My 150 Favorite Movies - #26

The Third Man (1949)

About as Hitchcockian a film as you can get, without actually being directed by Hitchcock, The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed, is based on a Graham Greene novel, about a pulp novelist who travels to postwar Vienna at the invitation of an old friend, only to end up investigating his mysterious death. The production team behind this movie is top shelf, with David O. Selznick and Alexander Korda both serving as producers. The haunting zither music on the film's soundtrack topped international music charts at the time.In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Third Man the best British film of the twentieth century. Starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten, with Alida Valli bringing up the rear as the obligatory femme fatale, this classic film is required viewing for all movie lovers.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #27

Goodfellas (1990)

My all-time favorite film of acclaimed director Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas tells the true story of a mobster wannabe, on his way up, and what ultimately led to his downfall. The Lufthansa heist that actually took place in the late 1970's, and the events leading up to it is included as part of the story. Partially based on the book Wiseguy by Nick Pileggi, the stellar cast includes Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino, and Lorraine Bracco. The movie's opening line, "As far back as I could remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster," was voted #20 of the "100 greatest movie lines" in Premiere magazine. An absolutely brilliant film, but could we expect anything less from this director?

My 150 Favorite Movies - #28

Ninotchka (1939)

"Garbo laughs!" was the tagline for this movie classic, originally released in that stellar year for all motion pictures, 1939. Melvyn Douglas served as the perfect foil for Greta Garbo's charm in this tale of a staunch Russian communist who melts under the charms of a dapper Parisian. With a screenplay by the combustible team of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, and direction helmed by the late, great Ernst Lubitsch, this movie has genius in it's DNA, and never fails to provoke a genuine emotional response in scene after memorable scene. Selected by the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1990.