Top 10 Movies of ALL TIME

Citizen Kane (1941)
Newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion, speaking a single word: ... starring Agnes Moorehead and Dorothy Comingore

Citizen Kane (Special Edition) CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles's greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The film's protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles's Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
In 1936, as WWII looms near, Indiana Jones is hired by the Government to find the Ark of the ... starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen

Raiders of the Lost Ark Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the Nazis are planning to use the Lost Ark of the Covenant as a weapon, the U.S. government enlists archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to locate the biblical treasure chest where the remains of the broken tablets of the Ten Commandments were placed. En route, Jones and his feisty ex-girlfriend, Marion (Karen Allen), must escape the clutches of evil Nazis, duplicitous "natives," and a nest of venomous snakes--not to mention the wrath of God. The groundbreaking special effects and furious, never-ending pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor. This bare-knuckled, barnstorming, pot-boiling, eye-popping bucket of Technicolor popcorn became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film, and deservedly so--RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is quite simple one of the most enjoyable movies ever made. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Don and Lina are a famous on-screen romantic pair at the height of their silent film careers. When ... starring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor

Singin' in the Rain: 50th Anniversary (Special Edition) "Just about the best Hollywood musical of all time," wrote Pauline Kael about SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.After years of honing his skills on the vaudeville stage, hoofer Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) has finally reached the top and become a swashbuckling star of the silent silver screen. Then the self-satisfied celebrity has his confidence shattered when ingenue Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) dismisses film actors as "shadows" without substance. After getting over the insult, he falls hard for her--much to the consternation of his costar, the sexy, selfish Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who wants Don all to herself.But Don has career troubles too. The wild popularity of THE JAZZ SINGER has studios scrambling to change from silent films to talkies, and Lina's shrill voice and Don's stiff acting left the preview audience roaring with laughter. There's only one way to save the movie and their careers: turn THE DUELLING CAVALIER into a musical, with Kathy secretly dubbing in Lina's lines and songs. But can they hide the truth from Lina? Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Godfather, The (1972)
War veteran Michael Corlone returns home to find himself becoming increasingly involved with the ... starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino

Godfather: The Coppola Restoration - The Godfather/ The Godfather, Part II/ The Godfather, Part III Produced under the supervision of director Francis Ford Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis, this boxed set presents THE GODFATHER trilogy in visually restored versions with remastered audio. Please see individual titles--THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II, and THE GODFATHER PART III--for complete synopsis information. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

12 Angry Men (1957)
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if ... starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb

12 Angry Men (1957) Special Edition Sidney Lumet's directorial debut is a snapshot of the American judicial system in action. Twelve average New York males convene in a very small jury room on a very hot day in order to reach a verdict in a murder trial. Almost everyone wants to vote guilty and get on with their lives except for Juror No. 8 (Henry Fonda), a conscientious citizen who insists on establishing reasonable doubt. Arguments are made, cigarettes are smoked, murder weapons examined, diagrams drawn, and prejudices revealed. Firm opinions weaken and reverse; voices get raised, the clock ticks, and a ghetto kid's life hangs in the balance.Lumet's direction and camerawork steadily builds pressure into the plot. Things start out casual, but wind up so close and tight you can count the pores on the actors' noses. Fonda is good in a role well-suited to his extra-large sense of human dignity but the stealth giant in this actors dozen is the ferocious Lee J. Cobb. Jack Klugman, E.G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, and Jack Warden play some of the other jurors, and a better assemblage of grizzled method actors shouting at each other won't likely come again. 12 ANGRY MEN was originally written for television, it is a true classic of the anti-McCarthy message era, and is not to be missed. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Casablanca (1942)
Expatriate and nightclub owner Rick Blaine is faced with the decision to help an old girlfriend's ... starring Claude Rains and Ingrid Bergman

Casablanca World War II Morocco springs to life in Michael Curtiz's (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY) classic love story. Colorful characters abound in Casablanca, a waiting room for Europeans trying to escape Hitler's war-torn Europe. Humphrey Bogart plays Richard "Rick" Blaine, a cynical but good-hearted American whose café is the gathering place for everyone from the French Police to the black market to the Nazis. When his long-lost love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), surfaces in Casablanca with her Resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is pulled into both a love triangle and a web of political intrigue. Ilsa and Victor need to escape from Casablanca, and Rick may be the only one who can help them. The question is, will he? Top-notch performances include Claude Rains as the chief of the French police and the major authority figure in Unoccupied France, Peter Lorre as the doomed Senor Ugarte, Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari, and Dooley Wilson as Rick's loyal friend and the café's pianist, Sam. The mesmerizing musical score, by Max Steiner, along with the well-structured plot, flawless acting, and unforgettable dialogue makes this one of the best films of all time. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Metropolis (1927)
In the future humans are divided into two classes: the thinkers and the workers. When the leader of ... starring Alfred Abel and Gustav Froelich

Metropolis METROPOLIS, a visionary and elaborate spectacle by director Fritz Lang is an epic projection of a futuristic city divided into a working and an elite class. Its exhilarating climax brings the city to its knees, as the classes clash against each other.In the 21st century, a de-humanized proletariat labors non-stop in a miserable subterranean city beneath a luxurious city of mile-high skyscrapers, flying automobiles, palatial architectural idylls, tubes and tunnels. With stunningly inventive special effects, Lang's allegorical narrative and architectural vision creates a highly stylized vision of a not-so-unlikely future (especially for 1926 when the film was made). As the elite frolic above the clouds, thousands of miserable workers toil night and day inside the belly of the gigantic machine that runs the entire city. Metropolis is controlled by a sinister authoritarian whose son, Freder, rejects his father's callous philosophy and attitude towards laborers. Meek though they are, the workers are encouraged by Maria, a wistful young woman who wills her comrades to embrace patience and silent strength. Upon discovering her influence upon the workers, a mad scientist kidnaps Maria and creates a robot in her image that will incite the workers to revolt. As Freder races against time to save Maria and curtail the damage done by her doppelganger robot, Metropolis is enveloped in chaos and the classes are brought together in a breathtaking and highly moralistic climax. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Jaws (1975)
A giant great white shark arrives on the shores of a New England beach resort and wreaks havoc with ... starring Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw

Jaws (Full Screen/30th Anniversary/1975) From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before JAWS. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time--surpassing THE GODFATHER and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
An extra terrestrial is accidentally left behind on Earth. He befriends a boy named Elliot and his ... starring Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is Steven Spielberg's warmhearted classic delight for both children and adults. It tells the story of an alien creature, E.T., mistakenly left behind on Earth. When a young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), finds E.T. and hides him in his home, both their worlds are changed forever. E.T. teaches Elliott and his two siblings (Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton), whose parents have recently separated, about caring and love while the children protect E.T. from the malevolent world of grown-ups. Elliott and E.T. become so close that they share emotions; as E.T. becomes ill, so does Elliott. The children end up going on a fabulous adventure trying to help E.T. find a way back to his home planet. The movie was originally going to be based on a story idea by director John Sayles, but after he removed himself from the project, screenwriter Melissa Mathison (Harrison Ford's wife) took over the script and made it her own. John Williams's beautiful soundtrack became forever linked to E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.

Modern Times (1936)
Charlie Chaplin is a production line worker driven insane by the monotony of his job. When he is ... starring Charles Chaplin and Paulette Goddard

Modern Times Charlie Chaplin bid farewell to silent comedy with this funny and poignant masterpiece. Here Chaplin stars as a factory worker fed-up with the job and his tyrannical boss (who keeps an eye on all his employees via a big-brother TV monitor). When he meets and falls in love with an orphaned street waif, the two dream of a nice suburban existence...but the cops are never far behind, chasing the vagabond couple. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.