13. The Jazz Singer (1927)
Influential, how? Movies get mouthy.
Let’s clear this up. The Jazz Singer wasn’t the first ‘talkie’. But it was the first feature-length Hollywood talkie, in which spoken dialogue was meshed into the drama.
Audiences went mad-crazy as jazz megastar Al Jolson broke into song, ad-libbing with his old mum at the piano.
It wasn’t much: a song and a few lines of dialogue. But it was enough to change cinema forever.
Money shot: “Wait a minute, wait a minute… You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!”
14. Metropolis (1927)
Influential, how? Welcome to the future.
The Fifth Element’s New York, Blade Runner’s LA, Batman’s Gotham... The city of the future was first built here.
Metropolis’ shadow looms over every decade and every genre: from Bride Of Frankenstein’s lab to Dr Strangelove’s mechanical hand and even David Fincher’s music videos.
Metallic femme fatale Maria warned us about the machine-men who would appear in Westworld, The Terminator and The Matrix.
Money shot: Mad-scientist Rotwang runs through darkened catacombs, swinging his light like, well, a sabre. George Lucas takes note.
15. Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Influential, how? Surrealism opens eyes.
Not the first surrealist movie (that honour belongs to René Clair’s 1924 Entr’acte) but the first to make a major impact.
Right from the opening shot of an eyeball being sliced by a razor, Buñuel and Dali aimed to shock – and succeeded.
Thereafter, surrealist imagery tinged pretty much every movie dream-sequence.
Money shot: Gotta be that eyeball.
16. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
Influential, how? Hollywood goes to war.
Banned by the Nazis, loved by pacifists, this early ‘war is hell’ classic captured the tragedy of the trenches and proved that there really is no honour in dying for one's country.
“Here is war as it is - butchery,” wrote Variety.
Money shot: A dying man reaches for a butterfly fluttering over barbed wire.
Comments
avoidz
Apr 3rd 2009, 14:41
Great article; one of your best. Thanks!
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filmgeek27
Apr 5th 2009, 10:58
Great feature. I have to admit to not buying the magazine for a few months now (I've just been clicking on to the website) but after that I'm going to go out and get this issue
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waldolydecker
Apr 17th 2009, 9:44
Oops! Your "Room at the Top" still is in fact a scene from Clouzot's "Les Diaboliques", starring Simone Signoret and Vera Clouzot - another influential film, no doubt. How could you forget "Rebecca", "Laura", "Singin' in the Rain", etc. Your list is interesting however, but quite a few of the contemporary titles quoted are worthless and will be forgotten in 10 years from now. Wanna bet? See you in 2019!
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WisdomPersona
Apr 17th 2009, 14:40
For the most part, a great list. However, why choose "Mean Streets" as the film that 'plugged in the jukebox'? "American Graffiti" had far more pre-recorded songs, and was released three months earlier. What gives?
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horrorfilmx
Apr 17th 2009, 17:43
Interesting article, but you mention that "Star Wars revolutionised CG visual effects". Star Wars had no CG visual effects, at least not until Lucas redid it decades later. That's why the original Star Wars looks so much more real than all the CGI junk that followed it, and why a generation raised on video games considers it "dated" and "cheesy" --- because they have to grounding in reality any more.
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futureman
Apr 18th 2009, 4:02
Good article but s didn't Superman bring about synergy? They completed a whole series of movies before the first Batman. I was also surprised there was no mention of the movies that influenced the sequel.
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Apathygrrl
Apr 18th 2009, 18:11
I'm actually surprised to find that the original King Kong isn't on your list.
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daveman14
Apr 19th 2009, 2:02
Great list but I'm surprised you left off Trip to the Moon by Melies as it is the first narrative film in history.
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Asterix
Apr 19th 2009, 3:03
Awesome article, but..... Why "Cableguy" (1996) and not "Back to the Future" (1985) (a family movie - the most influential travel time movie)? Why "Batman" (1989) and not "Superman - the movie" (1978) (You can believe a man can fly!...perfectly - the first comic book adaptation of all time)? And, where's the Godfather?????????
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grantmccall
Apr 19th 2009, 4:14
I'm quite surprised that the first feature film ever made isn't in this list: The story of the kelly gang - It's an Australian film, 60 minutes in length.It precedes "Birth of a nation" by 9 years. Oh well, us Aussies usually get left out of most important lists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_the_Kelly_Gang
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grantmccall
Apr 19th 2009, 4:15
I'm quite surprised that the first feature film ever made isn't in this list: The story of the kelly gang - It's an Australian film, 60 minutes in length.It precedes "Birth of a nation" by 9 years. Oh well, us Aussies usually get left out of most important lists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_the_Kelly_Gang
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heidavey
Apr 19th 2009, 20:08
You're first film is 7 years too late - "Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge" is widely regarded as the first film, that was followed by "Roundhay garden scene" both in 1888 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343112/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0392728/
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Jawsphobia
Apr 22nd 2009, 16:26
In the Blade Runner blurb, neon noir, looks more like a typo of the proper term neo-noir than a play on words. And although Blade Runner has some neon in it it is not wall-to-wall at all.
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ciaraosullivan
Aug 17th 2012, 17:10
I'm surprised that you left out Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
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