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.
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.
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.
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.
The Third Man
Year Released: 1949 Orson Welles is known both in and out of the film industry for being one of the best filmmakers of all time. His work on-screen in The Third Man is no different, and is highly regarded as a favorite, both in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The British Film Institute called it the greatest film in history in 1999, and a poll of 150 actors, directors, critics and producers in Time Out magazine ranked it second-best of all time. It won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and was nominated for two others, including Best Director, and also won the British Academy Film Award for Best British Film.