Are you alone? / Isn't everybody?

Four AFI winners and one inexplicable mistake. Nobody's perfect! Western, noir, courtroom drama, science fiction, and animation: something for everyone.

High Noon (1952) - "A town marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I love Gary Cooper
AFI: 10 Top 10 (2008) Western #2

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (original list 1998) #33

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #27

    100 Years ... 100 Cheers (2006) #27

    100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #20

IMDB: 7.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 89%

notable quote: "Don't shove me, Harv. I'm tired of being shoved."
story: everybody likes the marshal, who cleaned up the town and "made it safe for women and children to live." Now that he's retiring to marry and leave with his Quaker bride, though, some bad guys are coming back to get revenge. Will the grateful townspeople stand by him or leave him alone at high noon?
costumes, hair & makeup: classic dusty Western, particularly in the difference between the dirt on the men and the pristine women
acting: Grace Kelly (Amy Fowler Kane) is a barbie doll in this, plastic and emotionless (and with an inexplicable accent that goes well beyond Mid-Atlantic). However, Gary Cooper (Marshal Will Kane) and Lloyd Bridges (Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell) more than make up for her. Cooper, especially, was phenomenal, expressing Kane's reluctance and resolve and the effects of aging with understated skill.

intangibles: one of the best Westerns you could ever see
Academy Award winner:
• Best Actor—Cooper

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Song—"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')"

• Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Stanley Kramer

• Best Director—Fred Zinnemann

• Best Writing, Screenplay
overall: highly recommended

Chinatown (1974) - "A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: it's one of those classic films that I'd heard of but knew nothing about
AFI: 10 Top 10 (2008) Mystery #2

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (original list 1998) #19

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #21

    100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #16

IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 99% Audience: 93%

notable quote: "You're a very nosy fella, kitty cat. Huh? You know what happens to nosy fellas? Huh? No? Wanna guess? Huh? No? OK. They lose their noses. ... Next time you lose the whole thing. Cut it off and feed it to my goldfish."
story: noir, hard to describe and somewhat hard to follow. I was surprised after watching it to discover that it rated so highly on the "100 Movies" lists.
visuals: dark & gritty, with some mesmerizing direction and remarkable shots. Pretty sure this was my first Roman Polanski film.
costumes, hair & makeup: dashing and flamboyant
acting: John Huston (Noah Cross) was outstanding.

intangibles: it's a bizarre movie, very deep and gnarled, but if you follow the twists and turns it is worth it in the end
Academy Award winner: Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Robert Evans

• Best Actor—Jack Nicholson (J.J. Gittes)

• Best Actress—Faye Dunaway (Evelyn Mulray)

• Best Director—Polanski

• Best Cinematography

• Best Art Direction—Set Decoration

• Best Costume Design

• Best Sound

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Dramatic Score

overall: recommended

12 Angry Men (1957) - "A jury holdout attempts to prevent a miscarriage of justice by forcing his colleagues to reconsider the evidence."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: it's a law movie I've never seen; I kinda had to
AFI: 10 Top 10 (2008) Courtroom Drama #2

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition) #87

    100 Years ... 100 Cheers (2006) #42

    100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #88

IMDB: 9.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 97%

notable quote: "'You think he's not guilty, huh?'

    'I don't know. It's possible.'"
story: what is "reasonable doubt"?
visuals: as basic as it gets, yet genius for all that. How can what is essentially a one-room set be compelling? Well, this movie will show it.
acting: Lee J. Cobb (Juror #3) and Henry Fonda (Juror #8) own it, completely. I also loved Cobb in Call Northside 777 (reviewed here)

intangibles: this is as close to a perfect movie as I've seen in a long time. Mesmerizing, thought-provoking, and tremendously well done.
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose

• Best Director—Sidney Lumet

• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium—Rose
overall: most highly recommended

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - "When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, California, where they replicate the residents into emotionless automatons one body at a time."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I was in AFI mode while placing holds at the library, and had not realized that there were two versions of this film—the award winner from 1956 and this remake. And now I know. 
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 93% Audience: 81%

notable quote: "Here I am, you pod bastards! Come and get me, you scum!"
visuals: quite, um, floral. Viney.
costumes, hair & makeup: see above
acting: not a masterpiece by any definition

intangibles: it's not even funny-bad. Just bad.
overall: not recommended

Pinocchio (1940) - "A living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy."
Source: I borrowed the Blu-ray from the public library
I watched it because: it's on the AFI list

AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Cheers (2006) #3

810 Top 10 (2008) Animation #2

IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 73%

notable quote: "'Say "hello" to Figaro.'

    '"Hello to Figaro."'"
story: sweet, more complicated than I'd remembered, and a little frightening
visuals: extremely well-drawn

intangibles: it is not surprising that we expect so much from animation, when films like this set the bar—81 years ago already. 
Academy Award winner:
• Best Music, Original Song ("When You Wish Upon a Star")
• Best Music, Original Score
overall: recommended

[the title quotation is from Chinatown]