10 iconic films of Oliver Stone that will never be forgotten

As one of the most important directors of American cinema, Oliver Stone has a remarkable reputation in Iran, and his works have been screened at the Fajr Film Festival and he has come to Iran.

A director who is famous for his critical view of the policies of the American government. The search for light (writing, directing and surviving) Oliver Stone's biography translated by Korosh Jahid has recently been published. On the pretext of publishing this book, we have discussed 10 important movies of Aston.

1) Salvador (1986)

Hamshahri wrote: The sufferings of an American journalist whose mission is to cover the Salvadoran civil war. A film that failed at the box office but was accepted by the critics and was nominated for two Oscars for the leading actor and screenplay. “Salvador” despite the problems in the narrative, as a first-hand experience of the director who was a veteran himself, is a suitable introduction to Oliver Stone's entry into the field of directing.

2) Squad (1986)

One of the most successful films of Oliver Stone's career, which many still consider to be his best work, “Squad” came out of Stone's personal experiences of being in the Vietnam War. Presented in Vietnam, it was noticed. “Squad” won 4 Oscars and by winning the Oscar for the best film and director, Stone's name was recorded as one of the prominent figures of Hollywood. With “Squad”, Hollywood chose Oliver Stone as Rebel filmmaking that takes a sharp critical look at the US presence in the Vietnam War has been recognized.

3) Wall Street (1987)

Oliver Stone's first film not related to the war was somehow derived from his life experiences and interests. Stone's father had worked on Wall Street for many years and he always wanted to make a film about the stock market. According to Stone, the film was influenced by “The Room CEO” (Robert Wise, 1954) and “The Good Smell of Success” (Alexander Mendrick, 1957) were made and, as expected, are anti-capitalist. The film was well received by audiences and critics, and Michael Douglas, who played the role for the first time He had played a negative, he won an Oscar for it.

4) Born on July 4th (1989)

In the most satirical Hollywood anti-war film of the eighties, Stone put Tom Cruise, the star of the militaristic film “Top Gun” (Tony Scott, 1986) in a wheelchair as a victim of the Vietnam War. Based on Ron Covic's autobiography, Stone's anti-war drama presents a harrowing portrait of Vietnam War survivors. The second part of Stone's trilogy about the Vietnam War was a complete success. The film was nominated for Oscars in 6 categories and won the Oscars for directing and editing. Tom Cruise was nominated for an Oscar and won an award at the Golden Globe for his role as a victim of the Vietnam War.

5) Doors (1991)

A biographical drama about Jim Morrison, the leader of the Doors band, which despite Stone not being faithful to reality, was passionate and effective. Stone, who gave the role of Jim Morrison to Val Kilmer, said in an interview about Jim Morrison: “The day that Jim Morrison died in 1971. It was like the day Kennedy died for me. It was crushing. I adored him.” The strange thing about the movie was avoiding Jim Morrison's political views, which was unlikely to be done by Stone! The film hides its confusion with the passion it arouses. Comment film critic, at the time of the release of “Born on the Fourth of July”, considered the most important point of the film to be the free and powerful way of Stone and his lively performance, which is lacking in most American films. They are passionate, alchemy and praiseworthy.

6) JFK (1991)

doubting the official narrative of the assassination of President Kennedy and accepting the investigation conducted by Jim Grayson, a lawyer from New Orleans; That's what Stone has done in JFK. The combination of documentary and re-enactments is superb, and Kevin Coster's performance as Jim Grayson is convincing. Pat Dowell remembers “Citizen Kane” (Orson Welles, 1941) in the way he collects various witnesses, and in the manner of Welles, who believed in the hostility of the Americans, puts a big question mark in front of the stated reasons for Kennedy's murder. Nominee for 8 Oscars and winner of two Oscars for editing and cinematography, which could also be accompanied by Oscars for director and leading actor.

7) Natural killers (1994)

Adapted from the screenplay by Quentin Tarantino (who objected to Stone's changes in the script). At the time of the release of “Natural Killers”, Stone described his intention of making this film as follows: “I wanted this film to be a mixture of road films like “Bonnie and Clyde” (Arthur Penn, 1967) and films set in prison. such as “The Great Escape” (John Sturgess, 1963) and “Bowtie” (Franklin J. Shaffner, 1973).” The film portrays violence with an aesthetic that was unprecedented in Hollywood. By combining 8 mm film, animation, video and black and white and color images with unusual lighting that is more like video clips and popular music videos of the nineties. It was more than a movie. It was an indictment against the society that makes criminals out of two young men and a criticism of the American mass media, whose job is actually to glorify crime.

8) Nixon (1995)

“Nixon” begins with this sentence: “This film is an attempt to understand the truth about Richard Nixon.” The second film of Oliver Stone's trilogy about American presidents presents a critical picture of political power. Albert Astaire described the film as follows: “Stone, who had subverted Hollywood genres to find a visual metaphor for Nixon, finally chose Citizen Kane; Probably, this choice was due to the epic nature of the film on the one hand, and on the other hand, the film's attempt to penetrate the mysteries of his character. Hannah (Mary Steenbergen) is Nixon's mother, whom he always referred to as a saint, but the reprimands, strict demands and unintentional deprivation of affection were behaviors that could hurt the soul of any child. Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon is a smart choice. The film was nominated for 4 Oscars.

9) World Trade Center (2006)

Oliver Stone's account of 9/11 is neither political nor revealing. Stone's “World Trade Center” film has nothing to do with the director of “Squad” and “JFK” and in a film that has a documentary structure, it only presents a narrative of survivors and victims of an incident that stunned America. John McLaughlin, played by Nicolas Cage, a New York Port Authority police sergeant, is doing his daily duties on the morning of September 11, 2001, when he hears the sound of a plane hitting one of the two towers of the World Trade Organization, and what we see in the rest of the film is a series of images. Relying on special effects, it is supposed to narrate the disaster without judging its causes.

10) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

A sequel to the movie “Wall Street” and probably the last significant movie directed by Oliver Stone. Apparently, the American economic crisis in 2008 made Stone decide to make a sequel to his successful film of the eighties. Michael Douglas is the only survivor. It is the previous film. Donald Trump's brief appearance in one sequence of the film became controversial. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is obviously weaker than “Wall Street”, which Stone directed in 1986, but the film, thanks to the accurate portrayal of The capital market offers, it was noticed. This may be the last film of Stone, which was made with patience and focus.