desperate scramble to shatter the glass ceiling.

Melanie Griffiths shines in this corporate fairytale about trading shares and sharing success, as she embarks on a journey of personal discovery. This unconventional (for its time) rom-com not only begins with the disintegration of her relationship with boyfriend (Baldwin), but then focuses on her ascension as the she-wolf of Wall Street – leaving any romance with Harrison Ford firmly within the subplot.

Joan Cusack may have returned in her all-too-familiar ‘best friend’ role, but she is a worthy advisory to stand beside Griffiths and Weaver, acting as the perfectly timed hysterical voice of reason. I would argue that this film could have been given an entirely different dimension had Cusack been given a bigger part to play.

Working Girl has aged surprisingly and regrettably well. The Guardian recently reported that FTSE firms admitted restricting female board members for multiple ridiculous reasons – the message that Tess McGill sends out 29 years ago is still relevant, and ironically ends with a room of men making a decision.

Don’t be fooled by the serious undertones as Griffiths’ unpredictable and feisty nature gives the film a punch, while Cusack’s cutting one-liners give her character more volume than her cliche mullet. With more feel good vibes than you can shake a stick at, this movie delivers on every possible emotional level even with the shackles of its genre weighing heavily upon it.

12/24

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