Somebody or other seems to have called for our Top Twelve movies. Better late than never! In alphabetical order:

  Amadeus

    I don’t know why this movie mesmerizes me. It’s on TV all the time, but I find that if I run into it I have to watch it till the end. I’m terribly sympathetic to the bitter Salieri, who is burdened with recognizing great musical talent even as he is incapable of producing it. Maybe it reminds me of the times I read some gorgeous prose and wish I’d written it.

 Apollo 13

    Directed by Ron Howard, this is an absolutely gripping account of the failed mission to the moon in 1970. Truly edge-of-your-seat, and great for the family.

  Capote

    After watching this movie, it occurred to me that it was perfect. Not sure why that word fit, but I remember specifically thinking that. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was magnificent.

 Children of a Lesser God

There is one scene I will never forget. William Hurt’s character, a man who teaches deaf students, is trying to tell Sarah (Marlee Matlin) what music sounds like. He realizes he cannot convey the beauty of music with words.

 Cool Runnings

    A Jamaican bobsled team for the Olympics? Funny and sweet. I cry every single time I see the ending. This movie has great heart and is also good for the whole family.

 Driving Miss Daisy

    A gorgeously nuanced portrait of the relationship between a genteel woman (Jessica Tandy) and her chauffer (Morgan Freeman). She is arrogant and stubborn but ultimately kind and he is loyal and wise.

 The Killing Fields

    About a journalist and his loyal photographer in Cambodia, I will always remember the final scene where the tiny Cambodian photographer, finally rescued from his tortuous prison experience after he was left behind, literally jumps into the journalist’s arms with joy. Asked for forgiveness about being left in danger, he says in broken English, “There is nothing to forgive.”

 Life is Beautiful

    The concept was so real to me: a father trying to protect his young son from the evils of the world. I had two young sons at the time it came out and could relate completely to the idea of shielding them not only from physical harm but from the psychic abyss of man’s inhumanity to man. What I couldn’t relate to, of course, was the horrific circumstance in which the protagonist found himself and his family, held prisoners at a Nazi concentration camp. The ending devastated me, even though of course the outcome was inevitable and hung with me throughout the movie.

 The Long Walk Home

    With Whoopi Goldberg as a “domestic” for a Southern white woman, this story was set in 1955 Montgomery, Alabama. The two women had to negotiate both feelings and logistics surrounding the bus boycott.

 The Princess Bride

    A charming fairy tale turned cult classic. A Spaniard, a giant, a princess named Buttercup, and lots of swordplay make this movie fun for everyone.

     A Simple Plan

    “For the love of money is the root of all evil” may as well be the subtitle. A tragedy of Greek proportion, the storyline unfolds from a quiet Minnesota couple’s unassuming life to one of murder and suspicion. Tension is palpable—for them and us, the audience—as we watch everybody descend straight into metaphorical hell. Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton are fantastic.

Sommersby

    An intriguing premise, Richard Gere plays a soldier who returns from the Civil War so changed that his wife, played by Jodie Foster, and the rest of his southern townspeople question if it’s really even him. It’s played just right, with both romanticism and mystery. I can still hear a Southern-sounding Jodie Foster asking, “Who is this man in my kitchen?” She falls in love all over again, and we the audience never really learn the truth.

Others:

 Dangerous Liaisons

 Mystic River

The Queen

Master and Commander

Best in Show