List: Top 5 Hollywood Classics I Still Haven't Seen

I thought it would be interesting to take a break from my lengthy reviews and post a list or two.
The idea for this one came to me almost instantly as I'm always feeling guilty about having not seen these films, but for some reason never watch them or even make any effort to get hold of them.
I don't know why this is, but I do know that I'll have to watch them sometime as they are all massively important films especially from a cultural point of view, they are classics in the truest sense of the word.

Classic Hollywood has never really been my cup of tea anyway, I much prefer the work of the Hollywood New Wave, or even the Pre-Code films. But I'm often left unimpressed by the so called classics of the 40's and 50's. Maybe that is why I have never made the effort to watch these films.
Anyway, enough rambling, here are my choices:

Day Of The Samurai 3: Harakiri - 1962

Harakiri, or Seppuku as it is normally called in Japan, is a film by celebrated director Masaki Kobayashi, the director of the monumental Human Condition Trilogy and another Samurai classic, Samurai Rebellion.

Harakiri is one of the most acclaimed Samurai films, and one of the most successful outside of Japan as it one the Special Jury Prize at Cannes as well as being nominated for the prestigious Palme D'Or (which it lost to the excellent The Leopard, which in my opinion was a deserving win). Thus it marks a real turning point for the genre as a whole, as this is when such films became recognised not only for their ability to entertain and provide amazing action spectacles, but also for their intellectual content and the insight they shed into Japanese society and the Way of the Samurai, a subject that has long fascinated Western audiences.

Irish Film Blogathon

Due to my recent move to Ireland, I started up a small series of reviews designed to celebrate Irish Cinema. However I soon realised that I would only be able to review a small fraction of the films I had planned to.

I had briefly considered putting together a blogathon, but had soon dismissed the idea as I did not think anyone would be interested. However Nathanael Hood has convinced me to give it a try, and as a result this blog with be hosting it's very first blogathon in celebration of Irish Cinema!

To start off, here are the films I've already reviewed in my marathon:

End Of Week Post

Let There Be Rock 1980 directed by Eric Dionysius, Eric Mistler

This is by far one of the best live performances by a band I've ever seen. The energy of this band and the enormity of their performance and overall sound is simply astounding.
This is definitely some of the best live footage of ACDC and I'd say it's a must see for all their fans. And even for any fans of the Rock genre as a whole, as few bands completely capture the very spirit of rock as well as ACDC did.




La Double Vie De Veronique - 1991 directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
9/10

 This is a film I had heard much about and was really looking forward to. It is also the first of Kieslowski's films I have seen, I thought it was a most interesting work, that could have been off putting in it's vagueness if not for the wonderful performance of Irene Jacob and the stunning cinematography.
It is truly a beautiful film to look at, and the story kept me interested even thought it was almost cryptic in it's nature, I thought it flowed very well and the fact that I didn't grasp all of it did not bother me at all. It reminded me of a David Lynch film in some ways, the way nothing is explained for the viewer and the way themes are followed through in peculiar ways throughout the film. I liked it a lot and Kieslowski has definitely got my interest, I look forward to seeing the Three Colours Trilogy and the Decalogue.