| Page 3 of 5 < > |
Honorable Mentions: The Supporting Cast
'Henry V'
"Henry V," starring Laurence Olivier (1944). I cut high school classes to see this film, and after that day I was walking on air for weeks. I wanted to be king of England! I wanted to be Laurence Olivier! I wanted to be an actor! Since then, I've seen a multitude of outstanding movies, but Sir Laurence's version of "Henry V" has been the standard by which they have been measured. Even Kenneth Branagh's excellent remake (1989) does not compare. If my love for this film has endured for over 60 years, it deserves a nomination.
Converse M. West, 75
Alexandria
'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
It was February 1964, and my mother was upset. She had just seen "Dr. Strangelove" and heard people in the theater laughing ! For my mother, the bomb -- the hydrogen bomb -- was no laughing matter. But five years later, I finally saw the film myself, and many viewings later I'm still chuckling: fighting in the war room; walking for Mein Fuhrer; impurifying precious bodily fluids. The genius of "Dr. Strangelove" is its ability to satirize -- both hilariously and poignantly -- weapons of mass destruction, military megalomania and presidential powerlessness. Alas, my mother still doesn't find these subjects funny.
Jim Deutsch, 58
Washington
'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is my all-time favorite movie. It emerged from the swamp of '50s science-fiction films as the first well-acted, thought-provoking genre film with a powerful pacifist message in an era of Cold War hysteria. It features a fantastic score by Bernard Herrmann that introduced the theremin as the instrument that immediately tells us we are in for something different. Most important, this is the ultimate Washington movie: The alien parks on the Mall and lives in Georgetown. He pays respectful visits with a young earthling to Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, and, in perfect Washington fashion, he proves his ultimate political power by making absolutely nothing happen!
Randall Lockwood, 58
Falls Church
'Live and Become'
"Live and Become" follows an Ethiopian Christian boy who was secreted aboard a plane during Operation Moses, the rescue movement to immigrate Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Adopted by a Jewish family in Tel Aviv, Schlomo must adjust to his new world and hide his non-Jewish background. While I love hilarious popular movies as much as any other teen, here was a powerful story teaching self-acceptance and unconditional love while using amazing actors to make it so real. I'd never thought deeply about the themes a movie conveys and tried applying them to my life until I saw "Live and Become."
Julia Peck, 13
Washington
