For the majority of my life, I've always loved watching movies that gave me a laugh or were remakes of books that I loved. Now that I am a little older and have had a more experiences, I have come to enjoy all types of film, not just movies that will give me a quick laugh. As of late, I have been watching great films of the past, movies that had heart, a message, and amazing performances. In the last couple of weeks, I've watched a number of movies ranging from the 1950's to the present. And in these weeks, three movies really stood-out. Those being the 1957 film Twelve Angry Men, the 1968 film The Producers, and the 1979 film Manhattan.
I watched Manhattan the same day I watched Woody Allen's other masterpiece Annie Hall. After watching both film's I had a similar reaction to both. Both films were love stories and both were studies into a man's incapableness when it came to sustaining a relationship. The love story in both is not with a woman, but with the city of New York. This is where I separate the two films. Annie Hall is an unbelievable film about two people with a number of problems who use each other in attempts to make themselves feel better about themselves, but at the same time their similarities make them a perfect match. In Manhattan you get almost the same story, but the reason Manhattan had a greater affect on me was due to the look of the film. Woody Allen has always been a genius when it comes to shooting New York, and his shots in Manhattan are even more outstanding because they are shot in black and white. His nighttime shots of New York have a glow about them that even if you shot them in color, you wouldn't get the same vibe. Manhattan is a beautiful movie that personifies the great Woody Allen.
The 1968 version of The Producers is one of the funniest movies of all-time. Starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, it is one of Mel Brooks' great achievements. These three comic minds make this film. Now Zero Mostel was one of the great comedic minds of his time, but I really think it is Gene Wilder's performance that stands out. Wilder has always had the ability to make people laugh and here he is at the top of his game. Playing the flustered accountant Leo Bloom, Wilder’s timing and spontaneity are uncanny and this is shown in a number of scenes in the film. One sequence that really stands out is when Mostel and Wilder meet for the first time. Their chemistry in the scene is beautiful to watch and Wilder proves why he's a comic genius. The whole movie is a bundle of laughs, but they are very thoughtful jokes and it is truly Mel Brooks doing his finest work. Today many comedies go for quick laughs and one-liners whereas in The Producers the jokes are perfectly written, each scene has numerous laughs instead of just one.
My first thought after watch 12 Angry Men is that I just watched the greatest movie ever made. There are so many aspects of the film that I adored that I could write a paper about it, what I really think stood out to me is how I was able to relate to each character in the movie. In the film, a jury of twelve men has to decide the fate of a teenage boy who was accused of killing his father. At first it seems as though the verdict is simple that the boy is obviously guilty. However, when one of the jurors played by Henry Fonda votes not guilty, the following scenes of him trying to prove the boys innocence are two hours of invigorating speeches, arguments, and understanding amongst twelve men from a number of different backgrounds. 12 Angry Men is another film shot in black and white, but still has the ability to set the mood of a scene. When put together with the camera angles used, you get a film that even though it has only one set, you feel like you were at the scene of the crime because of the descriptions given by each of the characters. There is just something about this movie that has the ability to connect to it's viewers and it is full of emotions...all of which I felt while watching the film. I think I can easily say that 12 Angry Men is my favorite movie of all-time, and I implore everyone to see it.
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