Shot in gorgeous black and white, Woody Allen's comedy drama see's him playing Isaac Davis a writer dating a 17 year old girl (Mariel Hemingway). His best friend is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton). At first Isaac doesn't like her, feeling her to be a snob, eventually they find themselves attracted to each other and begin a relationship.
While this isn't Allen's funniest film, I personally feel that it's his best written and acted. Hemingway was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for her role as Isaac's girlfriend. A young Meryl Streep also has a brief role as Isaac's lesbian ex-wife.
The opening montage of shots of Manhattan backed by George Gershwin music is one of the best scenes in cinema.
9. Alfie (1966)
Michael Caine stars as Alfie Elkins, who lives a self centred and hedonistic lifestyle, using women for sex them generally treating them with disrespect, until a series of events force him to think about how that lifestyle effects himself and others.
What makes this film so good, and the Jude Law remake bad, is that Alfie is unlikable. He deserves everything bad that happens to him. At the same time one can't help but feel a bit of sympathy for him, and hope that by the end of the film he has learned something.
It's also pretty funny, particularly Alfie's 4th wall breaking asides to the audience.
8. The Omen (1978)
A US ambassador (Gregory Peck) discovers his adopted son is actually the Antichrist. This film isn't the scariest, but remains creepy thanks to Richard Donner's direction, Billie Whitelaw and Toby Stephens performances and Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar winning score. It's also got the best decapitation scene ever.
7. Head (1968)
Released shortly after the cancellation of their TV series, this vehicle for The Monkees was a total flop. It was too Avant Garde for the band's primary audience to appreciate it, and those who would have appreciated it didn't want to see a film with The Monkees. Since then it's gained something of a cult following.
The film has no real story, rather it's a series of loosely connected scenes showing some of the more unpleasant aspects of being famous. It's surreal, even more so than the TV series, and very Psychedelic but that's why I love it.
Also, by this point The Monkees had become a proper band, (they started to write their own songs and play their own instruments) and the soundtrack shows them at their best particually on the songs Circle Sky, Do I Have to Do This all Over Again and the Porpoise Song.
6. The Great Escape (1963)
I already talked about this in my Richard Attenborough post, so I won't go into much detail here. A group of POW's (including Attenborough, Steve McQueen, James Garner and Donald Pleasance) plan an escape from a German prison camp.
This is a stone cold classic and if you haven't seen it, go out, buy a copy and watch it immediately.
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