One question people always ask is what are the greatest films of all-time. There is a lot of different criteria that goes into coming up with a list and it all depends on your taste mainly due to all film being subjective and everyone liking or disliking the same/different things. I've decided to do a new series in which I try to decide what I think are the greatest films of all-time. One way to help do that is by deciding what the best films of each decade are. Each month until October I will choose what I think are the best films from each decade and in November I will take the number one films in each decade and put them into a top 10 greatest films of all-time list. Now the list will bot be based on scores or my own personal lists, but based off the popularity of each film and how much of an effect it has had or is having on film today. For example my favorite film of all-time is The Dark Knight, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I think it is the greatest film of its decade. For this month I'm going to bring you the top 10 films of the 1940's. So without further ado...
10. How Green Was My Valley
One of the greatest upsets of all-time when it comes to the Best Picture Oscar is How Green Was My Valley over the the heavily favored Citizen Kane. Now some people will often call this film the worst Best Picture winner of all-time. Now while I can almost agree with this, you do have to give this film a little credit. Like Grapes of Wrath (which will be mentioned later) it basically follows one family struggling to survive in the 19th Century. It was basically the first film to talk about the depression based in an era when the depression hadn't happened yet. It's masterfully directed by John Ford who is known for using his surroundings in the best way possible and making them apart of the film. If any film deserved to knock off Citizen Kane then it was this film.
9. The Grapes of Wrath
This film is significant mainly for it's story. At the time this film came out the United States was only 7 years removed from The Great Depression and it was the worst time to live in America. You would think that for the people who survived it wouldn't necessarily want to see a film based on the event, but they instead did and love the film. It mainly focuses on one family an while you don't get the full scope of the depression, you can see how it effects one family while imagining that happening to millions of families around the country. it shows the true American spirit of enduring through the rough times in life and at the end you can get the sense of hope in beyond the horizon waiting on the other side.
8. The Great Dictator
You all know I'm a Chaplin fan and to be honest you have to through one in a best of list due to the fact that they changed the way we tell stories to find humor in things that weren't all that funny. Chaplin was know for hating speaking films and it was one of th reasons he gave up the famed "Tramp" persona. His realization of the industry was changing made this film what it is today. He was able to take his style of humor and mix it in with dialogue and it just makes for an absolutely hilarious film. Also the speech at the end of the film has recently been passed around as something we as Americans should listen to and if that doesn't for the film being relevant today, then I don't know what is.
7. The Third Man
If you read my reviews then you know that I often mention cinematography being either a bright or low spot in the film. Camera work is everything in a film and without good camera work, your film can instantly be a disaster. In the 1940's cinematography began to get huge and different styles of shots and angles were used and are still used to this day. The film has a lot of wide shots with diagonal camera angles that get you a sense of awkwardness. One of the pioneers for cinematography developing it the way it did was due to Orson Welles who also starred in this film so you can see why this film film looks so good as do a couple of his other films (one will be mentioned later).
6. Rebecca
Two of the greatest minds when it comes to making films are Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick and putting those two together to make a film is one of the more brilliant ideas in the history of film. This film has everything you could want in a Hitchcock film such as a haunting script and score, terrific acting, amazing cinematography and it's just an overall great film. Speaking of cinematography, it's a film that introduced a lot of different styles and it basically paved the way for films such as Citizen Kane and The Third Man. It has a crazy twist ending that you don't expect and it's a film that can appeal to both genders. It's also the first Best Picture winner of the 1940's and it was also the first and only film to win the award without winning any awards for directing, acting or writing.
5. Fantasia
At the time of this movie's release Walt Disney was beginning to come to the height of his power with animated films and one of the films he took a risk on was this mainly due to the fact there is not spoken dialogue in the film. The film is made of a bunch of various shorts all set to some of the most iconic music pieces. This film could've went south several ways and it was able to make every short feel like it belonged and the music in each short was perfect of each one. The film gave you an idea of what you could do with animation and how you can blend different styles to make one cohesive film. While the film was not financially successful at the time, the film has since gotten amazing critical praise and it could be considered one of the more epic based films of all-time.
4. It's A Wonderful Life
If you want a film that teaches you about having good morals than this is the film for you. It has heart and emotion and it takes you on a journey that resembles Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol. It also talks about not giving up your dreams, but still being able to help people at the same time. The performance of James Stewart is one of the best of all-time and possibly one of the most iconic. He just brings so much emotion to every scene and you truly feel for his pain. Also a film that still gets shown on tv year after year at the same time has to make this film iconic in every sense of the word. It's an American tradition as well as a Christmas tradition.
3. The Maltese Falcon
A film that basically shapes and creates a genres deserves a spot on a list like this. The Maltese Falcon is one of the best films of all-time and it could very well be one of the top 10 films of all-time, but it's only the third best film of the decade. The film uses a unique style of editing that almost looks like 3 scenes blending together at once which is outstanding considering the time the film was made. It uses low camera angles to give you a sense of feeling that everyone is a suspect and that everyone has a motive. To go along with the low angles, the film also has a lot of dark lit scenes that help build the ominous tone within the film. With those technical aspects, it helps develop the crime drama making them dark and mysterious to the point where they can be almost as haunting as horror films.
2. Citizen Kane
Now some of you might be surprised to see this film at the number 2 spot instead of the number one spot. Some people consider Citizen Kane the greatest film of all-time and rightfully so, but it just isn't as memorable as the film that made the number one spot. This film basically revolutionized cinematography and the way we use cameras today. One of the scenes that perfectly describes that is the scene where Charles Kane is giving one of his masterful speeches and the camera swings down and glides towards him and that technique is still used to this day. It also became the the quintessential bio-pic basing it off of William Randolph Hurst and it showed how you can make a bio-pic while also making it semi-propaganda.
1. Casablanca
I think everyone knew that this film would be number 1 after seeing Citizen Kane being the number 2 film. The film is a masterpiece and it is one of the most quotable films of all-time with as many as 7 being named to the 100 greatest quotes list done by AFI in 2005. To have that many quotes still used today automatically gives this film a lasting impact. It also gave us an introduction to the anti-hero character type that we still use today and an emotional story that just flows so smoothly. It's a perfect representation of what Hollywood was in the 1940's and the types of films they were willing to make. This is the best film of the 1940's.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the list, what films should be added or deleted and what do you think is the greatest film of the 1940's? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. How Green Was My Valley
One of the greatest upsets of all-time when it comes to the Best Picture Oscar is How Green Was My Valley over the the heavily favored Citizen Kane. Now some people will often call this film the worst Best Picture winner of all-time. Now while I can almost agree with this, you do have to give this film a little credit. Like Grapes of Wrath (which will be mentioned later) it basically follows one family struggling to survive in the 19th Century. It was basically the first film to talk about the depression based in an era when the depression hadn't happened yet. It's masterfully directed by John Ford who is known for using his surroundings in the best way possible and making them apart of the film. If any film deserved to knock off Citizen Kane then it was this film.
9. The Grapes of Wrath
This film is significant mainly for it's story. At the time this film came out the United States was only 7 years removed from The Great Depression and it was the worst time to live in America. You would think that for the people who survived it wouldn't necessarily want to see a film based on the event, but they instead did and love the film. It mainly focuses on one family an while you don't get the full scope of the depression, you can see how it effects one family while imagining that happening to millions of families around the country. it shows the true American spirit of enduring through the rough times in life and at the end you can get the sense of hope in beyond the horizon waiting on the other side.
8. The Great Dictator
You all know I'm a Chaplin fan and to be honest you have to through one in a best of list due to the fact that they changed the way we tell stories to find humor in things that weren't all that funny. Chaplin was know for hating speaking films and it was one of th reasons he gave up the famed "Tramp" persona. His realization of the industry was changing made this film what it is today. He was able to take his style of humor and mix it in with dialogue and it just makes for an absolutely hilarious film. Also the speech at the end of the film has recently been passed around as something we as Americans should listen to and if that doesn't for the film being relevant today, then I don't know what is.
7. The Third Man
If you read my reviews then you know that I often mention cinematography being either a bright or low spot in the film. Camera work is everything in a film and without good camera work, your film can instantly be a disaster. In the 1940's cinematography began to get huge and different styles of shots and angles were used and are still used to this day. The film has a lot of wide shots with diagonal camera angles that get you a sense of awkwardness. One of the pioneers for cinematography developing it the way it did was due to Orson Welles who also starred in this film so you can see why this film film looks so good as do a couple of his other films (one will be mentioned later).
6. Rebecca
Two of the greatest minds when it comes to making films are Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick and putting those two together to make a film is one of the more brilliant ideas in the history of film. This film has everything you could want in a Hitchcock film such as a haunting script and score, terrific acting, amazing cinematography and it's just an overall great film. Speaking of cinematography, it's a film that introduced a lot of different styles and it basically paved the way for films such as Citizen Kane and The Third Man. It has a crazy twist ending that you don't expect and it's a film that can appeal to both genders. It's also the first Best Picture winner of the 1940's and it was also the first and only film to win the award without winning any awards for directing, acting or writing.
5. Fantasia
At the time of this movie's release Walt Disney was beginning to come to the height of his power with animated films and one of the films he took a risk on was this mainly due to the fact there is not spoken dialogue in the film. The film is made of a bunch of various shorts all set to some of the most iconic music pieces. This film could've went south several ways and it was able to make every short feel like it belonged and the music in each short was perfect of each one. The film gave you an idea of what you could do with animation and how you can blend different styles to make one cohesive film. While the film was not financially successful at the time, the film has since gotten amazing critical praise and it could be considered one of the more epic based films of all-time.
4. It's A Wonderful Life
If you want a film that teaches you about having good morals than this is the film for you. It has heart and emotion and it takes you on a journey that resembles Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol. It also talks about not giving up your dreams, but still being able to help people at the same time. The performance of James Stewart is one of the best of all-time and possibly one of the most iconic. He just brings so much emotion to every scene and you truly feel for his pain. Also a film that still gets shown on tv year after year at the same time has to make this film iconic in every sense of the word. It's an American tradition as well as a Christmas tradition.
3. The Maltese Falcon
A film that basically shapes and creates a genres deserves a spot on a list like this. The Maltese Falcon is one of the best films of all-time and it could very well be one of the top 10 films of all-time, but it's only the third best film of the decade. The film uses a unique style of editing that almost looks like 3 scenes blending together at once which is outstanding considering the time the film was made. It uses low camera angles to give you a sense of feeling that everyone is a suspect and that everyone has a motive. To go along with the low angles, the film also has a lot of dark lit scenes that help build the ominous tone within the film. With those technical aspects, it helps develop the crime drama making them dark and mysterious to the point where they can be almost as haunting as horror films.
2. Citizen Kane
Now some of you might be surprised to see this film at the number 2 spot instead of the number one spot. Some people consider Citizen Kane the greatest film of all-time and rightfully so, but it just isn't as memorable as the film that made the number one spot. This film basically revolutionized cinematography and the way we use cameras today. One of the scenes that perfectly describes that is the scene where Charles Kane is giving one of his masterful speeches and the camera swings down and glides towards him and that technique is still used to this day. It also became the the quintessential bio-pic basing it off of William Randolph Hurst and it showed how you can make a bio-pic while also making it semi-propaganda.
1. Casablanca
I think everyone knew that this film would be number 1 after seeing Citizen Kane being the number 2 film. The film is a masterpiece and it is one of the most quotable films of all-time with as many as 7 being named to the 100 greatest quotes list done by AFI in 2005. To have that many quotes still used today automatically gives this film a lasting impact. It also gave us an introduction to the anti-hero character type that we still use today and an emotional story that just flows so smoothly. It's a perfect representation of what Hollywood was in the 1940's and the types of films they were willing to make. This is the best film of the 1940's.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the list, what films should be added or deleted and what do you think is the greatest film of the 1940's? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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