My Top 5 Films Of The 1950s
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
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1. Rear Window
2. Bridge On The River Kwai
3. On The Waterfront
4. Dracula/Horror of Dracula
5. Rio Bravo
Five perfect movies that I’ll never get tired of watching
I think about rear window often. That movie sticks with me.
I cannot watch past the first 10-15 minutes of Bridge Over the River Kwai because of how the Japanese actually treated POWS.
Read The Forgotten Highlander for instance
So wonderful that you'd travel back in time and give some life to these movies. Not many reviewers on YT would do this, so thank you.
i'll add the war of the worlds.
1. Seven Samurai
2. Sunset Boulevard
3. The Bridge on the River Kwai
4. Rear Window
5. Sweet Smell of Success
I think the 50's were such a wonderful time for international cinema. You had Italian Neorealism at its height, the beginnings of French New Wave, all of the wonderful cinema coming out of Japan, truly an amazing time in cinema history.
❤❤❤
Both 1950s and 1980s have in common that it was a wonderful time for international cinema
So many great movies from every corner of the world.
@@Starkardur true. Both decades were the worst for American movies - the amount of great foreign movies far eclipsed the amount of good American ones.
You cannot have a list of the best films of the 50's without Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows.
My favorite decade for movies was the '60s, but the '50s were great too. In fact, many of my all time favorites are from the 1950s.
1 Nights of Cabiria
2 Orphee
3 The Cranes Are Flying
4 Vertigo
5 Sweet Smell of Success
------------------------------------------
6 Sunset Boulevard
7 La Strada
8 North by Northwest
9 Kiss Me Deadly
10 East of Eden
Nights of Cabiria is my no. 1 too
Night of the Hunter is indeed one of a kind. It has a special place in my heart since it is the last film I saw while my mother was alive. Which made its theme of childhood vs adults/loss of a mother and innocence resonate even more.
I think it is more psycho predators vs those weaker, but you go girl
"Night of the Hunter" is a visually stunning film with unforgettable performance by Robert Mitchum. I particularly appreciate the moment when the two kids are journeying in a boat illuminated by moonlight, with a shadowy forest, trees, and spider webs in the foreground, serving as representations of the peril they are trying to escape.
It's such a shame the contemporary critics hated the film and ended Laughton directorial career
And the shots of the automobile under water
The ending was awful
@@huugosorsselsson4122 This is true, it's a real wtf ending. Stylistic the movie is incredible but the resolution is very bad.
William Wyler’s work in the late 1950s was pretty special. Of course Ben-Hur (1959) is the standout work of art that honestly is the pinnacle of what movies were made for at that time, but I would also mention Wyler’s The Big Country (1958) just a year earlier. Very good western in my humble opinion that doesn’t get talked about in that specific genre
William Wyler is so underrated. I suspect it's because he did mostly straight dramas and didn't have a distinct look, but his films always look crisp and elegant, especially when he worked with Gregg Toland. My favorites of his are Dodsworth and The Best Years of Our Lives, but his '50s movies are excellent too. The Big Country...amazing soundtrack!
@@melanie62954 Of course you can’t not talk about The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). That is one of the only movies I’ve ever seen my father cry. It’s arguably Wyler’s best work. And you’re absolutely right. His films look immaculate. My copy of Ben-Hur remastered is gorgeous and holds up so well.
Mine are:
1. Kiss Me Deadly
2. Kiss Me Deadly
3. Kiss Me Deadly
4. The Night of the Hunter
5. Sweet Smell of Success
How can anyone who has lived the last almost quarter century think the 50's were a bad decade for films? More great cinema in that 10 years than since 2000. Not even close.
Whoever thinks the 50s are not that good dont know what a good movie is
Nah people have different tastes. Don’t be that guy. But there are great movies from every decade.
@@bbeaup lol I think you've missed peterpellechia's point!
They didn't say movies from other decades were bad.
Yeah, very true!
10. Some Like It Hot
9. The Bridge on the River Kwai
8. Alice in Wonderland
7. Rear Window
6. La Strada
5. Seven Samurai
4. Vertigo
3. 12 Angry Men
2. Sunset Boulevard
1. Singin’ in the Rain
Love this series, and fantastic list! I really agree with you that Vertigo feels like Hitchcock’s most ambitious as well as his most emotionally powerful work. Couple id personally add on to here off the top of my head would be Ikiru, Seventh Seal, Seven Samurai, Singin in the Rain, Rear Window and Paths of Glory
The 50s were such an incredible decade for movies. So many classics. I'll add some of my favourites: On the Waterfront, From Here to Eternity, Anatomy of a Murder, Touch of Evil, The Killing, Forbidden Planet, The Wages of Fear, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Rio Bravo, Rear Window.
Not sure how anyone could debate the greatness of the movies in the 50's. Sure, there were a lot of Pollyannish movies in the 50's, but there was also so many dark and/or perceptive social commentaries.
So, basically all of them were American?
@@sandorx4 seriously man who cares if a person likes their own cultures contributions the best? And also, technically the Bridge on the River Kwai is British.
Howe can anyone leave On the Waterfront of a list like this?
@@poocrayon4588 Since it's not very good? There shouldn't be any American films on best of lists. Vertigo is an anomaly.
On the Waterfront.
East of Eden.
A Streetcar named Desire.
Rebel without a Cause.
The Wild One.
Yep, it was the decade of Brando and Dean.
Great picks - I have Tokyo Story at no. 1 for the 1950s - you expressed my sentiments perfectly, it's a unique work of art
2-5 The Seven Samurai, Vertigo, Rear Window, Singin in The Rain
1950s for American cinema is almost as good as the 1970s, so many to choose from (Touch of Evil, All That Heaven Allows, Sweet Smell of Success, Some Like it Hot, The Searchers, Rio Bravo and Nicholas Ray (yes, In A Lonely Place, Bigger Than Life, Johnny Guitar) and many many more
and the emergence of world cinema (La Strada, Japanese cinema, Journey To Italy, Europa 51, French New Wave, Bergman)
Witness for the Prosecution.
Saw it the other night, still a perfectly crafted film. Wilder directs a British classic.
that movie is the definition of 🔥
Love to show this one to friends and family- they always get caught up in it, big time.
good list...the Searchers, Rear Window, Nrth by Nrth West should also be mentioned
From what Ive seen of the 50s:
5. 12 Angry Men
4. The Vikings (1958)
3. In A Lonely Place
2. Vertigo
1. Seven Samurai
HM:
The Wages Of Fear / The Big Heat / Sunset Boulevard/ Witness Of The Prosecution / Throne Of Blood /. Rio Bravo / High Noon / 3:10 To Yuma
Great to see some Top 5 love for "The Vikings," one of the decade's best Action/Adventure films.
Vertigo really stands up today. I saw it again last year. Just superb.
Absolutely agree with you regarding Vertigo - this film absolutely blows me away every single time and I've seen it well over 20 times now. It is without question my favorite movie of all time and I really enjoyed your analysis of it here. As a doctoral music student, I also have a really profound love for this film on a musical level too. Bernard Hermann's greatest score in my opinion even though his scores to "The Ghost of Mrs. Muir" and "Taxi Driver" are right up there for me also. Really enjoy your content and keep up the good work!
In a Lonely Place was the first Criterion I ever picked up after seeing it on TCM. It’s so much better than Sunset Boulevard & All About Eve which all came out the same year. Classy film for adults. Bogie was just a great actor.
Same here!
I don't like it. The Bogart character just seems like an uptight lunatic and isn't sympathetic to me in the slightest.
> so much better than All About Eve
The 50s was a wonderful decade for film. So many truly great movies.
Yes, and definitely much better than today's rubbish.
Personal top 5:
1.) Hiroshima Mon Amour
2.) Tokyo Twilight
3.) Paths of Glory
4.) Nights of Cabiria
5.) Pather Panchali
Great list ! Hiroshima is an absolute masterpiece.
tokyo twilight is really something.. amazing
A Face in the Crowd
Touch of Evil
The Killing
Ugetsu
The Seventh Seal
Ikiru
Night and the City
Bad Day at Black Rock
North by Northwest
Inferno (the best 3-D movie ever made). These are just off the top of my head. There are so many rewatchable classics to choose from, it's not hard to see how great a decade it really was for movies (and Looney Tunes).
Awesome to see "Bad Day at Black Rock" mentioned- definitely one of the tightest, most riveting dramas, 1950's or otherwise.
I put ABDIBR in my 5, love that movie
Touch of Evil, finally
I think every decade has its gems.
I don't understand those who say the 80s were a bad time for movies, because there are TONS of movies from the 80s that have become classics/influences and that's why you're seeing the resurgence of the 80s, today.
Def looking forward to more videos of your favorite films of the decades. Especially, the 80s and 90s.
Side note: Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms are a few of my favorite 1950s films.
One hardly ever sees “The Searchers” on these lists anymore. It used to be the goto for 50s Hollywood at its most artful. The most surprising omission based on what your taste seems to be is Seven Samurai.
Because John Wayne is not en vougue and neither are westerns - so you don't see intellectual types mention it.
All great choices! The 50's were a fantastic decade, 1957 in particular was a WILD year for classic film.
A wild...Strawberries year for classic film?
1.On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan 1954)
2.Pickup On South Street (Samuel Fuller 1953)
3.Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati 1958)
4.Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder 1959)
5.The Court Jester (Melvin Frank & Norman Panama 1955)
Tokyo Story was maybe the only film I’ve been to that the entire audience just sat in silence as it finished. People were openly weeping deeply. It’s a true masterpiece, although for me, his later Late Spring is even better. Incidentally, many of the scenes were shot in a small town called Imubari and you can still find some of the places it was filmed, including the achingly beautiful final scene. There is a small cinema museum in the town who give out a map (in Japanese only).
Late Spring is actually earlier than Tokyo Story
1. Shadows by John cassavettes
2. Ikiru by akira Kurosawa
3. H-8 by. Nikola tanhofer
4. The cranes are flying by Mikhali kalaozov
5. Bigger than life by Nicholas Ray.
You should get into filmmaking you have a lot of knowledge on film.
Bravo.
'Sunset Boulevard,' 'Tokyo Story' and 'Vertigo' are also in my top 5.
The others being 'On The Waterfront' and 'La Strada.'
I love the 50s. So many wonderful films spanning genres; crime noir, French realism, thrillers, American westerns. These days I find myself loving and appreciating the musicals a lot more; the MGM golden years, were truly golden. Talent that was unparalleled among performers, set design and direction.
Good choices, I'd pick Seven Samurai, Nights of Cabiria, Winchester 73, Pick Up on South Street, Rio Bravo, Paths of Glory, A Face in the Crowd, Them!, Rear Window, 12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront, The Seventh Seal.
Picnic & Middle of the Night both with Kim Novak
The Bachelor Party (These last two both written by Paddy Chayefsky and fantastic NYC location shooting in B&W
Clicked on the thumbnail so fast when I saw this. The 50s is my favorite era of movies, thanks for sharing your faves 🥰
I share your take on this, and was so excited to see possibly my favorite decade expertly covered by deepfocuslens (I'm a 1930's-1960's type of movie buff, as my channel attests to).
Just found your channel. I love your format talking to the people who send you comments. Tokyo Story had such a deep impact on me. I was crying at the end. I went on to watch many of his other films, truly a masterpiece.
Rear Window, The Searchers, and House On Haunted Hill are my personal favorites.
Love seeing some William Castle love.
Excellent list and commentary. I'd have to try and include All About Eve...
All my fave directors did their best work in the 50s. Ray, the other Ray, Kurosawa, Naruse, Wyler, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Fellini, Wilder, Ford...could go all day really.
VERTIGO, dude... Just one example to your points. Middle shot of Scottie, exits the room after talking to Judy, closes the door, the camera just slightly dollies to the left, stops, Judy's close up of the back of her head is in the frame (because of the hair, of course). THAT'S IT, that's all Hitch did! And the audience has no idea what's about to hit them. She slowly turns, breaks the 4th wall, flashback montage... Damn. Seen this 100 times, that seemingly simple 2 seconds camera move works on so many levels (technical, narrative, emotional). And the movie is a gold mine of this stuff.
I took your video as recommendation and watched In a Lonely Place. It’s really good! Very smart and complex screenplay. Thanks!
Some of my favourite 50s films:
Giant
The Desert Rats
Niagara
Another Time Another Place
The Bad and the Beautiful
Ben Hur
Seven Samurai
12 Angry Men
Some Like it Hot
I would never say this lightly, but what a truly wonderful list. I've never done a fifties movie list, but if I did, all of these would be in contention for my top ten. Probably along with Rashomon, the Searchers, Twelve Angry Men, The 400 Blows, and Rear Window.
Wow- you're definitely into my area of cinematic interest now. Great list and breakdown- "Hunter" might make my Top Five (or close to it) as well- among other things, it's one of the scariest movies ever, IMO. Think "Singin' in the Rain," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Strangers on a Train" might also make my line-up, but it would be a chore to try to end up with only five. Looking forward to you covering favorite films of the 1960s, 1940s and 1930s.
Besides Vertigo which you described so well I would like to mention A Streetcar Named Desire, the film with two of the greatest performances of all time, first Vivien Leigh representing the pinnacle of the classic acting method, and on the other side, Marlon Brando introducing modern acting. I was familiar with the play but the film is more powerful to me, specially because of the performances.
These selections pack a punch, especially in the context you've given. I look at Vertigo as the end of an era, or at least one aspect of it ... Hitchcock's approach to cinema when he made Vertigo was just a few years ahead of what people were ready for. He kept trying different things to see how he would survive into the 60s, because he clearly knew the old ways wouldn't work. The fact that Vertigo bombed and Psycho was a hit told him everything he wanted to know, which to me is a sort-of tragedy considering the possibilities Vertigo offered.
Tokyo Story now holds the #1 spot on Metacritic. There are definitely two categories of cinephiles: those puzzled by the hype around Tokyo Story, and those who see the ranking and say "well no duh".
It had occurred to me that despite your love of Luis Bunuel, I've never heard you talk about Los Olvidados. Makes me wonder if it would sneak onto your list someday down the road.
The 1950s is one of my favorite decades for film, and 1957 in particular might be my favorite individual year for film. 12 Angry Men is my favorite film of all time, and Paths of Glory (my favorite Kubrick film), Throne of Blood, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Cranes are Flying, Witness for the Prosecution, A Man Escaped, Sweet Smell of Success, A Face in the Crowd, Moby Dick (the definitive adaptation imo), and The Red Balloon are all perfect (or borderline perfect) films for me.
There are over a dozen other legendary films from that year I haven't even seen so I haven't listed them, that was a WILDLY stacked year.
I share many of your choices. I do feel that Tyrone Power's demeanor in Witness For The Prosecution was awkward-- Dana Andrews would have been a better fit.
I like your list very much.
@@darrylgreen5655 Wow, never thought of this- wish you had been a casting director back then! Andrews would've been awesome, and could've used the career boost!
Nice. I've never heard anyone say the 50s is a bad decade, Im surprised. I did a top 50...
1. The Ladykillers
2. La Strada
3. Umberto D
4. Throne of Blood
5. The 400 Blows
6. Bad Day at Black Rock
7. The Tingler
8. Hiroshima Mon Amour
9. Sapphire
10. A Bucket of Blood
11. The Killing
12. Singing in the Rain
13. Vertigo
14, Sunset Blvd
15. Patterns
16. The Seventh Seal
17. Rashomon
18. The Blackboard Jungle
19. Ordet
20. High Noon
21. Tokyo Story
22. On the Waterfront
23. All About Eve
24. Rear Window
25. 12 Angry Men
26. Seven Samurai
27. The Searchers
28. Harvey
29. Night of the Hunter
30. The Asphalt Jungle
31. The Lavender Hill Mob
32. Orpheus
33. Strangers on a Train
34. Forbidden Planet
35. A Man Escaped
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
37. Wild Strawberries
38. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
39. Some Like it Hot
40. North by Northwest
41. Black Orpheus
42. Anatomy of a Murder
43. Pickpocket
44. Good Morning
45. Diabolique
46. Kiss Me Deadly
47. Roman Holiday
48. The 5000 Fingers of Dr T
49. The Smallest Show on Earth
50. Touch of Evil
Great list and way to go. So hard to pick only 5. . .
@@slc2466 oh thank you! Yeah, looking at the recommendations and other people's lists in the comments here - there's so many big films I still have to see!
Great list
@@Bigfrank88 THANKS BIG FRANK!!!
1. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
2. Ben-Hur (1959)
3. Vertigo (1958)
4. Rear Window (1954)
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
6. Paths of Gory (1957)
7. North by Northwest (1959)
8. Some Like it Hot (1959)
9. 12 Angry Men (1957)
10. All About Eve (1950)
Love your choices, and totally agree on In a Lonely Place. I remember seeing it when I was about 14 or 15 and wondering why I'd never heard it discussed amongst the all-time greats. And why exactly is the 1950s considered a lesser decade for cinema? If we combine Hollywood and international cinema, it's incredibly rich, especially in comparison to everything post 1970s. In Hollywood alone, you've got Hitchcock, Ford, Hawks, Welles, Nic Ray, early Kubrick, Wilder, Fuller, Anthony Mann etc. That's nonsense if you ask me. Anyway, here's my favourites:
1. Vertigo
2. The Searchers
3. Rio Bravo
4. Touch of Evil
5. Pickpocket
Honourable mentions:
Tokyo Story, Seven Samurai, The Night of the Hunter, Ordet, Rear Window, A Man Escaped, Ugetsu, North By Northwest, Paths of Glory, The Killing, In a Lonely Place, Floating Weeds, Diary of a Country Priest, Sunset Boulevard, Shane, The Quiet Man, Sansho the Bailiff, Kiss Me Deadly, Sweet Smell of Success
Norma Desmond is the G.O.A.T.! So many good ones but I might put Sweet Smell of Success at #2.
1950s had a ton of great films. Some of my favorites are Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , House of Wax , Streetcar Named Desire and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Love you have "House of Wax" and "Creature" on your list- two more films that make it near-impossible to pick only five.
Dont forget the Blob
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) is my favorite from the 1950s.
Interesting that you say that the 50s is regarded as a down decade for movies. I've heard and read that it was a groundbreaking decade for film.
Also, as far as I'm concerned, saying the 80s is a down decade is blasphemy.
Great video, and analysis!
Superb choices, all five. I think the 50s was a great era for film - so many Hollywood classics from Hitchcock, Anthony Mann, Boetticher, Wilder - great Japanese films from Ozu, Mizoguchi, Naruse - 12 Angry Men, Ordet, Kiss Me Deadly... Good times!
In A Lonely Place inspired Ian Curtis from Joy Division ➗️ to write his last song which he did not live to record. New Order recorded it & it appears as the B-Side of their single Ceremony.
Night and the City, Sunset Boulevard, The Sweet Smell of Success, 12 Angry Men, Paths of Glory.
Her top 5: The Night of the hunter, Sunset Boulverde, Tokyo Story, in a lonely place, Vertigo
Great list, you replicated my feelings about these films perfectly! I do think the 1950's was a wonderful decade for the movies. I've seen almost 15,000 movies and only 50 ever scored 10. Many from the 1950's and Maggie, you found 4 of them (and the fifth scored a 9!). Suggestions: "Wild Strawberries", "A Man Escaped", "Asphalt Jungle" , "Ordet" and "Umberto D". Love your work, thank you so much.
Great suggestions, and what about Antonioni's Il Grido or The Vanquished
Whoa, only 50/15,000 scoring a 10? And I thought I was harsh haha. Think I've scored around 290 outta 6,000 a 10, roughly. I must be a pushover after all. Funnily enough, a sizable chunk of my highest rated films come from this decade as well. Some great suggestions you've got there, especially Ordet and A Man Escaped. I'm practically obsessed with Bresson and Dreyer.
@@objetocine Do you think they are on par with Antonioni's Monica Vitti era and Blow-Up?
@@ryanoneill3192 Hi Ryan, yup, my scale is almost logarithmic. I also never award a film with a 10 until i've seen it at least twice. What i love about Maggie's channel is her insights. She brilliantly describes why she loves movies versus what she loves.
Some Like It Hot (1959), 12 Angry Men (1957), and Sunset Boulevard (1950) are my top 3. Planning to see All About Eve (1950) and Rear Window (1954) this week.
I watched In a Lonely Place a few weeks ago very good and underrated film
Night of the Hunter!! I knew it. First 50s movie that comes to mind for me.
I think the 50s is probably the best movie decade ever
My top 10 that I come back to over and over...
1. North by Northwest
2. Ben-Hur
3. Bridge on the River Kwai
4. Vertigo
5. Shane
_____________
6. Anatomy of a Murder
7. Rear Window
8. Bad Day at Black Rock
9. Seven Days From Now (Boetticher)
10. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
----------------
HM>Witness for the Prosecution heads the long list
The 50s are packed with gems. Tons of Film Noir that I didn't even squeeze into the top 10. Hitch films like Strangers on a Train and The Wrong Man. Many Westerns. Kubricks Paths of Glory and The Killing. And then the foreign films.
Sunset Boulevard. I remember the first time I watched and I could not help thinking that I had somehow seen this before despite never having seen it. About 3/4 of the way through I suddenly realized that this was the movie that the old Carol Burnett "Nora Desmond" skit was actually a spoof of this film. I enjoyed the film and actually I ended up with a higher appreciation for the Carol Burnett show. Lol.
The 50s was an excellent decade for movies!
All About Eve
Diabolique
From Here To Eternity
The Hidden Fortress
Ikiru
La Strada
The Night of the Hunter
Nights of Cabiria
North by Northwest
On the Waterfront
Rashomon
Rear Window
Seven Samurai
Sunset Boulevard
12 Angry Men
Vertigo
...and the list goes on...!
"..just really, really, really rEAlly hard.." hmhmhm, indeed , rEAlly hard. all great films.
thanks for another nice, thoughtful presentation.
1. Seven Samurai
2. Throne of Blood
3. Sunset Boulevard
4. Touch of Evil
5. Vertigo
Solid list. The 1950’s definitely isn’t my favorite decade, but the movies I’ve enjoyed, I’ve done so even more given that great films were such an novelty.
The Asphalt Jungle
Kiss Me Deadly
The Killing
The Searchers
Forty Guns
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (so fun)
3:10 to Yuma
Touch of Evil
and I really need to give The 400 Blows another watch. I enjoyed its tone, but I wasn’t ready for that one when I watched it and I feel like I missed a lot of what it was telling me and it deserves another shot from me before I can assert it properly.
Excellent channel. Glad I found you last month.
You have great taste!
I have over 1200 films on my Letterboxd, with only 32 of them getting 5 stars.
Night of the Hunter, Vertigo & Sunset Boulevard are 3 of those (I haven't seen Tokyo Story or In a Lonely Place yet)
Vertigo is my 50’s favorite, and probably my 2nd favorite movie ever. For whatever reason, this movie grabbed me unlike any other movie on my first viewing. A big part of it is Bernard Herrmann’s soundtrack, and Kim Novak is absolutely magnificent as well. I love it more and more on each viewing.
On the waterfront. Brando changed film acting forever with his performance.
Your insight is valuable. I happen to like 1954's "Pushover" starring Fred MacMurray as a villain, and Kim Novak in her introductory role. Perhaps it would be safe to say the film is one of my favorite 50's "small films," as it wasn't going to garner any nods from the Academy or anywhere else. Miss Novak underplays the part in a way that is mature beyond her years and certainly beyond her experience when the film was produced. I have always considered Novak's work to supersede the shallow "bombshell" image Hollywood tried to pin on her.
12 Angry Men and Sunset Boulevard are definitely in my top 10 favorite films of all time.
12 Angry Men, Umberto D, A Face in the Crowd, Anatomy of a Murder, All About Eve ... but I love your list too because my list can change, day to day or depending on my mood. I mean I left out The Asphalt Jungle, Paths of Glory, The Hitchhiker, Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Les Diaboliques, The Killing, The Thing From Another World, Forbidden Planet, Voyage to Italy, I Vitelloni, La Strada, Strangers on a Train, The Day the Earth Stood Still, High Noon, Night of the Hunter, The wages of Fear, The Seventh Seal ... there are just too many to choose from. If pressed though, no film impacted me more than Umberto D, it's a personal favorite.
Agree- I started to list 4 or 5, then gave up locking anything in, as I started mulling over what I'd have to leave out.
Lists are virtually impossible. Usual the differences just reflect slight biases the individual might have. My Top 10 list has at least 20 films. lol@@slc2466
This was such a good list love every film here. I can watch any of these any time
10. The Seventh Seal
9. The Cranes Are Flying
8. Rear Window
7. Seven Samurai
6. The Searchers
5. Sunset Boulevard
4. Ikiru
3. Pather Panchali
2. Night of the Hunter
1. Vertigo
As others have already stated, 12 Angry Men was an excellent movie. Inherit the Wind just missed the decade but worth mentioning.
I am a sci-fi buff so a shout out for the Forbidden Planet Plant .
Definitely amazing films! I would also add Night of the Demon (1957). Perhaps not on the same level as the ones mentioned, yet one of my favourite horror films by the amazing Jacques Tourneur. PS. And of course some of the best Ingmar Bergman films were made in the 50s!
That movie is a lot of fun for old horror, but not too stupid as some of them from that time can be.
@@poocrayon4588 Most definitely! Perhaps one can argue “the Demon” was quite silly, although I don’t mind it at all and actually love the end scene with the train. Either way it wasn’t director’s choice and was added later in post production, from what I understand.
Great list as always. Tokyo Story is def in my top ten most days lol. And In A Lonely Place, fantastic pick, my favorite Bogey film. There was a time when I was going through Bogart's films and this one really stuck out and stayed with me. Even though he is in so many great films.
Really excellent list!
Some of my favourites:
East of Eden
Sweet Smell of Success
Bridge On The River Kwai
Some Came Running
Anatomy of a Murder
Can I make a suggestion. I’ve recently been watching A LOT of movies from early 30’s. Mainly pre-hays code films. Maybe it’s my age (47) but I’m enjoying all these vintage films A LOT more than anything today. I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with modern “cinema” apart from occasional gems. I just saw “Ladies They Talk About “ starring Barbara Stanwyck. Not great art but so entertaining and Stanwyck is brilliant. What’s your favourite from this period?
Great list. I always love when you do these decade videos. My only real nitpick is that 5 is way too little. Then again, I suppose it invites us to provide our own answers that weren't mentioned.
I especially love seeing the inclusion of "In a Lonely Place," as it's one of my favorite noirs and one of my professor's favorites as well. "Vertigo" is one of my all-time favorites, too. So many greats to choose from in the 50s.
I dont get In a Lonely place. The Bogart character just seems like an uptight nutcase. Why would I want to root for a guy like that?
1. Tokyo Story
2. Apu Trilogy
3. Bicycle Thieves
4. Sansho the Bailiff
5. Rear Window
HM: The 400 Blows, The Searchers, Wild Strawberries, Paths of Glory, Black Orpheus, Umberto D, Ugetsu, Dial M for Murder
Bicycle Thieves?
@@quirkyjoeAnimated oh, didn't realize that was the 40s. So I'll move up The 400 Blows to #5.
My Top 10 List from 1950’s
1. Seven Samurai
2. Rear Window
3. On the Waterfront
4. Paths of Glory
5. The Seventh Seal
6. Vertigo
7. Sunset Boulevard
8. North by Northwest
9. The Searchers
10. Rebel Without a Cause
North by northwest is my favourite movie of the 50s
Quite a decade for Hitchcock, with (at least) "Strangers on a Train, "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" also up there among the decade's finest.
Yeah but Vertigo is the one that modern day intellectuals feel smart for liking over films like Norht by Northwest or Rear Window. Can't pick something popular and people pleasing in it's own time.
@@poocrayon4588 I'd have to go with "Strangers" if I could only pick one 1950's Hitchcock.
The movie making in current times, do emphasize a lot on only cinematography and soundtrack only on elevating script or filmmaking, while in the past costume design, locations, set design, natural vast locations also elevated the filmmaking majority of times. Would you agree with that?
This may be my favorite video of yours that I've watched. Shout out to Fritz Lang's noir "The Big Heat", also featuring Gloria Graham and starring a young Glenn Ford, not to mention "The Asphalt Jungle", plus the two Kubrick films "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory". Nicholas Rey directed some really good films.
Fantastic List as always, some of my other favorites are..
Seventh Seal
Bridge on the River Kwai
Roman Holiday
The Searchers
Paths Of Glory
Rashomon
Singing In The Rain
Love your list, I have seen all of them, glad we agree on Night Of The Hunter. One of my favorite things about it is the songs and music score. Very haunting, what do you think of the music?
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) starring Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Ed Begley Sr was gripping and stark.
Hits OZU, RAY, and WILDER--among three of my favorite directors.
It was Tarantino who said 50s and 80s movies were the worst eras, but we’re talking about a director who praises exploitation and gore films (I still love his films, and as a director he’s a genius, but I never EVER take what he says seriously.).
50s era was full of masterpieces, Bergman, Wilder, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa, Ford, Houston, Kelly…
Agree- love Tarantino, but he's way off here. . .
Tarintino has the mentality of a pretentious 14 year old
Love QT but some of his film history takes are a little eye rolling.
Ha! Your list is VERY similar to mine. I would have Tales of Hoffmann at number one, Vertigo number two, In a Lonely Place number three. The Asphalt Jungle at number four, and Sansho the Bailiff at number five, with Tokyo Story and Sunset Boulevard and Night of the Hunter just missing out. Those three would without doubt be in my top ten.
I definitely see a connection between Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter, Yul Brynner in West World, and Robert Patrick in Terminator 2. There's something really scary about a patient, dogged killer that walks you down relentlessly. It's kind of there in It Follows, too.
or Principal Skinner?
Shwarzannegger said he was thinking of Yul Brynner is West World when he played the original Terminator.
1. 12 Angry Men
2. 7 Samurai
3. Vertigo
4. 7th Seal
5. Ivan The Terrible
A face in the crowd and the sweet smell of success are my personal favorites
In your review of "In A Lonely Place", you describe "Vertigo" as "much more operatic".. Vertigo as opera; what a brilliant, insightful; observation! Imagine Judy singing an aria as she writes her Dear Scottie letter or Scottie and Judy singing a duet as they climb the tower one final time.
Agree with you that Night of the Hunter is incredible. It has at least two great performances: the baddie and the boy.
Yes, Billy Chapin (who's really a co-lead with Mitchum) gives one of the best performances by a child, IMO.
Could you also do top performances of this decade at some point? Love classic movies!