When was the last time you saw a really good movie? One that you can watch fifty times and never get tired of? This list of the top ten movies of the past 100 years includes Hollywood classics, from romance to drama to science fiction. How many have you seen? 1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) Orson Welles stars as newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, who dies alone after uttering the word “rosebud.” In an effort to figure out the cryptic message, a reporter tracks down those nearest to Kane. Each person reveals a little bit about Kane’s life in the form of flashbacks, but none are able to unlock the mystery of his last word. This movie, which is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, stirred controversy at its release because it was thought to parody the life of newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst.
2. CASABLANCA (1942) Humphrey Bogart makes one of his most well-known appearances as Rick Blaine, an American nightclub owner in exile in Casablanca. He finds out that his one-time flame Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergman, is in town with her husband a resistance leader. Ilsa asks Rick to help her husband, who is being tailed by the Nazis. Old wounds reopen for Rick, who is bitter towards Ilsa after she left him while they lived in Paris. In the end, he gives her up once and for all to save her and her husband.
3.THE GODFATHER (1972) Mob boss Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, has problems with Sollozo, a gangster, when Sollozo tries to sell drugs in Don Vito’s neighborhood. Don Vito does not approve of drugs, so an attempt is made on his life. Thinking him dead, Sollozo kidnaps Don Vito’s son and tries to force him to sell drugs. The plan goes awry when Sollozo finds out that Don Vito is still alive.
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) Vivian Leigh plays southern belle Scarlett O’Hara, who is in love with Ashley, a man who is about to marry another woman. The day she pleads with Ashley to marry her, Scarlett also meets Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable. She ends up marrying Rhett, but their relationship falls to pieces, and in the end, he leaves her. She tells him she wants him to stay, but he tells her, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
5. LAWRENCE OF ARA-BIA (1962) Peter O’Toole stars in this biography of British Army Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence. He is offered a position to help tribal prince Fesai defend his country agains the Turks in World War I. His adventures are reported by journalist Jackson Bentley.
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, is whisked away from her home in Kansas to the Land of Oz, where she accidentally kills the Wicked Witch of the East. She inherits the witch’s magical ruby slippers and becomes the target of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy travels along the Yellow Brick Road to meet with the Wizard of Oz, who will send her back to Kansas. In her travels she meets a tin man, a scarecrow, and a cowardly lion, who all accompany her to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard to grant their requests as well.
7. THE GRADUATE (1967) College graduate Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman in one of his first roles, finds himself involved in an affair with his father’s friend’s wife. In a truly Springer-esque moment, Ben falls for his lover’s daughter, Elaine, and tells her about his relationship with her mother. Furious, Elaine tells Ben that she hates him and never wants to see him again. On the day of her wedding to another man, Ben tracks her down and breaks into the ceremony, telling Elaine once and for all how much he loves her.
8. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who is down on his luck. On Christmas Eve, he finds himself standing at a bridge, contemplating suicide. Clarence, an angel who needs to earn his wings, appears, and shows George what his life would be like had he never existed. George sees that his life has not been meaningless and goes home to share Christmas with his family.
9. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) Stephen Spielberg directed this true story based on Oskar Schindler, a Czech factory owner who used Jewish people to work in his factory in Nazi-occupied Poland. During World War II, Schindler sees the fate of the Jews becoming more and more grim, so he uses his own money to save over 1,100 people from becoming victims of the gas chambers and work camps.
10. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) A group of alien botanists is discovered by a human alien task force. The aliens quickly take off, leaving behind one of their own. He is found by ten-year old Elliot, played by Henry Thomas, and stays with him, his brother Michael and his little sister Gertie, played by Drew Barrymore. While the little alien spends more time with Elliot and his family, the task force is hard at work, looking for the visitor from another planet. After learning to communicate with Elliot, E.T. manages to make a device to call his family to come get him. Before long, E.T. begins to get sick, and Elliot suffers with him. The only way to save them both is to get E.T. back to his family before it’s too late for them.
There you have it. The next time you go into Blockbuster, pick up a copy of one of these classics. You won’t be disappointed!