9) Day for Night/Singin’ in the Rain
Then there are two older films, in addition to the likes of Sullivan’s Travels (by the aforementioned Preston Sturges) and The Bad and the Beautiful which I still need to watch, that are notable for their portrayals of filmmaking in the earlier days of Hollywood. François Truffaut, a pioneer of that French New Wave we all vaguely remember hearing about in Film 100, directed Day for Night in 1973. It’s a terrific and comedic movie about the madness that surrounds the work that goes into making a movie, with the players’ personal lives often taking a backseat to the filmmaking and the toll this can take. It functions on a meta level that would probably be even more appreciated today, with Truffaut himself playing the role of the fictional movie’s director. It also stars Jacqueline Bisset, whom you may remember from the Golden Globes as that weird lady.
Singin’ in the Rain is essential viewing for anyone who appreciates being happy, as well as perhaps one of the greatest movies ever made. It shares a lot of similarities with The Artist, and was undoubtedly one of the largest influences on that film, but the key difference is that it is filled with loud music and bright colors and magnificent dancing that delights the senses and tickles the mind. Also dignity. Always dignity.
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