F. Gary Gray

"Godfather II, specifically number two. It was just what a gangster film should be. It was smart, it had great performances, and you travel through a lot of different worlds with these characters. You know, most people try to avoid family drama. [laughs] I just love the filmmaking in Godfather II."

"Sweet Smell of Success. That movie, it was just dialogue. The dialogue was absolutely amazing in that movie. They just don’t write movies like that any more. You can watch that over and over and over again and never get tired of the dialogue."

"On the Waterfront, with Marlon Brando. Between the look, the feel, the casting… even the casting of the extras. Just to look back and get a sense of what America was like back then, and the details, it was just amazing. And again, it was another one of those movies where the leading man, the way they struck a balance between masculine and vulnerable. Humphrey Bogart did it in Casablanca; I think Marlon Brando did it in On the Waterfront, so that’s why they stick out as the best to me. They’re pretty incredible. You’re just like, you sit back and you say, “Damn, I wish I could do that!” [laughs]"

"La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini, who I’m sure you’re familiar with. And again, not the formula. He was incredible at expressing himself in a way that no other filmmaker could get away with. You see these sequences that may or may not be related. [laughs] Somehow, at the end of it all, it all makes sense, and you’re floored. The photography, and the shots, and the choreography can stand up to anything that’s been released up to now."

"I’d say Casablanca. I love that it was a combination of political… It had a great love story, and it was unpredictable. It didn’t have the classic Hollywood ending, and that was what was great about it. Also, I love Humphrey Bogart, because he had the great ability to be masculine, yet vulnerable, and that was the perfect role to display that."