(DML Top 20 Lists - Slow Burn Films ranked)

Honorable Mention

The Conversation (1974), Director: Frances Ford Coppola, rated PG

Harry Caul will go anywhere to bug a private conversation.

Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr, Robert Duvall, Robert Shields

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"We know that you know, Mr. Caul. For your own sake, don't get involved any further. We'll be listening to you" - Martin Stett

Why watch this? Clandestine surveillance can have nefarious results.

Plot Summary: A reclusive and intensely private surveillance expert in San Francisco is hired by a mysterious client to record the intimate, cryptic conversation of a young couple in a crowded park. Haunted by a previous job that ended in tragedy, he becomes increasingly obsessed with the audio recordings and starts to believe the couple will be murdered. As he attempts to intervene and uncover the truth, he uncovers a deeper conspiracy that forces him to question the morality of his work.

Dad's Preview: This conspiracy-rich film, about the lucrative field of surveillance-for-hire, starts quite innocently as gadget expert Harry Caul, and his crew, record an ordinary couple in conversation. Then the tension starts to build... Harry, who is haunted by a past job that went wrong, attends a surveillance product convention. There he meet ups with old business acquaintances, and is betrayed. Two central questions are at play. First, should a person who feels that a crime will be committed try to stop it? Second, when dealing with vague, distorted information, what is your perception versus reality? Hackman is superb as a lonely, tortured and socially awkward man, struggling to keep things together, as he becomes aware of something horrible. This film's ending, will surprise you, and getting there is great filmmaking.

The Director's Co.; Paramount Pictures

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #20 Top

Citizen Kane (1941), Director: Orson Welles, Rated PG

The classic story of power and the press.

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Paul Stewart

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You don't care about anything except you. You just want to persuade people that you love 'em so much that they ought to love you back. Only you want love on your own terms. Something to be played your way, according to your rules." - Jedediah Leland

Why watch this? This is Rags-to-Riches 101. Charles Foster Kane. Rosebud.

Plot Summary: Following the death of a publishing tycoon, a reporter investigates his life by interviewing former associates to discover the meaning behind his enigmatic last word, "Rosebud." Through a series of flashbacks, the film reveals the rise and fall of a complex man whose ambition and wealth created a massive empire but resulted in personal isolation. The investigation paints a portrait of a narcissistic yet lonely man, ultimately questioning whether his power and possessions could ever compensate for what he lost in his youth.

Dad's Preview: As part of my college film class, we watched several classics including: The Gold Rush (1925), Stagecoach (1939) and Citizen Kane. I am not pretending that I understood everything back then at the impressionable age of 24, but I do remember the story was dark and depressing - this man was a taker, a narcissist. He loved money and power and nothing else. Based loosely on real life media barons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, Orson Welles crafted this epic with a confidence unequalled in Hollywood. I personally have always admired Welles' creative, askew usage of camera angles. He was a master at black and white film. This film has been called "The Greatest Film Ever Made" by many critics and movie lists. I agree that it is superb, but I can't crown it the best ever made.

Orson Wells, Mercury Prod.; RKO Radio Pics

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #19 Top

In the Bedroom (1995), Director: Todd Field, rated R for language, some violence

A young man. An older woman. Her ex-husband. Things are about to explode...

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, William Mapother, Celia Weston, Deborah Derecktor, William Wise

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You're bitter, Ruth. And you can point your finger at me all you like, but you better take a damn good look at yourself." - Matt

Why watch this? It's painful on two levels: the murder of a son and coping with it.

Plot Summary: A New England couple, Dr. Matt Fowler and music teacher Ruth, find their lives intertwined with their college-aged son, Frank. Frank is home for the summer and becomes involved with an older, separated mother of two children, Natalie Strout. This relationship, initially a source of worry for Ruth and dismissed as a fling by Matt, leads to a series of escalating conflicts with Natalie's estranged and possessive husband. Ultimately, these tensions culminate in an unthinkable tragedy.

Dad's Preview: This stellar film confronts the horrible topic of murder, and a common family's inability to fight against wealth and power in their small community. The entire cast delivers stellar performances, and by that I mean, there is a rare realness to this film. You feel like you are witnessing life as it happens. It was nominated for five Oscars, but unbelievably came away empty handed.

Good Machine, Eastern Standard Film Co.,
GreeneStreet Films; Miramax Films

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #18 Top

Lost in Translation (2003), Director: Sofia Coppola, rated R for sexual content

Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle

Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Akiko Takeshita, Take

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You're probably just having a mid-life crisis. Did you buy a Porsche yet?" - Charlotte

Why watch this? So little happens, but it's still so amazing to watch.

Plot Summary: An aging movie star and a young woman, both feeling adrift and disconnected in their lives, find themselves coincidentally staying at the same Tokyo hotel. Facing their own personal crises amidst the bustling, unfamiliar city, they forge an unexpected and comforting bond. Their brief, intense connection provides solace and a shared understanding, offering a momentary escape from their individual feelings of isolation and uncertainty.

Dad's Preview: On rare occasions, genius is found in something quiet and subtle. In a nod or a wink. Sometimes the story emerges from what doesn't happen. Restraint. Longing. Silence. This film follows an odd plot in an foreign city where two lonely American characters connect, thus finding someone with whom they can communicate. It's not outrageous... or loud. It just is what it is, and that is delightful.

American Zoetrope, Elemental Films;
Focus Features

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #17 Top

Manchester by the Sea (2016), Director: Kenneth Lonergan, rated R for language, adult themes

Breathtaking... A truly incredible piece of cinema!

Starring: Caseu Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, C. J. Wilson, Tate Donovan, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I can't beat it... I can't beat it. I'm sorry." - Lee Chandler

Why watch this? This is a powerful lesson in grief... how it instantly starts and relentlessly stays.

Plot Summary: A depressed, introverted Boston janitor is summoned to his Massachusetts hometown upon his older brother's sudden death. He is shocked to learn he has been appointed legal guardian of his spirited teenage nephew. Returning to the seaside community forces him to confront profound grief and the tragic events from his past.

Dad's Preview: I first viewed this in 2016, a year after my wife's twin sister passed way unexpectedly. I sort of prided myself on how I was able to deal with death. What an idiot. At that time I missed everything this movie was saying. After years of witnessing grief firsthand, I put this on a week ago. It wrecked me. I sobbed into my hands. This quiet movie meanders along, jumping back in time here and there, to tell Lee's story, and it is as tragic as humanly possible. To cope, he turn off all emotions and does his menial job as a handyman. Then his brother, his rock, dies, and he has to go back to his hometown, and face all the old scars again. The acting here is stellar and brutally honest. Casey Affleck won Best Actor for his understated, yet powerful, lead performance. This slow burn tragi-drama is worth your time, but be prepared to shed a few tears.

Pearl Street Films, K Period Media,
The Media Farm, The A/Middleton Project, B Story;
Amazon Studios, Roadside Attractions

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #16 Top

The English Patient (1996), Director: Anthony Minghella, rated R for nudity, language, war violence

In memory, love lives forever.

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe, Naveen Andrews, Colin Firth, Julian Wadham, Jürgen Prochnow, Kevin Whately, Nino Castelnuovo

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'm not in love with him. I'm in love with ghosts. So is he, he's in love with ghosts." - Hana

Why watch this? Love and heartbreak are heads on the same coin in this epic romance.

Plot Summary: At the close of World War II, a severely burned man, called the English patient, is cared for by a young nurse in a secluded Italian villa. His fragmented memories, gradually revealed through morphine-induced flashbacks, unveil his past as a Hungarian count mapping the Sahara Desert and a tragic affair with a married woman. As his story unfolds, intertwined with the lives of the nurse and other companions, the film explores themes of love, betrayal, and the lingering scars of war.

Dad's Preview: This film abounds in richness. It has sweeping desert vistas, a story within a story, a forbidden love affair, all set in the background of war. There are also the superb performances. Binoche is an Army nurse convinced she's cursed. Scott Thomas is a married woman who desires the brooding, intense Ralph Fiennes. This masterpiece spans the deserts of North Africa and a deserted convent in Italy, yet, more intimately, each character is fully explored and realized. There is pain here to behold, but the whole thing is so expertly constructed that you cannot turn away until the end credits. It's that good. It was nominated for 12 Oscars, and won nine, including Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actress (Binoche).

Tiger Moth Productions; Miramax Films

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #15 Top

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Director: Stanley Kubrick, rated G

An epic drama of adventure and exploration

Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack, Robert Beatty, Sean Sullivan, Douglas Rain (voice)

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL." - Dave Bowman

Why watch this? This slick, conceptual science fiction film influenced the genre and films that followed.

Plot Summary: Following the discovery of a mysterious monolith that influenced prehistoric human evolution, a similar artifact is uncovered on the Moon, emitting a powerful signal aimed toward Jupiter. A crew of astronauts, led by David Bowman and aided by the advanced AI computer HAL 9000, is sent to investigate this alien signal on the spacecraft Discovery One. As HAL begins to malfunction and endanger the crew, Bowman must confront the computer and ultimately face a surreal journey into deepest space.

Dad's Preview: This ground-breaking sci-fi film initially divided audiences and critics alike. It's easy to see why. There are long, dialogue-free tracking shots of spaceships and circular interiors all set to classical music. If you're even the least bit groggy, it will put you to sleep. Film audiences wanted action and detested nebulous plots. However, this is more of an existential journey that toys with man's very reason for being. Humans are masters of technology, yet trust artificial intelligence too much. Where did our DNA originate? Where is it all heading? Upon viewing this film, I immediately felt its hand on the great space films that followed: Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), and Contact (1997). This is certainly worthy of its title as one of the most influential science fictions films of all time.

Stanley Kubrick; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #14 Top

Ikiru (1952), Director: Akira Kurosawa, Not Rated (Dad's guess G)

One of the Great Films of Our Time!

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hhidari, Miki Odagiri, Kamatari Fujiwara, Nobuo Nakamura

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"How beautiful! Truly beautiful. A sunset. I don't think I've really looked at one in 30 years." – Kanji Watanabe

Why watch this? It's a story of a man's life lived, but not necessarily enjoyed. Then he learns of his incurable cancer...

Plot Summary: An aging, bureaucratic civil servant discovers he has terminal stomach cancer and faces a reckoning with his largely unfulfilled life. This realization prompts him to seek meaning and purpose in his final months. Despite initial missteps and a struggle with his family and the rigid bureaucracy, he ultimately dedicates himself to a single, impactful project that will live on forever.

Dad's Preview: Legendary film director Kurosawa is best known for epic films featuring lengthy battles and action-filled samurai duels. This film is a stark departure. It follows a nearly invisible man, Takashi, who has dutifully worked for 30 years. His wife is dead; his son only wants his inheritance. When he learns of his cancer, it shocks him into action. This film moves slowly, but it will grab you if you give it a chance. Then you will experience its richness, and eventually, its painful lesson that death is approaching us all, and we can only choose the best way to prepare for it.

Sōjirō Motoki; Toho

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #13 Top

Monster's Ball (2001), Director: Marc Forster, rated R for nudity/sexuality, racial language, suicide

A lifetime of change can happen in a single moment.

Starring: Bill Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs, Mos Def, Peter Boyle, Gabrielle Witcher, Amber Rules

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I've always believed that a portrait captures a person far better than a photograph. It truly takes a human being to really see a human being." - Lawrence Musgrove

Why watch this? Most of the film is about pain, its aftermath, and how folks try to move on.

Plot Summary: A white corrections officer, Hank Grotowski, works on death row. After a series of personal tragedies, he quits his job and meets Leticia Musgrove, an African-American woman also dealing with immense personal loss. Unbeknownst to them both, Hank was one of the officers who carried out the execution of Leticia's husband, creating a complex and tragic connection between them.

Dad's Preview: This is a brutally hard film to watch at times. There are many tragedies that befall its flawed characters: A prisoner is executed. A young man takes his own life. A mother's child is killed by a car. Each calamity is peppered with generational racism. Still, amid all that, two lost, emotionally wounded people find each other and try to salvage something from the carnage. Performances are stellar all the way around, including Thornton and the late Heath Ledger. However, it is Halle Berry, whose pain is palpable, who shines, and she justifiably won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Lee Daniels Entertainment; Lions Gate Films

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #12 Top

Nomadland (2020), Director: Chloé Zhao, rated R for mild nudity, language

Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, the remaining participants were all actual nomads roaming America including: Linda, Charlene Swankie, Bob Wells, Peter Spears, Derek Endres, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier, Angela Reyes, Carl Hughes, Douglas Soul

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"One of the things I love most about this life is that there's no final goodbye. You know, I've met hundreds of people out here and I don't ever say a final goodbye. I always just say, "I'll see you down the road." And I do." - Bob Wells

Why watch this? Vagabonds. Bums. The homeless. Nomads. This you should know...

Plot Summary: After losing everything in the Great Recession, Fern, a widow in her sixties, becomes a modern-day nomad, traveling the American West in her van. Along her journey, she experiences the challenges and freedoms of life on the road, forming connections with other nomads who have embraced this unconventional way of life.

Dad's Preview: This American epoch feels like an intimate documentary at times. This is by intention because many actual nomads lend their stories here. Fern is a hard-working woman living in her van. She left behind her life after her husband passed and normality just did not fit her anymore. So she wanders. She's incredibly portrayed by Frances McDormand, who relishes these closed-off, complicated female roles. We crave her smile because it so rarely given. There is a poetic humanity to this film. The insights gained here, about the people spilled into this unique lifestyle, should be a lesson to all of us more fortunate. When life gets hard, folks will forge on. They can go it alone, but it is easier to find others who lend support. That's what generations in America have done before. It's what the nomads still do. This film won Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Actress, verifying once again that story matters more than anything.

Highwayman Hear/Say Prod.,
Cor Cordium Prod.; Searchlight Pics

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #11 Top

Memento (2000), Director: Christopher Nolan, rated R for mature themes

Some memories are best forgotten

Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Russ Fega, Jorja Fox, Stephen Tobolowsky

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I'm no different." – Leonard Shelby

Why watch this? Creative film storytelling 101. Its unorthodoxy is its strength.

Plot Summary: Leonard Shelby is a former insurance investigator who suffers from a rare form of short-term memory loss. Following an assault that resulted in his wife's murder, he can remember events from his past but cannot form new memories. Leonard uses a system of Polaroids, notes, and tattoos to track information as he relentlessly seeks to avenge his wife's death.

Dad's Preview: Once in a while a film comes along that's truly unique, so shockingly original. Think of Fargo (1996), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and Time Bandits (1981). Memento is told out of order; characters are thrown at us; scenes are restarted over and over. As I describe the film, it sounds maddening to sit through, but it's not. It follows a private investigator trying to solve a crime. The problem - he has short-term memory loss. To accommodate his affliction, he leaves himself notes, takes Polaroid photos, and even tattoos his own body. By the end, we question our protagonist's sanity, and maybe our own.

Summit Entertainment, Team Todd;
Newmarket

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #10 Top

Rope (1948), Director: Alfred Hitchcock, rated PG

It's his most nerve-stretching thriller!

Starring: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Joan Chandler, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Kenneth Lawrence, Edith Evanson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 100 #94 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Rope

"I've always wished for more artistic talent. Well, murder can be an art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create." - Brandon Shaw

Why watch this? This is my favorite Hitchcock film. It's lean and twisted.

Plot Summary: Two intellectual young men, Brandon and Phillip, murder a former classmate as an act to prove their supposed superiority. They then host a dinner party, with the victim's body hidden in a chest within the same room, serving as a macabre challenge to mental acuity. As the evening unfolds, their former professor, Rupert, becomes increasingly suspicious at their odd behavior.

Dad's Preview: There is just something about this film that I love. Perhaps it is the devious plot by two privileged men who tempt fate out of boredom. Perhaps it is James Stewart's performance as their old college professor who immediately senses something is amiss. Perhaps it is Hitchcock's unique techniques, where he uses long takes, which in turn gives the viewer a sense of a continuous take. It was not popular upon release, but this is a gripping, bold, interesting, even controversial film.

Transatlantic Pictures; Warner Bros.

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #9 Top

Sling Blade (1996), Director: Billy Bob Thornton, rated R for language, violence

A Simple Man... A Difficult Choice.

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, Robert Duvall, Brent Briscoe

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #30 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Sling Blade

"Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a Kaiser blade." - Karl Childers

Why watch this? Thornton's first film is tender, simple, and brilliant on every level.

Plot Summary: Karl Childers is a man with an intellectual disability who is released from a psychiatric hospital after spending decades institutionalized for a childhood murder. He returns to his childhood town in Arkansas and befriends a young boy named Frank, forming an unexpected bond as Karl works as a mechanic. However, Frank's home life is troubled by his mother's abusive boyfriend, Doyle.

Dad's Preview: This film rings so true that the audience has no choice but to believe it's based on real people. Sling Blade was Billy Bob Thornton's personal creation: he wrote the story, directed the film and stars as Karl. Thornton's immersion into the simpleton character is legendary (and oft impersonated by me and way too many TikTokers). There are some intense moments, but at its heart, this movie has a sweetness to it. It's an achievement within its own simplicity. John Ritter and Dwight Yoakam deliver incredible supporting performances, as well.

The Shooting Gallery; Miramax Films

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #8 Top

Rear Window (1954), Director: Alfred Hitchcock, rated PG

In deadly danger...because they saw too much!

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Judith Evelyn, Frank Cady, Georgine Darcy, Ross Bagdasarian

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"People do a lot of things in private they couldn't possibly explain in public." Lt. Doyle

Why watch this? Nobody did it like Hitchcock. This one drips constant suspense.

Plot Summary: Confined to his apartment with a broken leg, a photographer named L.B. Jeffries spends his days observing his neighbors through his rear window. His casual pastime takes a dark turn when he becomes convinced that one of his neighbors, a traveling salesman named Lars Thorwald, has murdered his wife. Despite skepticism from his girlfriend Lisa and his nurse Stella, Jeffries enlists their help in a perilous amateur investigation.

Dad's Preview: When does a little harmless voyeurism become too much, and potentially get a person in trouble? I always thought that this film's protagonist has a little hobby that's a bit sick, yet everyman Jimmy Stewart makes it seen normal. Well, it's not and Hitchcock had something else in mind - there is going to be a price to pay for peeping. This is superb story-telling by the real master of manipulating the audience to build tension and suspense. Stewart is always compelling, and the alluring Grace Kelly captivates.

Patron Incorporated; Paramount Pictures

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #7 Top

Michael Clayton (2007), Director: Tony Gilroy, rated R for language

The Truth Can Be Adjusted

Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Michael O'Keefe, Danielle Skraastad, Wai Chan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I'm not the guy you kill. I'm the guy you buy! Are you so f'ing blind that you don't even see what I am? I sold out Arthur for 80 grand. I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me?" - Michael Clayton

Why watch this? This is another solid effort by Clooney. He's a master of understatement.

Plot Summary: Michael Clayton works as a "fixer" at a prestigious New York law firm, essentially cleaning up the messes made by the firm and its wealthy clients. He's called in when one of the firm's senior partners, Arthur Edens, has a breakdown during a multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuit against an agricultural conglomerate called U-North. As Clayton tries to manage the fallout from Edens' erratic behavior, he uncovers corruption and potential criminal wrongdoing surrounding the lawsuit, putting his own life at risk.

Dad's Preview: This story is such a rewarding, intelligent slow burn. We meet Mr. Clayton and quickly learn that he is a corporate "fixer". His vast experience and connections are invaluable to legal firms when they need problems to "just go away". When his good friend at the firm starts acting strange (he grows a conscious) and quite unexpectedly succumbs, Michael realizes that he's probably next. This is the point that I really began to see George Clooney's genius. He makes acting look so easy. I also love the erratic performance by Tom Wilkinson. The last scene in this film is worth the price of admission alone.

Samuels Media, Castle Rock Ent., Mirage Ent.,
Section Eight Prod.; Warner Bros. Pictures

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #6 Top

The Verdict (1982), Director: Sidney Lumet, rated R for language

Frank Galvin Has One Last Chance At A Big Case.

Starring: Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, Lindsay Crouse, Edward Binns, Julie Bovasso

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"All I wanted in this case is an even shake. You rushed me into court in five days... my star witness disappears, I can't get a continuance, and I don't give a damn. I'm going up there and I'm going to try it. Let the jury decide." – Frank Galvin

Why watch this? Paul Newman is spectacular in this tense, courtroom drama.

Plot Summary: Has-been lawyer Frank Galvin, facing the end of his career, receives an opportunity to handle a seemingly straightforward medical malpractice suit. Initially inclined to settle, he decides to take the case to trial against a powerful hospital and the Archdiocese of Boston, seeking justice and a chance at personal redemption.

Dad's Preview: Newman portrays a worn-down, broken, alcoholic lawyer who only takes on a medical malpractice case, just to make a quick buck. All is going fine until he starts really diving into the facts of the case. He uncovers a lot more than he, or the judge, ever expected him to find. It all culminates in one of the best courtroom showdowns on film. I really believe that this is Newman's greatest performance. He perfectly portrays a man broken, at the end of his rope, but finally resolved to take a stand and see that justice is achieved. It was nominated for five Oscars, but came away empty-handed.

The Zanuck/Brown Company;
20th Century Fox

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #5 Top

Once Upon a Time in the West (1966), Director: Sergio Leone, rated PG-13 for Western violence

There were three men in her life. One to take her... one to love her... and one to kill her.

Starring: Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robarbs, Charles Bronson, Woody Strode, Cabriele Ferzetti, Jack Elam

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"He's whittlin' on a piece of wood. I've got a feeling when he stops whittlin'... Somethin's gonna happen." - Cheyenne

Why watch this? This Leone Western is as good as they get.

Plot Summary: Jill McBain, a former prostitute turned landowner, arrives in the frontier town of Flagstone only to find her new husband and his children murdered. A ruthless assassin, Frank, working for railroad baron Morton, is responsible for the murders and has framed the bandit Cheyenne. A mysterious man, known only as Harmonica, also arrives seeking revenge against Frank. Jill, Cheyenne, and Harmonica form an uneasy alliance as they attempt to hold onto the valuable land that Morton wants for his railroad.

Dad's Preview: Sergio Leone directed many spaghetti Westerns, but this is by far his magnum opus. There are many Western themes present, but the line between good guys and bad guys is blurred enough to really make it interesting. The film is large and epic, and Charles Bronson is wonderful as the "harmonica player". The Morricone soundtrack is top notch, even by his standards.

Euro Int'l Films, Rafran Cinematografica,
Finanzia San Marco; Paramount Pictures

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #4 Top

Witness (1985), Director: Peter Weir, rated R for language, police violence

A big city cop. A small country boy. They have nothing in common ...but a murder.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubeš, Danny Glover, Josef Sommer, Alexander Godunov, Brent Jennings, Patti LuPone

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"No, no hospital... gunshot wound, they have to file a report. And if they file a report, they find me. And if they find me, they find the boy." – John Book

Why watch this? It is a brilliant film juxtaposing the peaceful Amish culture against urban violence.

Plot Summary: When a young Amish boy witnesses a murder in Philadelphia, a detective goes undercover in the boy's rural Amish community to protect him from the killers. The detective must navigate the unfamiliar world of the Amish while trying to identify and avoid the dangerous individuals responsible for the crime. The film explores the stark contrast between the detective's violent world and the peaceful, traditional Amish lifestyle.

Dad's Preview: Using the Pennsylvania Amish community as the backdrop for a crime thriller was an incredible idea. This is one of Harrison Ford's best acting efforts as a tough Philly detective who is forced to hide a young Amish boy from corruption in his own police department. The film is both warm and pleasant, yet extremely intense at times. An incredible musical score enhances the idyllic countryside scenes. This received 8 Oscar nominations (winning Best Screenplay and Best Editing).

Edward S. Feldman Prod.; Paramount Pics

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #3 Top

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Director: Jonathan Demme, rated R for violence, gore, language

To enter the mind of a killer she must challenge the mind of a madman.

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons, Charles Napier

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #13 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Silence of the Lambs

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. You fly back to school now, little Starling." – Dr. Hannibal Lecter

Why watch this? ... it's a lethal combination of everything important to great filmmaking.

Plot Summary: A young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling, must interview an incarcerated, manipulative cannibalistic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, to gain insight into capturing another active serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill". With the help of Lecter's psychological profiles and cryptic clues, Starling works against time to uncover the identity of the killer and save his latest victim. As she delves deeper into the case and the mind of Lecter, she also confronts the psychological challenges of a male-dominated field and her own personal past traumas.

Dad's Preview: This film... damn! It's part psychological thriller, part pure horror-fest. Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lector, a brilliant forensic psychiatrist AND serial killer. Also excellent is the performance by Jodie Foster, the eager FBI trainee who interfaces with Lecter. This film is simply one of those movies that bumps past all others on its way to the top. It is a perfect film.

Strong Heart Productions; Orion Pictures

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #2 Top

No Country for Old Men (2007), Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen, rated R for language, violence

There Are No Clean Getaways

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Beth Grant

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #16 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of No Country For Old Men

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" - Anton Chigurh

Why watch this? This tour de force examines the dangers surrounding the Mexican drug world.

Plot Summary: While hunting in the West Texas desert, Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and finds a briefcase containing millions of dollars, which he takes. His decision sets in motion a violent chase with a ruthless and enigmatic killer, Anton Chigurh, pursuing Moss and the money across the landscape. Meanwhile, a jaded, tired Sheriff Ed Tom Bell investigates the mounting casualties, grappling with the escalating violence and the unsettling nature of the criminals involved.

Dad's Preview: This Texas story's backdrop is the harsh scrub-brush lands near the Mexican border, where life is cheap, especially when you are entwined within the drug trade. The great performances by the film's cast are almost too many to mention. Jones, Bardem and Brolin certainly own the film, but the supporting actors and actresses also contribute, injecting tons of realism. Every time I watch this, it feels fresh, cutting-edge, and pertinent in its masterful simplicity.

Paramount Vantage, Scott Rudin Prod.,
Mike Zoss Prod.; Miramax Films

Genres Action-Crime, Action-Thriller, Crime-Cops, Crime-Crooks, Crime-Drama, Crime-Thriller, Crime-Thriller-NeoNoir, Mystery-Thriller; Neo-Western, Western-Drama

Top 20 Slow Burn Films #1 Top

Notorious (1946), Director: Alfred Hitchcock, rated Approved

Notorious Woman of many Desires! Fateful Fascination! Bold Intrigue!

Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin, Reinhold Schunzel, Moroni Olsen

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Every time you look at me, I can see it running over its slogans: "Once a crook, always a crook", "Once a tramp, always a tramp". Go on. You can hold my hand. I won't blackmail you for it afterwards." – Alicia Huberman

Why watch this? The building suspense within this film is quietly palpable.

Plot Summary: U.S. agent Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the daughter of a convicted Nazi spy, to infiltrate a group of Nazis hiding in Rio de Janeiro. Alicia agrees, but her mission becomes complicated when she falls in love with Devlin while being tasked with seducing a prominent Nazi named Alexander Sebastian, who was previously infatuated with her. This arrangement forces her into a difficult position, testing her loyalties and potentially putting her life in danger.

Dad's Preview: In my eyes, what elevates this Hitchcock thriller is its elegant anxiety. Everybody is so damn polite, and they rarely say what they really feel or intend. So much so, that when it finally occurs, it is a long-awaited reward. The film reunites Claude Rains and Ingrid Bergman from Casablanca (1942), and throws in the amazing Cary Grant. The climax is a film school master-class on how to build up tension to an ending worth remembering.

Vanguard Films; RKO Radio Pictures