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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Miller's Crossing (1990) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Aug 6, 2020)

Miller's Crossing (1990)

1990 | Drama, Mystery

8.2

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

In a word: Style. Note, in the picture, how Gabriel Byrne’s posture in the chair reflects that of Micheal Corleone in The Godfather! Knowing Joel and Ethan Coen, that is not a mistake. This is a movie designed to the millimetre. The clothes, the furniture, the guns, the cars, everything is meticulously chosen, creating nothing less than a moving work of art. Even the language is poetry, using a vocabulary, largely invented, to highlight the rhythm of the wiseguy era that is entirely romanticized, but so perfectly consistent we wish it was history. It steals knowingly from the best in the genre at every turn, weaving a tale so nuanced and detailed that it demands several watches to truly mine every multi-layered meaning. In every way, a rich feast, about loyalty, weakness and humanity. The film on this list I am mostly likely to keep watching at the drop of… a hat!

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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Paths of Glory (1957) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020

Paths of Glory (1957)

1957 | Classics, Drama, War

8.9

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Meanwhile, producer Kirk Douglas had met a promising young director he liked called Stanley Kubrick. Douglas, whose humanitarian work was also becoming a big part of his life around this time, was looking for a script that championed pacifism over the gung-ho attitude of American heroism that he found distasteful. The rest is history. Possibly the one film in his career that can still be called perfect. Again, it was way ahead of its time, and therefore unfairly shunned as an Oscar contender. Shot in stunning black and white, it is an economical film of great power, replete with memorable moments and striking dialogue. The evidence of Douglas’ increasing skill at the quiet moments is all the better for the big pay-off when he erupts, calling out his superiors on their morality and cowardice. Of all films on this list, this is the one most likely to endure as a work of pure art.