#25 Forest Gump
Tom Hanks won his second Oscar for this affecting portrayal of an unassuming man with a low IQ who wins a Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam , becomes a multimillionaire, meets presidents and rock stars, and unwittingly influences popular culture. 'Gump,' at its core, is a fable that posits life as a wondrous gift, precious and brimming with hidden value.
#24 Stand and Deliver (1988)
An East L.A. math teacher, Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos), battles to instill an appreciation of learning and academic excellence in inner city students who view high school as little more than a daily six-hour holding pen. Against all odds, Escalante succeeds in transforming his kids into calculus whizzes who ace their senior year exams. Think 'Rocky' for the pocket protector crowd.
#23 In The Heat of the Night (1967)
An East L.A. math teacher, Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos), battles to instill an appreciation of learning and academic excellence in inner city students who view high school as little more than a daily six-hour holding pen. Against all odds, Escalante succeeds in transforming his kids into calculus whizzes who ace their senior year exams. Think 'Rocky' for the pocket protector crowd.
#22 Rudy (1993)
Sean Astin (years before he hit the big time as a hobbit) is the titular football tackling dummy who gains entrance to the college of his dreams, Notre Dame, in this true story that'll have you rootin' and weepin' at the finale. A doughy Jon Favreau (years before he became Vince Vaughn's tackling dummy) plays Rudy's buddy who helps him ace the entrance boards that finally get him into school. The movie thrillingly underscores the old saw "Winners never quit, and quitters never win."
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
In an era of flip-flopping politicians who seem to act for political expediency, it's only in the annals of history (and movies) that we find leadership that really measures up. And no one's done it better on the big screen than Jimmy Stewart as junior Senator Jefferson Smith; a trusting soul who travels to D.C. only to see his idealistic hopes crushed by the graft of special interest money men. Smith's one-man filibuster ranks among director Frank Capra's greatest movie moments.
In an era of flip-flopping politicians who seem to act for political expediency, it's only in the annals of history (and movies) that we find leadership that really measures up. And no one's done it better on the big screen than Jimmy Stewart as junior Senator Jefferson Smith; a trusting soul who travels to D.C. only to see his idealistic hopes crushed by the graft of special interest money men. Smith's one-man filibuster ranks among director Frank Capra's greatest movie moments.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
This true story of two British track stars, a determined Jew (Ben Cross) and a devout Christian (Ian Charleson), who compete for king and country in the 1924 Olympics won the 1982 Best Picture and Best Screenplay Oscars (against a field that included 'On Golden Pond'). Naysayers believe the flick -- and Vangelis' dulling score -- belongs in the "What Were We Thinking?" category populated by Academy duds like 'Gandhi' and 'The English Patient.' But for fans, 'Chariots' is a film with, well, legs.
Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
The diary that teenager Anne Frank kept while hiding with her family and other Jews in a secret room in Amsterdam during WWII, chronicling Anne's hopes, dreams and budding sexuality, made a powerful transition to the screen in 1959. 'Diary' underscores the implacable optimism of the human spirit best embodied in the voiceover we hear as the secret annex is discovered by the Gestapo. "I still believe, in spite of everything, that all people are basically good at heart," Anne says.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
In 1947, after taking the fall for two murders he didn't commit, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sent for life to Shawshank State Prison. What follows is nearly two decades of life lessons that speak to how a decent man cannot only endure unjust conviction, but really matter in others' lives. Although the film centers on Dufresne's redemptive story, attention must be paid to Morgan Freeman as Red, Andy's pal and Man Friday. Freeman's spellbinding narration alone is worth the price of admission.
In 1947, after taking the fall for two murders he didn't commit, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sent for life to Shawshank State Prison. What follows is nearly two decades of life lessons that speak to how a decent man cannot only endure unjust conviction, but really matter in others' lives. Although the film centers on Dufresne's redemptive story, attention must be paid to Morgan Freeman as Red, Andy's pal and Man Friday. Freeman's spellbinding narration alone is worth the price of admission.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
'Raisin' tells of the trials and tribulations of an African-American family (headed by Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee) who move into a predominantly white Chicago neighborhood. The title comes from the opening lines of Langston Hughes' poem ' Harlem ': "What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?" In this film, the family's "dream" of living a desegregated existence ultimately triumphs.
Philadelphia
After being unjustly fired from his law firm, AIDS-infected Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), sues his employers for discrimination. His unlikely ally: a homophobic personal-injury lawyer (Denzel Washington). ' Philadelphia ' heralded a seismic shift in how Hollywood depicted homosexuals in movies. To that end, Hanks' Oscar-winning performance found a coda in his heartfelt acceptance speech, when he remarked (referring to the AIDS scourge) that "the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels."
A Field of Dreams (1989)
Kevin Costner is an Iowa farmer who begins to hear voices imploring him to "go the distance" -- plow under his corn and build a baseball field in the middle of his prime acreage. So begins an elegiac odyssey filled with cross-country motor trips, symbolism about getting a second chance to reconnect with our fathers and our nostalgia-fueled need to find one true thing in an ever-changing world. And that thing is America 's longstanding love affair with its national pastime.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Julia Roberts in a padded pushup bra makes an unlikely heroine. She's the titular file clerk who crusades for compensation on behalf of the residents of a town whose water supply has been polluted by Goliath corporation Pacific Gas & Electric. Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar as the blunt, blue-collar single mother of three who sees justice done for the little guy in this based-on-a-true story.
Julia Roberts in a padded pushup bra makes an unlikely heroine. She's the titular file clerk who crusades for compensation on behalf of the residents of a town whose water supply has been polluted by Goliath corporation Pacific Gas & Electric. Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar as the blunt, blue-collar single mother of three who sees justice done for the little guy in this based-on-a-true story.
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
'Hotel' is set in 1994, during the Rwandan genocide, in which more than 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi, were killed by extremist Hutu militias. Thanks to the courage of one man, hotelier Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), nearly 1,000 besieged refugees (including Paul's own family) were saved. Think: African version of 'Schindler's List.'
Remember the Titans (2000)
It's ebony and ivory playing together in perfect disharmony when Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) takes over as head football coach of a small desegregated Virginia high school in the early '70s. But in a watershed moment that conjures Knute Rockne's "win one for the Gipper," the team bridges the racial divide and becomes AAA state champions, turning their initial dissension into strength on the gridiron.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The colonel (Alec Guinness) of a contingent of British POWs helps the Japanese build a railroad supply bridge in Burma . But as the Herculean construction project begins to consume him, he forgets that his prime directive is not to aid the enemy. A buff William Holden co-stars in this David Lean epic as an American Navy Commander charged with dynamiting the bridge, thus exposing the colonel's passion as the ultimate cross-purpose pipe dream. The movie won a clutch of Oscars including Best Picture, Director and Actor (Guinness).
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
John Steinbeck's literary masterpiece of disenfranchised Okies traveling to California and a new beginning during the Great Depression gets fine treatment on the screen with Henry Fonda brilliant as down-trodden everyman Tom Joad. As he witnesses inequities firsthand, Tom gives voice to his burgeoning social conscience with a stirring soliloquy: "I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there."
John Steinbeck's literary masterpiece of disenfranchised Okies traveling to California and a new beginning during the Great Depression gets fine treatment on the screen with Henry Fonda brilliant as down-trodden everyman Tom Joad. As he witnesses inequities firsthand, Tom gives voice to his burgeoning social conscience with a stirring soliloquy: "I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there."
Hoosiers (1986)
In this redemptive tale, Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), a man with a few skeletons in his closet, and his nebbish assistant (Dennis Hopper) train a small-town Indiana high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship. The movie -- based on the true story of tiny Milan High School 's improbable 1954 victory -- is a corker. And Hopper gives a standout performance as the alcoholic father of one of the players and a faded high school hoops star himself.
In this redemptive tale, Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), a man with a few skeletons in his closet, and his nebbish assistant (Dennis Hopper) train a small-town Indiana high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship. The movie -- based on the true story of tiny Milan High School 's improbable 1954 victory -- is a corker. And Hopper gives a standout performance as the alcoholic father of one of the players and a faded high school hoops star himself.
Norma Rae (1979)
Minimum-wage slave in a cotton mill with Dickensian working conditions, Norma Rae Webster (Sally Field) unionizes her shop against almost unbearable pressure brought on by management. For her performance as a modern-day Emma Goldman, Field won Best Actress awards at the Oscars and at Cannes , proving undeniably that "We like her, we really like her!"
Minimum-wage slave in a cotton mill with Dickensian working conditions, Norma Rae Webster (Sally Field) unionizes her shop against almost unbearable pressure brought on by management. For her performance as a modern-day Emma Goldman, Field won Best Actress awards at the Oscars and at Cannes , proving undeniably that "We like her, we really like her!"
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
One of the most important "prestige pictures" ever put out by a major studio (RKO), 'Lives' follows three WWII soldiers returning stateside. The transition to civilian life for Dana Andrews, Fredric March and real-life vet and double amputee Harold Russell is far from easy in this empathic look at the struggles of millions of returning servicemen and their families as the boys tried to put horrific memories behind them. The film won seven Oscars, including an unparalleled two for Russell (an honorary statuette and a Best Supporting Actor Award).
One of the most important "prestige pictures" ever put out by a major studio (RKO), 'Lives' follows three WWII soldiers returning stateside. The transition to civilian life for Dana Andrews, Fredric March and real-life vet and double amputee Harold Russell is far from easy in this empathic look at the struggles of millions of returning servicemen and their families as the boys tried to put horrific memories behind them. The film won seven Oscars, including an unparalleled two for Russell (an honorary statuette and a Best Supporting Actor Award).
Schindler's List (1993)
As the Holocaust rages across Europe , Nazi businessman- turned-humanitar ian Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) tries to protect his Jewish factory workers from certain annihilation. Through charm and bluster, and aided by his resourceful accountant (Ben Kingsley), Schindler ultimately saves more than 1,000 Polish Jews -- nearly the only Polish Jews left alive at war's end. The winner of Best Picture and Director (Steven Spielberg) Oscars, the film is a practical -- if disquieting -- illustration of the Talmudic proverb: "He who saves one life, saves the world entire."
As the Holocaust rages across Europe , Nazi businessman- turned-humanitar ian Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) tries to protect his Jewish factory workers from certain annihilation. Through charm and bluster, and aided by his resourceful accountant (Ben Kingsley), Schindler ultimately saves more than 1,000 Polish Jews -- nearly the only Polish Jews left alive at war's end. The winner of Best Picture and Director (Steven Spielberg) Oscars, the film is a practical -- if disquieting -- illustration of the Talmudic proverb: "He who saves one life, saves the world entire."
Rocky (1976)
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) gets the chance of a lifetime when heavyweight boxing champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) recruits the Italian Stallion as his next challenger, thinking the palooka will be little more than a stationary speed bag. Yeah right! Although too many sequels have weakened its force, Rocky's title bout still packs a visceral emotional wallop. Winner of Best Picture and Best Director (John G. Avildsen) Oscars, the film also marks the beginning of Stallone's superstar trajectory after years of bit parts.
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) gets the chance of a lifetime when heavyweight boxing champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) recruits the Italian Stallion as his next challenger, thinking the palooka will be little more than a stationary speed bag. Yeah right! Although too many sequels have weakened its force, Rocky's title bout still packs a visceral emotional wallop. Winner of Best Picture and Best Director (John G. Avildsen) Oscars, the film also marks the beginning of Stallone's superstar trajectory after years of bit parts.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
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The heartfelt Yule perennial is director Frank Capra at his apex with a brilliant conceit that prompts then answers the question of what would happen if a whole life was erased as if it had never been lived. James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, Henry Travers (as Stewart's guardian angel Clarence), the whole Capra stock company of characters, are spot-on in this enduring classic.
The Miracle Worker (1962)
This fact-based film based on the life of Helen Keller (Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Patty Duke) recounts her work with teacher and mentor Annie Sullivan (Best Actress Oscar winner Anne Bancroft). Helen, deaf and blind since infancy, experiences an epiphany that unlocks the world when, at a water pump, she makes the connection between the water spilling out and the word Annie spells in her hand. The scene still stands as one of the most satisfying emotional payoffs in cinema history.
This fact-based film based on the life of Helen Keller (Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Patty Duke) recounts her work with teacher and mentor Annie Sullivan (Best Actress Oscar winner Anne Bancroft). Helen, deaf and blind since infancy, experiences an epiphany that unlocks the world when, at a water pump, she makes the connection between the water spilling out and the word Annie spells in her hand. The scene still stands as one of the most satisfying emotional payoffs in cinema history.
Glory (1989)
This stirring biographical film of one of the first black regiments (the 54th Massachusetts ) to be mustered in the Civil War is anchored by Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance as a conflicted runaway-slave enlistee. It builds to the final doomed assault against a rebel fortress as the colonel (Matthew Broderick) exhorts his brave men to weather a firestorm. You can almost hear Fredrick Douglass' declaration: "... let a black man get a uniform and there is not power on this earth that can deny he has earned his citizenship."
This stirring biographical film of one of the first black regiments (the 54th Massachusetts ) to be mustered in the Civil War is anchored by Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance as a conflicted runaway-slave enlistee. It builds to the final doomed assault against a rebel fortress as the colonel (Matthew Broderick) exhorts his brave men to weather a firestorm. You can almost hear Fredrick Douglass' declaration: "... let a black man get a uniform and there is not power on this earth that can deny he has earned his citizenship."
My Left Foot (1989)
Daniel Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Oscar -- and achieved an emotional career capstone -- for his role as Christy Brown, an Irishman afflicted with cerebral palsy who could only move his left foot. Brown goes on to become an accomplished author (the movie is based on his autobiography) , painter and poet, proving that the human spirit can triumph over even the direst adversity.
