Tom Dupree Top 10 Movie Picks

1.  Fantasia, 1940.  Why?  The apex of cel animation, mated with great orchestral music.  A landmark.
2.  Citizen Kane, 1941.  Why?  Innovative, rule-breaking storytelling and filmmaking. You see something new every time.
3.  Casablanca, 1943.  Why?  The best love story ever made.  Tough guys, heroes, weasels, and one angelic dame.
4.  Singin' In The Rain, 1952.  Why?  A meta-movie with fantastic songs, characters, performers: a musical with brains.
5.  Psycho, 1960.  Why?  Pure cinema, Hitchcock as the audience's puppeteer.  Still shocks today.
6.  2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968.  Why?  Still unmatched outer-space effects, bravura wordless narrative.
7. M*A*S*H, 1970.  Why?  War as absurdity.  Often-imitated sound design.  You laugh and cringe simultaneously.
8.  The Godfather, 1972.  Why?  The great American film.  Organized crime as a metaphor for capitalism.
9.  Star Wars: Ep IV A New Hope, 1977.  Why?  Swashbuckling becomes cool again.  Visually as inventive as they come.
10.  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001. Why?  A sprawling epic done right.  Magnificent tech achievements never overshadow the story.

George Lucas's Blockbusting book feature film writer Tom Dupree is an independent writer and editor living in New York.