Mainstream Character Flicks?

[wcmartell]

I'm meeting with the head of Raindance later today about next year's classes, and I'm going to suggest doing a class called 'Character First'. Though I have some example films of my own, what would you guys suggest?

I'm looking for films that focus on character or do a good job of exploring character... and they must be mainstream wide-release films (because I need something that everyone in the class has probably seen).

Suggestions?

- Bill

[rumely]

Forrest Gump
Gladiator
American Splendor
The Godfather
The Aviator

[vig]

you can count on me, hard eight, smoke, world according to garp, breaking away.

vig

[The White Album]

Jerry Maguire

[phatgirl]

American Beauty?

[Hairy Lime]

Not necessarily mainstream, per se, but lots of people have seen them:

About Schmidt
Sideways

More mainstream:

Scarface
The Shawshank Redemption
Taxi Driver
Unforgiven

[Pencey]

Ordinary People
And Bill, I'm assuming that Egri's, "The Art Of Dramatic Writing" will be recommended reading...

[Authorized]

Rainman
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
It's A Wonderful Life
Cool Hand Luke
Gladiator
Spartacus
Lawrence of Arabia
Sophie's Choice
Erin Brockovich
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Taylor/Burton)
The Merchant of Venice (Pacino)

[Adam Isaac]

^^^love that one.

Also love TAXI DRIVER.

WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE
ON THE WATERFRONT
JACKIE BROWN
AMERICAN HISTORY X
STAND BY ME(movie always has a soft spot with me)
SCENT OF A WOMAN
THELMA & LOUISE

&

my all-time favorite Dialogue/Character study/What have you:

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

[Pen Dragon]

Rocky
The Hustler
The Searchers
Apocalypse Now
Blade Runner
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Close Encounters
Dances With Wolves
Harvey
The Last Hurrah
Young Man With a Horn
Birdman of Alcatraz
Conan the Barbarian
Elmer Gantry
Mister Roberts
Tender Mercies
The Verdict

[Hairy Lime]

Pen Dragon, a man with his finger on the pulse of the seventy-somethings.

[Pen Dragon]

Pardon me --


Ace Ventura 1 and 2

[Architeuthis Dux]

V
e
r
t
i
g
o

[Adam Isaac]

What about BASIC INSTINCT or FATAL ATTRACTION?

Or even LAST TANGO IN PARIS

[postalpictures]

Punch-Drunk Love

[sixridgeroad]

Just about anything by Woody Allen, but my favorite is Another Woman, with Gena Rowlands. Not mainstream but very personal/authentic.