I wanted to compose a list of the most influential movies in my life. These are not my favorite movies (that list would be much sillier) nor are these  the best movies (check out the BFI for that info); rather, these are the movies that have most strongly influenced what I believe good cinema can and should be. These are movies that make you think, make you feel, make you care.

This list is in no particular order.  I will be the first to admit I have not seen every movies.  This simply pulls from my viewing experience. Some (1,2,7) are widely considered classics, others (8, 10) are more controversial. Some are American (11, 19) others are from overseas (22, 28). At least one these movies (30) is not available in the United States.

Enjoy!  - A. Lawrence

1. Sinigin in the rain
2. Gone With The Wind
3. Brazil
4. Barton Fink
5. Requiem for a Dream
6. Fanny and Alexander
7. The Shining
8. Apocalypse Now Redux
9. After Hours
10. Close-Up
11. There Will Be Blood
12. Tree of Life
13. Raging Bull
14. It’s A wonderful Life
15. Psycho
16. Lawrence of Arabia
17. Network
18. The Good The Bad and The Ugly
19. Wizard of Oz
20. Come and See
21. Suspiria
22. The White Ribbon
23. Breathless
24. Rashomon
25. Titanic
26. Knife in the Water
27. Do The Right Thing
28. Come and See
29. Dogville
30. White White World

So I guess I’m supposed to talk about my thoughts about teaching. Well gosh, what do you want me to say? That I’m scared? That I’m nervous? I mean, I guess I am, but no more than I was on the first day of college, or when I went to Israel for a semester, or New York for that matter. It will unfold as it will, and that’s all I can really say about that I guess. I’m sure when I go in front of a classroom for the first time it will be a little nerve racking, scary. But, for now, there is no point on dwelling on the future, it will be here soon enough.

Imagine a mountain. A large mountain jutting up over the clouds in an infinitely long range. From a plane window its the only thing you can see of the earth below. I’m not sure what the point is, perhaps there is no point. I dunno, now I’m just babbling.

Well, I’ll catch you on the flip side. Adios.

A. Lawrence

More information on the group can be found here

I would like to give a shout out to costume designer Polly Bland who worked as costume designer on Had He Fidelity.  Polly runs a popular fashion blog and even designs and sells her own bow-ties.  Under some rather tough and unusual constraints from the costume shop we were renting from, Polly still managed to come through and put together some terrific costumes through a combination of renting and thrifting.  Here you can see her on set assisting with make-up.  You can also check out her blog and find more about her costume and clothing designs here: http://www.pollybland.com/

Farmer's Market Courtesy of Emily Siner

Hey,

I want to take a moment to recommend that you check out some other great work that is going on the in the Champaign, IL area. Emily Siner is an up and coming journalist who has starting creating some short docs about the culture in the area. More after the jump……………..

You can check out one one of her videos below and check out more at this link to her website http://www.emilysiner.com/blog/category/multimedia-portfolio/

Here is a photo of the wonderful cast and crew:

The film was made in 49 Hours.  The competition it was made for had 3 requirements. 1 – Dialog: You have no idea who/what you’re dealing with. 2 – a POV shot. 3 – A cup.