Highest-Rated Movies about 'American Cinema'

Woody Allen: A Documentary (2012), The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009), What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2018), It's All True (1993), White Heat (1949), On the Waterfront (1954), Annie Hall (1977), The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera (1996) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best American Cinema movies.

#2. The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)

Storyline: As contract songwriters for Disney, Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman compose many of the studio's best-loved hits, including "It's a Small World (After All)" and songs from "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book" and many more. Their prolific professional collaborations result in many awards, including two Oscars. However, a deep, longstanding rift strikes a sour note in the brothers' personal relationship.

Plot Keywords: musical, documentary, disney, brothers, creative process, family dynamics, music history ...

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#4. It's All True (1993)

Storyline: In 1942, fresh off the success of "Citizen Kane," director Orson Welles journeys to Brazil to make a documentary. The unscripted look at bullfighting, the samba and three fisherman making a voyage of protest on the open sea stuns the studio with its daring storytelling and politics. The unfinished film is scuttled, and so is the director's career. The story of the debacle is told through interviews with Welles and others involved in the project, plus rarely viewed scenes from the documentary.

Plot Keywords: documentary, 1940s, film history, hollywood, independent film, biography, filmmaking ...

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#5. White Heat (1949)

Storyline: Cody Jarrett is the sadistic leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. Afflicted by terrible headaches and fiercely devoted to his 'Ma,' Cody is a volatile, violent, and eccentric leader. Cody's top henchman wants to lead the gang and attempts to have an 'accident' happen to Cody, while he is running the gang from in jail. But Cody is saved by an undercover cop, who thereby befriends him and infiltrates the gang. Finally, the stage is set for Cody's ultimate betrayal and downfall, during a big heist at a chemical plant.

Plot Keywords: crime, film noir, gangster, classic, violence, psychological thriller, prison ...

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#6. On the Waterfront (1954)

Storyline: Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two of Johnny's thugs, and later meets the dead man's sister and feels responsible for his death. She introduces him to Father Barry, who tries to force him to provide information for the courts that will smash the dock racketeers.

Plot Keywords: crime, drama, gangster, moral dilemma, new york, 1950s, classic ...

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#7. Annie Hall (1977)

Storyline: Alvy Singer, a forty year old twice divorced, neurotic, intellectual Jewish New York stand-up comic, reflects on the demise of his latest relationship, to Annie Hall, an insecure, flighty, Midwestern WASP aspiring nightclub singer. Unlike his previous relationships, Alvy believed he may have worked out all the issues in his life through fifteen years of therapy to make this relationship with Annie last, among those issues being not wanting to date any woman that would want to date him, and thus subconsciously pushing those women away. Alvy not only reviews the many ups and many downs of their relationship, but also reviews the many facets of his makeup that led to him starting to date Annie. Those facets include growing up next to Coney Island in Brooklyn, being attracted to the opposite sex for as long as he can remember, and enduring years of Jewish guilt with his constantly arguing parents.

Plot Keywords: comedy, romance, drama, new york, intellectual, relationships, dialogue-driven ...

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#8. The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera (1996)

Storyline: In a documentary about Samuel Fuller, the spectator gets different impressions about the Hollywood director and his films. The film is divided into the three sections: The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera. The first segment covers Fuller's past as a newsman where he began as a copy boy and ended as a reporter. Part two describes Fuller's experiences in World War II, in which he participated as a soldier. The last section focuses on Fuller as director. Tim Robbins interviews Samuel Fuller revealing the director's own memories and impressions. Beside the interview, Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino accompany the documentary with their comments.—Gerhard Windecker <g.wind@mbox300.swipnet.se>

Plot Keywords: documentary, film history, independent film, director, filmmaking, biography, film criticism ...

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#9. Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

Storyline: Joe Clay is a top-notch public-relations man. Anything a client wants, Joe can arrange, from dancing girls to an article in a prominent magazine. But part of the job is drinking, and Joe's ability to consume alcohol seems boundless. When he meets the very pretty Kirsten Arnesen, she prefers chocolate to alcohol; Joe's solution is Brandy Alexander, which is made up of brandy and crème de cacao. Joe and Kirsten eventually marry, but their love can't prevent the downward spiral brought on by alcohol. They try desperately to break the habit but continually relapse until only one of them manages to break free.

Plot Keywords: alcoholism, marital crisis, film noir, drama, addiction, family breakdown, self-destruction ...

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#10. To Have and Have Not (1944)

Storyline: Harry Morgan and his alcoholic sidekick, Eddie, are based on the island of Martinique and crew a boat available for hire. However, since the second world war is happening around them business is not what it could be and after a customer who owes them a large sum fails to pay they are forced against their better judgment to violate their preferred neutrality and to take a job for the resistance transporting a fugitive on the run from the Nazis to Martinique. Through all this runs the stormy relationship between Morgan and Marie "Slim" Browning, a resistance sympathizer and the sassy singer in the club where Morgan spends most of his days.

Plot Keywords: classic film, film noir, romance, adventure, drama, 1940s, tough guy ...

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#11. Key Largo (1948)

Storyline: Frank McCloud travels to a run-down hotel on Key Largo to honor the memory of a friend who died bravely in his unit during WW II. His friend's widow, Nora Temple, and wheelchair bound father, James Temple manage the hotel and receive him warmly, but the three of them soon find themselves virtual prisoners when the hotel is taken over by a mob of gangsters led by Johnny Rocco who hole up there to await the passing of a hurricane. Mr. Temple strongly reviles Rocco but due to his infirmities can only confront him verbally. Having become disillusioned by the violence of war, Frank is reluctant to act, but Rocco's demeaning treatment of his alcoholic moll, Gaye Dawn, and his complicity in the deaths of the Osceola Brothers and a deputy sheriff start to motivate McCloud to overcome his Hamlet-like inaction.

Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, drama, thriller, gangster, classic, 1940s ...

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#12. Scarlet Street (1945)

Storyline: Chris Cross, 25 years a cashier, has a gold watch and little else. That rainy night, he rescues delectable Kitty from her abusive boyfriend Johnny. Smitten, amateur painter Chris lets Kitty think he's a wealthy artist. At Johnny's urging, she lets Chris establish her in an apartment (with his shrewish wife's money). There, Chris paints masterpieces; but Johnny sells them under Kitty's name, with disastrous and ironic results.

Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, drama, mystery, psychological thriller, betrayal, murder ...

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#13. Bigger Than Life (1956)

Storyline: Schoolteacher and family man Ed Avery, who's been suffering bouts of severe pain and even blackouts, is hospitalized with what's diagnosed as a rare inflammation of the arteries. Told by doctors that he probably has only months to live, Ed agrees to an experimental treatment: doses of the hormone cortisone. Ed makes a remarkable recovery, and returns home to his wife, Lou, and their son, Richie. He must keep taking cortisone tablets regularly to prevent a recurrence of his illness. But the "miracle" cure turns into its own nightmare as Ed starts to abuse the tablets, causing him to experience increasingly wild mood swings.—Eugene Kim <genekim@concentric.net>

Plot Keywords: drama, family, psychological, social critique, film noir, 1950s, drug abuse ...

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#14. Body and Soul (1947)

Storyline: Charley Davis wins an amateur boxing match and is taken on by promoter Quinn. Charley's mother doesn't want him to fight, but when Charley's father is accidentally killed, Charley sets up a fight for money. His career blooms as he wins fight after fight, but soon an unethical promoter named Roberts begins to show an interest in Charley, and Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: film noir, boxing, drama, crime, corruption, greed, betrayal ...

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