Sweet Smell of Success
Year Released: 1957 Sweet Smell of Success first came out in 1957, created by Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions. It stars the legendary Burt Lancaster as a newspaper columnist who doesn’t approve of his younger sister’s growing relationship with a jazz musician. So, he hired a public relations specialist to get between them and destroy the romance.
The drama noir has racked up a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but when it debuted, it didn’t exactly get the best reaction from fans. In fact, it did pretty terribly at the box office. But critics felt differently, with the New York Herald and Time magazine even putting it on their top-ten best films of the year lists.
Touch of Evil
Year Released: 1958 This 1958 film noir stars Orson Welles, who also happens to be the movie’s writer and director. It tells the tale of corrupt law enforcement officers in Mexico, and, aside from Welles, stars Janet Leigh, Charlton Heston, Akim Tamiroff, and Joseph Calleia. It is commonly referred to as one of Welles’ best motion pictures.
The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the U.S National Film Registry in 1993, and it continues to impress those who see it for the first time in the 2020’s, which is evidenced by its 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Grapes of Wrath
Year Released: 1940 Film legend Henry Fonda stars in this 1940 film, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by John Steinbeck. It can be risky business to adapt a novel into a screenplay, as you risk irritating fans of the original. But The Grapes of Wrath film was well-received by audiences and critics and followed the novel closely.
Film critic Bosley Crowther called the movie “one of the best fifty films ever made.” The Film Daily’s 1940 poll called it the second-best film of the year (Rebecca was first.)
Reservoir Dogs
Year Released: 1992 This early 90’s crime thriller was Quentin Tarantino’s first feature-length film, and he didn’t disappoint. It’s become a cult masterpiece, with Empire listing it as the single “Greatest Independent Film of All Time.” Now that we’re all used to Tarantino’s love for gore, it’s not so shocking, but it was seen as controversial at the time of its release.
Still, the film was a huge hit, both with critics and audiences. It’s only gained more popularity and notoriety over the years as Tarantino continued to put out hits. In 1993, it won the Critic’s Award at the 4th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.
Spotlight
Year Released: 2015 Spotlight is aptly named, as it definitely shines just that on the Catholic Church’s coverups of thousands of cases of clergy members sexually abusing children. The film stars Mark Ruffalo as a reporter at the Boston Globe who’s tasked with interviewing victims and digging up proof of the church’s involvement in burying evidence of the crimes (which they do, by the way.) It garnered nearly $99 million at the box office against a budget of $20 million.
The film won a score of awards in 2016, including the Academy Awards for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and three Critics’ Choice Awards, among many others.