Lawrence of Arabia
David Lean
A biopic of T.E. Lawrence, the enigmatic British Intelligence agent who led the Arab Revolt against Turkey in World War I, the film was shot in the harsh Arabian desert. Peter O'Toole's performance as T.E. Lawrence, a role that was rejected by Marlon Brando, is listed as one of the 100 greatest performances of all time. Some films teach you hope, some make you look at the world differently, some inspire you, while some change the way you watch films, but this one will do all of this for you.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece is the purest form of visual storytelling. The film revolves around a black monolith that is placed among a group of sleeping apes during the dawn of man by an unknown entity and how centuries later man sets out to find what it meant. The film has inspired many films in Hollywood including “I, Robot” and “Wall-E”. This 1968 film is still widely considered the most accurate depiction of space travel. It allows the viewer to come up with his own interpretations.
JFK
Oliver Stone
A whodunit of epic proportions, Oliver Stone's JFK follows District Attorney Jim Garrison who is brave enough to bring about a trial in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Kevin Costner revels in his final courtroom monologue. Though not historically accurate on some grounds (and it does not pretend to be) it is one of the most important and controversial films ever made simply because it takes on the ‘establishment'.
Fight Club
David Fincher
“You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world,” says Tyler Durden. Fight Club is a take on the current state of humanity and the way humans have become bi-products of a lifestyle. Though filled with philosophy Fight Club is as engrossing as any other movie loved by the average movie-goer. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt play the roles of the unnamed narrator and his alter-ego Tyler to perfection. Fight Club is a movie for our times and is essential viewing for the youth of today.
Life is Beautiful
Roberto Benigni
This Italian family drama is an epic tale of a man who goes through all odds to protect his son in a Nazi prisoner camp. Actor/Director Roberto Benigni's performance won him an Oscar. The story is narrated with a touch of comedy and leads to an ending that is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. The portrayal of the Holocaust is nowhere nearly accurate as to how it must have actually been but who cares, this is a film that is bound to touch you heart and will definitely stay in your mind long after you've seen it.
Those that almost made it
The Godfather: Francis Ford Coppola
Zerkalo: Andrei Tarkovsky
Wings of Desire: Wim Wenders
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer: Tom Tykwer
Akahige: Akira Kurosawa
Third Part of the Night: Andrzej Zulawski
Amadeus: - Milos Forman
Citizen Kane: Orson Welles
Twenty-three-year-old Vikram Mohan is a graduate in Visual Communication. Based in Chennai he freelances as a designer and also makes corporate films.
