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ENG 101
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The Greatest Movie Ever Made
The greatest movie ever made is not limited to the opinion of the author. One of the most respectable and established surveys of top movies is conducted every ten years by the British film magazine, “Sight and Sound”, which according to film critic Roger Ebert, “reflects widespread thinking in what could be called the film establishment (Ebert, "Greatest", par. 2)”. There were a number of things to consider when determining what the greatest movie ever made was, such as the underlying story or premise of the movie, the performance of the actors, and the settings or effects in the film work itself.
The greatest movie ever made is based on a true story. “The Night of the Hunter” drew its inspiration from a novel of the same name written by Davis Grubb and first published in 1953 (Grubb). The story is about the serial killer Harry Powers, known as “The Bluebeard of Quiet Dell”, who in 1932 the courts sentenced and hung for the murders of three children and two widows (Dirks). This movie is classic in the sense of evil and corruption in pursuit of youth and innocence, horror and hate eventually overcome by love and compassion. It’s easy to see how movies with roots sprouting from the dark side of real life become great.
The ability of the actors in this film to embody the characters they portrayed, is one of the deciding factors in rating the movie. Robert Mitchum gave what some consider his finest performance in a precedent-setting, unpopular, and truly terrifying role as the sleepy-eyed, diabolical, dark-souled, self-appointed serial killer/Preacher with psychotic, murderous tendencies while in pursuit of $10,000 in cash (Dirks, par. 2). Peter Graves is very effective in the role of Ben Harper, a man who has robbed a bank to help support his family during the hard times of the Depression; he is caught, sent to prison, and sentenced to hang (Dirks). His part in the movie is small, but the money helps sets the stage for the rest of the film. The part of Harper’s wife is played by Shelly Winters who does a wonderful job of playing a stereotypical Appalachian woman, though the director seems to get most of the credit for her stellar performance as an uninteresting widow/wife (Crowther). The children, Ben Harper plays John, and Sally Jane Bruce plays Pearl do a remarkable job of portraying not sweet little kids but characters a little out of place and allows the movie to take on the air of a bad dream (Ebert, "Great Movies"). The last of the main characters in the movie is Rachel Cooper played by Lillian Gish an actress with a career spanning decades. Though she appears frail, she is, in fact, a force to be reckoned with and does a stand-up job of playing the role of benefactor, a grandma Walton type, except with a shotgun (Ebert, "Great Movies"). So one thing that really has given this movie its staying power over the years is the quality of the cast.
The symbolism and unrealistic nature of the sets in “The Night of the Hunter” further solidify its place as the greatest. The reason so many films tend to date themselves has mostly to do with the realistic nature of the settings, however the director of this movie changed all of that using unconventional methods especially for the 1950s (Ebert, "Great Movies"). The scenes that involve the children’s flight down the river with the different perspectives of wildlife, stars, and the horizon are timeless. The most lasting effect in this film has to be the tattoos of LOVE and HATE on the knuckles of Harry Powell, which have surfaced time and again in theater and music over the years, Bruce Springsteen’s song “Cautious Man”, is a clear example (Ebert, "Great Movies"). Through the use of surrealism and timeless symbols this film holds its place at the top.
All things considered, from a dark struggle between good and evil founded in truth, a cast of characters whose performances were stellar, and a series of time-proof sets and symbols all work together to create the greatest movie ever made. Seeing this movie as a re-release for the first time in the mid 1970s left an indelible impression and after watching it again for this project it reaffirmed its position at the very top.
Works Cited
Crowther, Bosley. “Night of the Hunter (1955) Bogey Man Plus.” The New York Times 30 Sept 1955: N. pag. New York Times Review. Web. 13 March 2013. <
Dirks, Tim. “Filmsite Movie Review.” Online posting. . TOP * 100. amc, n.d. Web. 12 Mar 2013. <
Ebert, Roger. “The Greatest Movie Ever Made.” Roger Ebert’s Journal (2009): n. pag. Roger Ebert.com. Web. 12 March 2013. <
---. “The Night of the Hunter (1955).” Chicago Sun Times 24 Nov 1996: N. pag. rogerebert.suntimes.com. Web. 12 Mar 2013. <
Grubb, Davis. The Night of the Hunter. : Disruptive Publishing, 2005. Barnes & Noble. Web. 14 March 2013. <