I remember walking out of the theater with a group of my first-year college friends after watching Edward Zwick’s (The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) Legends of the Fall when my one friend turned to me and said, “I feel like I just want go in a hole and die now.” Truer words couldn’t have been spoken for, perhaps, the most extensive epic I had seen in a theater until that point in my life. I knew little about the film besides that it starred Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys, Se7en), and it could be a darker, more adult-oriented version of the beloved A River Runs Through It. The unknown was just a fraction of what made Legends of the Fall become one of my favorite movies of all time and one that has never fallen out of my Top 50. That is until my 2023 rewatch, some 15 years after I last watched the film.
No Country for Old Men (2008)
No Country for Old Men is the most well-received and critically acclaimed adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy (my favorite author) novel. There have been six. The Road is, by far, my favorite McCarthy novel and a movie masterpiece. The others are the slightly underrated All the Pretty Horses, the disappointing box office flop The Counselor, the virtually unseen Child of God, and The Sunset Limited, a film I still need to see. No Country for Old Men is the only McCarthy-adapted film to receive an Oscar, earning eight nominations and four wins, including the first nomination and win in Best Achievement in Directing for Hollywood darlings Joel and Ethan Coen.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Love or hate him, Terrence Malick has a unique style. Personally, he’s not for me. The New World was a decent enough film, but it left me wanting more. I had such high hopes for The Tree of Life, only for it to result in one of my most frustrating and tedious theater-going experiences ever, that I was ready to write him off. However, there is often an anomaly. For me, it was his devastatingly beautiful portrayal of World War II in 1998’s The Thin Red Line. Rightfully or not, The Thin Red Line will forever be associated and compared with Saving Private Ryan, another World War II-based Best Picture nominee of 1998. And, if I’m being 100% honest, I did not know that Malick directed the Thin Red Line until after I finished watching it.
Dead Man Walking (1995)
The year 1995 got it right while getting it wrong simultaneously regarding the Oscars. I’m referring, in particular, to two movies. Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas. Each movie had knock-it-out-of-the-park performances from its lead characters, but neither film could capitalize on these performances to earn a Best Picture nomination. However, outside of Braveheart and Apollo 13, this wasn’t a particularly strong year with Babe, Sense and Sensibility, and The Postman as the other five nominees. Braveheart (the winner) continues to remain one of the most beloved Best Picture winners of all time, while many view Apollo 13 as a technical masterpiece. As a brief aside, Heat, Se7en, and The Usual Suspects deserved the other three nominees
Memento (2000)
A tour de force with its initial viewing, Christopher Nolan’s (Dunkirk, Interstellar) mind-bending Memento felt, more than 99% of the films I watch, worthy of a second viewing. What initially captivated but confused me equally would likely enthrall me further while clearing up plot holes. It turns out that this wasn’t the case. Not only did my second watch cause me to be more uncertain of the events, their timelines, and overarching structure. It also left me feeling bored by the premise and disengaged from the story. In a way, it feels odd to say that. At the same time, the film could be more straightforward in its attempt to entertain and differentiate itself in new and unique ways. Even in the early stages of his directing career, Nolan was, for better or worse, telling his viewers that he was the most intelligent person in the room and to get used to it.