My Top 25 movies of all times and why everyone should watch them..........

I’m a serious movie buff. For me, Movie isn’t just entertainment. They are different stories and different worlds waiting to be discovered.…. and the goal of this blog is simple: assembling a list of Top 25 movies everyone should watch….Movies like Forest Grump, Gone with the wind, Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Amelie feature in the favourites of every decent movie goer…. Here are some of my favourites AND I WILL GIVE U AN IDEA why they feature in my list and why you should catch up with them...

SO LETS GET INTO THE DEPTH OF CINEMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): The most important reason for me liking this movie is because this film is one of the most faithful adaptations of a book ever made.

I could hardly believe it when the jury found Tom Robinson guilty. Later, I understood that Robinson’s guilt or innocence had never really been in question in that jury room. The important thing was to make sure that when a white woman, no matter how trashy or how obviously a liar, made an accusation against a nigger, he had to be convicted. It wasn’t about justice; it was about control.

2. Citizen Kane (1941): I read the book first and understandably was reluctant to watch the movie, it’s rare for a book-to-film adaptation to actually be as good as the original work, let alone better. But boy, was I in for a surprise. I was pulled in, utterly entranced, by one of the best stories I’d ever seen, told in a way that is still stunning today. I saw a marriage dissolve in about 90 seconds over a series of breakfasts. I saw people living in rooms that would have given an elephant agoraphobia. I saw a woman’s nervous breakdown in successive operatic scenes ... well, if you haven’t seen it you’re missing one of the greatest films of all time.

3. The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette) (1948): I hate movies which say little about real life. The reason why this movie features in my list is because of its simplicity. The story is so simple. A man in post-war Italy gets a chance at a job putting up posters. To do it, he needs a bicycle. The family pawns their bedding to get his bike out of the pawnshop and he sets happily to work. The very first day, the bike is stolen. The next day he and his son set out to find it.

There is no way to describe what happens during that day without giving away too much. It is hopeless, then there is a ray of hope ... and then ... the last scenes are of awful revelation, choking sorrow and shame, and are indelibly etched in my memory.

4. Schindler’s List (1993): One of the best movies ever made, this movie proves that the unlikeliest heroes are often the greatest, and Oskar Schindler was one of the unlikeliest of all. He was a greedy German industrialist, a womanizer, a heavy drinker, a shamelessly undevoted and adulterous husband, a war profiteer and a member of the Nazi party. But, he was also the savior of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust, and today more than 6,000 people enjoy life because of his efforts.

In chronicling this extraordinary life, Steven Spielberg, a Jew himself, created one of the most devastatingly emotional films ever made. Filmed in gritty black and white on location in Krakow, Poland where the real events took place, "Schindler's List" is a monumental film that never takes a wrong step in portraying one of the darkest eras of modern history.

But the heart of this film is not about violence. The real miracle of "Schindler's List" is that it finds an uplifting and inspiring story in this bleak period of history. Everything about the film is top rate -- from the brilliant screenplay by Steve Zaillian (based on the novel by Thomas Keneally), to the stark photography by Janusz Kaminski, to the brave performances by Neeson, Kingsley and Fiennes. This film's ability to portray both the highest and lowest forms of human power is breathtaking. The power to kill and the power to save are the two ends of the spectrum, and "Schindler's List" depicts both with stunning clarity. There never has been, and there probably never will be, a more emotionally wrenching and ultimately life-affirming film than this one.

5. Pasqualino Settebellezze (1975): A relatively unknown movie, this masterpiece stands tall in the league of movies like Schindeler’s List. Giancarlo Giannini gives a compelling and hilarious performance as Pasqualino Settebellezze, an Italian hood who is sent to prison after killing his sister's lover. He fakes insanity, gets sent to an institution, escapes by joining the military, deserts, gets caught, and is put in a concentration camp. There, he seduces his grotesque female camp commander in order to survive. Giannini makes his character wholly believable, and his presence on-screen (in nearly every scene) keeps the story going from one plot twist to the next.

No matter how bad his problems are, this smooth talking jerk manages to survive. However, after deserting the army, Pasqualino and another deserter are captured and stuck in a hell-hole German death camp. Slimy Pasqualino figures he, too, will soon die unless he does SOMETHING to survive. His plan is to seduce the German lady officer in charge. She is, by the way, the uglies, scariest and most awful "human being" you'll ever see on film. His sex scenes with her, instead of being titillating are almost comical and pitiful in their repulsiveness. However, Pasqualino gets far more than he bargains for. He DOES survive, but is made a Kapo--a boss of his barracks responsible for selecting men for execution and even performing one himself! It is  tough to watch this segment of the movie--seeing just how far this "man" will go to save his own skin.

That is the deal with the devil he plays in order to eat and survive. Did he sell his soul to the dark side at this point? We do not get a clear answer. Wertmuller is telling us that there is always much more gray than colored outlines when we look to define moral limitations, and the choices made under enormous duress. What would we do to survive such hell? Are we so sure we would not lower ourselves to ANY level in order to survive? Many of us do and that is her point. Instead of taking sides and judging, we are reminded that life sometimes takes over and we are washed away in currents much stronger than our simple moral and ethical compass we felt so sure of as a younger person.

The film is a great study in human nature and evil. Watch it if you ever need to remind yourself what a sad, pathetic species we are, watch Pasqualino Settebellezze and marvel how all the lies that hide our true nature are torn apart to reveal our true spirit.

6.  The Pianist (2002): Brilliantly directed by Roman Polanski , The Pianist is the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, at the time Poland's most acclaimed pianist whose life is transformed during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw beginning in 1939. The film spans several years and maps his many personal trials in addition to providing the perspectives of his family, rebel factions and sympathizers.

What makes this film so amazing and well crafted is because Spielzman is a man that we can all relate to. He is not a hero, he is not a rebel and he is not a kamikaze type that wants and lusts after revenge. He is a simple man that is doing everything in his power to stay alive. He is a desperate man and fears for his life and wants to stay as low as he can. Only from the succor he receives from others does he manage to live and breathe and eat and hide. And this is how I related to him. If put in his position, how would I react? Exactly the way he did. This is a man that had everything taken from him. His livelihood, his family, his freedom and almost his life. There is no time for heroics here

This is one of the best films I have ever seen and what it did to me I cannot describe in words. It moved me, made me cry, made me feel like I was in the Polish ghetto in 1940, and made me thank God that I live in the free society that I do.

7.   La vita è bella (1997): I had heard a lot of negative reviews for this movie. Critics point out that by making this movie, the director has not depicted “concentration camp reality" as it really was or is.

The truth is that this movie isnt about Nazis or holocaust…. It is a film about love, optimism, courage and inner strength. This is certainly no Schindler's List, but it never pretends to be. Occasionally events seem a little contrived, but this does seem to work in the film's favour.

'Life is beautiful' is about a Jewish man, who falls in love with a non-Jewish lady, marries her, has a kid and who is then taken as a prisoner in a concentration camp along with his wife and kid. But the way he protects his kid from the horrors of the genocide, how he always tries to find ways to make his wife and kid smile and laugh, even while facing a grim realities of a ghetto is what makes the movie. A MUST SEE.

8. Misery (1990):  Misery is without a doubt one of the best films of the 90's, and in my opinion, Stephen King's best adaptation into a movie. This is TRUE horror, there's no monsters, no mega special effects, just Kathy Bates who is truly made the big time on one of the scariest villains in horror movie history.

Kathy Bates who rightly won an Oscar for this role, can go from nice and cheerful to downright crazy like someone turning on a light switch. While watching James Caan suffer through the torture that Bates puts him through, you can't help but sympathize with the guy. Rob Reiner presents us with the problem, and he slowly escalates the tension and the dread that creeps over the movie. Even though the book was different in the "hobbling" process, Annie Wilkes' method of hobbling still gives me the chills whenever I watch it. Don’t miss it!!!

9.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): It has been the second film in history to win the 'top five' Oscars (for Best Picture, Best actor, Best actress, Best director and best screenplay) and has been praised as "one of Jack Nicholson's finest roles" and "one of the classics of the 70's". It’s not difficult to see why…. the actors played their roles in such a convincing way that you would think these weren't actors at all, but real psychiatric patients.Really one of those movies that you must have seen at least once in your life.

The movie is perhaps more comedy and entertainment than heavy drama. Still that doesn't mean that the movie isn't filled with some powerful emotional sequences. The tension between the patients and the staff gets more and more notable and grows throughout the movie, which eventually leads to a 'wonderful' ending which I'm not going to spoil. Overall A MUST SEE, Classic! For everyone, see it now!

10.  Mulholland Dr. (2001): I simply love David Lynch movies. Just one single viewing of his any movie is not sufficient to understand the plot. I have seen all of his movies but I feel Mulholland Drive is downright brilliant. A masterpiece. This is the kind of movie that refuses to leave your head.

As usual, Lynch is all about creating irrational fears, and he certainly achieves that with this picture as well. If surrealism and veiled meaning of the film are attractive to you, or if you're just fond of "puzzles", then Mulholland Drive is well worth watching for that aspect.

David Lynch deserves praise for creating a movie that not only has a beautifully stylish look to it - cinematography-wise, has great acting (esp. Naomi Watts), a haunting soundtrack by Badalamenti, and a very dream-like quality to it -- but on top of it all it also manages to involve the viewer in such a way that few movies have before.

A Gem!!!

11.   Rear Window (1954):  Another tough call. I’ve seen almost all of Hitchcock’s films, including some very early silents. There are lot of great ones: the original The Man Who Knew Too Much, Foreign Correspondent, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest. It came down to this one or Vertigo. Both star Jimmy Stewart as a troubled man. Both are profoundly disturbing, not so much from the suspense elements as for the psychology: obsession in Vertigo, voyeurism in Rear Window. In the end I went with this one because, while there are many good films about obsession, there is nothing quite like the claustrophobia in Rear Window. It is in a class by itself.

I’m not very claustrophobic, either, but Jeffries dilemma being cooped up in that apartment that he couldn’t leave affected me a lot. The camera never leaves the apartment. After a while, even the viewer can feel the walls closing in.

There is something very attractive about voyeurism for most people. I’m one of them. I have never window-peeped, but it is fascinating to do it looking over someone’s shoulder, see the lives unfolding all around while yours is on hold. Hitchcock draws us in so gradually, at first we think Jeffries is just paranoid. Then the suspense builds and builds, until it’s hair-raising. Watch it and you would know what Im talking about!!!

12.   Ikiru (To Live) (1952): The great Takashi Shimura stars as Kanji Watanabe, a bureaucrat in post-war Japan. He does literally nothing but shuffle papers. He is just barely alive. Then he learns he really is dying. He has cancer, less than a year to live. He goes on a bender. He curses his fate. Then he decides to accomplish one thing, just one thing before he dies. A group of mothers approaches him after having been shuffled through the bureaucracy, trying to get a dangerous garbage dump cleaned up in the neighborhood where their children play. He decides to help them.

Cut to his funeral.

Whoa! This is about as startling as Janet Leigh dying in Psycho (which would have been on this list, except for the dreadful last 10 minutes). His co-workers gather to get drunk and reminisce. Nobody really knew him; none of them really know each other. Their lives are as empty as his was. Then people begin to drop in. A neighborhood cop. The women. They are devastated. Kanji was a miracle worker to them. The story of his last days comes out in flashbacks, and the last scene will linger in my mind forever.

13.  The Godfather (1972) The Godfather, Part II (1974):  It’s a film that’s been discussed so much I really couldn’t think of anything new to say about it. I came very close to taking it off this list just because of that. But that’s not a good reason. So there’s nothing new to say; I’ll just do my best to say the old stuff as best I can.

The Godfather was not quite the plum assignment it seems in retrospect. The book was a big best-seller, but it was, frankly, trash. Coppola didn’t like it, and only agreed to direct after he was able to excise some of the trashier parts. Several big name directors passed on it. It was only after filming began, with Brando, that people began to realize the potential. Every actor here is at the top of his or her form, except Sophia Coppola and even Andy Garcia being unable to coax so much as a ray of charisma from her..

We’ve seen more realistic portraits of the Italian mob, pictures like Goodfellas, Prizzi’s Honor, and of course, The Sopranos. But The Godfather is the granddaddy of them all.

14.   Peeping Tom (1960) : This notorious murder thriller was years ahead of its time, and resulted in the downfall of its great director, Michael Powell and left his seemingly glorious career in ruins.

Peeping Tom is one of the few films that still has the power to shock all these years on. Psycho, released roughly at the same time, is still a great film (except the last 10 awful moments) but its shock value has been diminished by years of repeat viewings and increasing permissiveness in the cinema. But Peeping Tom is an altogether more disturbing piece of work. It’s an exercise in voyeurism and Mr. Powell, and his screen writer, Leo Marks, created to prove to what extent how one is capable of watching things one shouldn't watch. Boehm is excellent as the killer whose entire outlook has been skewed by his father's experiments. Also impressive is Anna Massey as the killer's fragile and unsuspecting fiancée. Powell directs the film brilliantly, using bold and dazzling colours to disguise the horrific atrocities that punctuate his film. It is understandable that the film was met with revulsion and rejection at that time, but in retrospect it is a film of real importance and power. This is not easy viewing, but it IS essential viewing. Take a bow, Mr. Powell!!!!

15. A Clockwork Orange (1971): A 1971 British darkly satirical science fiction film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. The film concerns Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a charismatic delinquent whose pleasures are classical music (especially Beethoven), rape, and so-called 'ultra-violence.' He leads a small gang of thugs (Pete, Georgie, and Dim), whom he calls his droogs .The film tells the horrific crime spree of his gang, his capture, and attempted rehabilitation via a controversial psychological conditioning technique..

The film grabs you and glues you to your seat from start to finish. Malcolm McDowell gives us a shining example of superior acting, and the movie is as perverted as any of Kubrick's masterpieces (and then some!). It contains horrifying violence, extreme emotions, perversity and weirdness at it's very worst. It all boils down to serve you a plethora of thoughts for you to take with you and contemplate, after the film ends.

However, with all the perversity bursting out of this film, you will probably NOT like this film the first time you see it. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance and after the third time, I was lost for words.

After the fourth time, there was little doubt in my mind, that this was the finest film ever made, and regardless of how many great masterpieces I see, A Clockwork Orange still towers above them. I'm sure you'll agree, if you give it the chance it deserves, although it may require for you to see it more than once. Mr. Kubrick took a huge leap with this film, challenging society to take a hard look at itself. Unfortunately, society wasn't ready for this film, which is why it is revered now more than ever.

16.Tenebrae (1986): Tenebrae follows a writer who arrives to Rome, only to find somebody is using his novels as the inspiration (and, occasionally, the means) of committing murder. As the death toll mounts the police are ever baffled, and the writer becomes more closely linked to the case than is comfortable.

Luciano Tovoli’s camera-work/cinematography is brilliant, especially the luma crane shot (which goes up one side of a building, over the roof and down the other side in one unbroken taken). There’s also an extremely well-photographed and directed sequence featuring a girl being pursued by a rabid Doberman. This film puts Hollywood thrillers like “Copycat” “The Bone Collector,” and “Se7en” to shame, and it’s apparent all three films stole ideas from this one. Highly recommended!!!

17.   Mar adentro (2004): 'Mar Adentro' as an apologia for euthanasia; this story, based on the real life of the Galician fisherman Ramón Sampedro, is a cry from the bottom of the heart for life and love, a reaching out for human compassion, for understanding emotions. Sampedro was an articulate and intelligent man who after a diving accident off the rocks of the Galician coast as a young man was condemned to live the next 27 years in bed. Sampedro lived for 27 years lying in a bed, unable to move but his neck and face, needing help and attention with everyday needs, and fighting a battle to obtain legal permission for somebody to assist him in his suicide.

This is not a depressing movie, but a movie about the irreductible freedom of the human being, about dignity, about love, about self-sacrifice. And about our bonds to our fellow humans, how we create them, how we nourish them, how we abuse them, and how we must realize, painful as it may be, that we have no rights over other people's lives. Films like Mar Adentro remind you what movie-making is (or should be) about.

18.   La historia oficial (1985) : This is cinema with a C. Besides the Best Foreign Film Oscar, this film went on to win 21 other awards and had an additional 3 nominations. It is rare to see a film win almost everything it was nominated for, but this film is just that powerful. This is Director Luis Puenzo's greatest work. It is a powerful story of children stolen from families in Argentina and given to those who support the government.

The fact that this movie is based on historical truth makes it an even more emotional story and I believe that the movie serves as a testimony to all those who have been affected by the situation. Although the film tells a personal story, it symbolizes all of the affected people of Argentina and throughout the world who have experienced similar saddening events and losses. The film serves to educate the public about such tragedies while also conveying a personal message. I learned a lot about the history of Argentina and, although I have never experienced such events in my personal life, I was able to easily relate to the characters in the film. I understand how difficult it is to feel cheated from something and to struggle internally with your own actions. I think that everybody in their own life is trying to come to an ultimate truth of where they come from, who they are, and who they want to be. Don’t give it a miss!!!!

19.   Chinatown (1974): Directed by one of my favourite directors, Roman Polanski, this masterpiece has got everything right, even to the tiniest of details. The script by Robert Towne is amazing which had to be, considering that this movie is all about script, the sets are perfect, the costume and makeup just right, music by Jerry Goldsmith has its intended effect, which in this particular case is to create the mood and the cast does an amazing job. Everybody did their job. Even the movie poster is considered classic and one of the all-time bests.

Jack Nicholson is wonderful as Jake Gittes,who is a snappy dresser, drives a great car, and is in the business for the money. He’s good at his job, and what really gets him is being played for a fool. Faye Dunaway navigates a part that is incredibly conflicted, you feel tension in her every moment she is on screen. And the climactic scene (“She’s my sister ... she’s my daughter ...”) ... well, what can you say? I was as bewildered as Jake !!!

Even the title is so perfect. Until the end of the film the viewer doesn’t realises that it has nothing to do neither with the neighbourhood nor with the Chinese people who live there. It’s a state of mind.

A must watch!!!

20.   The Honeymoon Killers (1970): I am a big fan of movies based on true stories and in my opinion, this film is among the best biopics that I've seen. This movie is a cult film for sure, and aside from a few fairly campy moments, it's acted marvelously.The decision to shoot in black and white was brilliant. A lot of films get praised highly and don't warrant it. But this film deserves every accolade praised upon it.

This dark thriller about a fat nurse and a Spanish gigolo who murder rich but lonely women is based on a true story of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez who preyed on Lonelyhearts column readers and remorselessly killed a number of wealthy lonely women back in the 1940s and the case still belongs to the most peculiar cases in the history of American crime! This is a true story, and it has the digressions and non sequiturs we find in a real-life script. The fact that this is based on real events make it all the more scary.

Shirley Stoler is absolutely fantastic as Martha and deserved much more fame and many more roles than she received. Tony LoBianco is pretty good, too, but is less memorable. Martha is in charge of the situation. She is the one who commits the murders, she is the one who bosses Raymond around, she is the one who controls Raymond's choices, and she is eventually the one who gets sentenced to death with her man.

I have seen the remake also, named as Lonely Hearts, featuring Salma Hayek as Marta and Jared Leto as her paramour. It’s a glossy film but I didn’t enjoy it as much because I couldn’t connect with it as I could with The Honeymoon Killers. In reality, Martha was grossly overweight, not as pretty as Hayek. For me, no one else could have portrayed Martha as well as Stoler did!!!!

A great film filmed in lush black and white on grainy film stock and featuring a classical music/public domain soundtrack, that seeded much too long in the archives! Very few people know about this flick, although it doesn´t need to hide behind other movies about serial killers like "Henry" or even Hitchcock´s"Psycho".

But it´s more than that: "Honeymoon Killers" is a brilliant satire as well as the most bizarre love story I´ve ever seen!!! Absolutely essential viewing for any film fan!

21.   10 Rillington Place (1971): I hold it in the highest regard as one of the best films ever made. This movie has many things going for it…its based on a true story and the realism is stunning. The darkness of the times, the grim and gritty environment are masterfully recreated, and the cast could not have been better chosen: John Hurt, as the naive Evans, and Richard Attenborough, as the sinister Christie, give truly impressive performances.

It tells the story of John Christie, the serial killer whose "career" lasted from the middle 1940's until the early 1950's. The name is taken from the scene of the murders; 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London.

This is a bleak film but one worth seeing. It relates the true story of two men: one, Reginald Christie, one of Britain's most notorious serial killers; the other, Timothy Evans, one of the reasons Britain no longer has the death penalty.

If you want a scary movie, this is it. And not a drop of blood to be seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cup of tea, anyone?

22. Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)1954: Story-telling at its finest, "Seven Samurai" is a terrific film not because of a handful of memorable scenes or lines, but rather because scene-by-scene, frame-by-frame, it tells an interesting story as well as it is possible to tell it. The story and characters are developed carefully, and everything about the movie, from the settings and props to the musical score, is done carefully and expertly.

Seven Samurai is unlike any other grand classic ever produced. Its basic plot can be summed up in a single easy sentence, yet its refinement and execution rival any movie you've ever seen.  If you haven't seen Seven Samurai then you're not really qualified to call yourself a film fan, basically. One of the most influential movies of all time, it  still holds up extremely well nearly 50 years later. Akira Kurosawa's epic tale of heroism and barbarism set the standard in so many ways it's hard to imagine that any modern film does not show its influence in some way or other. Films like Predator and Alien still work within it's boundaries. The battle scenes are terrific and the fast-paced editing is ground-breaking. A great script, great characters, mostly great acting, splendid cinematography and action sequences that wrote the book about how these things should be filmed. Even now, after so many have tried to imitate or beat it, Seven Samurai remains a totally gripping 3.5 hour experience.

23.   Anatomy of a murder (1959): It is probably Otto Preminger's best film and certainly one of my favorite. Adapted from a novel by Robert Traver, it tells the story of a lawyer in northern Michigan and his defense of a particularly surly and violent murderer.

'Anatomy of a Murder' illustrates vividly how one lawyer repeatedly faces the heat of a controversial rape-case courtroom battle... The film might be Stewart's finest performance... For his magnificent achievement, Stewart was nominated for an Academy Award... The film itself received a total of seven Oscars in various categories, but was overtaken by William Wyler's 'Ben-Hur',

It is one of the few great racy courtroom melodramas ever put on the screen...and possibly most realistic. It is a study of characters superbly detailed, in which a simple country lawyer zealously defends a young Army lieutenant charged with clearly gunning down a bar-owner who, he alleges, raped his young wife...

It's a very complex movie, with multitudes of layers and texturing, where much is deftly explored, but precious little is resolved. It's a movie that leaves you thinking and wondering. I highly recommend it.

24.   Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): A roller coaster of a movie! One of the greatest black comedies.

Cary Grant motors the piece along at a terrific pace. He's a joy to watch, with his double-, triple-, even quadruple- and quintuple-takes and the rest, are all everything they should be, Priscilla Lane is splendidly dewy-eyed and pouty as the love-interest.

The climactic scene at the end of the movie where Cary is tied up, about to be murdered when the police come and the climactic fight scene breaks out. This is a life and death fight - the climax of the movie ! Chaos ensues...chairs flying, bodies flying and what does our friend Mr Grant do? After freeing himself from his bonds he goes and sits on the staircase - still in harm's way of the brawl and with a classic Grant gesture of "don't bother me" he says the immortal line..."everybody off" . At that point he pulls out his cigarette case and lights up. He completely pulled himself out the movie ! Sitting there puffing away on a cigarette without care for the bedlam or threat to his life that whirled around his character in cyclonic fashion....."everybody off"...what a line !!!!!!!

I've seen Arsenic and Old Lace countless times. I've never tired of it and always look forward to it. Rent it now!!!!

25. Greed (1924): Von Stroheim was, with Griffith & Chaplin, one of the authentic geniuses of the silent cinema. He had an unerring eye for what was visual and how to transfer mere words into astonishing images on the screen.   I, personally find it difficult to sit through a silent film. The exaggerated movements and facial expressions and the over-bearing music, a fixture of most of silent movies turn me off.
However, that’s not the case with von Stroheim's Greed. The film, simply put, is immaculate. A film almost as powerful as it is famous, Greed is pretty straight-forward about its theme: Greed. And what it does to people.

The portrayal of McTeague and Trina is fantastic. Pitts and Gowland, without using their voices, create depth and allow the audience to sympathize with the characters. Silence often acted as a barrier between the viewer and the characters; here, that distance is bridged by the two actors and, I must assume, von Stroheim's masterful direction. Also,this movie is a fine adaptation of Norris' novel McTeague. I was a fan of the novel before I saw the film and the film does not disappoint.

Von Stroheim ensured that the spirit, if not the word, of the novel was maintained. A movie not to be missed!!!!!!!!!