The Greatest Classic Adventure Films Of 1950-90s

"Life is either daring adventure or nothing" stated by American Author Helen Keller. "A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short." by Bertrand Russell. These words are very much true. We all want to have an adventurous life in some way and we all like to watch movies based upon a sheer adventure. Adventure movies are always fun, unusual experience and exciting all the way. This is the list of movies which are so full of adventure and excitement.

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 

  ***The Greatest Western Adventure Movie Ever Made***

"They formed an alliance of hate to steal a fortune in dead man's gold."

"I've never seen so many men wasted so badly."

"There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those with a rope around their neck and the people who have the job of doing the cutting. Listen, the neck at the end of the rope is mine! I run the risks. So the next time, I want more than half."

"I like big, fat men like you. When they fall, they make more noise. And sometimes they never get up."

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is a landmark movie in many respects. Its cultural influence is nigh-impossible to overstate, with its iconic musical score by Ennio Morricone, three memorably amoral protagonists, the close-ups, vast landscapes, and the title itself, all of which are instantly recognizable icons of cinema, having been referenced and replicated time and again in movies, TV shows, and even commercials.

It is Sergio Leone's first truly great movie, a transition from the low-budget Spaghetti Westerns ("A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More") to the big budget, artistic epics that Leone would make for the rest of his career ("Once Upon a Time in the West/America"). This is a full-blown epic, and one with an interesting subtext. We see three completely amoral characters whose crimes - robbery, murder, and racketeering - are minor compared to the brutal carnage we see the Civil War inflicting.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is one of the most well-known and influential movies ever made, and with good reason. In terms of style, it is an absolute triumph, being one of the most amazingly made movies ever made. Those only familiar with the movie for its cast, its score, or peripherally through its iconic stature, are missing out on one of the most breath-taking cinematic experiences ever.

2. Seven Samurai (1954)

 

***Akira Kurosawa's Triumphant Epic, Beautifully Told With Stunning Acting***

"The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes of a Small Town"

"This is the nature of war. By protecting others, you save yourselves."

"What do you think of farmers? You think they're saints? Hah! They're foxy beasts! They say, "We've got no rice, we've no wheat. We've got nothing!" But they have! They have everything! Dig under the floors! Or search the barns! You'll find plenty! Beans, salt, rice, sake! Look in the valleys, they've got hidden warehouses! They pose as saints but are full of lies! If they smell a battle, they hunt the defeated! They're nothing but stingy, greedy, blubbering, foxy, and mean! God damn it all! But then who made them such beasts? You did! You samurai did it! You burn their villages! Destroy their farms! Steal their food! Force them to labour! Take their women! And kill them if they resist! So what should farmers do? " 

Akira Kurosawa was and is considered the master of east-western film-making. Story-telling at its finest, "Seven Samurai" is a terrific film not because of a handful of memorable scenes or lines, but rather because scene-by-scene, frame-by-frame, it tells an interesting story as well as it is possible to tell it. The story and characters are developed carefully, and everything about the movie, from the settings and props to the musical score, is done carefully and expertly.

The camera use is brilliant and every scene is balanced visually. This film is also the first one to use "the wipe" as a way of changing from one scene to another. This technique was later used by George Lucas in his Star Wars movies. If you have never seen any of Kurosawa's works, then please see Seven Samurai... you will witness the true beauty, excellence and magic that the art form known as film is capable of. 

3. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 

 

***Great Movie, Acting, Direction And Music***

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

"You don’t understand, Jill. People like that have something inside… something to do with death."

There are four stand-out performances from Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale and Jason Robards. Bronson plays Harmonica the mysterious stranger, Fonda brilliantly cast against type is the cold-eyed killer, Cardinale is the stunningly beautiful woman in the center of the narrative and Robards is the grizzled outlaw. Together, they are terrific. And Leone moves them around the widescreen frame quite beautifully. Morricone's score once again is quite outstanding. The haunting harmonica theme is a particular standout; only Morricone could make a harmonica sound so sweeping, evocative and mystical.

"Once Upon A Time In The West" is truly epic film-making of the very best kind. It's a western of intense emotions and brilliant acting; of peerless photography and ground-breaking music. It illustrates perfectly how to use cinematic space and how to pace events within it. It refashioned the western and brought the highest cinematic artistry to Monument Valley. It goes without saying that it is a masterpiece. 

4. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

***A Brilliantly Crafted Entertainment With A Superb Casting***

"You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together. I've got nothing better to do."

"What a fitting end to your life's pursuits. You're about to become a permanent addition to this archeological find. Who knows, in a thousand years even you may be worth something."

Harrison Ford stars as Indiana Jones, an archaeologist adventurer, who spends his time traveling all over the world through jungles, deserts, oceans, and caverns in search for hidden treasures—like the priceless long-lost Ark of the Covenant (the Hebrew sacred artifact that held the supposed Ten Commandments). Unfortunately, a group of treasure-hungry Nazis wants it too, having heard that any army who wins it would receive supernatural powers.
 

With his trademark hat, whip, leather jacket, and pistol for backup, our stubborn, intelligent, determined and loyal hero escapes innumerable dangers, evades multiple obstacles including fearsome thugs in a busy Cairo bazaar, and hangs underneath a fast-moving truck in an exciting chase through a road. These are only some of the film's incredible set pieces. Steven Spielberg likable hero is not invincible, though, facing impossible odds, capable of getting beaten, struck violently, heart broken, and falling asleep after the first kiss

"Raiders of the Lost Arc" is a perfect package of unforgettable scenes, countless action, humor, astonishing technical effects, thrilling sequences, and terrific performances.

5. North By Northwest (1959) 

***A Top-Notch Suspense/Adventure film Ever***

"A 2000 MILE CHASE . . . That blazes a trail of TERROR to a gripping, spine-chilling climax !"

"Leonard: You're not taking her on the plane with you?

Phillip Vandamm: Of course I am. Like our friends, I too believe in neatness, Leonard. This matter is best disposed of from a great height, over water."

It's Hitch's most briskly entertaining movie, and one of his most comic, adventure-caper type movies, largely thanks to the persona of Cary Grant. But its also one of his most suspenseful - in the fact that Grant is being recognized as someone else, and that he may be put in jail for someone Else's crime. I must give special mention to Ernest Lehman who yet again managed to write a screenplay that totally knocks your socks off. How he came up with the idea, I've not a clue, but what an idea it is. 

Over 50 years on this film has barely dated. Hearing the music is enough to make me want to see it again, while the direction, set pieces, dialogue and performances are all pitch perfect. A wonderful thriller for young and old - no sex, no swearing, all thrills. 

6. Back To The Future (1985)

 

 ***An Brilliant Time-Traveling Classic Adventure***

"Meet Marty McFly. He's broken the time barrier. Busted his parents' first date. And, maybe, botched his chances of ever being born."

"He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for his dinner... Then one day... he wasn't in his time at all."

"Roads ... where we're going, we don't need roads."

"What happens to us in the future? Do we become a&*holes or something?"

This is the best movie ever in all of the time-travel stories.These back to the future films are my favorite films,i have watched them at least 10 times and i still enjoy them very much especially for the first one. Great story, remarkable screen shots and great performance of Christopher Lloyd and of course Micheal J.Fox. 

"Back to the Future" to this day is still a timeless treasure that I notice more and more is becoming part of a newer generation. Michael J. Fox should be proud, his work will be remembered for a long time. Back to the Future worked so well because of the great story and the humor was great, the whole cast worked together and made a terrific movie that will be looked back on thirty years from now and still be considered cool.

7. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

 

 ***An Epic Masterpiece As You've Never Seen It Before!***

"A mighty spectacle of action and adventure!"

"Mr. Dryden: If we've told lies, you've told half-lies and a man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth, but a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it.

T.E. Lawrence: The truth is I'm an ordinary man. You might have told me that, Dryden, and I want an ordinary job, sir. That's my reason for resigning. It's personal."

"Lawrence of Arabia" is a remarkable labor, a masterful mixture of fact and artistry, a masterpiece of intimate moment and spectacular largeness a film that literally excites the senses. In a visual sense, Lean combines a sure sense of place with an approach to the action that he borrows from an unlikely source— John Ford… Lean turns his vast desert canvas into another Monument Valley, and when his Bedouins ride across it, they are not far removed from Ford's cavalry. In many of the early scenes, the stately gait of the camel's walk gives the film a slower pace, and this is precisely what Lean is trying to achieve. Lean even manages to surpass Ford with his understanding of the relationship between his characters and the landscape; how the desert changes those who go into it.

The photography, the script and the acting are so superb that "Lawrence of Arabia" becomes a lavish epic winner of 7 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Directing, Color, Cinematography, Sound, Musical Score and Film Editing.

8. Das Boot (1981) 

 

***Classic, Gripping, Intense And Realistic All the Way***

"This is the story of 42 raw recruits caught up in a war they didn't understand, and the Captain who must lead them in their struggle to survive."

"To be fearless and proud and alone. To need no one, just sacrifice. All for the Fatherland. Oh God, all just empty words."

"Das Boot" is a classic. This film couldn't be more intense and emotionally draining. It is a work of genius. Jurgen Prochnaw gives a spectacular performance as the German U-Boat Captain. The acting is first rate as the cast of characters is as realistic and believable as it gets.  Jurgen Prochnow played the part of the captain better than any other actor has ever played the role of a leader of men. He brought to life the drama of leading a group of young men into a possible suicide mission with utter realism and depth.

Wolfgang Petersen is an amazing storyteller, and this movie proved it. I would have to say that it might very well be the best war movie I have seen, heck, it may be the best movie I have seen period!!!  

9. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

 

 ***A Magnificent And Powerful Film Experience***

" It spans a whole new world of entertainment!"

""Commander Shears: You mean, you intend to uphold the letter of the law, no matter what it costs?

Colonel Nicholson: Without law, Commander, there is no civilization.

Commander Shears: That's just my point; here, there is no civilization.

Colonel Nicholson: Then we have the opportunity to introduce it. "

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" is a true classic because it can be so many things to so many people -- and it is timeless: The kids and many adults will enjoy the action, the historians will enjoy critiquing its accuracy, veterans will re-visit the comradeship of the "trenches", and film buffs will revel in the picture's rhythm, drama, and well-executed technical elements.

In the final analysis, the settings, costumes, historicity, etc. are only "helpers" (however beautifully provided by Lean and company). Its bigger theme -- the aspirations of the human heart, and the painful surrendering of those aspirations -- are what we are most urgently invited to experience in this extraordinary film.

10. The Great Escape (1963)

 

***An Absolutely Awesome And Genuine Classic***

"put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it..."

" Group Capt. Ramsey: Colonel Von Luger, it is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape. If they can't, it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability.

 Col. Von Luger: Yes I know. The men under your authority have been most successful. This man, Ahsley-Pitt for example. Caught in the North Sea, escaped, recaptured, escaped, recaptured. Archibald "Archie" Ives: 11 escape attempts. He even tried to jump out of the truck coming here. Dickes, William: known to have paticipated in the digging of 11 escape tunnels. Flight Lieutenant Willinski: four escape attempts. MacDonald: nine, Hendley, the American: five, Haynes: four, Sedgewick: seven. The list is almost endless. One man here has made 17 attempted escapes. Group Captain, this is close to insanity.

Group Capt. Ramsey: Quite.

Col. Von Luger: And it must stop! "

"The Great Escape" tells the amazing story of a whole bunch of allied prisoners who accomplish a mass breakout during World War II, some of whom actually did make it to freedom and the allied armed forces once again. The film is so good that you do not mind the fact that some American players were tossed into the story as the real story was one accomplished by the British. 

The Great Escape does the one essential thing for a movie to do, it moves. Even in just the scenes of planning and preparation you are aware of movement. I mentioned Elmer Bernstein's film score. It's one of Bernstein's best, maybe one of the best known of any film in cinema history.

The Great Escape is one of those films you can watch dozens of times and never tire of. It's a wonderful film, a real tribute to the best in mankind under some of the worst circumstances.  

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