Great movies that will turn 30 next year
To coincide with the return of Heartbreak High on Netflix, a cult Aussie 90s young adult series first inspired by the 1993 movie The Heartbreak Kid, Stuff to Watch has picked eight great flicks turning 30 next year.
Demolition Man
(itunes, Googleplay, Youtube)
Sandra Bullock and Sylvester Stallone shine in this tale about a cryogenically frozen 90s cop who is thawed out in 2032 when his arch nemesis (Wesley Snipes) causes havoc in the more peace-loving future where people are fined for swearing and make no physical contact.
The Fugitive
(Googleplay, itunes)
Stars Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, terrific action sequences and pacing helped successfully distil Dr Richard Kimble’s hunt for a man from 120 hour-long episodes to 130 minutes of riveting drama. It is the only bigscreen remake of a TV series to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
In the Name of the Father
(Netflix)
Daniel Day-lewis, Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite and Tom Wilkinson star in this based-on-fact drama about a lawyer who fights to clear the names of a father and son convicted of a bombing via a coerced confession. To prepare for the role Day-lewis lost more than 20kg and spent time in jail.
Jurassic Park
(Neon, Googleplay, itunes, Arovision, Youtube) Thanks to CGI technology and Steven Spielberg, the world finally had realistic-looking dinosaurs on screen. Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and our own Sam Neill make it look seamless. It made anything seem possible.
Philadelphia
(itunes, Arovision, Academy Ondemand)
In Jonathan Demme’s tale, lawyer Tom Hanks battles Aids as well as his former employers. Hanks and Denzel Washington give this its gravitas, and a terrifically evocative soundtrack includes songs especially written for the film by Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
The Remains of the Day
(Netflix)
Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant star in this superb adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book about the budding relationship between a butler and a housekeeper. Director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala do a magnificent job of creating an atmosphere of crackling emotional tension.
Schindler’s List
(itunes, Arovision, Academy Ondemand)
As well as casting Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley, Steven Spielberg’s masterstroke was shooting this 1993 compelling and true-life World War II tale in black-and-white.
The use of shade and shadow echoes the light and dark natures of the story’s main protagonists.
Sleepless in Seattle
(Neon rentals, itunes, Arovision, Academy Ondemand)
Tom Hanks plays a widower whose son calls a talkback radio show. His story touches the heart of an unhappilyengaged woman (Meg Ryan). Modern technology would have solved a lot of the plot machinations and complications which ensue, but cinemagoers would have been much the poorer for it.