It's a Wonderful Life 1946 U 125min BW

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - this one should be shown by law on TV every Christmas. Frank Capra’s movie is gloriously life-enhancing in that its message is that everybody, no matter how humble, matters. James Stewart is excellent as the small-town philanthropist rescued from suicide by an angel trying to earn his wings by showing him how important his life, however apparently unsuccessful, has been. Sentimental? Well, maybe, but every now and then a refreshingly sharp edge crops up to cut the sweetness.

Did you know? Jimmy the raven appeared in all of Capra’s movies after the 1938 comedy You Can’t Take It with You.

Say it again!  “You’ve been given a great gift, George. A chance to see what the world would be like without you.” Clarence

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Citizen Kane 1941 U 114min BW 

The best film ever made? Who knows? That sort of judgement has to be subjective, but it’s certainly the best film ever made by a first-time director - 25-year-old Orson Welles, who also co-wrote, produced and starred - and a hugely influential work. 

The innovative techniques Welles used in his story of the rise and fall of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (a thinly disguised William Randolph Hearst) have been adopted by film-makers ever since. Wherever it stands in the all-time top ten, this is a great film that simply has to be seen.

Did you know? MGM boss Louis B Mayer tried to buy up all existing prints in order to destroy them as a favour to his friend Hearst.

Say it again! “Rosebud.” Charles Foster Kane Oscars

Oscars Herman J Mankiewicz, Orson Welles screenplay

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The Shawshank Redemption 1994 15 136min Colour

This one, based on a novella by Stephen King telling how two lifers bond and survive in the Shawshank State Prison, often tops the list of people’s favourites.  

It’s cleverly written and directed by Frank Darabont and immaculately played by Tim Robbins and especially Morgan Freeman, who wouldn’t know how to give a bad performance. And there’s an improbable but uplifting denouement.  I have to say, though, that it’s a film I admire more than like.

Did you know? This was adapted from the short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, published in a collection, Different Seasons, that also included The Body (filmed as Stand by Me) and Apt Pupil.

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Sunset Blvd 1950 PG 105min BW

Gloria Swanson once told me in mock reproof: “You can’t talk to me like that - I’m a legend.” So she was and so she is here in Billy Wilder’s dark, maliciously witty tale of a faded star of silent movies desperate to make her come-back in talkies. 

William Holden is the equally desperate young writer who becomes her lover and eventually her victim. This is perhaps Hollywood’s coolest and most cynical attack upon itself and its values, and one of Wilder’s best movies.

Did you know? The original opening had William Holden’s body wheeled into a morgue where he chatted with the other cadavres about how they’d died. But test audiences found the scene unintentionally hilarious and the film was delayed for six months while Wilder devised the now famous swimming pool sequence.

Say it again! “All right, Mr DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” Norma Desmond

Oscars Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, DM Marshman Jr, screenplay

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Raging Bull 1980 18 123min BW/Colour
Widely regarded as the best film of the 1980s, this is far more than just a boxing movie. It’s the study of a deeply complex man, Jake La Motta, a world middleweight champion who wasted several fortunes and became a fat, inept stand-up comic. 

Under Martin Scorsese’s direction, Robert De Niro portrays him as a man of intrinsic violence, of low self-esteem, who both idolised and mistrusted women, including his own wife. A very powerful performance in a very powerful film.

Did you know? 
After viewing some test footage of De Niro training, veteran British director Michael Powell said to Scorsese, “for some reason those red boxing gloves don’t look right.” It was this observation that inspired Marty to shoot the movie in black and white.

Say it again!  “I knocked him down. I don’t know what else I gotta do. I don’t know what I gotta do.” Jake La Motta

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Bad Day at Black Rock 1955 PG 78min Colour
Almost from the moment one-armed Spencer Tracy alights from a train in the small town of Black Rock, there is tension. He has come to deliver a posthumous medal to the family of a Japanese- American war hero, but the family is not to be found and the townspeople, instantly hostile to Tracy, clearly have nasty secrets to hide. 

John Sturges’s film is taut and cleverly constructed, a latter-day western without the gunplay but with a strong, anti-racist post-Second World War theme.

Did you know? 

Spencer Tracy had difficulty striking matches using one hand, as the script demanded, so he convinced John Sturges to let him use a lighter. 

Say it again! “There is a law in this county against shootin’ dogs. But when I see a mad dog, I don’t wait for him to bite me.” Reno Smith

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