Some films demand more from their audience not just attention but time.
They range from dramas to slice-of-life stories and even comedies.
So I peel potatoes."
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Nothing appears to happen, butin that nothingness, something seismic simmers.
The camera documents her life with ceaseless attention, noticing every detail, every repetition.
Along the way, the movie quietly dismantles conventions of narrative, genre, and time.
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Then, in the third act, everything explodes:a worthy, devastating payoff for all the buildup.
For example, they used three super-fast 50mm lenses that had been developed for NASA.
But Ive reconciled myself to Gods indifference.
It begins in the warm, eccentric Ekdahl household.
At nearly four hours long,Gone with the Windisthe ultimate Classic Hollywood epic.
The movie was a cultural juggernaut on release, sweeping the awards season and dominating the box office.
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At seven and a half hours,Bela Tarr’sSatantangoisnt a movie so much as an act of endurance.
Theres no conventional plot; instead, Tarr crafts a doomy, gloomy world defined by decay and inertia.
These takes are skillful, serving to build tension.
No list of cinematic epics would be complete withoutLawrence of Arabia.
Sprawling across deserts and decades,David Lean’s behemoth featuresPeter O’TooleasT.E.
O’Toole’s performance more than rises to the occasion.
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The cinematography and editing also match the grandeur of the story.
It cleans out my nostrils.
It’s one of De Niro’s most restrained performances.
He plays Noodles as a man perpetually retreating from the past he helped create.
On the writing side,Abby Mann’s Oscar-winning script strikesa potent balance between rhetoric and emotion.
If you only think of yourself, youll only destroy yourself.
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“Seven Samuraicenters on a desperate farming village that hires seven masterless samurai to defend them from bandits.
Their bond with the villagers forms the heart of the movie.
The result isa nearly three-and-a-half-hour sagathat’smore operatic, more ambitious, and arguably more tragic than its predecessor.
The character development is rich and layered, particularly as Pacino’s performance grows colder and quieter.
Through Michael and Vito,Francis Ford Coppolamakes a broader statement on a nation seduced by its mythologies.
The intervening decades have not diluted this movie’s power; it’s still a masterpiece.
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NEXT:10 Essential Jack Lemmon Movies, Ranked
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