100 Movies You Need To See - Part III: Historical Films

Because I've been so darned lazy getting this list out, I figure I should try and step it up a little more on the posting.  One of the tiny downsides which I was unaware of regarding Blogger is how well it handles information copied out of OpenOffice, and it apparently doesn't handle it very well.  Copying and pasting into Notepad and then from there into Blogger is kind of obnoxious, and a workflow killer, but it's what I have to deal with.

With that said, I thought I'd take a moment to introduce the historical genre.  History has long been a fascination with me.  If there was any one subject I loved in school, it was history, and I tended to put a little extra effort into my history reports.  Historical films often get confused with genre films and vice versa (Gladiator stands out as one example; even though it's a great flick, it's not terribly accurate in terms of historical events).  For me, historical films (and their close cousins, the bio-pics) are a great way to at least get a good overview of an event or a figure out of the past.  They serve as introductions, trailheads for the curious to follow into the past. 

Let's take a walk, shall we?

El Cid – It's old, but the production values are top notch, and the battle sequences are classic.
Zulu – Michael Caine's first film, and still delivers the goods even after all these years.
Zulu Dawn – Although it was made after Zulu, it covers the historical events immediately prior.  The cast is just as impressive and the action is just as brutal.
The Wind & The Lion – A good old fashioned “swords in the desert” movie.  Sean Connery isn't exactly the most convincing as a Berber, but Brian Keith looks completely right as Teddy Roosevelt.
The Ghost & The Darkness – Although a few parts have doubtlessly been altered, it's still the best “African safari” story out there.
The Lighthorsemen – A WWI story that gets out of the European trenches.
Black Hawk Down – Some of the characters are composites, but the events of the day are accurate. The sad part is the place hasn't changed much since then.
The Great Escape – Again, characters are often composites, but the circumstances regarding the escape are accurate.
Patton – Who else but George C. Scott could possibly portray an ego like George S. Patton?
Enemy At The Gates – You don't see a lot of WWII stories told from the Soviet side.  Albeit with some historical inaccuracies, it's still a hell of a good story.

Next time: Comedies

100 Movies You Need To See - Part II: Sci-Fi

OK, just ever so slightly delayed, but here. 

Science fiction is pretty much a staple of a geek's existence.  We gravitate to spaceships and dinosaurs around the same time other kids start going for the footballs and Barbie dolls.  But there's more to sci-fi than just Star Trek and Star Wars, however.  Sometimes it's hard sci-fi, like what we'd find in the pages of Analog or Issac Asimov's Magazine.  Sometimes, it's softer sci-fi, leaning into towards science fantasy or delving into the more human aspects of sci-fi.  These are ten that I think ought to be seen by just about everybody.

Primer – This is a perfect example of how to make a great “hard” sci-fi movie on a small budget and still have it be believable.  Like any good movie involving time travel, this one will bake your noodle.
Donnie Darko – This one works as sci-fi, thriller, fantasy, and even horror to some extent.  It's a skull twister, not only because of it's focus on time travel and the fate/free will argument, but the way it makes teen alienation strangely more understandable.
The Thirteenth Floor – A couple months after The Matrix came out, this one proposed that we might be living in a computer simulation in a more subtle fashion. 
Serenity – The movie followup, and conclusion, to the TV series Firefly.  Seeing the series isn't necessary to enjoy the movie, but it sure helps add to the enjoyment.
Silent Running – This one might be more disturbing now than it was when it was first released.  The premise of containing chunks of Earth's biomes inside geodesic modules on board spacecraft is a little less academic these days.
Forbidden Planet – It's an oldie but a goodie.  Also works as a monster movie.  And it reminds you that Leslie Nielsen used to be a serious actor the same way Tom Hanks used to be a comedian.
A Boy And His Dog – While the world isn't quite as close to nuclear annihilation as it might have been years ago, this one strikes a definite chord for what life might be like when everything's been smashed down to bedrock.
Space Truckers - Not every sci-fi movie has to be super-serious.  Sci-fi can also be a playground for comedy.  Sometimes, really campy comedy.  Dennis Hopper might have done this one for the paycheck, but he earned every penny.
Outland – Essentially “High Noon” set in space, it shows Sean Connery really can act beyond James Bond.
Rollerball – Not the shit remake that came out a couple years ago.  The original.  Yes, there's a definite '70s vibe to it.  But it still works.

Next: Historical films