Ferris Bueller's Day Off

From the brilliant workings of John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a hilarious, and fun movie about a high school wise guy determined to have a day off from school, despite what the principal thinks of that.

The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), who skips school and spends the day in downtown Chicago. Accompanied by his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and his best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), he creatively avoids his school's principal Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), his resentful sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), and his parents. During the film, Bueller regularly breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera to explain to the audience his thoughts and techniques. I think that this was very useful in a coming of age film like this, teens and the audience really felt like they were connected and that they were Ferris' friend. 

Hughes wrote the screenplay in less than a week and shot the film—on a budget of $5.8 million—over three months in 1985. Featuring many famous Chicago landmarks including the then Sears Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago, the film was Hughes' love letter to the city: "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit." I think Hughes accomplished this with another winning feel good film. 

 
Released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986, Ferris Bueller's Day Off became one of the top grossing films of the year and was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as per being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It captures what kids think the American way of high school life is, or at least what they dream it to be.

 Here are 9 cool facts about Ferris Bueller's Day Off that you probably didn't know:

1) June, 5, 1985 was probably Ferris' real day off.
2) Mr. and Mrs. Bueller were a real-life couple.
3) Though they played sparring brother and sister in the film, Matthew Broderick was actually engaged to his on-screen sister, Jennifer Grey.
4) Though Ferris and company were portraying high-schoolers, only Mia Sara -- who played Ferris' girlfriend Sloane Peterson -- was a teenager at the time of filming.
5) Painter George Seurat's famous work, "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte," is the work that Cameron appears to be so mesmerized by.
6) Cameron's father's smokin' red Ferrari California Spyder was actually a fake.
7) Charlie Sheen really wasn't 'on' anything during his scene in the film.
8) Though the film took place in the greater Chicago area, the Bueller residence was actually a house in Long Beach, California.
9) Look closely and you'll discover every license plate in the movie has a meaning.

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film (genre hybrid) based on the 1986 novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story beautifuly illustrates several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow and naïve, but good-hearted and athletically gifted, man from Alabama who witnesses, and in some peculiar cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States (the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982). The film is much different from the novel on which it was based, including Gump's personality and some of the events that took place.

The main sets took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Gump (Tom Hanks) into archived footage and to develop other fun scenes. A compelling soundtrack was featured in the film, using music intended to pinpoint specific time periods portrayed on screen. Its commercial release made it a top-selling soundtrack, selling over twelve million copies worldwide.  Some of the songs include Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater, Respect by Aretha Franklin, and many more American favorites. 

This famous film was released in the United States on July 6, 1994.  The film became a commercial success as the top grossing film in North America released in that year, being the first major success for Paramount Pictures since the studio's sale to Viacom, earning over $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Forrest Gump holds a high rating of 8.8 on the Internet Movie Database, which makes it the 13th best movie of all time for the website and in 1995 it won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay for Eric Roth, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. Forrest Gump also easily attained multiple other awards and nominations, including Golden Globes, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Ever since the film was released, many variations of interpretations of its protagonist (Forrest Gump) and its political symbolism have been made.  

In 1996, a themed restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened based on the film and has since expanded to multiple locations worldwide.  If that doesn't show you have much of an impact this film made, I don't know what will!  One of the scenes of the American classic of Gump running across the country is often referred to when real-life people attempt the feat. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  

After all these facts, can you even argue that this movie isn't the best movie of all time?! If you haven't seen this film yet, it's time to stop whatever you are doing, sit down, and focus your attention on the best movie of all time. 

These Amazing Shadows

These Amazing Shadows is an inspiring PBS documentary about the select distinguished films that have made it to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. It uses interviews from film critics, scholars actors, directors, producers and anyone else related to film to discuss important ideas about the role of film in American culture.

The National Film Registry is a collection of 550 American films deemed, by the Library of Congress, to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Films like E.T., Cabaret, Casablanca, Cool Hand Luke, Fantasia, MASH or Vertigo have found a spot on this list of extraordinary films. These films, along with hundreds of other documentaries, blockbusters, or amateur home movies, have either documented, changed, defined, or challenged America in some way or another.

These Amazing Shadows talks to those close to those who decide each year which film will be included in the 25 picked. They provide insight into the thought-making process and the actual significance in their mind, made the films in particularly relevant to American society.

Film is discussed as a window into past generations. It highlights the alarming amount of lost/damaged film negatives destroyed since the silent era of films. Well over half of all movies produced before color, were lost over the years due to widespread industry neglect and shortsightedness, according to the documentary.

This is one of those movies that can really motivate young filmmakers, like ourselves. Whenever someone says that making movies is silly, I wish I could sit them down and tell them to watch a documentary like this, so they can see just how culturally and historically important the films we make today will be viewed as in the future.

Go to PBS's website to watch clips from the film.