Farhan Akhtar's DIL CHAHTA HAI
This refreshing Indian movie, released in 2001, follows three college buddies through love and career experiences in India and Australia. Along they way they fall in love, experience despair and loss, travel constantly by air and by car, experience the delights of carefree youth, have arguments, wear trendy clothes and hairstyles, and do a lot of (delightful) singing and dancing.
Santosh Sivan's “ASOKA”
This epic film by Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist) follows the historic emperor Asoka as he brutally unites ancient India through warfare, then recants and proselytizes Buddhist philosophy after seeing the errors of his power hungry ways. His road is littered with broken hearts, family infighting, murder, massive battles, and tragedy.
Ashutosh Gowariker's “LAGAAN: ONE UPON A TIME IN INDIA”
This 3-hour-plus historical-drama-cum-sports-extravaganza has something for everybody:
* Little guy against big guy
* Noble farmers vs. evil foreign conquerors
* The Big Game at the end where everything is decided
* Girl From The Country competes with Girl From The City for the same dashing hero
* Pleas for religious and social tolerance
* An intermission (!)
John Lasseter & Joe Ranft's CARS
I’m not a big fan of automobiles as an art form and I don’t have a nostalgia for their cultural significance (though I can’t argue with their importance) but this movie is a real winner.
Fred Wilcox's “FORBIDDEN PLANET”
When I was a kid, this movie scared me, especially the Id Monster’s attack on the starship’s sleeping crew.
Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS (Kino edition)
This 1927 film contains two of the most spectacular transformational scenes ever committed to film: 1. The giant machine’s transformation into “Moloch” 2. The robot’s transformation into the false Maria
Fritz Lang's THE BIG HEAT
Forget the happy view of post-WWII America as fresh faced kids running around green lawns in mass produced split level suburbs fed by newly minted commuter highways and GI Bill educations. Metropolis director's Fitz Lang's 1953 film The Big Heat is a reminder of a darker time when brave film makers occasionally veered into crime, sex, and darkness, barely skittering around a Film Production Code that enforced moral views that did not include crime, sex, and darkness.
Mamoru Oshii's AVALON
# VERY cool
# incredible visual style
# methodically plotted
# beautifully acted