10. In a Lonely Place (dir. Nicholas Ray)
I clearly don't get the hype behind this so no point writing at length about it. The drama behind the production is interesting but doesn't translate to an equally interesting film. At least I ranked it over Rashomon.
9. The Gunfighter (dir. Henry King)
Gregory Peck rides into town to a theme tune so bombastic I thought he was on his way to blow up a Mako reactor, but what follows is the most somber, funereal western I've seen that doesn't have 49 characters in its title. And much like that particular film, it is an examination of hero worship, showing how the mere presence of an outlaw gunfighter of legendary stature causes a whole town to lose its damn mind and project all its hopes and fears onto him.
8. Scandal (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
I think of black-and-white era Kurosawa as an economical, fundamentally unpretentious director who always places the story first regardless of whether it's an adaptation of Shakespeare or an American airport novel. What's fascinating about Scandal is that there isn't much of a story to speak of, so it ends up being the kind of leisurely hangout movie he's not known for making. While generally considered one of his least works, I found it the coziest watch of the year.
7. Where the Sidewalk Ends (dir. Otto Preminger)
A violent detective covers up the accidental murder of a suspect during an interrogation, and is then tasked with investigating his own crime, whereupon he falls in love with the woman he's widowed. The result is a claustrophobic film that finds unexpected empathy for a man who does the wrong thing again and again.
6. Wagon Master (dir. John Ford)
An ethereal tone poem about the frontier spirit. Intuitive, singular filmmaking that I may well be underrating because I wasn't on its wavelength until it ended.
5. The Asphalt Jungle (dir. John Huston)
Fatalistic heist film where the Hays-code morality hangs like a Sword of Damocles over an eminently likeable ensemble cast of rogues. These moral lessons are nothing new, but the excellent character writing adds real weight to the last act's series of downer endings.
4. Gun Crazy (dir. Joseph H. Lewis)
Maybe more than anything on this list, this movie felt like watching the stuff of legends. I can't really put into words what I mean so I'll just link the
greatest courtship scene in cinema.
3. The Breaking Point (dir. Michael Curtiz)
Out of all the movies I've seen this year, I think all of two featured African American actors in supporting roles and in both cases it was the same actor, Juano Hernández. The way this movie ends is such a perfect response to that lack of representation that it sent chills down my spine. This serves as a capstone to what is already an excellent, tense noir that also stands apart visually through its nautical setting.
2. Sunset Blvd. (dir. Billy Wilder)
I thought this would be a lock for #1, but I didn't love it as much on rewatch as I thought it would. My main issue is that Joe's narration feels overbearing and spends a lot of time explaining what is explicitly shown on screen. Having said that, just about everything involving Norma Desmond is pitch-perfect. This is one of those movies that gets better the older it gets. As a black-and-white movie reflecting back on the silent movie era, with every year that passes it feels more like an echo of an echo. One of the most dreamlike movies with a completely realistic narrative.
1. Night and the City (dir. Jules Dassin)
Uncut Gems 70 years before Uncut Gems, right down to spectator sports playing a huge part in the story. Richard Widmark's character in this is a stark contrast to the stoic leading men in every other movie on this list - he plays a swindler/entrepeneur (your mileage may vary) with the neurotic, overcaffeinated energy of a 90s Steve Buscemi performance. I had never heard his name before, and now I want to watch everything he's ever been in. His performance makes up the centerpiece of a 90 minute burst of anxiety that's basically everything I want out of cinema, and discovering this has already single-handedly justified this stupid project.
