Duke Johnson

The Lady Vanishes stands out to me as the film where Hitchcock comes into his own as the master we all know and love. Lady was his 22nd film. It was made in England and released a year before he would ultimately make the move to Hollywood, where, as they say, the rest is history. I’m reminded of a passage in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, where he says that by the time anyone heard a Beatles song on the radio, the band had already performed more live shows than the average band plays in their entire career. They had honed their skills. They had become the Beatles. In my opinion, The Lady Vanishes is when Hitchcock becomes Hitchcock. It’s a funny, thrilling, suspenseful, intricately crafted film.

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While I was growing up, part of my personal journey with cinema was watching certain films at certain times of the year, often corresponding with holidays. To this day I watch A and C Meet Frank every year around Halloween. It’s one of the very first films I fell in love with, and it remains one of my all-time favorites. It’s a joy bomb. Abbott and Costello are an iconic vaudevillian comic duo, and this is their best film. In addition to Bud and Lou, we have Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman, Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s Monster, Bela Lugosi as Dracula (the only time he portrayed Count Dracula onscreen, other than in the original 1931 classic) and a special appearance by Vincent Price as the Invisible Man. In terms of classic comedies, classic Universal monster movies and classic cinema in general, it really doesn’t get any better, IMO.

I’ve heard Mike Nichols said this was the one film he had to watch before starting any new project. Elizabeth Taylor (a teenager at the time) said she learned the true value of an actor’s work by bearing witness to the legendary Montgomery Clift, who embodied his role so completely that he would make himself physically break out in sweat from the terror his character was experiencing. This is another film I first watched as a teenager, and it had a profound effect on me. I was haunted by it for days. You just believe so completely that these two people love each other. In fact, Taylor did fall for Clift in real life, but of course he was gay and it wasn’t meant to be. However, they remained close friends for the duration of his tragic life. It’s a master class in narrative storytelling. George Stevens is one of those directors who made a bunch of Hollywood comedies and then experienced World War II, returning with a different perspective and with different aspects of the human experience he wanted to explore. It’s the kind of film that only a group of people who have experienced real suffering could make.

John Ford: the man, the myth, the legend…the filmmaker’s filmmaker. This film just brings me joy. The Quiet Man is what we watched on Saint Patrick’s Day growing up in my house. It’s a flawlessly crafted, joyful fantasy film made by a master at the height of his powers. And it makes you feel good! Movies are miraculous things. They connect directly to our cerebral cortex and take us to another reality, one we experience as something emotionally authentic, and that experience can change us in the same way that an emotional experience can change us in the real world. And, well, that’s awesome.

The ultimate one-hit wonder. It sits securely at the top of my list of favorite films of all time, and it’s widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. Which bears mentioning, if only as a counterpoint to the fact that it was critically panned at the time of its release. Legend has it that Laughton, primarily known as one of the greatest actors of his generation, was so devastated by the film’s “failure” (how could he not be?!) that he never even attempted to make another film. He died in 1962, never knowing that he had created a masterpiece. He did continue to do great things as an actor, like Witness for the Prosecution, but imagine what could have been. This one film has influenced my work more than any other, particularly the artificial-set aesthetic and almost fairy-tale/theatrical quality, which is itself influenced by earlier German Expressionist works—an aspect shared with many of the films on this list. It’s funny, strange, sad and beautiful. 

Essential viewing for anyone inspired by the practical illusions of handcrafted filmmaking. Bava was a cinematographer before he became a director. He approaches directing from a heavy craft perspective. Personally, I like to see the fingerprints in the clay, so to speak. Much like a painting attempts to capture the essence of its subject, the objective being to get to the truth of a thing, sometimes an emotional expression (rather than a literal one) can yield more. Anyway, I dig that stuff and so did Bava. He used a lot of practical FX and sets and forced perspective and mattes and miniatures and things like that. This was also Bava’s first credited feature as a director, another theme running through this list. It’s also essential spooky Halloween viewing, another checked box.

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I added this film to my list because when I mention it to people, no one has ever heard of it. And it’s incredible! Per Oscarsson gives one of the best character performances of all time. He’s like the Daniel Day-Lewis of the 1960s. Oscarsson won several awards for his performance, including best actor at Cannes. It co-stars one of Ingmar Bergman’s muses, Gunnel Lindblom; Krzysztof Komeda, who scored Roman Polanski’s early films, composed this one as well; and some crew members also worked on Bergman films. So why has no one heard of this movie?! I discovered it when I worked at a video store in West Hollywood in 2006. It just showed up on the shelf one day, having been released on DVD for the first time. It’s mesmerizing. The whole film feels like a dream. 

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This is what happens when a group of the world’s most talented animators find themselves creatively stifled by one of Disney’s most notorious low points and decide to break out and make something on their own. More specifically, something that Disney felt was too risky and off-brand to produce itself. It’s the story of a single mother who’s forced to delve into a dark underworld of wizards, black magic and escaped, genetically modified lab rats to save her bedridden child before their house gets demolished with him inside. Alas, fortune favors the bold. The result is a kids’ movie that doesn’t talk down to kids. It’s evocative and immersive and mysterious and magical and spooky and harrowing and beautiful and brilliant.

Monster movie time! If you dig 1980s monster movies, it doesn’t get any better. A group of scientists marooned in an Antarctic wasteland with a shape-shifting alien that could be anyone at any time—no other movie defines horror popcorn cinema more for me. You know the old adage “Movie monsters are scarier when left to the imagination”? Or the one that says “Don’t reveal the monster too early”? This movie says to hell with that, going instead for a no-bullshit, in-your-face, laissez-faire approach, and it makes all the difference. The practical creature effects are landmark, as is the character-actor ensemble and the Ennio Morricone score. It’s immersive and entertaining, and if you haven’t experienced it yet, I’m jealous. It’s a blast!

Sidney Lumet, one of the GOATs. Every film student of my generation read his book, Making Movies, back in the ’90s. This particular film is a flawless addition to his legendary canon. You can see his process at work, as outlined in his timeless book. All aspects of his craft are perfectly executed in support of a clear, precise and simple vision. Paul Newman delivers a career-highlight performance as the ambulance-chasing alcoholic lawyer who gets a shot at redemption. There’s nothing overly complicated or convoluted about this film. It’s profound in its simplicity.

A meticulously constructed, atmospheric, nightmarish dreamscape (both figuratively and literally). There is profound artistry on display here. It’s one of my all-time faves. Neil Jordan is a spooky Irish demigod (High Spirits, Interview with the Vampire, Byzantium, etc.), and in my opinion, this is his masterpiece. The story is patched together from several of Angela Carter’s short stories. The aesthetic is—chef’s kiss—legit goth-boy daydream fodder. Stanley Kubrick was so impressed with the film’s design that he hired the production designer, Anton Furst, to do Full Metal Jacket. Shout-out to the practical creature FX and to the real-life pygmy skull that Terence Stamp, who plays the devil, holds in his hand. Plus, it has Angela Lansbury! I saw her on a plane once. No one else seemed to recognize her, and when she noticed me and clocked the indelible impact she had on my childhood swirling around in my eyes, she winked. For a moment it was like we shared a secret, and I’ll never forget it.

A great fantasy romance film. Why don’t they make those anymore? Stories that just take for granted that magic and true love are real. Great cast, great script, dated ’80s synth score but beautiful and evocative nonetheless. This is another film I saw in my formative years that inspired me toward the types of stories I wanted to tell (before I became all cynical and pessimistic). Rutger Hauer is iconic. Michelle Pfeiffer is impossible not to fall in love with. Richard Donner is at the peak of his powers. It’s a great film that you will never see on any list of great films, because it’s not cool to be sentimental; but I’m a middle-aged goth kid and I just don’t care about being cool anymore. I like stories that make me dream, and I believe in magic and love. 

This is the first “adult” drama I saw when I was growing up. It shook me. Again with Michelle Pfeiffer—what can I say? She’s amazing. Her performance here is devastating. And I think this is essentially the movie that defined our cultural perception of the iconic John Malkovich. Plus, Glenn Close, of course, and shout-outs to super young Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves. A powdered-wig drama that feels gritty and real and deeply relevant. This film also makes you believe in love, but it doesn’t feel good. 

Heathers is one of those rare films that feels completely original while managing to perfectly encapsulate a specific place and time in our cultural history. The fully realized world within the film is both novel and particular, complete with its own language and its own set of rules. It feels a bit like going to another dimension, then looking back at ourselves and seeing things that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Dark things. Being a teenager is a harrowing and absurd experience, and high schools are war zones. To me, it’s the greatest teen movie of all time.

Lady in White is a kids' movie with an MPAA rating that precluded young kids from being able to see it. If it wasn’t for this, I’m certain it would be a staple of every ’80s kid’s childhood. I can’t imagine a better premise for a kids movie: On Halloween night, a little boy gets locked in a cloakroom that overlooks a cemetery and witnesses the ghost of a little girl reenact her own murder; he then promptly falls in love with said little ghost-girl and sets out to solve her murder. A beautifully constructed world of backlots and sets, Hitchcockian dream sequences, magical realism and genuine terror. I’m sort of obsessed with one-hit wonders—the idea that a filmmaker put everything they had into a single vision. And then what? Did they give all they had to this one thing and were left depleted? Were they full of ideas but struggled to rebound after their film floundered at the box office? (It surely didn’t help that this decidedly Halloween movie was released in April.) It’s so hard to get something made. If you’re starting from a deficit after putting everything into your magnum opus, I can certainly understand not having the will to go on. Making stuff is hard.

I first saw this movie when it played at the Tivoli Theatre in St. Louis. I was 17. The ’90s were a great time for movies. Maybe the last great decade? Or maybe that’s something only someone my age says. Euphoric recall for my formative years. Regardless, this film had a massive impact on me. It was released in April, and I went away to study filmmaking for the first time that summer. For one of my earliest short films, I stole the original, much cooler Italian title, Dellamorte Dellamore, which translates to “Of Love, of Death.” (Am I painting a clear enough picture of my moody teenage self?) Some of the earliest sequences ever captured on film combined elements of horror and comedy, utilizing practical illusions to visualize the metaphysical. In many ways Cemetery Man is an extension of those early works. On the surface it’s a horror-comedy-zombie movie, but it weaves in operatic elements that hark back to the giallo films of the ’70s, and surrealist elements that remind me of ’60s films like Last Year at Marienbad or The Exterminating Angel. The film’s dreamlike quality and use of practical effects bring to mind the works of Jean Cocteau; films like Orpheus or La Belle et la Bête. Needless to say, there are a lot of elements working in harmony here. It’s atmospheric and at times, dare I say, graceful? I was haunted and inspired by this film long after first seeing it. I still am. 

Tim’s finest? Certainly in my opinion, and I love me some Burton. Honestly, Johnny Depp’s finest too. He plays one of the most endearing and inspiring characters in cinema history: the undisputed worst director of all time. Sure, maybe the story of a struggling filmmaker whose ambitions might surpass his talent has personal resonance, but what makes the story universal is Wood’s infallible determination. He simply never gives up. One of my favorite moments is when Wood is on the phone with a studio executive and we only hear Wood’s side of the conversation: “Really? Worst film you ever saw. Well, my next one will be better.” He just keeps trying, and because of that you can’t be sure he’ll never get there. Or maybe he’s already there, because “it’s the journey” or whatever. Anyway, he never stops following his dreams, and it just moves me. It’s an outsider story and a love letter to filmmaking, to the warrior spirit needed to pursue a life in the arts. 

A werewolf movie that subverts the typical metaphors of distinctly masculine primal urges and instead delivers a landmark of feminist horror. A coming-of-age story that focuses on female development, female empowerment and sisterly love. Also, it’s just a really badass werewolf movie! I’ve always admired the film’s depiction of goth teenagers. It feels well observed here, rather than a fashion trend or sexy stereotype. It captures what it’s like to be an adolescent outcast who feels different and alone and, in particular, drawn to the macabre. The Toronto suburbs make for a film that feels both novel and familiar to an American audience. When you don’t recognize anyone (with the exception of Mimi Rogers) or any location in a film, it always feels special.

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This is just one of those rare perfect films. It’s beautiful, emotional, timeless and infinitely rewatchable. Maybe the greatest directorial feature debut of the 21st century. Romance in film—real romance that involves richly developed characters and feels truly earned—is one of the rarest and most satisfying cinematic experiences. What’s more essential to the human experience than love? And here it’s only one of the film’s achievements. The cinematography, the performances, and by God, the score! A triumphant cinematic achievement by all involved. I don’t know what else to say. Watch it if you haven’t. If you have, watch it again. It’s food for the soul!