Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg, 1981.Of course the impending Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought this back to mind. I'm finding there are quite a few people these days who have not seen this... never you mind the lack of CGI, youngsters- there's none in the new film either, yet I bet you'll be in the theatre. This is the most exciting film I've ever seen. There were a couple of moments in The Fellowship of the Ring that matched this excitement when I first saw it (eg. the crazy collapsing scene in the Mines of Moria), and upon seeing The Phantom Menace, the first ten minutes were Raiders-promising- but we all know how far that spun down the turlet once a certain J.J.B. came running out of the woods. From beginning to end, though, this film thrills no matter how many times I see it.
Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders, 1987.
Again, this was such an obvious top 20 choice that I just missed it completely. An angel named Damiel, played by Bruno Ganz, decides he doesn't want his wings anymore and descends to live among the people and experience earthly pleasures. Favorite lines come from Peter Falk, who plays himself and has an encounter with Damiel at the honeywagon on a film set-
"See this? This is a cuppa coffee.
This is a cigarette.
Put them together, and this is heaven."
Now that's my favorite line, but the rest of the script is poetic and gorgeous. The angels can hear what people are thinking, and it's so touching you'll die and go to heaven yourself.
I once saw Bruno Ganz walking down the street, in a trenchcoat similar to the one he wears in this film. I know he was probably in town to shoot a film, but I still like to think that I saw an angel.
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