All forms of media find their foundation in the semblance of storytelling and creation of narratives, and the most effective of narratives are undoubtedly wreathed in the visual medium. The experience of watching a ‘good movie’, where the montage of images on a screen transcends the external realities around you and transports you to a different space altogether, has a substantive impact on the human psyche. Read on to find a list of movies whose impact has not worn off through the passage of time. You should not give these a miss, especially if you are a media student.
1) RASHOMON (1950)
This legendary movie was the first movie directed by Akira Kurosawa in his legendary fifty year long career. Even though the unconventional camera work through the movie has had the film critics in awe, it’s the non-linear narrative that steals the limelight. The film employs a radical narrative style, where a crime is presented to the audience with four different narrators acting as the witness. The movie was such a rage that it has become a part of the legal lingo, where lawyers use the term ‘Rashomon effect’when confronted with contradictory versions of an event.
2) NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)
This engaging plot on how a freelance crime journalist, who is trying to carve a niche for himself in the field, loses himself to the pace and competition of the profession. In his haste to be the first man to report the murder, Lou Bloom begins to blur the line between observer and participant, and ends up playing a significant part in the crime himself. A nail biting narrative, this movie reflects on the cut throat competition in the fast paced field of journalism in a very adrenaline pumping manner.
3) MODERN TIMES (1936)
This list would have been incomplete without a Charlie Chaplin movie, and what better movie than the last ‘silent movie’ he gifted to the world. Modern Times, a humorous take on the mind numbing realities of the capitalist world, employs the use of metaphors to push the story line forward. Considered to be one of Chaplin’s best movies, Modern Times is an example of how to contrasting elements such as humor and political dissatisfaction can be woven into one tale
4) PSYCHO (1960)
Psycho remains a timeless classic by Hitchcock. The iconic shower scene in the movie is a must watch for any and every film enthusiast. Arguably, one of the most famous scenes in the history of cinema, the shower scene uses a clever selection of camera angles and sounds to instill a deeply embedded fear in the audiences. The shower scene has immortalized this movie, but something about the vibe of the scene cannot be comprehensively described. You will have to watch it to believe it.
5) CITIZEN KANE (1941)
Citizen Kane is widely acclaimed for the use of light and shadow to deepen the impact of various scenes. It was the first movie that experimented with the technical dimension of lighting and created the different atmospheres and moods of the narration through non verbal codes.
6) SHIP OF THESEUS (2013)
The ship of Theseus is a movie based on the Theseus’ paradox. The style of direction of this movie is very fresh and unique, since the narrative has the question of identity inherent to it. The emphasis is placed on the different ideological stands that the characters occupy and not the characters themselves. The entire narrative is thus composed of little scattered conversations coming together in the form of a movie.
7) THE GODFATHER (1972)
This is one movie which is quoted very often. The reason for its immense popularity was that The Godfather was a cult movie, since it satiated the curiosity of the people about the emerging subculture of Mafia. The screenplay and dialogue composition of the movie have been widely acclaimed, and the narrative resting solely on criminals accounts is also appreciated.
Read: Five Movies Every Aspiring Writer Must Watch
