Year Released: 1940 We’ve headed back in time to 1940, when this romantic comedy directed by George Cukor hit the scene. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn star as a young married couple on the verge of divorce. Critics seem to agree that the storyline is one of the best of its time, with one calling it a “beautifully spun tale.”
The film won the Academy Award for Best Writing in an Adapted Screenplay and brought in $3.3 million – which was a lot of money in 1940.
Shadow of a Doubt
Year Released: 1943 It shouldn’t come as a surprise there are a few Alfred Hitchcock films popping up on this list. Shadow of a Doubt is a psychological thriller full of murder and mystery, but unlike the majority of Hitchcock films, is somewhat of a slow burn. The director has apparently said it’s his favorite of all that he’s created.
The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Story and won the Satellite Award for Best Classic DVD. It has a 4/4 from Roger Ebert and a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Inception
Year Released: 2010 Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this unique sci-fi film from Christopher Nolan that delves into lucid and hive-mind dream exploration. Audiences and critics alike went wild for the film, which the latter referred to as “wholly original,” and “cut from a new cloth.” And, indeed it’s not like anything we’ve ever seen before.
Inception was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, including the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for four more, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
Cool Hand Luke
Year Released: 1967 With a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Cool Hand Luke is an absolute classic from the Golden Age of Hollywood. The film stars Paul Newman as the title character, Luke, a man who’s sentenced to a rough prison camp. Newman ended up being nominated for an Oscar for his part.
And, even those who’ve never even seen the film are probably still aware of its most famous line; “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate,” which has become a popular saying since the movie’s release in 67’.
Rebecca
Year Released: 1940 Next on our list is an Alfred Hitchcock film. This time, it’s for his 1940 picture, Rebecca. This was actually Hitchcock’s first American-made movie, and by far one of his best.
Rebecca won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture (the only one of those particular awards the director ever won.) It was also awarded Best Cinematography and was nominated for nine others.