O, The Oprah Magazine's "50 Greatest Chick Flicks of All Time"
THE MIGHTY CHICK FLICK
By Karen Durbin
Women's pictures used to be guilty pleasures: No more! Now they're kicking butt, getting respect, and grossing huge. From frothy romances to whale-riding adventures, these films show us who we are, where we've been, what we can take, and better yet, what we can dish out. Take a look at these 20! If you don't find all your own favorites here, old and new, that's for a happy reason: A truly inclusive list would be four times as long and growing fast. In the meantime, enjoy!
Screening on Sunday, October 22, 2006
3 Comments:
1. Morocco (1930)
In top hat and tails as Amy Jolly, Marlene Dietrich has never been more worldly than when she seduces men and women alike with her act at a nightclub in Mogador?and never more womanly than when she casts aside her cool for the love of Gary Cooper's foreign legionnaire Tom Brown. Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Starring Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper.
2. Camille (1936)
Greta Garbo is so exquisite she can seem unearthly on-screen, but here she's heartbreakingly human as Alexandre Dumas's famously fragile courtesan Marguerite Gauthier/Camille who finds love too late. The tragic heroine must sacrifice her own happiness in order to prove her love. Directed by George Cukor. Starring Greta Garbo & Robert Taylor. Based on the book Camille by Alexandre Dumas.
3. Notorious (1946)
This postwar thriller is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most woman-loving movies. Ingrid Bergman, a beautiful woman with a tainted past, penetrates a Nazi cabal in post-war Rio de Janeiro by marrying its leader?in an act of heroism and despair after she's spurned by the man she adores, Devlin (Cary Grant), an American government agent too puritanical to let his love for her bloom. Her espionage work becomes life-threatening after she marries the most debonair of the Nazi ring, Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains). Only Devlin can rescue her, but to do so he must face his role in her desperate situation and acknowledge that he's loved her all along. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman.
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Two actors have an adulterous affair while making a movie about a rule-breaking 19th-century romance in this brilliant investigation of passion and risk in different eras. Sarah Woodruff/Anna (Meryl Streep), ostracized by Victorian society and abandoned by her French lieutenant lover, fascinates Charles Smithson/Mike (Jeremy Irons) who resolves to unravel the mystery of her clandestine past. Directed by Karel Reisz. Starring Meryl Streep & Jeremy Irons. Based on the book The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles.
5. The English Patient (1996)
During World War II, a mysterious stranger Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) is rescued from a fiery plane crash. The American allies (Juliette Binoche) care for him and the dangerous secrets from his past come to light. Like the excellent novel it so skillfully adapts, this intensely romantic film, about a relationship between Kristin Scott Thomas and Fiennes, makes you feel the urgency of its wartime confrontation with love and death. Directed by Anthony Minghella. Best Picture award winner. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, & Kristin Scott Thomas. Based on the book The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.
6. The Women (1939)
The film's tagline: "The stars! The clothes! The cruelty! The catfights!" A politically incorrect film that plays like a cross between a guilty pleasure and a cautionary tale. Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) loses her husband to ruthless Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford) who is aided and abetted by Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) whose own spouse has taken up with another woman. In Reno, in the throes of divorce, all wage war on one another. Directed by George Cukor. Starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, & Rosalind Russell. Based on the play The Women by Clare Booth Luce.
7. Julia (1977)
On the eve of World War II, a well-off American writer Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda) risks her safety for a beloved girlhood friend in Europe Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) who has become a resistance fighter. The chemistry between Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave lights up this gripping film about the kind of friendship that enlarges one's life. Directed by Fred Zinnemann. Starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Jr., Maximilian Schell.
8. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
An impish comedy about a bored suburban housewife Roberta (Rosanna Arquette) who follows a series of personal ads in a New York paper and ends up in the orbit of a true wild woman named Susan (Madonna). Pop diva Madonna makes her celebrated screen debut in this smash hit as the elusive and oddly engaging renegade on the lam from a host of enemies and admirers. Directed by Susan Seidelman. Starring Rosanna Arquette & Madonna.
9. The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)
When a handsome fellow named Brian (Ben Chaplin) falls for the wit of Abby (Janeane Garofalo), a romantically challenged radio host with low self-esteem, she persuades the gorgeous bimbo next door Noelle (Uma Thurman), her model friend, to impersonate her and date him in her name. True love finds a way, but the heart of the movie is what these unlikely friends give each other: a sense of self-worth. Directed by Michael Lehmann. Starring Uma Thurman & Janeane Garofalo.
10. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
Female friendship has never been funnier or more endearing than in this deliciously silly screwball comedy featuring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as ditzy pals. Highlights: their roadside fight about who's more popular, their claim to have invented the Post-it, and the unexpectedly tender line "Wanna fold scarves?" Both get into a lot of trouble when they go to their high school reunion and lie about their lives after twelfth grade. Directed by David Mirkin. Starring Mira Sorvino & Lisa Kudrow.
11. The Hours (2002)
Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep play three women of different eras who say no to the unbearable, each in her own eloquent way. Taking place over one day, all three stories are interconnected with the novel: one is writing it, one is reading it, and one is living it. The movie taps an intimacy so deep?and deeply female?that to watch it is to feel both acknowledged and consoled. In 1923, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is starting to write her novel, Mrs. Dalloway, under the care of doctors and family. In 1951 in suburban Los Angeles, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is planning for her husband's birthday, but is preoccupied with reading Woolf's novel. And in 2001, Clarrisa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) is planning an award party for her friend Richard Brown (Ed Harris), an author dying of AIDS. Directed by Stephen Daldry. Starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, & Meryl Streep. Based on the book The Hours by Michael Cunningham.
12. All About Eve (1950)
A young Marilyn Monroe appears briefly in this sharp-toothed comedy about women and ambition. But the real action involves ing鮵e Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) snapping at the tail of Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis). From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve moves relentlessly towards her goal: taking the reins of power from the great actress. The cunning Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill), her playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife Karen (Celeste Holm). Only a cynical drama critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter. Based on the short story Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr.
13. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
This is a classic Martin Scorsese film - his first Hollywood studio production. The film tells about a newly widowed Southwest wife and mother named Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) awakening to her right to life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Left to care for her 11-year-old bratty son Tommy (Alfred Lutter), she heads for California after a disastrous encounter with new beau Ben (Harvey Keitel), but is delayed in Phoenix where she takes a waitress job and falls for rancher David (Kris Kristofferson). Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Ellen Burstyn & Kris Kristofferson.
14. Aliens (1986)
Star of the original Alien (1979), Sigourney Weaver turns this and Alien3 (1992), the second and third installments in the wildly successful science fiction horror quartet, into wrenching dramas of the difficult choices in women's lives. Her homeless cosmonaut Lieutenant Ripley is one of the great movie heroines of all time. Ripley is recovering from her encounter with the deadly alien when she is asked to go back with a company of marines. At first the marines refuse to believe her warning, but soon they all come face to face with the awesome creatures. Directed by James Cameron. Starring Sigourney Weaver.
15. Thelma & Louise (1991)
As friends who take an impulsive break from the men in their lives, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis embrace the fierce American motto "Live free or die" and kick women's movies up to a whole new level. Two friends, one an unhappy housewife named Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis), the other a wise-cracking waitress named Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon), decide to take a vacation from their lives, but things soon get out of control after an attempted rape incident at a roadside caf鮠Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis.
16. What's Love Got to Do With It? (1993)
Great performances by Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett as Ike and Tina Turner make this showbiz biopic a triumphant portrait of a submissive battered wife who not only manages to break free of her abusive Svengali but proceeds to rebuild her soul from the ground up. The turbulent relationship of Ike and Tina Turner eventually forces Tina to leave and find the courage to believe in herself. Directed by Brian Gibson. Starring Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne. Based on the book I, Tina by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder.
17. Girlfight (2000)
With her mother dead, partly as a result of her father's abuse, Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez) is always fighting, whether at home in the housing projects, with her abusive dad, or at high school. She finds a new outlet for her anger at her brother's boxing gym. With hard-core training from veteran boxing coach Hector (Jaime Tirelli), Diana learns she has the guts and talent to be a contender. Unexpectedly, she also finds love in Karyn Kusama's award-winning movie about anger and power and release and resolution. Directed by Karyn Kusama. Starring Michelle Rodriguez.
18. Black Narcissus (1947)
Majesty gives way to mystery, and marks a harrowing descent into madness, when a young British nun is ordered to establish a convent on a cliffside in the remote Himalayan mountains. Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is a serious young novitiate assigned to lead the crucial mission, with the reluctant recommendation of her Mother Superior. Together with a disparate group of nuns, Sister Clodagh will face strange peoples and customs, including a demented sex-crazed nun named Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron), a handsome British government agent named Mr. Dean (David Farrar) who often strides around half-naked, and Indian girl Kanchi's (Jean Simmons) naughty Nepalese beauty. A harsh and unforgiving climate and a wrenching struggle with Sister Clodagh's own past will prove the ultimate test of her devotion and faith in this deliriously enjoyable melodrama. Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Starring Deborah Kerr. Based on the book Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden.
19. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
This charming Ernst Lubitsch comedy stars Jimmy Stewart as quiet unassuming, and hard-working gift-shop clerk Alfred Kralik, and Margaret Sullavan as new co-worker Klara Novak in pre-WWII Europe -- both employees of a shop owned by the demanding yet endearing Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan). They squabble at work while pseudonymously falling in love by letter. The Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks remake, You've Got Mail (1998), has its moments, but the melancholy grace of the original is matchless. As the letters turn towards the subject of love, not even Kralik's constant bickering with Klara can tarnish his newfound happiness. But when he's suddenly and inexplicably fired, all of his romantic aspirations crumble. Until, that is, he discovers the identity of his secret friend. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Starring Margaret Sullavan & James Stewart.
20. The Lady Eve (1941)
"A moonlit deck is a woman's business office," Barbara Stanwyck's deliciously shady lady Jean Harrington coos to her latest mark Charles Pike (Henry Fonda), a wide-eyed, rich, priggish herpetologist who is heir to a brewery fortune. She and her conniving father "Colonel" Harry Harrington (Charles Coburn) attempt to bamboozle Pike at a cruise ship card table. When the heir gets wise to her gold-digging ways, she must plot to re-conquer his heart. The most savory pleasure of this great screwball comedy is watching her teach him a little lesson about presuming to sit in judgment of a woman with a past. Directed by Preston Sturges. Starring Barbara Stanwyck & Henry Fonda.
21. Born Yesterday (1950)
Corrupt millionaire junk dealer Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford), embarrassed by his girlfriend Billie Dawn's (Judy Holliday) lack of social sophistication, arranges to have her trained by Paul Verrell (William Holden) in a crash course in class and culture. He is surprised and outraged when, after becoming aware of her role as a pawn in his crooked business deals, she refuses to cooperate. Directed by George Cukor. Starring Judy Holliday & William Holden. Based on the play Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin.
22. Pat and Mike (1952)
A female college physical education instructor, Pat Pemberton (Katharine Hepburn), becomes an athlete of enormous promise in the worlds of both tennis and golf. She is pursued by a shady and unscrupulous sports promoter named Mike Conovan (Spencer Tracy), who hopes to make her famous and make some money in the process. Directed by George Cukor. Starring Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn.
23. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is an eccentric New York City playgirl with a next-door neighbor, an aspiring writer named Paul Varjak (George Peppard). He is "sponsored" by a wealthy older woman (Patricia Neal) in 2-E. Guessing who's the right man for Holly is easy. Seeing just how that romance blossoms is one of the enduring delights of this comedy. Complications arise, however, when Holly's former husband Doc (Buddy Epsen) arrives on the scene and remembers her as Lula Mae Barnes. Directed by Blake Edwards. Starring Audrey Hepburn & George Peppard. Based on the book Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.
24. Bull Durham (1988)
A classic American romantic comedy about a very minor minor-league team and three of its current constituents: an aging baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) that beds one player each season, a cocky foolish new pitcher Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), and the older, weary Minor Leaguer catcher named Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) brought in to wise up the rookie playing for the Durham Bulls. Directed by Ron Shelton. Starring Kevin Costner & Susan Sarandon.
25. Pretty Woman (1990)
When successful corporate mogul Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) meets independent and carefree hooker Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in Beverly Hills, their two lives are worlds apart. But Vivian's energetic spirit challenges Edward's no-nonsense, business-minded approach to life, sparking an immediate attraction. A modern-day fairy tale. Directed by Garry Marshall. Starring Richard Gere & Julia Roberts.
26. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
An uncomfortably unmarried thirty-something British "singleton," Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) decides to take charge of her life and chronicles her Year of Change in a comedic homage to Pride and Prejudice. Frustrated in her career, and numerous romantic failures, she eventually ends up the object of desire in a romantic triangle. Directed by Sharon Maguire. Starring Ren饠Zellweger, Colin Firth, & Hugh Grant. Based on the book Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.
27. Something's Gotta Give (2003)
Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a perennial, 50's something playboy with the libido of a much younger man. During what was to be a romantic weekend with his current infatuation, young Marin Barry (Amanda Peet), at her Broadway playwright mother Erica's (Diane Keaton) Hampton beach house, Harry develops chest pains. He winds up being reluctantly nursed by Erica. When Harry hesitates to act on his feelings for Erica, Harry's thirtysomething doctor Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves) pursues a romance with Erica. Harry finds his life unraveling as he falls in love with Erica during his recovery. Directed by Nancy Meyers. Starring Jack Nicholson & Diane Keaton.
28. Rebecca (1940)
A psychological thriller about a young bride, Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) brought by her new husband Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) to his manor house in England. There she finds that the memory of her husband's first wife Rebecca haunts her, and she tries to discover the secret of that mysterious woman's death, while being terrorized by Rebecca's obsessed housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, his first American film. Starring Laurence Olivier & Joan Fontaine. Based on the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
29. Island in the Sun (1957)
A dramatic, controversial (at its time) story of island politics, racial tension and unprecedented inter-racial romances, adultery, pre-marital pregnancy and intrigue on a British-controlled idyllic island, Santa Marta in the West Indies. James Mason stars as Maxwell Fleury - the wealthy son of a prominent family, who is opposed for a seat in the legislature by local union leader David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte). Directed by Robert Rossen. Starring James Mason, Harry Belafonte, Joan Fontaine & Dorothy Dandridge. Based on the novel Island in the Sun by Alex Waugh.
30. Smooth Talk (1985, TV)
A psychological, coming-of-age drama about a bored 15 year-old teenager named Connie (Laura Dern) seeking excitement one summer. She meets an enigmatic stranger named Arnold Friend (Treat Williams) -- is her encounter a fantasy, a rape, or just an innocent acquaintance? Directed by Joyce Chopra. Starring Laura Dern and Treat Williams. Based on the Joyce Carol Oates 1970 short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
31. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
A breakthrough, debut independent film for African-American film-maker Spike Lee. The character study follows the relationships of sexually-adventurous Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), who has three boyfriends who vie for her attention. Directed by Spike Lee. Starring Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Hicks, Spike Lee & John Canada Terrell.
32. A Walk on the Moon (1999)
It's the summer of 1969, the summer of the Woodstock music festival, and married, middle-class mother Pearl Kantrowitz (Diane Lane) is spending yet another vacation with her family (TV repairman husband Marty (Liev Schreiber) and teenaged daughter Alison (Anna Paquin)) when she realizes that the freedom of the times is passing her by. Following a chance meeting with a sexy, free-spirited young man, Walker Jerome (Viggo Mortensen), Pearl is soon doing the unthinkable: having a daring, passionate affair. But she must ultimately decide between the love of her husband and children - or the lure of her newfound desires. Directed by Tony Goldwyn. Starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber, & Anna Paquin.
33. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
A great British romantic comedy about a young man named Charles (Hugh Grant) who is determined to avoid commitment - and then he meets the girl of his dreams - Carrie (Andie MacDowell). They encounter each other at four weddings and a funeral before finally connecting with each other. Directed by Mike Newell. Starring Hugh Grant & Andie MacDowell.
34. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
This dramatic romantic comedy follows the Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor (Emma Thompson) and passionately spirited Marianne (Kate Winslet), whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. Directed by Ang Lee. Starring Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, & Hugh Grant. Based on the 1811 book Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.
35. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
A family drama surrounding an Indian marriage. Love, lust and hope envelop an upper middle-class Indian family, the Vermas led by wealthy Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah), and their world-wide guests as they celebrate for four days the arranged marriage of their daughter Aditi Verma (Vasundhara Das) to engineer Hemant Rai (Parvin Dabas) - an East Indian man from Texas. Directed by Mira Nair. Starring Naseeruddin Shah.
36. His Girl Friday (1940)
A classic screwball comedy about an unscrupulous newspaper editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant), who uses every dirty trick in the book to keep his ace reporter/ex-wife Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) from retiring and remarrying cloddish Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). A twist on the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play The Front Page. Directed by Howard Hawks. Starring Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell. Based on the play The Front Page by Ben Hecht.
37. High Society (1956)
In this sophisticated musical comedy, a remake of the non-musical The Philadelphia Story (1940), a society wedding is being arranged in Newport, Rhode Island. The beautiful Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly) is to marry George Kittredge (John Lund). However, Tracy's ex-husband, the songwriter C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby), has never stopped loving her and has hopes of winning her back. A New York scandal sheet reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) arrive to cover the wedding and complicate the tangled romances. Directed by Charles Walters. Starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, & Celeste Holm. Based on the play The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry.
38. Imitation of Life (1959)
A remake of the earlier film Imitation of Life (1934), the story of two widows and their troubled daughters. In the search for success as an actress, Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) neglects her daughter Susie (Sandra Dee). Lora's black housekeeper Annie Johnson's (Juanite Moore) light-skinned daughter Sara Jane (Susan Kohner) repudiates her mother by trying to pass for white. As the years pass, each of the four women realizes that she has been living an emotionally fruitless existence. Directed by Douglas Sirk. Starring Lana Turner & John Gavin. Based upon the novel by Fannie Hurst.
39. Terms of Endearment (1983)
An immensely-popular comedy-drama and Best Picture-winning film about the evolving 30+ year relationship between a widowed mother, Aurora Greenaway (Shirley MacLaine) and daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Noted for its tear-jerking, tragic ending when Emma develops terminal cancer and says goodbye to her children at bedside. Directed by James L. Brooks. Starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, & Jack Nicholson. Based on the book Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry.
40. The Color Purple (1985)
Covers the years 1909-1949 in the life of uneducated Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) living in the rural American south. She was raped by her father, deprived of the children she bore him and forced to marry a brutal sharecropper Albert (Danny Glover) who she calls "Mister." Ultimately, she is transformed by the friendship of two remarkable women, Sofia (Oprah Winfrey) and Albert's mistress Shug (Margaret Avery), acquiring self-worth and the strength to forgive. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, & Oprah Winfrey. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
41. Daughters of the Dust (1992)
A deliberately paced, turn-of-the-century family (female-centered) historical costume drama about the Gullah community - descendants of West African slaves (laboring in the indigo trade) dwelling on islands near South Carolina. With its stunning cinematography and layered narrative, this film explores this unique community through the Peazant family, a fictional group of Gullah natives living on Ido Landing. Directed by Julie Dash (her debut feature). Starring Cora Lee Day, Kaycee Moore, Barbara O, Adisa Anderson, & Alva Rogers.
42. Little Women (1994)
With her husband off at war from Civil War-era New England, Marmee March (Susan Sarandon) is left alone to raise her four daughters - her " little women" - the spirited Jo (Winona Ryder), who longs for a career as a writer; beautiful, conventional and conservative older sister Meg (Trini Alvarado); fragile and innocent Beth (Claire Danes); and the precocious romantic Amy (Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis). As the years pass, the sisters share some of their most cherished - and painful - moments of self-discovery as they become women and are guided through issues of independence, romance and virtue. Directed by Gillian Armstrong. Starring Winona Ryder. Based on the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
43. Eve's Bayou (1997)
Roz Batiste (Lynn Whitfield) is a beautiful and dedicated mother of three in Louisiana, who is forced to admit that her family is falling apart due to her philandering doctor/husband Louis (Samuel L. Jackson). Her younger daughter, Eve (Jurnee Smollett), witnesses one of her father's infidelities. Struggling to make sense of what she has seen, Eve turns to her older sister Cisely (Meagan Good), who dismisses her - fearing the truth, and then to her Aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan), a known psychic and rumored black widow. Unable to find the understanding she is looking for, Eve vengefully decides to take matters into her own hands by visiting Elzora (Diahann Carroll), a voodoo priestess. Directed by Kasi Lemmons. Starring Samuel L. Jackson & Lynn Whitfield.
44. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
A dark drama set in the mid-1970s, in a sleepy Michigan mid-western community. The Lisbon sisters, five teenagers, ranging from ages 13-17, have beauty that has bewitched a group of neighborhood boys, although they are protectively isolated by their repressive parents (James Woods and Kathleen Turner). The girls move like fleeting visions against the suburban landscape, luminous and unattainable. But when high school stud Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) convinces Lux Lisbon (Kirsten Dunst) and her sisters to go to the prom, Trip sleeps with Lux and then abandons her after the seduction. The family becomes engulfed in a stunning chain of events, involving suicide and sexual awakening, that will change their lives forever. Directed by Sofia Coppola (with her directorial debut). Starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst & Josh Hartnett. Based on the book The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.
45. Lovely & Amazing (2001)
An intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women in the dysfunctional Marks family, and the bitter lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their individual neuroses and problems in relationships. Middle-aged Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn) is about to under liposuction. Her three troubled daughters are cynical, unhappily-married, would-be artist Michelle (Catherine Keener); insecure, self-critical struggling actress Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer); the youngest - adopted, overweight African-American Annie (Raven Goodwin). Directed by Nicole Holofcener. Starring Emily Mortimer, Brenda Blethyn, Raven Goodwin, & Catherine Keener.
46. Laurel Canyon (2002)
Recent Harvard graduate Sam (Christian Bale) and his fianc饬 Alex (Kate Beckinsale), relocate into Sam's estranged mother Jane's (Frances McDormand) house in upscale Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles, thinking that she won't be there. Only problem is that she is still there - a record producer finishing up a record for a twenty-something British rocker boyfriend named Ian (Alessandro Nivola). Sam's mom, an Age-of-Aquarius devotee, seems more interested in smoking pot and drinking than actually working. Both Alex and Sam are soon distracted - by Jane's advances and by the seductive, beautiful med-student intern Sara (Natascha McElhone) respectively. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Starring Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, & Kate Beckinsale.
47. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002, Aus.)
An adventure drama set in 1931, regarding Molly (Everlyn Sampi) and her younger cousins, Gracie (Laura Monaghan) and Daisy (Tianna Sansbury), who were three half-caste, aboriginal children from Western Australia taken from their parents under government edict and sent to an institution. They were taught to forget their families, their culture, and re-invent themselves as members of "white" Australian society. The three girls begin an epic journey back to Western Australia, traveling 1,500 miles on foot (with no food or water), and navigating by following the fence that has been built across the nation to hold back an over-population of rabbits. Directed by Phillip Noyce. Starring Everlyn Sampi. Based on the book Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington.
48. Whale Rider (2002, NZ)
A family drama about the Whangara people who believe their ancestor Paikea was saved from drowning by riding home on the back of a whale. Since then, the tribal group granted leadership positions to the first-born males, believing them to be descendants of Paikea. But then a young mother dies in childbirth along with her newborn male son. His twin sister survives and the little girl, Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes, nominated for Best Actress), is brought up by her grandparents. Learning the skills of chiefdom from her uncle, Pai shows that she possess a natural leadership ability. Directed by Niki Caro. Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes. Based on the book by Witi Ihimaera.
49. Bend It Like Beckham (2002, UK)
Eighteen-year-old Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra's (Parminder K. Nagra) parents (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) want her to be a nice, conventional Indian girl. But she just wants to play soccer (football) like her star sports hero, David Beckham. For Jess, that means kicking a ball around the local park with the lads until she's spotted by Jules (Keira Knightley), who invites her to join the local women's team. Directed by Gurinder Chadha. Starring Parminder Nagra & Keira Knightley.
Sunday, October 22, 2006 9:26:00 PM
Where's BEACHES??
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 10:57:00 AM
and "Steel Magnolias" and "Erin Brockovich" and "Emma" and "Mona Lisa Smile" and "Notting Hill"?
But Oprah please you no end by including WHALE RIDER... :)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 11:16:00 PM
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