Jackie Wilson Asheeke
As an obsessive movie lover, I was heartbroken to read that the release of the new James Bond 007 movie No Time To Die has been postponed again! I was doubly upset that the live action Mulan film was released to Disney + which does not show in Namibia.
Since the pandemic hit, I have resigned myself to enjoying movies at home. I have decided to refine my list of the greatest movies of all time and spend the next few months enjoying them again.
There are thousands of movies (made for television or the big screen) that I have seen that are enjoyable, good, funny, moving, shocking and fulfilling. But, they don’t make my list of ‘GREAT.’ For that, I look for timeless plots, great acting, an excellent script/story, and something you could watch and understand in 2020 the same way as when it was done maybe in 1939 or 1956 or 1992.
When I decided my list of the greatest movies of all time, you will note that there are extremely few comedies or horror films on my list. I do not prefer movies in those genres. I abhor subtitles or dubbed movies – so those are not on my list.
My list has American films. Well…It is what it is.
There are lots of powerful movies about slavery, lynching and white supremacy, and the evil of the Nazis, but I avoid them when I can. They are truthfully rendered and I walk away from them feeling angry. I want to be motivated by a great movie, but entertainment has to be a part of my movie-going experience.
I have no problem with detailed sex scenes or bloody, graphic violence, BUT…they must fit into the plot. I have no time for gratuitous scenes inserted into a movie to be salacious.
I happen to not like movies where the hero dies. Sometimes, it is unavoidable in the plotline of really great movies. But, I am a ‘happily-ever-after snob.’
In a departure from the today’s cancel culture, there are movies that I consider great even if others feel they are politically incorrect in a 2020 definition.
I did not list the movies in any particular order. Send in some of your ‘Great’ movie choices! – Jackie@observer.com.na
The GodFather (1972)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Malcolm X (1992)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Black Panther (2018)
Hidden Figures (2016)
The Help (2011)
Ben Hur (1959)
Star Wars (the entire series)
Love Story (1971)
Gaslight (1944)
Harlem Nights (1989)
The 10 Commandments (1956)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Casablanca (1943)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mrs Minniver (1942)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Patton (1970)
Out of Africa (1985)
Unforgiven (1992)
Forest Gump (1994)
The 6th Sense (1999)
The Lord of the Rings, All three movies (2001-2003)
True Grit (1969)
