Modern Times
Year Released: 1936 Charlie Chaplin was the comic relief that the world needed during the Great Depression and some of the most troubling times society had seen. He took serious situations and satirized them, providing laughs when there weren’t very many reasons to smile.
In 1989, the Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally significant” and it was preserved in the National Film Registry. The film has also made several of AFI’s “100 Movies” lists.
The Dark Knight
Year Released: 2008 Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight is hands-down one of the best films in the Batman franchise. Christian Bale plays the superhero, trying to save the city from the maniacal Joker. The iconic villain was played by the late Heath Ledger in his final role on film, which won him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
The film holds a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4/4 from Roger Ebert. But critics weren’t the only ones who ate it up. Audiences loved the film, too, with one member saying it was the “sequel we deserved to the Batman we wanted,” and went on to add, “Heath Ledger is a legend!” Yes, yes he is.
Chinatown
Year Released: 1974 With a nearly perfect rating of 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, Chinatown has been hailed as director Roman Polanski’s best film. It stars a young Jack Nicholson as a detective hired to investigate a case of adultery and ends up stumbling upon something much larger and darker.
The film won several awards in 1975, including the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and four Golden Globes; Best Motion Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Director. It also won a number of other awards including BAFTAs and the Bodil Award for Best American Film.
All About Eve
Year Released: 1950 Joseph L. Mankiewicz both wrote and directed this 1950 drama, based on a short story called The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr. Bette Davis stars as an aging Broadway star whose career is threatened by a young woman who worms her way into her life. It is widely known for being one of the best films of all time.
AFI ranked the film number 16 on their 100 Best American Films list, and it was one of the first 50 in history to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It won an outstanding number of Oscars and Golden Globes, including Best Picture, Best Motion Picture, and Best Director, and was nominated for a score of others.
Kes
Year Released: 1969 This British drama directed by Ken Loach is based on a 1968 novel titled A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines. It tells the story of an abused young boy who forms a strong bond with a falcon – only to have the relationship end in tragedy.
It won several awards in 1970 and 1971, including the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for Best British Screenplay and the British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.