List by-Jarrett Leahy

Happy Oscar Night Eve! As the tradition continues, it is time to announce the 6^th annual AmateurCinephile.com Hall of Fame class of 2019. This year’s class of illustrious films includes three first-ballot films (movies from 2009 became eligible for selection this year), three Best Picture nominees, two National Film Registry selections, four comedies, a deliciously fictitious WWII drama, and arguably the greatest musical of all time wrapped up into six wonderful films. If you haven’t seen any of these films, please take the time to seek them out, and feel free to share your thoughts…

AMATEURCINEPHILE.COM 2019 HALL OF FAME CLASS

(500) Days of Summer (2009): (500) Days of Summer is the first of three films from 2009 to be inducted into the AmateurCinephile.com Hall of Fame as a first-ballot honoree. Nominated for two Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, (500) Days of Summer was named to fifteen national Top-10 film lists including being chosen the best film of 2009 by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, this 2019 Hall of Fame film is an endearing and delightfully charming creation that, in my humble opinion, is the best romantic comedy since Annie Hall.

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Inglourious Basterds is the second first-ballot honoree from 2009. Written and directed by famed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds is blessed with a stellar cast that includes Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender. This fictional re-imagining of a WWII plot to assassinate Nazi leaders is best known however for introducing the cinematic world to Christoph Waltz, an Austrian-German virtuoso who would go on to win the first of his two Best Supporting Actor Oscars for his sinfully devilish portrayal of villain Col. Hans “The Jew-Hunter” Landa. Tension-filled and irreverently violent, Inglourious Basterds becomes the second Hall of Fame film for Tarantino joining Class of 2014 inductee Pulp Fiction.

Up in the Air (2009): A corporate downsizing specialist (someone who is paid to fire people) finds his own beloved livelihood at risk of being made obsolete by a new young colleague with grandiose plans to implement cost-saving technology. Based on a Walter Kirn novel, Up in the Air was the much anticipated followup to director Jason Reitman’s 2007 critically adored coming-of-age comedy Juno. Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Up in the Air offers the perfect mix of poignant reality and comic relief.  This film is a deftly created time capsule, exploring the aftermath of corporate downsizing that plagued the beginning of the 21^st century.

Harold and Maude (1971): A cult classic if there ever was one, Hal Ashby’s eccentric dark comedy tells the unconventional love story between a death-obsessed young man and a free-spirited nonconformist septuagenarian. Blessed with an ethereal soundtrack from 70’s headliner Cat Stevens, the film’s improbable stars, Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort, each received Golden Globe nominations for their sublimely exceptional portrayals. Irreverently macabre and delightfully charming, Harold and Maude has grown in stature and acclaim since its initial release, as evidenced by its 1997 selection into the National Film Registry.

The Red Shoes (1948): Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, this year’s 1940’s inductee becomes the fourth film from the decade to be selected for Hall of Fame inclusion. One of the finest examples of the Technicolor filming process, The Red Shoes earned five Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture, winning two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. Considered the finest achievement of the acclaimed Powell and Pressburger collaboration, the British Film Institute named The Red Shoes the ninth greatest British film of all time while a 2017 Time Out magazine poll ranked it fifth.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952): What new can be said about Singin’ in the Rain that hasn’t already been covered over the last sixty-plus years? Arguably the greatest musical of all time, surprisingly, Singin’ in the Rain was nominated for only two Academy Awards in 1953. Since this obvious oversight by the Academy, this 1989 National Film Registry selection has been awarded a slew of honors and accolades including being named the fifth greatest American motion picture of all time by AFI in 2007, the number 20 film on Sight and Sound’s 2017 list of the 50 Greatest Films of All-Time, and AFI’s Greatest Movie Musical. Now it has the honor of also being an AmateurCinephile.com Hall of Famer.

So there you have it, the AmateurCinephile.com Hall of Fame Class of 2019! Make sure you come back next Oscar’s eve when another six films are chosen for inclusion.-JL

Edited by-Michelle Zenor

AMATEURCINEPHILE.COM HALL OF FAME BREAK DOWN BY DECADE:

-1930’s (3):
Bringing Up Baby, 1938 (Class of 2018)
City Lights, 1931 (Class of 2018)
Wizard of Oz, 1939 (Class of 2014)

-1940’s (4):
Casablanca, 1942 (Class of 2014)
Notorious, 1946 (Class of 2015)
The Red Shoes, 1948 (Class of 2019)
The Third Man, 1949 (Class of 2015)

-1950’s (2):
Anatomy of a Murder, 1959 (Class of 2014)
Singin’ in the Rain, 1952 (Class of 2019)

-1960’s (3):
Belle de Jour, 1967 (Class of 2017)
The Leopard, 1963 (Class of 2016)
2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968 (Class of 2014)

-1970’s (5):
Chinatown, 1972 (Class of 2015)
The Deer Hunter, 1978 (Class of 2017)
The Godfather, 1972 (Class of 2014)
The Godfather Part 2, 1974 (Class of 2014)
Harold and Maude, 1971 (Class of 2019)

-1980’s (4):
A Christmas Story, 1983 (Class of 2017)
Field of Dreams, 1989 (Class of 2018)
Hannah and her Sisters, 1986 (Class of 2014)
Tender Mercies, 1983 (Class of 2015)

-1990’s (8):
Before Sunrise, 1995 (Class of 2014)
Boogie Nights, 1997 (Class of 2015)
Casino, 1995 (Class of 2015)
Dazed & Confused, 1993 (Class of 2016)
Goodfellas, 1990 (Class of 2016)
Heat, 1995 (Class of 2018)
Pulp Fiction, 1994 (Class of 2014)
Rushmore, 1998 (Class of 2017)

-2000’s (13):
Almost Famous, 2000 (Class of 2014)
Before Sunset, 2004 (Class of 2014)
Brokeback Mountain, 2005 (Class of 2016)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004 (Class of 2015)
(500) Days of Summer, 2009 (Class of 2019)
Inglourious Basterds, 2009 (Class of 2019)
Lost in Translation, 2003 (Class of 2014)
No Country For Old Men, 2007 (Class of 2017)
Rachel Getting Married, 2008 (Class of 2018)
Road to Perdition, 2002 (Class of 2018)
Sideways, 2004 (Class of 2016)
There Will Be Blood, 2007 (Class of 2017)
Up in the Air, 2009 (Class of 2019)