Reviewing the Best Movies Ever Made: Singin’ in the Rain, The Shawshank Redemption, The Return of the King
Whether you want some singing (in the rain), some redemption (Shawshank style), or are just looking for a return (perhaps that of a king), you’ve come to the right place. This months edition of Reviewing the Best Movies Ever Made features a 1950s musical classic, the best movie based off a Stephen King work ever, and the final film of a fantasy trilogy that defined early-2000s cinema.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
AFI No. 5, Sight & Sound No. 10
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 103 minutes
Singin’ in the Rain is a musical romantic comedy that’s typically regarded as the best film falling into that genre of movie ever created. The film is set in the 1920s and centers around a pair of major silent film stars named Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, who are in a fake relationship to help garner publicity and fuel the tabloids, despite the fact that Don can’t stand Lina.
Further conflict arises when movies begin transitioning from silent films to “talkies” since Lina can’t sing and has an off-putting voice. Luckily, Don’s new love interest, a chorus girl named Kathy, might be the solution to their problems.
As far as the plot goes it’s pretty standard, but still a lot of fun. It might feel generic and not too deep, but that’s not really an issue since the film is going for a very lighthearted and just enjoyable type of story.
Gene Kelly plays Don, and he fits the bill as our charming leading man. Debbie Reynolds as Kathy really has that special something too, and viewers can see why she catches Don’s eye, despite the fact that she’s not a huge star like he is in the film. She has that “it” factor.
As a musical, of course, the songs are going to be of supreme importance. Unfortunately, I think most of the numbers in Singin’ in the Rain are just “fine.” “Singin’ in the Rain” (the song) is enjoyable enough, but nothing super special. The best song in the movie is definitely “Good Morning.” The scene where a trio of characters sing that song is probably my favorite in the entire film.
The dancing in Singin’ in the Rain that accompanies the musical numbers though is really excellent. For me, it makes up for the “good enough” songs. If you enjoy tap dancing (even just a little bit) then this is the musical for you. Donald O’Connor, who plays Don’s best friend in the film, is the best dancer in the cast, but everyone is top-notch as a whole.
The costumes and sets are another extremely well-done aspect of Singin’ in the Rain. This is a fun to look at movie that’s lively and full of color.
I think that audiences in 2023 will still be able to appreciate this film, as it’s just an all-around enjoyable watch with some genuinely funny and cute moments. The music might not be to my personal taste, but I still watched most of this one with a smile.
Grade: 8.5/10
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
IMDb No. 1
Columbia Pictures, 142 minutes
Many times, a movie will fall into one of two categories. It will either appeal to film critics who want a highbrow, awards-worthy cinema experience or it will attract a more general moviegoing audience who just wants to be entertained. It’s for this reason that when lots of award shows reveal their nominees, many people haven’t even seen a majority of the films in consideration. The Shawshank Redemption is an example of a rare type of movie that’s not only a masterfully made film in any critical way a critic can think of, but it’s also crowd-pleasing.
The Shawshank Redemption is, to me, a perfect film. Everything from the script (based off of a Stephen King novel) to the acting to the direction to the cinematography to the musical score couldn’t be improved upon. The story is engaging throughout as we follow Andy Dufresne, played wonderfully by Tim Robbins, after he’s sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary.
The film is almost broken up into different chapters where we focus on different important happenings over several decades. For example, parts of the movie that focus more on characters like Brooks or Tommy. Everything we zero in on feels important to the overall story though, with moments and scenes building off of what’s already happened to characters in Shawshank. Not a single moment is wasted, and when we get to the conclusion of the movie, everything feels earned.
Morgan Freeman plays Red, an inmate who befriends Andy. He narrates a good portion of the film’s most impactful moments and it’s easy to see why he’s become so known for his narration skills. Other characters, like the warden and lead prison guard, are all great. It’s hard to pick a standout performance when everyone is fantastic.
The Shawshank Redemption is set starting in the late 1940s all the way until the mid-1960s. It’s a movie that was made in a such a manner that it feels timeless. This is a movie that, if you didn’t know any better, you could believe was produced this year. Everything holds up. In 2023, The Shawshank Redemption is just as excellent and worthwhile as it was nearly 30 years ago.
Grade: 10/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
IMDb No. 7
New Line Cinema, 200 minutes
It’s been an interesting experience rewatching the Lord of the Rings trilogy over the past couple of months. The first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, I watched as part of this Reviewing the Best Movies Ever Made project, and I felt like it held up really well. I described it as a sweeping epic that does just about everything right when it comes to creating a fantasy world, particularly the “feel” of Middle Earth.
I was less enthusiastic about The Two Towers. At the time I reviewed that film, I suspected it would be the weakest entry in the series, though I still graded it an 8/10 overall. The Two Towers suffered from its segmented storytelling (a result of having major characters on separate journeys from one another). Also, the special effects, which weren’t so prevalent in Fellowship, were dated, mainly in parts of the story featuring Gollum.
It was really surprising for me that I enjoyed The Return of the King, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year of its release, the least of the three movies. I think that many of the smaller issues I took with The Two Towers exist for this film, just to an even larger extent.
There are so many characters we’re introduced to in this universe and, as a result, most of them don’t feel well explored. I think that if you read J. R. R. Tolkien’s books and have a foundational knowledge of the characters of Middle Earth, the story still works fine. But as a movie, it feels like we’re getting scenes of a much larger, more intricate story without a lot of depth. (Which is, in fact, exactly what we are getting.)
The special effects are also more obvious throughout this film, mainly because there are simply more effects being used. The now 20-year-old visual effects used in battles, and there are a ton of battles, definitely took me out of a lot of moments. In 2023, the look of a lot of The Return of the King doesn’t hold up well. As a result, this felt like the most “produced” movie of the three, in that it felt like I was watching a big Hollywood production more than events actually taking place in a fantasy world.
There are still elements that the movie does masterfully. The musical score and costumes are fantastic. I think that if you enjoy the first two movies in the trilogy, this is still a fulfilling conclusion. It’s not like the drop off in overall quality from movie to movie is super steep, but for me, this one definitely held up the least well. The Return of the King is an important movie for how it both popularized and revitalized the fantasy genre, but taken by itself, in 2023, it's only “good.” Of all the movies I’ve reviewed so far in this project, it’s the one I’m most surprised I didn’t love as much as I did when I initially watched it 20 years ago.
Grade: 7/10
Rankings: The 25 “Best” Movies Rated So Far
Schindler's List (1993): 10/10 (AFI No. 8, IMDb No. 6)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994): 10/10 (IMDb No. 1)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): 9.5/10 (IMDb No. 9)
The Wizard of Oz (1939): 9.5/10 (AFI No. 10)
Casablanca (1942): 9/10 (AFI No. 3)
The Godfather (1972): 9/10 (AFI No. 2, IMDb No. 2)
Man with a Movie Camera (1929): 9/10 (S&S No. 9)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952): 8.5/10 (AFI No. 5, S&S No. 10)
The Godfather Part II (1974): 8/10 (IMDb No. 4)
The Dark Knight (2009): 7/10 (IMDb No. 3)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 7/10 (IMDb No. 7)
Citizen Kane (1941): 4/10 (AFI No. 1, S&S No. 3)
Raging Bull (1980): 4/10 (AFI No. 4)
Mulholland Drive (2001): 2.5/10 (S&S No. 8)
Beau Travail (1999): 1.5/10 (S&S No. 7)