While rereading Robert McKee’s ‘Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting’ to brush up on some storytelling elements, I was reminded of how many gorgeous movies our wicked minds have already made cinematic history with. I’m talking about the kind of feature-length films that inspired most of us to join this industry, in the first place.

The so-called classics.

Most I had already seen, albeit too young at the time, having been left with barely a memory of each. Some I’d had the pleasure to better dissect during film school. But then I checked my calendar and realized that this happened about 15 years ago—sigh… I figured it would be time to take a fine-toothed comb through Mr McKee’s recommended viewing list once more, now armed with a pair of adult eyes and a mind ripe enough to better understand the nuances and character studies that I might have missed in the past.

The best way to cover such a comprehensive list would be to sort them into 30-day nightly session clusters, otherwise the brain gets fried and the story is missed. Strap in, ladies and gentlemen, and allow me to walk you through my first 30-day movie challenge, comprising of one film per evening, in no specific order.

ROBERT MCKEE, ©GENARO MOLINA/LA TIMES

Day 1: ‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

Of course, I followed this up with ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017), because it made all the sense in the world. Starring Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, and Harrison Ford, the film was based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’. Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples penned the screenplay, and Ridley Scott skilfully handled the direction. Production was problematic and plagued by an ever-increasing budget, but the end result went on to become a cult classic and a monumental landmark in the history of cinema. It garnered praise from Philip K. Dick himself, even though he only got to see the first 20 minutes prior to his death in 1982.

Trivia nugget: Rutger Hauer improvised a significant portion of his death scene speech, commonly known as the ‘tears in rain’ monologue, which Mark Rowlands described as ‘perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history’ and represents a defining moment in Mr Hauer’s career.

‘BLADE RUNNER’ (1982), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 2: ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997) 

It won 2 of the 9 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, as Robin Williams took the Oscar home for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck got theirs for Best Original Screenplay at the remarkably young ages of 25 and 27, respectively. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film was originally set to be helmed by Mel Gibson, who dropped out. His successor, Michael Mann, was also let go after he insisted on not giving Mr Damon the lead role because he wasn’t popular enough as an actor.

Trivia nugget: Robin Williams ad-libbed the lines in the scene where he talks about his late wife’s farting antics. It’s why Damon was laughing so hard and probably why the camera was just a tiny bit shaky, too.

‘GOOD WILL HUNTING’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

Day 3: ‘Chinatown’ (1974)

Written by Robert Towne and directed by Roman Polanski, this film is still a masterclass in dramatic storytelling, probably because of the spellbinding way in which the forlorn and enigmatic tale unfolds with a tight and splendidly tense pacing. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, ‘Chinatown’ won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Trivia nugget: The film was followed by a sequel, ‘The Two Jakes’ (1990), which Towne wrote and Nicholson directed. There was supposed to be a third part, as well, but elements of the story only made it as far as being incorporated into ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ (1988), which was advertised as a film-noir spoof and homage to ‘Chinatown’.

‘CHINATOWN’ (1974), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 4: ‘Mystic River’ (2003)

Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film’s screenplay was penned by Brian Helgeland of ‘L.A. Confidential’ (1997) and ‘Man on Fire’ (2004) fame, based on the novel ‘Mystic River’ by Dennis Lehane. It brought Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each an Academy Award for their riveting performances, featuring some stunning acting chops by the revered Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden alongside Kevin Bacon and Lawrence Fishburne.

‘MYSTIC RIVER’ (2003), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 5: ‘The Accidental Tourist’ (1988)

Geena Davis won an Academy Award for her supporting role, and Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan earned a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner execute their roles beautifully, as well, though I remain particularly fond of Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers, and Ed Begley Jr. as Macon’s delightfully dull and neurotic siblings.

‘THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST’ (1988), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 6: ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975) 

I’m forever a fan of Ryan O’Neal. There’s something about him that just works for the characters which he has portrayed over the years, and none have been as enthralling as the titular hero of Stanley Kubrick’s insanely ambitious feature-length endeavour. Based on ‘The Luck of Barry Lyndon’ by William Makepeace Thackeray, the film won 4 Academy Awards, with Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design deservedly among them.

Trivia nugget: At one point, Kubrick’s name ended up on an I.R.A. hit list for featuring English soldiers in his Ireland scenes, reason for which the director was forced to move the entire production to England and dropped several scenes in the process.

‘BARRY LYNDON’ (1975), ©PEREGRINE/HAWK FILMS

Day 7: ‘Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles’ (1994)

I will never get enough of Tom Cruise’s mischievous Lestat and Brad Pitt’s emotionally tormented Louis. The screenplay was penned by Anne Rice, who also wrote the source material and gave the world a much more romantic take on the legendary blood-drinking monster, while Neil Jordan stepped in as director. It brought forth the immensely talented Kirsten Dunst as the vampire child Claudia, and it continues to entrance viewers with its literary charm, gory sensuality, and gorgeous costume design.

‘INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES’ (1994), ©GEFFEN PICTURES

Day 8: ‘Dances with Wolves’ (1990)

Michael Blake published the story in novel form first in 1988 before Kevin Costner picked up the film rights for his stellar directorial debut. Aside from the fact that ‘Dances with Wolves’ won a slew of awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film offered a respectful and sympathetic depiction of the First Nations, helping boost the number of Indigenous actors in Hollywood. This led to the Sioux Nation to adopt Mr Costner as an honorary member.

‘DANCES WITH WOLVES’ (1990), ©TIG PRODUCTIONS

Day 9: ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)

I’d almost forgotten how absolutely adorable Henry Thomas once was as Elliott. Written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielberg, ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ was a box office smash hit and an awards-circuit darling due to its exquisite visual and special effects, and it propelled the genre of science fiction into a more commercial section of cinematography. Ahead of its time and timeless in equal measure.

‘E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL’ (1982), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 10: ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ (1965)

Written by Lukas Heller and based on the eponymous novel by Elleston Trevor, ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ is a beautiful yet harrowing tale of survival directed by Robert Aldrich and fiercely led by James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Finch.

’THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX’ (1965), ©THE ASSOCIATES & ALDRICH COMPANY

Day 11: ‘The Godfather’ (1972)

This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest films ever made. It’s not a matter of opinion anymore. It’s a fact, perfectly illustrated by the countless awards it earned—among them three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo and written by the author in partnership with Francis Ford Coppola, ‘The Godfather’ remains one of cinema’s most important films.

Trivia nugget: The cat wandered in from one of the sets and was never intended to be in the movie. She was so content to sit in Mr Welles’ lap that her purrs interfered with some of his lines on the audio track, leading to additional editing work to deliver dialogue.

THE GODFATHER’ (1972), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 12: ‘Casablanca’ (1942)

Sometimes, there comes a film that is a trifecta of greatness, earning the most prestigious awards for its direction, for its screenplay, and for the coveted Best Picture category in one sweeping ceremony. Director Michael Curtiz has 179 film credits to his name, yet none would remain so deeply embedded within the history of cinema as ‘Casablanca’ whilst bearing IMDb’s exceptionally green Metascore of 100.

‘CASABLANCA’ (1942), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 13: ‘His Girl Friday’ (1940)

Like many of the films of that era, this one is problematic from a racial perspective, given some of the derogatory terms used by the characters and knowingly penned by the writers (Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht, and Charles MacArthur) under the direction of Howard Hawks. With that stain on its poster, however, I must admit that ‘His Girl Friday’ is a work of art in terms of dialogue and comedic screenwriting, while Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make a fantastic pair on the silver screen.

‘HIS GIRL FRIDAY’ (1940), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 14: ‘Jaws’ (1975)

Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb weren’t given an Oscar for their screenplay, and Steven Spielberg didn’t get one for direction, either. Yet this film remains a classic and an innovative work of cinematic art, a brilliant ‘scary movie’ with an unnatural amount of tension at every turning point. Thank the stars for Roy Scheider’s decision to ad-lib the ‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’ line, while we’re at it.

Trivia nugget: When John Williams originally played the score for Mr Spielberg, the director laughed and said, ‘That’s funny, John, really; but what did you really have in mind for the theme of “Jaws”?’ Williams took home an Academy Award for this score.

‘JAWS’ (1975), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 15: ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ (1979)

Praised by Robert McKee for its brilliant dramatic storytelling and Robert Benton’s ability to convey so much detail within each sequence, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ is truly a titan of the big screen. The breakfast scene after Joana’s departure alone is a treasure trove of personal information and emotion. Dustin Hoffman’s exquisite acting aside, Meryl Streep is such a good thespian that I found myself genuinely loathing her character.

KRAMER VS. KRAMER’ (1979), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

Day 16: ‘The Last Emperor’ (1987)

I’ll never forgive Bernardo Bertolucci for what he and Marlon Brando did to Maria Schneider for that infamous scene in ‘Last Tango in Paris’ (1972), but I shall give credit where it is due. ‘The Last Emperor’ is a superb and sprawling historical epic based on Pu Yi’s published autobiography, chronicling the life of China’s last monarch.

Trivia nugget: It’s one of the few motion pictures made in and about China with the full cooperation of its government—so much so that when Queen Elizabeth II tried to visit the Forbidden City during a state trip, the film’s production took priority for its immense coronation scene.

‘THE LAST EMPEROR’ (1987), ©RECORDED PICTURE COMPANY (RPC)

Day 17: ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

While I loved Jonathan Demme’s Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, and Denzel Washington-led remake of the 1962 original directed by John Frankenheimer, I absolutely love the outstanding performances of Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, and Laurence Harvey—the latter, especially, for his portrayal of Raymond Shaw. Another masterpiece of cinema, ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ didn’t receive any Academy Awards, but George Axelrod’s screenplay is a lesson in how tension is best delivered.

‘THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE’ (1962), ©M.C. PRODUCTIONS

Day 18: ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ (1995)

I actually read Mike Figgis’s screenplay before I saw the movie during my second year of film school. John O’Brien’s book, upon which the movie is based, was an even harder read. But I’ll admit that the feature itself was the most difficult part, as there is something absolutely gut-wrenching in Nicholas Cage’s performance. It was genuinely crushing to watch Ben Sanderson virtually drink himself to death.

‘LEAVING LAS VEGAS’ (1995), ©LUMIERE PICTURES

Day 19: ‘Nanook of the North’ (1922)

Directed by Robert J. Flaherty, ‘Nanook of the North’ is more than just a touching silent predecessor to the modern documentary. It’s the very first instance of dramatic storytelling used to narrate and edit real-life footage of one specific Inuit family living in the Arctic Circle.

Trivia nugget: Alas, despite being part of the Criterion Collection, the National Film Registry, and Roger Ebert’s list of Great Movies, many of the documentary’s scenes were staged for the purpose of showing how the Inuit lived before modern times, according to Flaherty.

‘NANOOK OF THE NORTH’ (1922), LES FRÈRES REVILLON/PATHÉ EXCHANGE

Day 20: ‘Ordinary People’ (1980)

Robert Redford’s directorial debut, understandably awarded with an Oscar. Timothy Hutton’s acting debut, deservedly awarded with an Oscar. It went on to take two more golden statuettes home—one for Best Picture, and once for Best Adapted Screenplay, and thank the stars for screenwriters like Alvin Sargent for telling such a moving story that inadvertently and effectively captures the look, the sound, and the temper of a broken American family struggling to adjust after a tragedy.

‘ORDINARY PEOPLE’ (1980), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Day 21: ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (1928)

Carl Theodor Dreyer didn’t allow any makeup for his actors, which only served to enhance Maria Falconetti’s devastating performance as the woman who was first a martyr before she became a patron saint of France. ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ was virtually the only movie Falconetti made, yet it went on to redefine silent cinema.

Trivia nugget: This film was considered lost for many years, until an almost complete print emerged in 1978 as part of a collection that an Italian priest had once used for screenings in psychiatric facilities.

‘THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC’ (1928), ©SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE DES FILMS

Day 22: ‘Q & A’ (1990)

Based on the book by Edwin Torres, I can’t say it’s the best among Sidney Lumet’s works, but it’s certainly up there. The story is so masterfully crafted that it leads this stellar cast into a memorable performance. Nick Nolte is downright terrifying. Timothy Hutton carries himself with a certain ingenuity that is mercilessly crushed by the harsh reality of corruption within New York’s police force. And Armand Assante earned himself a Golden Globe nod for his Bobby Texador.

‘Q & A’ (1990), ©REGENCY INTERNATIONAL PICTURES

Day 23: ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)

Yet another revolutionary motion picture from Steven Spielberg by way of George Lucas, Philip Kaufman, and the illustrious Lawrence Kasdan, this first installment of Indy’s blockbuster feature series takes us on a mad chase after the fabled Ark of the Covenant in 1936, which the Nazis nefariously intend to unleash upon the world. Personally, I love Harrison Ford’s rendition of Indiana Jones and dread the day when another actor will be cast for the inevitable reboot.

‘INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’ (1981), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES/LUCASFILM

Day 24: ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

This isn’t just a Holocaust film. That tragedy serves more as a backdrop for a double portrait—of Oskar Schindler, swindler of the Third Reich, and of Amon Goeth, evil incarnate and heartless psychopath, both men born from the filthy opportunities of war. It racked up a plethora of awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The final scene at Schindler’s grave completely broke me. I don’t remember crying this hard since the finale of ‘Supernatural’ (2005-2020).

‘SCHINDLER’S LIST’ (1993), ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Day 25: ‘Tender Mercies’ (1983)

Written by Horton Foote and directed by Bruce Beresford, ‘Tender Mercies’ won Robert Duvall his only Academy Award in seven nominations. It’s like nothing else in its mixed genre of drama and romance—its quiet softness and simmering despair are everything this film needs to take a place among the greatest stories ever written for the silver screen.

‘TENDER MERCIES’ (1983), ©ANTRON MEDIA PRODUCTION

Day 26: ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)

Frank Pierson signed the screenplay for this cinematic oeuvre, based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore, which in turn was inspired by a true event. It got Pierson a well-deserved Oscar. I mentioned ‘Q & A’ earlier as not being Sidney Lumet’s best, and I’d like to stick that specific label right here. ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ is absolutely his best.

Trivia nugget: A scene from this movie appears in the first episode of David Fincher’s ‘Mindhunter’ (2017) during a hostage negotiation training session at Quantico.

‘DOG DAY AFTERNOON’ (1975), ©WARNER BROS.

Day 27: ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)

In hindsight, a couple of this film’s headliners are… problematic, to say the least, yet this film cannot be forgotten nor ignored. The performances are out of this world, and that requires not only immense talent but good direction and a fantastic script. I think Bryan Singer was young and hungry when he shot this, and it shows. Every other credit of his fades in comparison. Most of the props go to Christopher McQuarrie, however, as he did win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

‘THE USUAL SUSPECTS’ (1995), ©POLYGRAM FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Day 28: ‘The Conversation’ (1974)

HBO is currently hiding such hidden gems in its Movies category if you scroll down enough. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, ‘The Conversation’ is a noteworthy mystery thriller made singular by Gene Hackman’s outstanding performance—a key moment in his career, for that matter.

‘THE CONVERSATION’ (1974), ©THE COPPOLA COMPANY

Day 29: ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

Few screenwriters/directors master the art of dialogue in a feature film as skilfully as Quentin Tarantino does in ‘Pulp Fiction’. Roger Ebert went as far as comparing his hard-boiled screen prose with the likes of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard. It’s easy to see why, though, as the high quality drives humour without even asking for it, so it’s no wonder Tarantino won an Academy Award for his writing. ‘Pulp Fiction’ is one of those movies that you have to watch in this lifetime—though I’d be remiss if I didn’t specify that every title in this first list is worthy of such attention and appreciation. I’ll also call it a masterpiece lacking a message.

PULP FICTION’ (1994), ©MIRAMAX

Day 30: ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997)

I made this selection on purpose, if only to end the 30-day-movie-challenge with something delightfully palatable while also comparing the aesthetics between Tarantino’s most popular film and his only adaptation. It felt appropriate since Mr Ebert brought Elmore Leonard into the conversation. The source material—the novel titled ‘Rum Punch’—serves as the foundation for my favourite Tarantino movie. I absolutely adore Pam Grier and Robert Forster; their chemistry is magnificent. On the other hand, Robert De Niro seems to have wandered into the picture, somehow, yet manages to make sense. It still befuddles me.

Trivia nugget: Tarantino was initially worried that Elmore Leonard might not like the changes he made to the story. It turns out the author actually liked the script so much, he said it was the best he’d read up to that point, and certainly among the best of the 26 adaptations of his novels and short stories.

‘JACKIE BROWN’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

I will absolutely do this again. There are so many grand titles that are worth revisiting—or tackling for the first time, if you’re like me, and your watchlist gets occasionally engorged beyond manageability and in desperate need of slimming down. A movie a day keeps the dullness away.

For our last segment of memorable moments from the silver screen, we’re delving into the early years of contemporary cinema. Like most forms of art, the ‘90s and ‘00s films were the works of devoted cinephiles, enriched with nods to now-legendary directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston, to name but a few. This period also saw the splendiferous rise of Asian cinema, along with the sunset of epic directorial careers and the sunrise of new talents.

1994: For the Love of Classics

In the early days of Joel and Ethan Coen, exploiting the ridiculous to depict the rise of America as we know it was a new technique for intelligent comedy. In ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’ (1994), the Coens envisage Dwight Eisenhower’s United States as a gargantuan bureaucracy that is hungrily devoted to the pursuit of money, power, and fame. Using imagery and editing often reminding us of Soviet classics such as Eisenstein, the directors seem to have some crazy fun by poking the near-totalitarian conformism that more or less defined Post-War America. The film commands repeat viewings for its subtle and resonant use of circular motifs—the star of these being the hula hoop, of course.

‘THE HUDSUCKER PROXY’ (1994), ©POLYGRAM FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

The debut of Turner Classic Movies marked the beginning of cinephilia’s mainstreaming. It started out as a low-concept cable premise, the showcase channel of a gazillionaire’s back catalogue of film titles, and as a competitor for the then-dominant American Movie Classics. It basically turned Ted Turner, purveyor of hideously colorized home video, into a friend of movie lovers worldwide. Turner Classic Movies also brought forth the value of considering a film’s topic thanks to the intros and outros of Robert Osborne. TCM was not a hub of revolutionary film criticism, however.

To this day, its selections aim for an institutional, high quality approach, while Osborne’s commentary is peppered Hollywood gossip, at best. But the high standards of the networks and its demands of a 24-hour cycle have led to a broad selection of film titles, including silent and foreign language pictures.

©RICK MAIMAN

One of the best things to come out of 1994, however, was the exquisitely pulpy ‘Pulp Fiction’ by Quentin Tarantino. The watch monologue especially represents the uniquely talented director at his best. Here, Christopher Walken’s Captain Koons delivers a watch to Butch, the kid who will grow up to become the boxer Butch portrayed by Bruce Willis. He explains that the watch belonged to Butch’s father, passed down from his grandfather and great-grandfather.

In western cultures, particularly, the watch a son inherits from his father is an item of great significance, representing the phallus transferred from one patriarchal generation to another. The history of this specific timepiece is also the history of 20^th century America, from WWI to Vietnam, represented by its wearers. Then Tarantino has Koons expose the true nature of his symbolism by revealing that Butch’s father hid the watch ‘in the one place he knew he could hide something’. That place where the sun doesn’t shine.

‘PULP FICTION’ (1994), ©MIRAMAX

1996: The Birth of DVD

A very Nineties sort of thing was to use music not as a soundtrack or as a comment, but rather as a pure stimulant. Danny Boyle does an exquisite job of that with Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ in ‘Trainspotting’ (1996). The film itself was mostly about the squalors and fitful glories of heroin abuse, but the timing of its release and its grimy, buzzing energy, along with its use of the aforementioned song pushed ‘Trainspotting’ at the peak of an emerging culture—Generation Ecstasy.

But 1996 had something greater to give besides Danny Boyle’s oeuvre. On 1^st November, the first DVD players went on sale in Japan. This advent of digital video disks (or digital versatile disks) was a case study in the way simple marketplace competition can enrich an entire culture. At the time, studios were faced with the challenge of getting their sceptical home viewers to upgrade from their trusted VHS tapes to a whole new format. The solution came in two equally convincing forms.

The first signalled the beginning of the end for the likes of Blockbuster Video, claiming that the VHS format was garbage and the rental-store economy that supported it was insane. The second proposed that by increasing the value of home video, one could turn the DVD into a sell-through rather than a rental product. It led to an explosion of commentary tracks, outtakes, alternate versions, critical histories and so on. Read-only media like the DVD ultimately expanded the participatory element of entertainment, and this culture of engagement is one of the twentieth century’s final gifts to us.

1997: The Inestimable Value of Pam Grier

When looking at Quentin Tarantino’s career, one would have to admit that his greatest film is also the one with believably human characters. Each of his works proves why he’s the king of pop-culture pastiche, but only ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997) comes fitted with a heart of its own. Here, Tarantino manages to conceive two characters who resemble human beings with a believable emotional life.

‘Jackie Brown’ captures our attention through the love story between its titular stewardess and the bail bondsman, a love story that also serves as the meeting point between two styles of medium cool—‘70s blaxploitation, as represented by Pam Grier, and ‘60s thriller, offered by Robert Forster. It is a counterpoint, as well, to the ironic detachment that usually surrounds Tarantino’s classically meta-characters, though Samuel L. Jackson does a fine job of holding a banner for them as the eccentric, vampiric gangster.

There is something about ‘Jackie Brown’ that just stands out, even after all these years. My guess is that it comes from the uncommon respect with which Tarantino treats Ms Grier, as well as the remarkable shots with which she leads the entire movie—her mature beauty and her aura of self-respect both captured with admiring tenderness.

‘JACKIE BROWN’ (1997), ©MIRAMAX

1998: Of Long and Complex Opening Shots

As with previous studies of cinematic history, it would be damn near impossible to dissect every movie moment that made its mark. Sacrifices must be made, along with painful cuts. But I wouldn’t be able to skip past this year without mentioning the tour de force that is the opening scene of Brian De Palma’s ‘Snake Eyes’ (1998).

It’s one of the longest and most difficult shots ever brought to the big screen—full of characters and anonymous moving crowds, rife with movements in so many directions that the viewer eventually forgets it’s a single continuous tracking, panning, and craning shot. Mr De Palma, author of ‘Dressed to Kill’ (1980), ‘Blow Out’ (1981), and ‘Body Double’ (1984), seems obsessed with telling his audience to look harder, look better, look twice.

As Miguel Marias once wrote, ‘you think you have understood more than you did, while you are unable to see much of what is shown to you, which you either underestimate or overlook or forget or, on the contrary, take for granted as the truth, jumping to conclusions or overinterpreting details’.

‘SNAKE EYES’ (1998), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

1999: A Most Extraordinary Year

Incredible things came at the end of the 20^th century. Wonderful things. Cinematic masterpieces and turning points in this ever-evolving medium. One scene worth mentioning as a mere hors d’oeuvre would be Dickie’s murder in ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ (1999) by Anthony Minghella. Here, the director offers a superb portrait of class distinction and masculine violence—the latter fuelled by unrequited love. It builds slowly from a subtle disagreement through Dickie’s arrogant superiority clashing with Tom’s mortified self-negation, culminating with an instant of uncontrollable release. Tom doesn’t hate Dickie, he worships him. And his god has just declared him unfit. In a sense, the killing is less murder and more suicide, as Tom, the proficient imitator, will now take Dickie’s passport and transform himself.

‘THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY’ (1999), ©MIRAMAX

Stanley Kubrick’s last film, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999), lacked critical and commercial support to a level that proved just how low the cineplex had sunk in that era. Its mere existence was an insult to the audience, who’d expected to see something flashier and easier to digest from the likes of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, whom they’d drooled over during ‘Days of Thunder’ (1990). Kubrick’s fluid camera work lulled viewers. The modulated performances felt wasteful to them. The portrayal of New York at Christmas as a lonely city of sexual conspirators seemed fake. In a sense, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ was the death of the auteur film made to look like a marketing accident—an insult to the director who passed away four months before its theatrical release.

George Lucas’s ‘Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace’ (1999) may have lacked in many other aspects when compared to the first three films of his Star Wars saga, but its one redeeming quality rests in the lightsabre duel. It was sorely needed after the anaemic confrontation between Sir Alec Guinness’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and David Prowse’s Darth Vader. The final Jedi showdown of ‘The Phantom Menace’ is poetry in motion, put together by the combined synergy of stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, assistant Andreas Petrides, and actor/stuntman/martial arts champion Ray Park. Not only did they give the lightsabre duel the treatment it deserved, they delivered the most invigorating example of swordsmanship in Western cinema since the age of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, further enhanced by John Williams’s nervous score.

‘STAR WARS I: THE PHANTOM MENACE’ (1999), ©LUCASFILM

Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez created ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999), propelled to worldwide fame thanks to cinema’s newly discovered cousin, an adjunct and a marketing tool rolled up into one: the Internet. Much like James Hogg’s publicity stunt of 1823 regarding ‘The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner’, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ came to us claiming to be the lost footage of three filmmakers who mysteriously disappeared after an encounter with something nebulous and supernatural in the woods. The film’s website and the tie-in pseudo-documentary ‘Curse of the Blair Witch’ further added value to the story with historical background that just made it feel so real. It represented the birth of the ‘found footage’ style that still works for the supernatural horror genre.

‘THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT’ (1999), ©HAXAN FILMS

After the first computer-generated imagery made its debut with ‘Westworld’ (1973), and the virtual forms entered the public consciousness through ‘Tron’ (1982), the Wachowski Brothers took the art of special effects and computer graphics to a whole new level with ‘The Matrix’ (1999). Visual effects designer John Gaeta went to great lengths for this film’s ‘Bullet time’ money shot by attaching hundreds of still cameras to a snaky metal rig. Each of these units generated a single frame when fired in sequence, in a Muybridge-motion-study style, around a flailing or jumping actor. When the images were later stacked like a flipbook in computerized form, the result gave us Keanu Reeves’s Neo dodging bullets in slow motion while the viewers swirled around him like the eye of God. This moment changed the way cinema worked, making the unrealized potential of digital effects into a most wonderful reality.

‘THE MATRIX’ (1999), ©WARNER BROS.

2000: The Most Visually Stylish Films Arise

No one will ever forget the bamboo forest fight in Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000). Each fight scene reveals a different emotion in this movie, and the bamboo grove moment between Chow Yun-fat’s Li Mu Bai and Zhang Ziyi’s Jen is truly exquisite. A number of elements—the rhythmic cutting, the music, the affective close-ups, the coming together in one move and drawing away, his enormous tenderness measured against her rebelliousness—they all turn this encounter of fighting skills into a love scene of sorts.

Equally enthralling, ‘In the Mood for Love’ (1999) by Wong Kar-Wai made movie magic with its subtle eroticism and artful visuals. Following two neighbours who discover their spouses’ extramarital affairs and get closer to one another, the Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker accomplishes something extraordinary by showing us how ‘it’s already happened’ before our eyes. But the summit of this masterpiece comes with the scenography and the prevailing colours which intensify the emotions, shamelessly yet elegantly suggestive of an erotic and passionate atmosphere. In the beginning, Mrs Chan’s dresses are mild in their design and palette, but once she and Mr Chow start seeing each other, warmer colours, of which red is predominant, begin to dominate the screen.

‘IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE’ (2000), ©BLOCK 2 PICTURES

2002: The Mexican Cinema Revival

There have been great Mexican directors since the ‘30s, surely. Emilio Fernández, Fernando de Fuentes and Luis Buñuel are but three of the Latin-American filmmakers that have gifted us with great movie moments. However, Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Y Tu Mamá También’ (2002) signifies a new era for Mexico’s film culture. Gael Garcia Bernal’s Julio and Diego Luna’s Tenoch kiss scene takes a dig at Mexican machismo and homophobia without any fear—in the film, it leads to the destruction of the male characters’ friendship.

In a country so completely divided by class most of all, where social mobility is extremely limited, the fallout from that kiss seems powered by class anxiety, as well. The young men’s friendship bridges an economic abyss in Mexican society. Therefore, it cannot survive. Far from being an Americanisation, ‘Y Tu Mamá También’ is one of the most revealing Mexican films ever made.

‘Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN’, ©ANHELO PRODUCCIONES

2004: 21st Century Cinema

After 2001, the world wasn’t the same again. Something happened after 9/11, something that weaved itself through the way stories were told. But none of the films inspired by those terrible events had a greater impact than Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ (2004). And while moviegoers may have strong positive and negative opinions about the director, his filmmaking savvy should be appreciated once it’s considered alongside the overall thrust of his politics. His weakness for tendentious argument and first-person showboating should also be noted.

We all remember his rendition of George W. Bush in the schoolroom, however. It shows us a president who’s just been told the second plane has hit the Twin Towers, and he chooses to go ahead with his photo-op at a Florida school. Noting that Bush’s failure to do anything (even leave the room for information) lasted for almost seven minutes, Moore wonders if the vacation-loving president were wishing he’d gone to work more often. By the time this part of the monologue ends with a mention of the cuts that Bush applied to the FBI’s terrorism funding, the image of his paralysis has become indelible. I doubt it will ever lose its ghastly strength even now upon another viewing, long after the Bush administration has become history.

‘FAHRENHEIT 9/11’, ©FELLOWSHIP ADVENTURE GROUP

But let us not end this series on a sombre note. Instead, I invite you to remember Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Sunset’ (2004), starring the inimitable Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in two of their most memorable roles. Much like its predecessor, ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), the film is focused on the fleeting hours, minutes, and seconds before Jesse and Celine must end their brief encounter. If the two were in a foreign place (Vienna) in the previous story, Jesse now finds himself on Celine’s territory in Paris, on a publicity tour that fictionalizes their previous experience.

‘BEFORE SUNSET’ (2004), ©WARNER INDEPENDENT PICTURES

It is the end that stands out. The cab is waiting, and a plane will soon be boarding, ready to take Jesse away, but he shows no sign of getting off Celine’s couch. Instead, he chooses to enjoy her mimicking of a performance by Nina Simone—a show in which the singer took ‘all the time in the world’. Suddenly, in this tension of a looming deadline, Jesse and Celine seem to have all kinds of time. The future is, once more, free and open to them.