Daniel Joslyn

SWING TIME (1936)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers bringing dancing to maybe its greatest heights. The rest of the movie, who cares?

STAND AND DELIVER (1988)

This indie drama, based on a real life teacher in East LA, does its level best to make math exciting.

THE LEOPARD (1963)

I was floored by this Italian epic about the fall of the aristocracy, written by a prince and directed by a Marxist, starring, of all people, Burt Lancaster.

SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

The decaying remains of 1920s Hollywood entrap a hack writer and lure him to his doom.

THE PIANO (1993)

A dream-like fable at the end of the world about a woman who won’t fit into men’s boxes.

THE GODFATHER (1972)

Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia epic is now fixed in American culture.

THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)

This horror hit was known for its final twist, but somehow still holds up 21 years later.

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (1929)

This “experiment” shocked contemporary audiences but influenced filmmaking decades after its initial release.

BLAZING SADDLES (1974)

Mel Brooks takes a western pastiche and pushes the boundaries of comedy about racism. Oh, and it’s super funny.

VERTIGO (1958)

Perhaps Hitchcock’s weirdest, most dream-like film, it makes no sense, but it also might be perfect.