Phillip Bergson

Comments

Some Like It Hot

A delirious but dark period farce, immaculately paced and performed by Hollywood legends.

La dolce vita

A satiric modern Roman epic, of its time and beyond time, holding a mirror up to society that changed the way society looked at itself.

Cleopatra

The historical epic that became a spectacular parable for modern celebrity.

Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini

The most elegant and exquisite elegy for some of those lost to the Holocaust.

Intolerance

The earliest but most innovative and ambitious of screen spectaculars.

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Heartbreaking tribute to the magic of the movies, mixing farce and metaphysics.

La Caduta degli Dei

Beguiling but shocking parable - and paradigm - for the rise of Nazism, in sumptuous decadent detail.

Once upon a Time in America

Epic gangster saga that becomes an unusual portrait of friendship and betrayal.

My Fair Lady

Immaculate transposition of a hit Broadway musical, retaining style wit and flair and some unforgettable

performances in a clever re-working of the myths of Pygmalion and Cinderella which has immortal charm.

The Producers

Although set in the slightly seedier world of Broadway theatre, this unforgettably performed farce is the

perfect allegory for the film-maker unwittingly transforming the failure of talent into box-office gold.

Further remarks

Painful to choose, omit and ignore, but I hope the final selections will make their way on to cinema screens however briefly when the poll is eventually published.