The Grapes of Wrath

1940.
#21 / #23
Winner of 2 Academy Awards

The Joads lose their Oklahoma farm during the Great Depression and make the arduous worker to California to become migrant farm workers.

Eddie: This is one of the bleakest movies on the list. It's black and white cinematography has more charm and sunshine than the story or any of its characters, and that's barely any sunshine to begin with. Henry Fonda does a good job playing Henry Fonda, looking like a hurt puppy while staring past the camera. The real gem is Jane Darwell, who plays Ma Joad. Her character holds the family together, and her performance holds the film together.

One thing I took away from the movie is a sense of perspective. If this is an accurate depiction of the Great Depression, which I'm sure it is, then the so-called Great Recession is nothing more than a rainy day in June compared to the decade-long hard times of the 1930s. I mean, I've faced unemployment, but I've never had to bury my grandfather on the side of the highway.

Sarah: This, like NETWORK, is a film that is just as relevant today as it ever was. Sure, things are not nearly what they were in the 30's, but how can someone watch this film and then say that unions are bad?

This film is a showcase of masterful performances all across the board (Ma Joad was my favorite) so if you just focus on that, maybe you can watch this movie without it sucking away all of your energy and hope.

Why You Should See It: Ma Joad packs up her mementos, choosing which to keep and which to leave behind. She says so much in this moment without any dialogue.

The Searchers

1956.

#96 / #12

Nominated for 1 DGA Award.

A Comanche tribe kills his brother's family and kidnaps Ethan Edwards' (John Wayne) two neices, Debbie (Lana and Natalie Wood) and Lucy (Pippa Scott). Edwards and his adopted nephew Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) search for them. Years later, they find Debbie living as one of the Comanche. They rescue her and take her back home.

Eddie: THE SEARCHERS is a paper champion. The story sounds compelling and suspenseful. John Wayne has an impressive track record. John Ford has a knack for great Westerns. And Natalie Wood is never terrible. In fact, she's usually pretty good.

But paper is as far as this movie should've gone. I think it's incredibly boring. Twice, I fell asleep watching it. The story labors along, spending inordinate amounts of time trying to convince you that years have passed. Then, when the story gets itself into a jam from which it can't escape, they suddenly rescue Debbie and the movie is over, leaving you with a general feeling of WTF?. Jeffrey Hunter and (my fellow USC Trojan) John Wayne hold the movie together, especially Hunter's performance. And the first and last shots are remarkable. Beyond that, THE SEARCHERS gets a big meh from me.

Sarah: Though I'm the one to usually squirm in my seat during slow films, I actually did not find this film boring. But I was still highly disappointed in the movie, even more so when I realized that it wasn't taken off the second list (as I had hoped) but actually moved up 84 spots.

This film is incredibly racist. I love John Wayne but his character is despicable here. (I also love Natalie Wood, but again she is miscast here. Fun fact: her sister, Lana Wood plays young Debbie.) He calls the Comanche "half-breeds" and "blanket heads" (this last one is more absurd than offensive) and shoots their buffalo in hopes they will starve. The actor's playing the Comanche are white, but are so made-up to look native American they come out orange, like Snooki.
The worst part about the film, and in my opinion why it should be removed from the list, is that it sells out. Ethan is a racist who doesn't even care that his niece might be killed in a raid. Only Martin seems to have accepted that Debbie is Comanche now. Then, Ethan does save Debbie (while brutally slaughtering ever other Comanche) and takes her home. The end implies "See, she didn't really want to be Comanche Savage." Of course, the violence between the Comanche and white settlers was complicated, but the film just sticks a happy ending on it, ignoring many of the true stories about captives.

Why You Should See It: Any scene involving Martin and Laurie Jorgenson (Vera Miles) is pretty hilarious.

Casablanca

1942.

#2 / #3

Winner of 3 Academy Awards.

CASABLANCA is a love story, following the cold Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), his love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), and her activist husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid).

Sarah: Humphrey Bogart is not an attractive man, but every woman or gay man who watches this film will want to stand by his side and not get on that plane! No one plays tortured like he does. To me, this is the best love story told on film. The first time you see it, you might be a little confused, but it's brilliance is that it gets better every time you watch it. Every gesture, glance, and line is suddenly filled with meaning.

This film is also hilarious. There are so many great one-liners, it is no wonder it dominates the AFI quote list.

Eddie: Sarah hit it right on the head when she said that this is the best love story on film. The supporting cast in this flick is quite underrated; Claude Reins, Peter Lorre, and
(even) Louis Armstrong
Dooley Wilson put in solid work. But the main cast, Jesus Christ. Bogart's sardonic deliberation is the genesis for every awesome hero ever since. Rick Blaine is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Jake Gittes, Indiana Jones, and Billy Costigan. Bogart is such an awesome badass, you're pulling for him through and through. Yet Lazlo is such a decent dude, you spend the whole movie wishing that they could just split Ilsa in half, Solomon-style.

Why You Should See It: We really struggled with which scene or moment from the film is our favorite. Rick and Ilsa's reunion scene, "La Marseillaise" scene, and the tarmac scene are great, but Rick's lonesome scene at the bar takes the cake. After Sam the piano player refuses to play "As Time Goes By," Rick complains, "If she can stand it, I can. Play it!"

Update: Sam was played by Dooley Wilson, not Louis Armstrong. My bad.