Pictured Above:  1931 Academy Awards November 5th, 1930
Top10 Film Lists is a collection of movies, personalities & lists from my viewing.  Everything here is subjective, so I'm always open to comments & suggestions.
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This Week's Featured Top 10 List:

Top 10 Neo-Noir Films

1.  Chinatown (1974)
2.  Point Blank (1967)
3.  LA Confidential (1997)
4.  Night Moves (1975)
5.  Body Heat (1981)
6.  The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
7.  Taxi Driver (1976)
8.  The Last Seduction (1994)
9.  Fargo (1996)
10.  The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
New & Recent Reviews:
From This Week's Newsletter: 
Belfast (2021)

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Quick Hits:  Short Bursts on Recently Viewed Movies

Director Steven Soderbergh's most recent film, No Sudden Moves (2021) is primarily based in Detroit during the 1950's.  his first trip to the Motor City, however, was for Out of Sight, starring Jennifer Lopez & George Clooney.  Based on a novel by Detroit native Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Jackie Brown), Out of Sight is a wonderful Neo-Noir heist film that is a throwback to Film Noir's heyday, in that the cast is filled with character actors that give deep depth and clarity to the film.  Steve Zahn is the stoner/thief who has just enough information to be dangerous, but is just stupid enough to be harmless.  Don Cheadle is malevolent evil, while Albert Brooks plays a white collar criminal too innocent for prison, but rich enough to survive it. Luis Guzman, Catherine Keener, Dennis Farina & Nancy Allen all add amazing bits to their limited screen time.  2 elements shape the film, however, Lopez & Clooney's chemistry & Soderbergh's deft use of color to create mood and temperature.  For Clooney & Lopez, their initial scene, locked in a car trunk, is one of electric sexual attraction combined with potential physical danger.  Soderbergh, on the other hand, lights Miami in warm hues of golds, yellows & soft oranges, and Detroit with cold blues and grays, both giving off emotional and physical reminders of place.  Like his Oceans films, Soderbergh gets the tone just right, making Out of Sight a visual and emotional winner!

My Top 10 Favorite Films

  1. Sunrise F. W. Murnau ('27)
  2. L' Atalante J. Vigo ('34)
  3. Das Boot W. Peterson ('81)
  4. Design For Living E. Lubitsch ('33)
  5. Sullivan's Travels P. Sturges ('41)
  6. The Informer J. Ford ('35)
  7. Miller's Crossing J & E Coen ('90)
  8. Goodfellas M. Scorsese ('90)
  9. The Red Shoes M Powell ('48)
  10. Seven Samurai A. Kurosawa ('54)
 2018 Blogathons:   
I wrote about a selection of Ernst Lubitsch silents, made in Germany in the late teens for The Unexpected Blogothan.
I wrote about Red Dust ('32), which starred Clark Gable, Jean Harlow & Mary Astor & compared it to the remake, Mogambo ('53) which also starred Gable, but with Ava Gardner & Grace Kelly.       Link to blogathon:  https://bit.ly/2PnKtwk
I will be wrote about My Gal Sal (1942), starring Rita Hayworth & Victor Mature for the 100 Years of Rita Hayworth Blogathon on October 17th.  Here is the link to he event:  ​https://bit.ly/2O0OX87
I will be writing about Billy Wilder's classic Some Like it Hot for the Gender Bending the Rules Blogathon on September 21st.  Here is the link:  ​https://bit.ly/2JyHOIy
I will be blogging about Preston Sturges' Remember the Night for the Fred MacMurray Blogathon on August 30th.  Here is the link:  https://bit.ly/2NXSrbo
I will be writing a piece about John Ford's The Searchers for the Natalie Wood Blogathon on July 17th.  Link to hosting website here:  https://bit.ly/2L6gX89
I will be Blogging about Jean Vigo's masterpiece  L'Atalante ('34) for the Free For All Blogathon on 3/3.
I will be reviewing Mogambo ('53), starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner & Grace Kelly for The Clark Gable Blogathon on Feb 1st.
I will be reviewing Criss Cross (1949, Robert Siodmak) for the It Takes a Thief Blogothon on 11/17/17
I will be blogging about Wild Orchids for the Greta Garbo Blogathon on 11/22
I'll be blogging about Blood Simple in the 'Till Death Us Do Part Blogathon on 7/24
I'll be blogging about The Red Shoes in the En Pointe:  The Ballet Blogathon on 8/4 & 8/5.

Featured Actor/Actress

Catherine Deneuve (Coming Soon)

An icon of beauty, actress Catherine Deneuve has carved a more than 50 year film career predicated on her unique talent to convey true emotional depth without histrionics or grand gestures.  Her style is simple and calming and in films like Indochine (1992), The Last Metro (1980) , Belle de Jour (1967) and 8 Women (2002) she was able to create characters that are at times amusing, sensual and funny, but at all times riveting, demanding the eyre follow her every move.  Coming later this month is the list of her 10 best performances.

Featured Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock
Perhaps no other director has been talked about, written about or analyzed as much as Alfred Hitchcock, but with good reason!  His films are masterclasses in style, but exist on a deeper psychological level that has intrigued both the casual film fan, as well as scholars for more than 70 years.  Hitch's films are also incredibly enjoyable as pop art & hold a particular place in American culture.  Not bad for a green grocer's son from England.  Enjoy what I consider his 10 best!

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About Me:
​I've loved movies for as long as I can remember.   For more than 20 years, I've worked for several of the major studios, including MGM, Warner Bros. & 20th Century Fox  in their Home Entertainment divisions.   I'm partial to the Pre-Code era & Film Noir.

Top 10 Film Lists in Print

Politics on Film is an e-book that features my piece on A Face in the Crowd

Memberships:

2021 Blogathons:

I will be writing about Eugene Pallette for the 10th Annual What a Character Blogathon on December 4th, 2021.  Pallette is best known for his froggy voice, impressive girth & wonderful comedic timing in films like My Man Godfrey (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) & The Lady Eve (1941).   
I will be writing on Cecil B. Demille & Claudette Colbert's relationship making Sign of the Cross ('32) & Cleopatra ('34) for the Star of the Month Blogathon.
Here is a short piece on The Crimson Kimono, directed by Samuel Fuller & released in 1959 for the CMBA Hidden Classics Blogathon on May 19th. 
I will be writing about Becky Sharp (1935), based on the character from William Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair.

2020 Blogathons:

I will be writing about Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotton & Jean Peters, from 1953 for the Celluloid Roadtrip Blogathon sponsored by Hometowns to Hollywood.
I have written about The Invisible Man as part of the Claude Rains Blogathon for The Pure Entertainment Preservation Society on November 9th.  Here's a directly link to the complete Blogathon:  https://bit.ly/357cQp9
Read my Pice on A Face in the Crowd from the CMBA Fall Blogathon:  Politics on Film
I will be writing about Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair, starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich & John Lund as part of the 120th Birthday celebration of Jean Arthur.  The piece will post on October 15th.
See my piece on the films of Stanwyck & Capra to the left & clip the link below for all the complete list of submission for  The Queen of Sass:  Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon, hosted by Pale writer (https://palewriter2.home.blog/).  My piece focused on the films Stanwyck made with Frank Capra.  ​http://www.top10filmlists.com/frank-capra--barbara-stanwyck-the-evolution-of-a-romance.html
2019 Blogathons:
I wrote about The Film Noir Villainy of Dan Duryea for The Great Villain Blogathon.  ​http://www.top10filmlists.com/the-noir-villainy-of-dan-duryea.html