American Films That Give Me Something To Think About !!
"Film will only become an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." - Jean Cocteau
"Every poem is a coat of arms. It must be deciphered." - Jean Cocteau
American films that "feed my head" in some way. This list isn't in any order of preference or quality. I just add "thought provoking" American films as they come to mind.
"Every poem is a coat of arms. It must be deciphered." - Jean Cocteau
American films that "feed my head" in some way. This list isn't in any order of preference or quality. I just add "thought provoking" American films as they come to mind.
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsFrank SilveraKenneth HarpPaul MazurskyFour soldiers trapped behind enemy lines must confront their fears and desires.dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Fandor.com. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenA mentally unstable American general orders a hydrogen bomb attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to global nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.screenplay: Stanley Kubrick et al.
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterWhen a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.screenplay: Stanley Kubrick et al.
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video. - DirectorAaron SchneiderStarsRobert DuvallBill MurraySissy SpacekA movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.Robert Duvall. Bill Murray. Sissy Sapcek.
After 30 years in seclusion in the wilderness, a hermit contacts the undertaker at his nearby hometown to arrange conducting a funeral for himself while he's still alive & wants to invite the whole town to attend. - DirectorSean PennStarsJack NicholsonDavid MorseAnjelica HustonFreddy Gale is a seedy jeweller who has sworn to kill the drunk driver who killed his little girl.Jack Nicholson. David Morse. Anjelica Huston.
Director & Writer: Sean Penn.
Nicholson delivers a brilliant portrayal of a man whose obsession with revenge is destroying his life & driving him to the brink of insanity. - DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean ConneryRob BrownF. Murray AbrahamForrester, the author of a famous book, decides to help Jamal, a 16-year-old student, discover his writing prowess by mentoring him and enrolling him into a prestigious private school.Sean Connery. Rob Brown.
The unlikely alliance between an eccentric & reclusive old White man & a poor, disadvantaged Black teenager proves, in the end, to benefit both of them. - DirectorsJohn SturgesFred ZinnemannStarsSpencer TracyFelipe PazosHarry BellaverAn old Cuban fisherman's dry spell is broken after he hooks a gigantic fish that drags him out to sea.Spencer Tracy.
Ernest Hemingway's novel.
A classic portrayal of Man's never ending struggle with Nature. - DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.Henry Fonda & a great ensemble supporting cast.
On a jury of 12 White men, only one man has the guts to stand up & argue that they can not just throw away a young man's life with a hasty decision, even if he is a poor, lower class Latino. - DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBradley CooperJennifer LawrenceRobert De NiroAfter a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.Bradley Cooper. Jennifer Lawrence. Robert De Niro.
A mentally ill man & a mentally ill woman find sanity & romance while practicing as a couple for a ballroom dance competition. - DirectorGus Van SantStarsRobin WilliamsMatt DamonBen AffleckA therapist counsels Will Hunting, a janitor with a genius IQ.Matt Damon. Robin Williams. Ben Affleck. Minnie Driver.
A brilliant & inspiring story of how a young man's low self image was keeping from realizing his true potential. - DirectorJohn MaddenStarsLiam NeesonPatricia ArquetteGil RoodA new pastor arrives in a stark Vermont village and is intrigued by crippled, misshapen Ethan Frome living on an isolated, hardscrabble farm with his sickly wife Zeena.Liam Neeson. Patricia Arquette.
Although set in the 1800's, this film gives an excellent portrayal of life in a small town, replete with narrowed minded, judgmental "small town thinking", & where everybody knows everybody else's business, & that is still very much alive & well in small town America even today. - DirectorCraig GillespieStarsRyan GoslingEmily MortimerPaul SchneiderA delusional young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.Ryan Gosling. Emily Mortimer.
Delusional, but lovable, & good natured small town guy buys an inflatable sex doll on the Internet & tells his family & everyone else in town that he loves her & that he's going to marry her & he's sincere about it. Everybody in town goes overboard to go along with him because they've known him & loved him his whole life. - DirectorElia KazanStarsJames DeanRaymond MasseyJulie HarrisTwo brothers in 1910s California struggle to maintain the favor of their affectionate but strict, Bible-toting father as an old secret about their long-absent mother comes to light.James Dean,
James Dean gives a brilliant portrayal of the classic dilemma of a boy who just can't get his father's approval & validation, no matter how hard he tries. - DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckJohn MegnaFrank OvertonA widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama defends a black man against a false rape charge while teaching his young children about the sad reality of prejudice.Gregory Peck.
Harper Lee's novel. - DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJoel TorreChris CooperGarret DillahuntA fictional account of events during the Philippine-American War.director: John Sayles.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames DeanNatalie WoodSal MineoA rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.James Dean.
A classic portrayal of the disintegration of the nuclear family in Modern America. - DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsJohn TravoltaDustin HoffmanAlan AldaA distraught man inadvertently takes a group of children hostage in a museum while a hungry, seasoned reporter tries to resurrect his career covering the story.John Travolta. Dustin Hoffman.
- DirectorJesse PeretzStarsPaul RuddElizabeth BanksZooey DeschanelA comedy centered on an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters.Paul Rudd.
The protagonist is a free thinking, free loving guy with a very unconventional life style. His three sisters all have alternative lifestyles that are only a little more "normal" than his. Together, they kick the "Establishment" dogma in the teeth that preaches that true happiness lies only in living "The American Dream". - DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.James Dean. Rock Hudson. Elizabeth Taylor.
James Dean delivers a brilliant portrayal of a character that goes through a more radical transformation of personality than I have seen in any other film. - DirectorJerry ZaksStarsMeryl StreepLeonardo DiCaprioDiane KeatonAfter seventeen years, a fiercely independent woman and her rebellious son return home and together they turn the family she left behind upside down.Meryl Streep. Leonardo Di'Caprio.
Diane Keaton. Robert De Niro. - DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.James Stewart
A classic portrayal of the well worn tale of the young, naïve idealist who takes on the corrupt Establishment. - DirectorJames FrancoStarsJames FrancoTim Blake NelsonJim ParrackBased on the classic novel by William Faulkner, first published in 1930, "As I Lay Dying" is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family's quest to honor her last wish to be buried in the nearby town of Jefferson.James Franco.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.James Stewart. Donna Reed.
- DirectorTim RobbinsStarsSusan SarandonSean PennRobert ProskyA nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.Susan Sarandon. Sean Penn.
