C
Scroll down for movie reviews beginning with this letter.
MPAA Rating is the rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America. Please note this is a voluntary rating, so some films (many times older films or obscure foreign films) are not rated.
G - General Audiences
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
PG13 - Parental Guidance Suggested for those under 13 years of age
R - Restricted (those under 18 not admitted without parent or guardian)
NC-17 (X) - No one under 18 admitted.
USCCB Rating is the rating given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Please note that some films are not rated simply because the Bishop’s Conference has not reviewed them.
A-I: General Patronage
A-II: Adults and Adolescents
A-III: Adults
L: Limited Adult Audience, problematic content
O: Morally Offensive
Fr. John’s Ratings
★★★★★ - Masterpiece. This film has to show aspects of cinematic excellence that are above and beyond the ordinary and even beyond the “excellent” classification. Because a true masterpiece can be determined only through its ability to endure through the passage of time, no film is even considered for this rating until at least ten years have passed from the date of its initial release.
★★★★ - Excellent
★★★ - Very Good
★★ - Fair
★ - Poor
Citizen Kane (1941) ★★★★★
Length: 119 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG. USCCB Rating: A-II. Director: Orson Welles. Black-and-white.
Considered by many to be the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane was crafted by a very young Orson Welles and is a loose re-telling of the life of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon.
When his parents come into some serious money, young Charles Foster Kane is whisked away to a hopefully-brighter future under the patronage of a Mr. Thatcher. As he gets older, Kane decides it would be “fun to run a newspaper” and proceeds to build his publishing empire. The whole movie is a series of flashbacks, the common thread being a reporter’s attempts to uncover the meaning of Kane’s dying last word, “Rosebud”.
Orson Welles was only twenty-five years old when he produced, co-wrote, directed, and starred in this, his first feature film. Years later Welles argued that the film came out so well because he had no idea what he was doing — relying heavily on legendary cinematographer Gregg Toland. When Welles asked Toland why he wanted to work with a kid like him, Toland famously responded, “Because you don’t know what can’t be done”. The result was some mind-bending visuals that had never been seen in films before, including famous deep focus shots and camera angles so low that one could see the ceiling.
Also new to films was Bernard Hermann, a gifted composer who was only thirty when he penned the score for this opus. And twenty-seven-year-old Robert Wise helped Welles edit the film (Wise would later produce and direct both West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Both men received Academy Award nominations for their work.
The movie is a motion picture masterpiece and is often the centerpiece of many introductory film classes in universities throughout the world. Two times the American Film Institute published a list of the greatest American movies, and both times this film headed the list at the number one position. In a way, it disappoints me to place this film at number one on my own list. Most cinephiles enjoy touting the excellence of some unknown film – one they can call their “own.” However, unfortunately for me, there is no film that I have ever seen that is better than Citizen Kane, so therefore it must be placed at the top. One of the reasons is its perfection from the first day of its release. Unlike many other films on my list, there is no alternate version, restored version, extended version, improved director’s version, or any other version. There is only one Citizen Kane, only one, and it remains completely unaltered and unchanged from the first day of its release until now. And its direction, editing, cinematography, sound design, and sound editing are so perfect as to be examples of moviemaking excellence for generations. Best of all, its brilliant writing makes it entertaining, far more entertaining (and even more “fun”) than most other dramatic motion picture masterpieces. Considered by many to be the most perfectly edited and best-directed film ever made, Citizen Kane is a classic that is not to be missed.
City Lights (1931) ★★★★★
Length: 86 minutes. MPAA Rating: G. USCCB Rating: Not rated. Director: Charles Chaplin. Black-and-White. Silent (with recorded music and a few comical sound effects).
Considered to be one of Chaplin’s greatest masterpieces, City Lights tells the tale of the Little Tramp who falls in love with a blind flower girl. The flower girl mistakes the Tramp for a very wealthy man. If she ever learns the truth, will she fully accept him? The ending is touching – it is said that famed scientist Albert Einstein cried during the premiere.
The film was made at the very beginning of the sound era. Adamant that the Tramp does not talk and convinced that sound would ruin the magic of the character, Chaplin resisted enormous pressure to make a sound film. Not only did Chaplin end up making a silent, he used synchronous sound effects briefly at the very beginning of the film to make a mockery of the new sound technology. Chaplin’s skills as both an actor and acrobat are evident here, as he not only produced, directed, starred and edited this film, but also did so in his very own studio, with actors he cast himself, using a story and script he wrote himself, and some original music he composed as well. All these elements easily send this film into my personal top twenty list, because very few individuals in movie history have exhibited such a mastery in the medium in so many areas of expertise simultaneously.
Close-Up (1990) ★★★★
Length: 98 minutes. MPAA Rating: Not rated. USCCB Rating: None. Director: Abbas Kiarostami.
Is it a documentary? Is it a re-creation? Is it a little of both? Or perhaps a lot of both? It is the deliberate toying with the lines between re-creation and reality that makes Kiarostami’s Close-Up a unique experience. Many claim this is one of the greatest films ever made.
A man in 1980s Iran named Hossain Sabzian pretends to be famed film director Mohsen Makhmmalbaf and befriends a female admirer. It is not long before Sabzian decides to continue the deception and ingratiates himself into the entire family. Brought to trial, Sabzian reflects on the meaning of truth, authenticity, relationship, and life itself. The trial ends (and so does the film) on a note of reconciliation and new-found hope.
Kiarostami heard about Sabzian’s true story and got permission to bring a camera to the trial. He then got Sabzian and the deceived family to appear on camera together, re-creating scenes from the past. The result is chilling and fascinating at the same time – carefully composed shots clearly showcase the presence of a skilled director, while, at the same time, the real-life participants play themselves. It is a surreal, even intoxicating experience. When Sabzian speaks during his trial in close-up, we are not only drawn closer to his face. We are also drawn closer into his mind – and perhaps his very soul. The details of the story fade into the background as more essential questions come to the fore – such as “what is truth?” Close-Up, like Kiarostami’s last and very different film (24 Frames) is not so much a documentary as it is a contemplation – a careful exploration of truth itself and the great pains which many people will go through to avoid it.