Harry Caul (Cinema101)

10/10 Transcendental. That is the best one word description I can think of for 2001. Beyond Sci-fi or film in general, this is one of the best works of art of all time and just about my favorite film of all time. The best works of art tell us about ourselves, first as a collective, as humanity; and second personally, questioning our private existence, our beleifs, our souls and motives. 2001 does this in a way that allows the viewer to think while watching (as opposed to after) and apply the experience of the film deeply and personally, making for one of the most engaging film experiences. 2001 is just that, an experience, it's a movie about everything, transcending all cultural boundaries and yet has no real story or plot. It doesn't need the usual screenplay structure or plot, it is simply beyond this. Even through all its complex ideas, 2001 finds the time to become a thriller of sorts, including one of the most supenseful sequences in movie history and one of the most chilling villains; the super-computer Hal9000. And with some of the best imagery ever put to celluloid and the perfect soundtrack to go along with it, 2001 is a movie classic, truly trascendental. Stanley Kubrick's magnum opus is a film everyone should watch and experience, regardless of personal tastes as it concerns everyone and anyone.

10/10 A must see for cine-buffs as well as Art House types, the release of this film marked the beginning of modern cinema (although many would attribute that milestone to Goddard's Breathless) as well as the start of what would become one of cinema's most memorable and enduring actor-director teams, continuing the story of Antoine, making 4 more films together. Truffaut's masterpiece might be the most pure of all films, if that's even possible. Every time I revisit this film I fall even more in love with it. It's script which is so carefully restrained and calculated. Jean Pierre Leaud, who at 13 was more natural and had more genuine charisma than nearly any of today's leading men. In order to not relate to this movie you'd have to have been born at age 20; one can't help but fall in love with this film. Like Jean Constantin's charming score, The 400 Blows is perfectly simple, the best debut film ever on that side of the Atlantic. Simply perfect. PS. Check out Truffaut's short film Antoine and Colette, the suedo-sequel to The 400 Blows for a nice little follow-up on the teenage life of Antoine Doinel.