Britta Erickson, festival director, Denver Film Society
1. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”:“By no means a perfect movie but one that can always cure the ‘mean reds.’ It’s chic and stylish. It’s fanciful and fun. It’s Audrey Hepburn. And, like the free-spirited Holly Golightly, I once got caught in the rain seeking something I’d lost.”
2. “Brokeback Mountain”
3. “The English Patient”
4. “The Royal Tenenbaums”
5. “Heathers”
6. “Broadcast News”
7. “Sixteen Candles”
8. “Casino Royale” (2006)
9. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
10. (tie) “Night on Earth”/”Dogville”
And this year’s Oscar goes to: “My money’s on ‘No Country for Old Men.’ This unflinching and faithful screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel gained Oscar momentum when the Coen Brothers picked up DGA honors, and the amazing cast took the SAG ensemble award.”
Josh Hartwell, playwright, “Contrived Ending”
1. “The Silence of the Lambs”: “My Nos. 1 and 2 choices are always switching back and forth. They’re both movies I never get tired of, and every time, I feel like I am watching them for the first time. Anthony Hopkins is hypnotizing, and Jodie Foster is so real.”
2. “The Warriors”
3. “Halloween” (1978)
4. “An American Werewolf in London”
5. “Fargo”
6. “After Hours”
7. “The Road Warrior”
8. “Psycho” (1960)
9. “Basquiat”
10. “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”
And this year’s Oscar goes to: “Tough call, but I have a feeling ‘There Will Be Blood’ will sneak in there. I loved ‘Atonement,’ and would put my money on that one, but because the two leads were not nominated, I have a feeling it will go the other way. Also, Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson can do no wrong in my book (other than P.T.A. putting Tom Cruise in ‘Magnolia’).”
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post film critic
1. “The Wizard of Oz”:More and more, I love the sepia of Kansas. But there’s persistent magic in the ever-cheesier-looking effects — and those winged monkeys forever freak me out.”
2.“The Best Years of Our Lives”
3. “All About Eve”
4. “Bonnie and Clyde”
5. Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”
6. “Rear Window”
7. “My Favorite Wife”
8. “Sullivan’s Travels”
9. “Contempt”
10. “Thelma & Louise”
And this year’s Oscar goes to: “No Country for Old Men.” “Though ‘Michael Clayton’ is the perfect Hollywood film.”
Jimme Lee Smith, executive director, Neighborhood Flix
1. “The Red Violin”: “An amazingly beautiful and engaging story of love throughout many years, countries and cultures, all connected through music.”
2. “Star Wars”
3. “The Shawshank Redemption”
4. “Citizen Kane”
5. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
6. “Life Is Beautiful”
7. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
8. “Memento”
9. “City of God”
10. “V for Vendetta”
And this year’s Oscar goes to:“There Will Be Blood.” Daniel Day-Lewis … need we say more?
Compiled by John Moore
