2018 NFR Nominees: The Dark Knight, The Haunting, And Somewhere In Time

It's that time of year again, folks.

I am pleased to note that four of my nominees, Superman, Titanic, Spartacus, and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? were selected for preservation into the 2017 National Film Registry. Other notable inductees included Dumbo, Die Hard, La Bamba, Field Of Dreams, and The Goonies. The total number of films in the registry is now a massive 725.

Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation estimates that "one half of all films made before 1950 and over 90% made before 1929 are lost forever" (Novak). This makes the mission of the NFR all the more pertinent, as we can no more afford to lose these amazing shadows of our national heritage. Every year since 1989, the film archive selects 25 American films to be listed as deserving of preservation due to their historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance. The films must be at least 10 years old and the public is free to nominate up to 50 films each year.

Without any further ado, here are my nominations:



The Dark Knight
(2008)

Highly regarded as one of the greatest films in the superhero genre, The Dark Knight brought the classic American characters of Batman and the Joker into the modern era. What many consider the high point of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy", the films deals with matters of justice, morality, and heroic symbolism, all with the nuance of a post-9/11 world. The film is also fondly remembered for Heath Ledger's chilling performance as The Joker, which earned him as posthumous Oscar.


The Haunting
(1963)

Based on Shirley Jackson's classic novel The Haunting Of Hill House, and adapted by Sound Of Music and West Side Story director Robert Wise, this film is about four people who enter into a house that is believed to be haunted. The Haunting is skilled in ambiguity, as the ghosts are never shown, and the black-and-white cinematography adds a menacing air to the house, a demonstration most evident in the notable staircase sequence. The film is also bold in its addition of the lesbian character Theodora, whose lesbianism while not explicitly stated, added a nuanced and sensual LGBT representation on film. The Haunting is also the standout performance of Julie Harris as a psychologically fragile Eleanor who is driven mentally insane.


Somewhere In Time
(1980)

Based on the romance novel Bid Time Return by I Am Legend novelist Richard Mattheson, the film stars Christopher Reeve, who goes back in time to meet his love Elise, played by Jane Seymour. It is also the first and only movie to be filmed almost entirely on Michigan's Mackinac Island, and a treasured visual representation of that land. While met with lukewarm reviews in theaters, the film earned a a strong fanbase after its replays on cable television and the resonance of John Barry's musical score. Activism from the fanbase helped lead to both Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour earning stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and the annual "Somewhere In Time Weekend" at Mackinac, where fans dress up as characters from the film.


Lonely Are the Brave
(1962)

A film that Kirk Douglas himself regards as his best, Lonely Are the Brave belongs alongside Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven and John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! as a mediation on the death of cowboy lifestyle. The films stars Douglas as a cowboy on the lam, and with a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, it could be interpreted, like Spartacus, as a statement on the McCarthy era.



1. Barney Oldfield's Race For A Life (1913)
2. Bottle Rocket (1980)
3. The Shining (1980)
4. The Cat Concerto (1947)
5. Der Fuehrer's Face (1947)
6. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
7. The Defiant Ones (1958)
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
9. Jurassic Park (1993)
10. Rape Culture (1973)
11. Gimme Shelter (1970)
12. What's Up, Doc? (1972)

13. The Patterson-Gimlin Film (1967)

14. Return of the Jedi (1983)

15. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

16. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

17. Carrie (1977)

18. The Blues Accordin´ To Lightning Hopkins (1968)

19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s Stone (2001)

20. Fight Club (1999)

21. Batman (1989)
22. Mulholland Dr (2001)
23-26. The Mind's Eye (film series) (1990-1996)
27. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
28. The Color Purple (1985)
29. The Truman Show (1998)
30. Pleasantville (1998)
31. WarGames (1983)
32. The Crow (1994)
33. Crumb (1994)
34. Lake Of Fire (2006)
35. Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
36. Boogie Nights (1997)
37. Inherit The Wind (1960)
38. Clerks (1994)
39. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)
40. Scarface (1983)
41. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
42. Humorous Phases Of Funny Faces (1906)
43. Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)
44. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
45. Strangers on a Train (1951)
46. The Sixth Sense (1999)
47. The Dark Knight (2008)
48. The Haunting (1968)
49. Somewhere In Time (1980)
50. Lonely Are The Brave (1962)



Previous NFR Nominees and Justifications:


1.      Barney Oldfield's Race For A Life
       (1913)

           

A classic silent comedy that immortalized the famous image of a damsel in distress being tied to the train tracks by a mustachioed villain. The film also features the Keystone Cops, who stand along with Chaplin and Keaton as comedy icons of America's silent film era.

2.      Bottle Rocket 
       (1996)

Wes Anderson's films have gone on to represent independent filmmaking in America for many years, and much of that started with his meandering debut Bottle Rocket. The film, though flawed, maintains a strong focus of friendship between its cast, through the adventures of bored middle class suburban teenagers who try to become professional criminals. Bottle Rocket is a looking-glass, perhaps, into America's restless Generation X, as well as into the creativity of Anderson's own mind.

3.  The Shining 
      (1980)

The Shining goes alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange as one of Kubrick's more iconic films. This psychological horror film that deals with insanity, alcoholism, and isolation, is set against a haunted house, with the writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) suffering a violent mental breakdown, and his son Danny, who's supernatural abilities grant him an extra sense to the spirits around him. Kubrick's visual cues here draw out the unknowable tension in the film with his tracking shots behind Danny, the elevators of blood, and the Grady twins. Jack Nicholson pulls off one of his best performances as the mad Jack Terrance who gives the popular line, "Here's Johnny!" The Shining, much like The Exorcist, is one of the more intelligent horror films that asks that its audience interpret its events for themselves as opposed to explaining things to them. The film is also the best visual representation of Stephen King's works, which have captured the imaginations of American pop culture for ages. The film was added to the American Film Institute's "100 Years…100 Thrills" and Roger Ebert's Great Movies collection.

4.      The Cat Concerto 
       (1947)

Tom and Jerry are one of the most popular duos in animation history, and the oft copied Cat Concerto stands as one of their finest examples. Tom and Jerry compete with a piano while Franz Liszt's famous Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 plays on. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject and was included on Jerry Beck's 50 Greatest Cartoons.

5.      Der Fuehrer's Face 
       (1943)

During World War II, Disney produced multiple animated propaganda films to sway public opinion in favor of the war. Der Fuehrer's Face is an excellent example as it features Donald Duck living under the horror of the Nazi regime. Much like Chaplin's The Great Dictator, it is a great satire of Nazi Germany. The film one the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject.

6.      20,000 Leagues Under The Sea 
       (1954)

Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is one of the most famous and critically acclaimed adaptations of Jules Verne's enduring novel. The film has a cast of some of Old Hollywood's best actors: Paul Lukas, Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, and most famously, James Mason as the chilling Captain Nemo, who stands as one of the most morally complex characters ever put onto film. The film is one of Disney's most mature, carrying many of Verne's themes on personal freedom, the dangers of science, and the failings of society. It is especially interesting that the film was released during the Cold War, so much of the growing fears about nuclear war are cleverly added to the film. The movie itself is a special effects milestone, featuring an impressive giant squid and winning the Oscar for Special Effects that year.


7.     The Defiant Ones
       (1958)

Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones is great film about America's changing attitudes towards racism against blacks. The film stars Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier as prisoners on the run chained together. The two, in many ways, are a microcosm for the racial tensions between blacks and whites in America, but their ultimate ability to work together shows the superiority of friendship over racial prejudice. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

8.      The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 
       (2001)

Peter Jackson's opening feature of his critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which along with Harry Potter, reinvigorated an interest in fantasy, and promoted the accessibility of blockbusters over two hours long. The film is a fantasy epic with an ensemble cast, including the likes of Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, and Hugo Weaving among others, which centers on the friendship between its leads, Frodo and Sam, as they go on an odyssey to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom. The film echoes back to older epics, such as Ben-Hur and Gone With The Wind, that has a memorable grand score, along with a balanced use of computer animation and practical effects to create truly breathtaking shots and scenes. The author of the original trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien, once called his books "unfilmmable". Conversely, The Fellowship of the Ring as one of the first major pictures of the 21^st century represents just how far American films have come since D.W. Griffith's opuses. Indeed, it is a culmination of all the breakthroughs American movies have made in the 20^th century, and a golden standard by which future American films would be set to.Fellowship of the Ring was nominated for numerous Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and was added to the American Film Institute's list "100 Years…100 Movies (10^thAnniversary Edition)."


9.  Jurassic Park 
      (1993)

Jurassic Park is Steven Spielberg's popular blockbuster that convincing showed audiences photo-realistic dinosaurs for the first time, and exhibited the power of computer animation. The story is a simple morality tale on the dangers of exploiting nature for profit and has a quirky cast, and is competent enough with the script to keep the movie from lowering into the stupidity of a standard slasher movie. The film's success guaranteed computer animation as a staple of future movies, altering the paradigm of special effects, which have been both a blessing and a menace. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and was added to the American Film Institute's "100 Years…100 Thrills" list.

10. Rape Culture
      (1973)

A raw documentary produced by Prisoners Against Rape, the DC Rape Crisis Center, and political filmmakers Margaret Lazarus, and Renner Wunderlich, Rape Culture is probably one of the first movies to examine the crime of rape in its ugly forms and the roles that Hollywood films, pornography, masculinity, and racism have played in its persistence. The film also features various feminists such as Mary Daly, who give viewers a glimpse into radical second-wave feminism. Although many aspects of the film may seem quite obtuse today, the film represented a time in American history when the causes of rape began to be identified, or at least discussed. Whether or not one agrees with all of its assertions, or even the existence of rape culture, the film represents a visual milestone in the start of a conversation that still continues to this day.

11.  Gimme Shelter 
      (1970)

Ever since the British Invasion of the 1960's, The Rolling Stones have been a staple of American rock music. The first half of the movie shows their energetic live performances on concert and the stresses that go into recording their songs. The Stones were not at Woodstock, but they did have their own sort of festival at the Altamont Free Concert. Thus, the second half of Gimme Shelter depicts the concert itself, set up at the Altamont Highway. This section of the film shows some of the crude excesses of the counterculture, which tragically culminated in a murder during The Stone's song, "Sympathy For The Devil". In a sense, this film is a gritty contrast to idealistic flower power of Woodstock. Gimmie Shelter has since been added into the Criterion Collection.


12.  What's Up, Doc?
      (1972) 

Peter Bogdanovich's excellent tribute to the screwball comedies of the 1930's that manages to be something of a great comedy in itself. The movie keeps in the tradition of the New Hollywood era which were the first films directed by people who had grown up on films. The American Film Institute included it as one of the nation's best comedies.

13. The Patterson-Gimlin Film

      (1968)

The Patterson-Gimlin film is believed by many to be the best evidence for Bigfoot captured on film. At the very least, it has captured the fascination of many since its release. Even if one doesn't believe in Bigfoot, the film has played a big role in shaping our popular understanding of the elusive beast. Indeed, if there could be one film you would use to symbolize our ongoing fascination with Bigfoot, this one is probably it.

14. Return of the Jedi

      (1983)

Episode VI of the Star Wars saga may not be the best in the Original Trilogy, but it's a undoubtedly a great film that's worth preserving. The special effects were second to none at the time, with grand spectacles being Jabba´s Palace, the Battle of Endor, and the final showdown at the Second Death Star. VI also brings an acceptable end to Luke Skywalker's bildungsroman as a Jedi who conveys tact and wisdom upon his confrontation with Darth Vader. Indeed, it is the essential resolution to an American mythos.

15. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

      (1982)

The series, Star Trek, has proven to be iconic in the world of American television. So too does The Wrath of Khan hold an enduring impact for bringing the best of Star Trek onto the silver screen. Leonard Nimoy's role as Mr. Spock has become lauded within the annals of science-fiction. Of course, Spock's place in Wrath of Khan is particularly famous, including a heartfelt moment where he utters, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Of course, none of this is to diminish the superb cast of the USS Enterprise, played by William Shatner, Deforest Kelley, George Takei, James Doohan, Walter Koening, and Nichelle Nichols. Though few stick out as well as the fearsome Khan himself, portrayed viciously by Ricardo Montalban.

16. Jason and the Argonauts

     (1963)

This work is a marvel of Ray Harryhausen's spectacular stop-motion effects, from the many headed Hydra to the army of skeletons.

17. Carrie

     (1977)

Based on Stephen King's debut novel of the same name, Brian DePalma's horrifying adaptation has helped launch King's narrative into a popular myth of contemporary America's culture. Carrie touches a nerve in many, the social outcast with an unappreciated talent. The horror film has particularly haunting performances by Piper Laurie, as Carrie's fundamentalist mother, and Sissy Spacek, whose portrays our conflicted protagonist's spiral into madness. Both of whom were nominated for Oscars, a rarity among horror films today.

18. The Blues Accordin' To Lightning Hopkins

      (1968)

Lightning Hopkins is considered one of America's finest guitarists, and Les Blanc's documentary shows just why. Blues is an integral part of our cultural history and Hopkins plays with an emotional understanding of this fact. Throughout we see the impact of his music on ordinary people. The Blues Accordin' To Lightning Hopkins has been added to the Criterion Collection

19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
     (2001)

Harry Potter launched from more than a bestselling book series and into a global phenomenon. This influence was felt no less by film. The inaugural entry into the popular film series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was successful in creating Hogwarts, the fantasy world where goblins run banks, sports are run on broomsticks, and chess pieces can run you over. Harry Potter also provided America with a showcase of Britain's best talent, from Alan Rickman to Richard Harris to Maggie Smith, as well as catapult for bringing fantasy novels and young adult fiction onto the silver screen.

20. Fight Club

     (1999)

Based on the equally controversial book by Chuck Palaniuk, David Fincher's Fight Club is a film that examines masculinity, consumerism, and meaning in a changing society. Edward Norton plays the unassuming narrator, whose directionless life is given an injection of adrenaline by the wild Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt. Tyler starts a fight club, which allows men to fight out their aggression, within various rules, of course. The first rule of Fight Club being that you cannot talk about it. Fight Club is a dual image, both a condemnation and a celebration of our twisted society, along with the men who reside in it.

21. Batman
      (1989)

Batman, along with Superman, Wonder Woman, or Spiderman, is one of the most iconic superheroes in American comics. Tim Burton's adaptation of the character in 1989 is considered, alongside Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, one of the definitive interpretations of Batman on film. The film was successful in returning Batman to his darker origins from his campy image on the Adam West show. The movie is a showcase of talent: Tim Burton's artistic use of sets, models, and lighting, Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson's performances in the leading roles, Danny Elfman's sweeping score, and Prince's pop additions. Batman would go on to define the character, and superhero films for the years to come.


22. Mulholland Dr.
      (2001)

David Lynch's magnum opus, and one of the most acclaimed and divisive films of 2001, Mulholland Dr. was directed in pure Lynchian style: obscure, enigmatic, strange, thoughtful, ambiguous, and addictive. The film explores identity, desire, dreams, and the many faces of Hollywood. Much like Sunset Boulevard, Lynch's Mulholland Dr. is as much a critique of the Hollywood system as it is a celebration of it. The film is also among the first to start the craze of Internet forums and websites analyzing and interpreting movies of this kind. Mulholland Dr. is also one of the few films from the 2000's that came of BFI's Sight and Sound poll for greatest films of all time.


23-26. The Mind's Eye (film series)
           (1990-1996)

4 films:

- "The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey." (1990)
- "Beyond the Mind's Eye." (1992)
- "The Gate to the Mind's Eye." (1994)
- "Odyssey into the Mind's Eye." (1996)

In the past, the NFR has recognized the relevance of computer animated films, having previously selected Toy Story, Luxo Jr, Tin Toy, and The Computer Animated Hand for preservation. The experimental Mind's Eye films made by Odyssey Productions pushed the technological boundaries of computer animation at a time when it was still a novel device. The films have found a new life in the vaporwave genre of music, which often recycles images from these shorts to express the aesthetic of 1990's computer technology.


27. The Secret of NIMH
(1982)

While Disney floundered throughout the 1980's, former Disney animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman filled the gap in quality cartoon films. The best of these works was Bluth's magnum opus The Secret of NIMH, based on the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien. NIMH stands above many other animated features, in that it has a subtlety and adult sensibility that is often left by the wayside in children's entertainment. It also carries a female protagonist in the lead who has no special powers or alluring beauty, but simply seeks to save her home.
 

28. The Color Purple
      (1985)

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Alice Walker, the film, directed by Steven Spielberg, provides an important lens into an area of American history, particularly the struggles of African-American women in the early 1920's, who had to deal with racism, poverty, and sexism, as seen through the eyes of Celie, a woman who takes a slow odyssey of liberation from her abusive husband. The film is also a grand showcase of African-American talents, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Adolph Caesar, and Oprah Winfrey. The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress In A Leading Role, and Best Actress In A Supporting Role. Film critic Roger Ebert added it to his Great Movies list.


29. The Truman Show
      (1998)

One of Jim Carrey's most acclaimed films, which is about a man whose entire life is a well-constructed television show, but he's the only one who does not know it. The film satirizes and questions the utopian concept of the "American Dream", like The Matrix, examines the concept of simulated reality, and like Network, examined the endless shock factor of burgeoning reality television.


30. Pleasantville
      (1998)

A clever tribute as well as parody of the black and white sitcoms that were popular during the 1950's. The film features two 90's teenagers who enter the world of the fictional 1950's television show, "Pleasantville", and come face to face with the ideals that America projected onto the screen, and see their strengths as well as shortcomings. The film also examines the conflict between the culture of that era and the culture of the later decades, through art, music, literature, and sex. This is mainly achieved through the film's mixture of black-and-white and color visuals. The film also stars the late Don Knotts of The Andy Griffith Show as a guiding force.


31. WarGames
     (1983)

One of the first films to accurately portray hacker culture to a mass audience, WarGames also examines the strategy of "mutually assured destruction" and the growing roles of computers and artificial intelligence in governmental affairs.








32. The Crow
      (1994)

Alex Proyas's film adaptation brought to life James O'Barr's gritty comic book that features the resurrection of Eric Draven, a rock musician who seeks to avenge the rape and murder of his fiance. The film is foremost the last, and perhaps best performance of Brandon Lee, who died during the production of the film, just as he began to emerge from his father's shadow. The film's creative special effects echo the minaturesque macabre of Tim Burton's Batman, and the dystopian hell of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Also, keeping in the theme of Draven's former role as a rock musician, The Crow also serves as a showcase of some of the 90's most popular rock groups, from The Cure to The Stone Temple Pilots.


33. Crumb
      (1994)

A documentary which examines the strange and obscene lifestyle of one of America's most famous underground cartoonists, Robert R. Crumb. Through the film, we see his legacy through creations such as Fritz The Cat, Mr. Natural, Keep On Truckin', and his album cover for Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills, as well as the grotesque and pornographic side of American cartoons never explored through the films of either Disney or Warner Bros. In the film, we also see the broken lives of Crumb and as his brothers as they struggle with loneliness and depression, and how for Crumb, cartooning provided him a unique escape.


34. Lake Of Fire
     (2006)

Abortion, alongside gun control, remains one of the most divisive topics in American politics, will a comfortable resolution yet in sight. Through this 152 minute documentary, filmed over 16 years, and costing $8 million dollars, director Tony Kaye allows for all points of view from across the political, religious, legal, medical, and philosophical spectrum to be heard, without editing or judgement. The film examines the pro-life movement, the murders of abortion doctors, the pro-choice movement, and shows us two actual abortion procedures. Among those interviewed include Norma McCorvey, Noam Chomsky, Peter Singer, Alan Dershowitz, Nat Hentoff, and most importantly, the women who have been directly affected. The film is shot in black, white, and shades of grey, reflecting, perhaps, the various perspectives.


35. Mutiny On The Bounty  
      (1935)

Considered by many to be finest film on the true Bounty mutiny, if not the most historically accurate, is the most influential in shaping the popular perception of what occurred during the incident. Most notably framing Christian Fletcher (Clark Gable) as righteous and Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) as sadistic. For their convincing roles, Gable, Laughton, and Franchot Tone, were all nominated for the Oscar of Best Actor that year, with none of them winning. Mutiny did, however, win the Oscar for Best Picture. The American Film Institute has listed it as the 86th greatest film of all time, and Laughton's depiction of Captain Bligh as the 19th greatest villain of all time.


36. Boogie Nights
      (1997)

Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights is one of the few dramas to depict the Golden Age of Pornography in American cinema, and as well as one of the few to humanize pornographic filmmakers, producers, actors, and actresses as people. With its ensemble talent of Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reiliy, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, and Alfred Molina. Through the film we see the behind the scenes of how pornographic films were made, their near-mainstream popularity, the effects of the rise of home video, and the discrimination these people faced, and indeed, still do face, for their work. The film also has cameo appearances from Golden Age porn stars Nina Hartley and Veronica Hart.


37. Inherit The Wind
      (1960) 

Inspired by the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, which to many Americans symbolized the conflict between scientific progress and religious fundamentalism, the film is a rarity, as it acutely and boldly explores questions of faith, education, and fraud. At the center of the film are powerful performances from Spencer Tracy, Gene Kelly, and Fredric March, all playing characters inspired by the American icons, Clarence Darrow, H.L. Mencken, and William Jennings Bryan. Film critic Roger Ebert added Inherit The Wind to his Great Movies list.


38. Clerks
      (1994)

The directing debut of geek culture commentator Kevin Smith remains one of the great milestones of low-budget, independent cinema in the 1990's, from Richard Linklater's Slacker, Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, and Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi. Smith's Clerks is a comedic day in the life of a cashier at a convenience store, who goes through episodes inspired by Smith's own working experiences. While not only providing a comedic venue into middle class America, the film, through its dialogue, often explores gender relations, gross video rentals, and popular culture, such as Return of the Jedi.


39. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
      (1962)

The only film where Joan Crawford and Bette Davis share the same screen. The film like Sunset Boulevard, is an examination of old stars who no longer fit into a changed Hollywood, as well as a popular representation of the infamous rivalry between the two leading actresses. The film launched the psycho biddy sub-genre of horror, garnered Davis an Oscar nominee for Best Actress, won an Oscar for Best Costume Design (Black and White), and helped to further establish Davis and Crawford as LGBT icons adopted by many drag performers. Indeed, the film the egos behind it have gone into popular myth, most recently examined by the acclaimed FX series Feud: Bette and Joan. The American Film Institute listed the movie as the 63rd greatest thriller and Davis's depiction of Baby Jane Hudson as the 44th best villain in cinema. Film critic Roger Ebert added Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? to his Great Movies list.


40. Scarface
     (1983)

Brian De Palma's controversial remake of Howard Hawk's 1932 mob film. Scarface is the story of Tony Montana (Al Pacino), a Cuban refugee from the Mariel boatlift who rises to great wealth through his involvement in cocaine trafficking. Much like Bonnie and Clyde, the film pushed the limits of violence that could be shown on screen. The script, written by Oliver Stone, it both a critique of the American Dream as well as the War On Drugs. The film launched the career of actress Michelle Pfeiffer, and made Montana an icon for rap and hip-hop artists. The American Film Institute listed it as the 10th greatest gangster film of all time, and film critic Roger Ebert added it to his Great Movies list.


41. The Nightmare Before Christmas
      (1993)


Conceived by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick, The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the signature stop-motion animation films, which carries elements of both Christmas and Halloween, and is an effective tale for both holidays. Drawing from the German Expressionist movement, the film is a great palette of Tim Burton's creativity, Danny Elfman's musical talents, and Henry Selick's attention to detail. The Nightmare Before Christmas has gone on to become a seminal part of America's gothic subculture.


42. Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
     (1906)

James Stuart Blackman's three minute short carries the unique significance of being the first animated film. An important landmark in the history of animation.

 
43. Bambi Meets Godzilla
     (1969)

One of the most famous student films of all time, that features a brief, but humorous, encounter between Bambi and Godzilla. Created by Marv Newman, it reveals the creative skills of one who can make a memorable joke with limited resources. Animation historian Jeff Back listed it as one the greatest animated shorts of all time. Bambi Meets Godzilla was also preserved by the Academy Film Archive,


44. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
     (1987)

Regarded as the best as most popular Thanksgiving film, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles signified a shift in John Hughes's direction from movies about teens to those about adults. The film also portrays the ranging comedic talents of John Candy and Steve Martin. Film critic Roger Ebert added the movie to his Great Movies list.


45. Strangers On A Train
     (1951)

Alfred's Hitchcock's thriller, which like North By Northwest, portrays an innocent man caught up in an extraordinary situation. In this case, Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), who tempts the young tennis player with a murder. Strangers On A Train is probably the best portrayal of Walker's acting talents, as the seductive and sexually ambiguous Bruno. The film also shows Hitchcock's ability to translate thrills through unusual situations, from a tennis match to a carousel. The American Film Institute listed Strangers On A Train as the 32nd greatest thriller of all time.


46. The Sixth Sense
      (1999)

The debut film of director M. Night Shaymalan, which remains his most famous and critically acclaimed work. Drawing upon elements of Hitchcockian thriller and the Twilight Zone, Shyamalan crafts a sentimental tale of death and the afterlife. The film established Shyamalan as a director of thrillers, particularly those with twist endings, and launched the career of child actor Haley Joel Osment. The Sixth Sense was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and the American Film Institute listed it as the 60th greatest thriller of all time, and in 2007, the 89th greatest movie of all time. The Writers Guild of America listed its screenplay as the 50th best of all time.



 
National Film Registry

2017 NFR Nominees
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2017/04/2017-nfr-nominees-color-purple.html

2016 NFR Nominees
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2016/04/2016-nfr-nominees-tim-burtons-batman.html

2015 NFR Nominees
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-2015-national-film-registry.html

2014 NFR Nominees
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2014/08/my-national-film-registry-nominations.html


Films In The Registry

"Star Wars"
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2017/05/skywalkerlied.html

"The Exorcist"
http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2017/02/communion-with-pazuzu.html


Bibliography

Novak, Matt. "About 90% of the movies made before 1929 are lost forever." Gizmodo, July 2, 2014. Web. http://gizmodo.com/13-enchanting-posters-from-hollywoods-lost-years-792599020/1599159742

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Pffft.

Let me say again, PFFFFT!

I can see the reaction now...

Yea, I've not been one for doing RAW or BtB so much. I mean, my houserules document is quite a few pages long (one of my new Discord players was quite gleeful about that... funny!) and I've long said that my "version" of D&D is called "D&D".

To me, the rules are a starting point. A common starting point so that we're talking the same language, but just as I want a world to explore, I want to explore the ruleset as well. I want to push it, expand it, contract it, simplify, but then find new ways of expression in letting imaginations run wild.

One of my best players for that is someone that you'd not expect, but he's provided more opportunities for me than anyone else. He does things and asks questions that provoke me to explore the rules beyond what I may envision, and that's a good thing!

For me, the rules provide the way to experience the world of myth, magic and wonder - and that implies that the rules are going to be broken, remolded and remade! It's the world of the Hobbit ... where you think you know what's going to happen, but then there's that ring that just manages to break the rules.

I want that sense in my game.

So what prompted this soap box? The use of find familiar.

In my world, I run wargames as well as RPGs. One of the miniatures that I have in my collection that I use quite a bit in Chaos Wars is a winged panther. I almost always start this guy off close to the mage(s) that are also in my wargames... but why? It occurred to me that perhaps these panthers are preferred familiars in my world! How would that work, given that the spell that AD&D has produces results like this:

So while I could easily adapt/adopt this table and plug in creatures from my setting, something else tugged at me.

Imagine a magic user who wants to connect with a beast as a familiar. It's more likely they'll have a youngling, or an animal already present. The spell, as written, summons something from the ether.

So this then makes me think that this spell should be more of a framework. And that kind of gets to how I tend to see spells... as frameworks or commonalities of how mages approach what they do. Sure, everyone has a sleep spell, but Wizard Frizzat may have worked out how to sleep creatures, but Magetrix Yeena may have done it slightly different. Those expressions of spells in the books are how the mages themselves interpret the twisting of these awesome energies to do what the caster wants. The formulae are more art than science.

So for me, having the mage's intent and desire be as much of a driving force for how the spell works, as the RAW itself. So, for find familiar, I told the player that they could focus the energies and magicks towards binding an existing creature that they'd already befriended. The roll was still a d20, and if they'd rolled the 16-20 result, it meant that their initial attempts were unsuccessful... try again in ten days. He rolled a 3, and it worked brilliantly. Now he has a young winged panther bound to him as his familiar.

I'm sure that a great many DMs already do this flexing, but I also get the feeling that a lot don't OR that those new to D&D and perhaps OSR/AD&D may think that there's no room for flexibility, of there has to be a new spell or new mechanic or new RULE to make things work.

I say, let your imagination make it work. See the rules, spells and mechanics as tools to get to the effect you want - let the rules promote wonder, magic and little mysteriousness, versus a lockstep "ve must march zis vay!" parade.

Blast From The Past! Applying "Basic Strategy" To Riders Of The Pony Express

For YEARS I've been searching for an article I once read about basic strategy, why it's not always bad to make a trade that's not obviously in your own favor. Nobody seemed to recognize it when I described the article, or the hypothetical gem trading game used in it as an example. Google searches had left me high and dry. At times I started to wonder if the article never really did exist...

The other day I was exchanging emails with my friend Rick, who's come on board to help me with my Worker Learning game, and he referenced (and linked to) an old article about "bombs" in games by Jonathan Degann. I clicked the link, and recognized the article. I'd read it some years ago. On top of that, I kind of recognized the look of the page. I wondered what else I had seen on it. I didn't see any navigation buttons, so I deleted the last part of the URL (showing the title of the article), and what I got was a text list of links to different article by name. I recognized that too...

Clicking through some of those links, I saw more and more articles that I remember having seen or read years ago. One of them, oddly enough, I have a printed copy of sitting right next to me at my desk!

And then it happened. One of the links I clicked on made my eyes light up. FINALLY, after all this time, I had found it. I had found that article about trading gems! It's by Greg Aleknevicus from 2004 in The Games Journal: Basic Strategy 1.0

I wholeheartedly recommend reading this short article, which talks about why it's not always bad to make a trade that's not obviously in your own favor. It's insight that applies to games, of course, but also to real life. Here's a highlight, maybe my favorite single line from the article:

When most people contemplate a trade, they consider only the two involved parties and this is why they fail to appreciate the value of "unequal trading". There are really three parties involved: you, your trading partner, and the other players. Even though your trading partner has gained more victory points than you (on any single trade), you've gained on everyone else.

By the way, I also recommend the next article in that series, Basic Strategy 2.0 -- it gives a great and very simple description of how to start considering all the factors in your strategic decision making.

I am SO HAPPY to have found this! Now, to show how it is relevant to a game designer, let's consider one of my own designs: Riders of the Pony Express.

In Riders of the Pony Express, there's sort of a low-bid auction where you receive $10 and a parcel to auction off ("Anyone want to do this delivery for me? I'll give you $3. $4? How about $5?"). If someone claims the parcel for $4, then you keep the remaining $6. Each player will do that twice per round. There's a dynamic that has come up in which players can simply bid the absolute minimum ($3) for parcels, claiming every one right away. Since you only get $3 for doing that, I had hoped that it would not be worthwhile (except perhaps in rare circumstances). But in fact, especially in a 5 player game, claiming every parcel for the $3 minimum bid can be a dominant strategy for exactly the reason outlined in that strategy article linked above!
This is true for 2 reasons:

1. In a 5 player game, you can get away with significantly more money than each opponent if you take every parcel for $3 (you get $3 x 4 opponents x 2 parcels/opponent = $24, and they each get $7 x 2 parcels = $14). This is less true in a 4 player game (you only get $18 to their $14, which is much closer), and in a 3 player game you don't actually make out ahead. So the issue is most pronounced when there's a full complement of 5 players.
2. The costs of making a delivery that's out of your way do not appear to be high enough. As one playtester put it, you have to traverse the entire board anyway, so nothing really seemed out of the way. Now, I'm not 100% sure he's right, but it's possible the costs need to be a bit higher to go "off course," in order to make the route planning and parcel claiming properly interesting.

Again, it may be that this is only a problem in a 5 player game, which might just mean the game should only be for 2-4 players. If simply reducing the player count solves the problem, then it seems a reasonable solution. Besides, I've had complaints about game length and stuff in 5 player anyway. However, I'd hate for that to be the solution, I'd rather understand the problem and fix it! And re-reading Basic Strategy 1.0 might remind me how to do just that!