Year Released: 1997 This 1997 neo-noir crime thriller was based on Jame’s Ellroy’s novel which was published seven years before the film hit theaters. It stars Kim Basinger, Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito, along with Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, whose careers both skyrocketed after taking part in this production.
L.A Confidential, which tells the tale of police corruption in Los Angeles during Hollywood’s Golden Age, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Of the nine, it won two, including Best Supporting Actress (for Kim Basinger,) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
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.
The Kid
Year Released: 1921 The oldest and only silent film on our list so far, The Kid is a black and white film starring the legendary Charlie Chaplin in his first full-length feature. But Chaplin wasn’t just the star of the show, he also wrote, directed, and produced it.
Critics had nothing but wonderful things to say about it upon its release, including one review in Theatre Magazine that said, “The Kid may be counted as a screen masterpiece.”
His Girl Friday
Year Released: 1940 If you haven’t seen this 1940 romantic comedy, you must add it to your list for movie nights. His Girl Friday stars Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and tells the story of a newspaper editor and reporter who get wrapped up in a murder case.
The film made number 19 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Years and 100 Laughs. In 1993, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”