Brokeback Mountain (2005)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. by Ang Lee.

After attempting to be adapted for years, Ang Lee finally made the dream a reality in 2005 with the helps of Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams with his award winning "Brokeback Mountain" (2005). In 2018, "Brokeback Mountain" (2005) entered the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress as it is historically, culturally and aesthetically important. It's themes surrounding the LGBT movement got it a nickname in the early 2000s as "The Most Daring Love Story" on cinema.

After this film came out, there were many studies into the way in which LGBT issues were impacting the Old West and the way in which LGBT people were viewed on screen. Many people lauded the film with applause and praise for its realism regarding love and its many facets. People who were influenced by the film then submitted their episodes and their anecdotes to a book that was compiled and called "Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film" (2007).

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal auctioned their shirts from the film for a children’s charity called “Variety” and gave them all of the proceeds from that. Some people called them ‘Ruby Slippers” of film - referring the the Wizard of Oz. The late Heath Ledger was ultimately nominated for the Oscar as well. I can honestly say that I think he really deserved that Oscar even though he didn’t get it. He was clearly deserving of it, his acting was absolutely brilliant and made the cinematic experience amazingly better.

I personally watched “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) for the first time when I was about fourteen years’ old or probably slightly younger. I was fully inspired by heath Ledger’s acting and the way he portrayed such a full and three dimensional character. I was stunned that Heath Ledger was so young when he portrayed this guy as well. No, I may not have seen in when it first came out and really, I was too young to see it back then, but I was very shocked when I did see it because of the youthfulness of the atmosphere. There was something beautifully dramatic and everlasting about it. But Heath Ledger’s acting added to the atmosphere and I think gave it that optimistic edge which, by the end of the film makes you feel like you get the life knocked out of you. It is really one of the most dramatic films I’ve ever seen and I have watched it over ten to fifteen times over the past decade.

I cannot express enough how great this film is and it is possibly in my top thirty favourite films of all time. I love the atmosphere, I love Heath Ledger and I love the way the film has been created to be overtly dramatic.