Which film do you consider to be a masterpiece?

I've seen thousands of films but there are only two that I might consider masterpieces, both directed by Hitchcock: "Vertigo" and "Rear Window". They aren't my only favourites by him, but they're two that at might consider come close to that description.

Which film do you consider to be a masterpiece?

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Frank52 · 70-79, M

I've tried this exercise many times and cannot settle on one film. I have considered some the very best of their era (Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey) but modern audiences don't get and then a I see a film which really touches something deep and although it might not win awards, for me it has done the job of reaching into me (Collateral Beauty, Bridge of Spies). Then there are the ones I just watch over and over as a kind of 'safety blanket' when I'm feeling too tired to use my brain.

I would put Rear Window in the great films of the 60s (and definitely in the top work ever in cinema history) and Vertigo is wonderful, but when viewed from 2020 the way women are objectified and pushed around in the narrative makes uncomfortable watching.

Interstellar has to be a modern sci-fi classic and the legacy of 2001 can be seen in it.

Fortunately, as in the famous art galleries, there are many masterpieces.

PhilDeep · 51-55, M

@Frank52 Very interesting - thanks for your contribution. Yes, the male gaze aspect of film certainly seems to have changed to quite an extent. I wonder what you thought of Arrival also the new Blade Runner as modern examples of Sci-fi?

Frank52 · 70-79, M

@PhilDeep I enjoyed both. Arrival was interesting and engaging and I think I'd like to watch it again since I didn't get everything the first time. The new Blade Runner was good, but I don't think I was as involved as I had been with the first. The trouble with a sequel to a seminal work is that it has to work hard for more of the originality that the first audiences saw. With the exception of the second Terminator film, I haven't really seen one that made me go 'Wow!' like the first film did.

Both of these are amongst those many film which make me pleased I saw them but didn't make me rush out and tell others to see them.

Have you seen The Age of Adaline? It's a gentle, quirky sci-fi romance which I thought the female members of my family would enjoy. They found it too quirky. ☹️

PhilDeep · 51-55, M

@Frank52 I haven't. I ran out of enthusiasm and funds somewhat simultaneously some years back, but I'll do some catching-up when able, so will put that on my list. I quite liked the US remake of Solaris, actually, though many might have preferred the original.

Frank52 · 70-79, M

@PhilDeep The remake was not bad, but again the original made a deep impression when it was released.