NOTE: THIS SDG WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM
Films give us an eye into other cultures and other ways of seeing the world.
In this SDG we'll enjoy 14 films voted by film critics and directors as Best British and American Films Ever Made and explore what makes them great films.
The list of the best is taken from poll of directors and critics conducted every decade by “Sight and Sound” magazine, which is regarded as one of the most important "greatest ever film" lists.
American critic Roger Ebert described it as "by far the most respected of the countless polls of great movies—the only one most serious movie people take seriously."
In addition to watching each of films chosen by critics and directors as among the best, we'll look at the screenplays, and reviewers comments, and read or watch what the directors have said about the films.
Our goals will be:
First, to have fun.
Second, to enjoy watching some really great movies and talking about the stories they tell , and the culture, the settings and times where they take place, the characters, their motivations and their interactions, and what the films tell us about the human condition
In addition-- if and and to the extent there is interest among our participants-- we’ll offer additional sessions for each movie (attendance purely optional), where we will have a chance to look more closely at the finer points of moviemaking. There, we’ll look closely at the details of these films the way an aspiring screen writer or director (a young Spielberg, or Kubrick or Tarantino might look at how each of these films were put together; and the choices made by the screenwriter, cameraman, location manager, and most importantly, the director made, regarding the plot, the casting, the acting the dialogue, the screenplay, the settings, the camera work, , the lighting, the, the music, the editing, -- and how the director put everything together to make each of these into great film.
We’ll aim to have lively and fun discussions, and end up with a greater understanding of the choices writers, directors, cinematographers make; how these foreign movies reflect the cultures they depict, what they say about the universal human condition. And, and in the final analysis --how sometimes everything can come together to make a movie truly great,
So join us as we watch, discuss and analyze 14 films, that critics and directors say are the greatest British and American movies ever made.
Weekly Topics
We'll pick 14 out of the 21 films chosen by critics and directors as the best British and American films ever made, listed below (not necessarily in order of their ranking)
At the pre-meeting SDG participants will be able to choose which week and which film they want to lead the discussion on.
Movies will be available via streaming on Amazon, or Netflix and generally are also available to watch free on the internet via internet archive or YouTube or via other free streaming service.
Here’s the list we'll chose from (subject to possible minor revisions and additions):
1. Vertigo (1958)
2. Citizen Kane (1941)
3. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
4. The Godfather (1972)
5. The Searchers (1956)
6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
7. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
8. Apocalypse Now (1979)
9. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
10. Taxi Driver (1976)
11. Psycho (1960)
12. City Lights (1931)
13. Some Like It Hot (1959)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
16. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975)
17. Casablanca (1942)
18. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
19. Schindler’s List (1993)
20. Kind hearts and Coronets (1949)
21. Modern times (1936)
Movies will be available streaming on Amazon, or Netflix and generally also available to watch free on the internet via internet archive or YouTube or via other free streaming service.