So....Here we are. The end of another year but also the end of an era. The @yourtop3 contest is closing down at the end of the month and I'm feeling a little sad about it. It's been fun to run, alongside @foxyspirit @plantstoplanks and @nickyhavey and I want to thank those guys for their amazing energy and commitment to our project. You guys are awesome!
So Q came up with a biggie for the last contest. Your 3 favourite Oscar Winning Movies. Not an easy task to narrow down. I'll give it a shot.
I've been toying with a list of my top 50 movies ever and I have decided just to post the list for your perusal. It's a bit off the cuff and I may have missed some. So, in no particular order, other than how they fell out of my noggin!
Star Wars A New Hope
The Matrix
Jaws
The Godfather
The Lion King
Seven Samurai
Reservoir Dogs
The Usual Suspects
Predator
Back to the Future
Good Will Hunting
Planet of the Apes (1968)
The Sound of Music
Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
Pulp Fiction
As Good as it Gets
The Lost Boys (1987)
The Jungle Book
Seven
Ratatouille
Goodfellas
Logan’s Run
Limitless
The Exorcist
The Blair Witch Project
Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Beach
2001 A Space Odyssey
Oceans 11
Catch Me If You Can
Inception
Interstellar
Let the Right One In
Scrooged
Ghostbusters
ET
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Shawshank Redemption
Superman (1978)
Iron Man
Batman (1989)
Fight Club
The Silence of the Lambs
Gladiator
Alien
Wall-E
The Shining
The Life of Brian
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
The Terminator
I have cut the list off because it was just going on and on. I have switched and replaced a few over the last few moments too.
So my top 3 Oscar winners
Star Wars - A New Hope
Winner Oscar
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
John Barry
Norman Reynolds
Leslie Dilley
Roger Christian
Best Costume Design
John Mollo
Best Sound
Don MacDougall
Ray West
Bob Minkler
Derek Ball
Best Film Editing
Paul Hirsch
Marcia Lucas
Richard Chew
Best Effects, Visual Effects
John Stears
John Dykstra
Richard Edlund
Grant McCune
Robert Blalack
Best Music, Original Score
John Williams
Winner Special Achievement Award Ben Burtt (as Benjamin Burtt Jr.)
For sound effects. (For the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices.)
Nominee Oscar
Best Picture
Gary Kurtz
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alec Guinness
Best Director
George Lucas
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
George Lucas
Even if I wanted to get all sophisticated on you and choose something like Lost In Translation or The English Patient, I refuse! I'm a Sci-Fi boy by heart and this is not only the daddy of Sci-Fi movies but it is also one of my earliest memories of going to the cinema.
I was barely 5 years old when my father and uncle took me to the Cannon Cinema in Bristol. Back then it was the norm to be waiting in a queue that stretched around the corner and away into the distance. You were also stood there without a ticket because there were no online bookings in those days. So it was a crazy emotional rollercoaster before you even stepped foot in the theatre. You were pumped up and excited for the movie and terrified that the queue would be stopped right in front of you and you wouldn't get in!
We did get in and we sat down in anticipation of the unknown. Then the famous opening credits and music punch you in the gut and you're heart is pounding. Then the moment that will stay with me forever. The Star Destroyer rolls past overhead and the noise and visuals were like nothing I had ever experienced before. This is all literally in the first minute of the movie. I was hooked.
Not only my love of Star Wars and Sci-Fi was spawned from this moment but my love of cinema in general did. The rest is history. My passion for these movies has stayed with me over the years and I have even passed it down to @mono.rosado who is one of the new generation of Padawan.
The Matrix
Winner Oscar
Best Film Editing
Zach Staenberg
Best Sound
John T. Reitz
Gregg Rudloff
David E. Campbell
David Lee
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
Dane A. Davis
Best Effects, Visual Effects
John Gaeta
Janek Sirrs
Steve Courtley
Jon Thum
If Star Wars is the Daddy of Sci-Fi then The Matrix is the King of the mind blowing concepts!
You can watch The Matrix and be happy on a completely superficial level and, believe me, I can!. Like Cypher says to Smith, 'Ignorance is bliss'. It has everything that any cinema go-er needs but when you start looking closely there is a whole new level of depth to it. The 'real world' comparisons are freaky, prophetic and down right uncanny. The story transference to the political and economical situations that we all currently find ourselves in is incredible and is only becoming more relevant and applicable as time goes on.
Ok, so we may not all be being used by AI machines to power there existence! YET! but the comparisons are there. And btw, I cannot tell you what the comparisons are, you have to see them for yourself!!
Have you taken the Red pill yet?
The Usual Suspects
Winner Oscar
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Kevin Spacey
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Christopher McQuarrie
Horribly underrated by the Academy awards, The Usual Suspects is a masterpiece of cinema. I think on some level Bryan Signer got a bit lucky. Hearing him explain how the movie was made you can see how things fell into place for him that weren't necessarily meant to have originally been there. But I guess that's all part of the process.
The casting was the genius part. Pete Postlethwaite RIP (Kobayashi) was an awesome actor and I was lucky enough to have seen his work live at the Bristol old Vic in Macbeth, Kevin Pollock as Hockney is cutting and viciously funny, Steven Baldwin as McManus is a loose cannon and very unpredictable, Benicio Del Toro hit the big time with his roll of Fenster, which he was given a lot of creative license, to fabulous effect.
Gabriel Byrne is another of my favourite actors and his portrayal of Dean Keaton is spot on. You never really know where you stand with Keaton. And finally, although very much tempered by recent news, Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint. One of the finest performances of his career.
A brilliant piece of cinematic art that is cool, funny, gripping, shocking, heart warming and thrilling. It also has one of the best twists ever. If you haven't watched it.....you know what to do!
None of my choices have won best picture which isn't a surprise really. Sci-Fi rarely gets a look in for the main award. I guess Star Wars was nominated for best picture.
That's my final (non eligible) entry into the @yourtop3 contest. I hope you enjoyed my post and that it inspires you to enter.
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to our little contest over the years, we appreciate your efforts no matter how small or huge!! :)
Take care
Gaz
It's been a laugh working with you 3 and Q over the last couple of years and I'm sure we'll stay in contact. I remember listing out our movies when it all first started and the seeds were being sewn for a kick ass contest that we made our own!
I'm not surprised at all that Matrix and Star Wars feature (again 😜) in your choices, they are pretty iconic movies in their own right and I was thinking of putting Matrix in myself but had a feeling you would so left the door open for you!
Cheers Gaz, catch you around and we'll meet up again when this pandemic is over 🍻
Great choices, @cheese4ead!
The competition this month will be hard, haha.
Gosh seeing that list really does make me nostalgic when we were first tossing about our favorites and planting the seeds for the contest. You've got a few of my faves in your list, though I can't even think about putting down all my top ones either. I'm sure I would do the same and cross out and add new ones as they came to mind. You definitely hit on some great ones in your list. I may not be a huge Star Wars fan personally, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the epic nature of the series. The originals resonated more with me, perhaps for the same reason that I saw them through my childhood eyes. The Matrix is of course a classic for so many reasons. Given all that is going on in the world I don't think I can stomach really looking for all those parallels from film to reality right now! And The Usual Suspects was a genius film. I agree about Kevin Spacey, such a shame as he really has played some terrific roles. I really enjoyed all of the cast in that one, though, and thought they were pretty equal in their portrayals and how much they added to the entire film.
It's been a blast my friend! I hope the fun conversations can continue, even if they are back to a more casual way. :)
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