Actors and directors get lots of attention and
the camera and lighting in sets are always popular on Instagram.
But today, we want to honor things, items, objects, stuff.
These are our picks for the top ten best props of all time.
(Noise) Kicking us off at Number 10,
let's look at possibly the most straightforward prop use there is.
The prop as a tool, and there are tons of these that deserve some attention.
Maps and cloaks and masks and saws and traps and boomboxes.
And hoverboards and time machines and teacups and ruby slippers and
memory flashy things.
But our favorite is a whip.
- Give me the whip.
- Throw me the idol.
(Sound) No time to argue, throw me the idol, I throw you the whip.
- Give me the whip.
- Audios, senor.
- With just a simple bullwhip, "Indian Jones" pretty much out McGuvers, McGuver.
It's a rope.
It's a grappling hook.
It's an extendable arm.
He uses it for fighting, mobility, escape, romance.
Along with his hat, it single handedly invokes his image.
Rarely has there been a tool prop so frequently useful and so
constantly badass, which is why it's the right pick to start our list.
(Music)
Of course, if we talk about tools, we have to talk about weapons too.
And boy, do we have a lot of options.
There are the staples, a revolver, a Walther PPK, a sword,
a switch blade, a hammer, a knife.
And there's the unexpected, a bowling pin,
a cricket bat, a dental pick, a captive bolt gun.
And finally, there are the utterly unique.
Holy shotguns, (Inaudible) pistols.
Elder wands, noisy crickets.
Bladed gloves, chainsaw arms, machine gun legs, proton packs.
And our Number 9 pick, the lightsaber.
- Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough.
But your uncle wouldn't allow it.
He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic
crusade like your father did.
- What is it? (Sound) - Your father's lightsaber.
This is the weapon of a Jedi knight, not as clumsy or random as a blaster.
An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
- Now there have been times when we've picked 'Star Wars' when maybe we
shouldn't, but this isn't one of those times.
The lightsaber truly is one of the most memorable, iconic, culturally relevant,
and well designed weapons ever conceived.
It starts with what might be a rather absurd idea, the laser samurai sword,
and takes it completely seriously.
Igniting generations of imaginations in the process.
Visually and sonically spectacular, stark inrecognizable on and off from close and
far away.
Lethal in both defense and offense, evocative of character and personality.
Imbued with meaning and history,
the lightsaber is everything a good prop should be and then some.
(Sound) Next up at Number 8 we're looking at the gag prop, the item as visual joke.
Silliness in physical form.
This is the holy hand grenade from 'Monty Python' and 'The Holy Grail'.
The disguise hat from 'Fifth Element'.
A bizarre plate of strudel from 'Inglorious Bastards'.
The hilarious simplicity of a hula hoop from the 'Hudsucker Proxy'.
'McLovins' ID', 'Office Space's' printer,
almost everything "Jackie Chan" touches in all of his films.
And our Number 8 pick, the amp from 'This is Spinal Tap'.
- This is a top to a, you know, what we use on stage, but it's very,
very special because if you can see- - Yeah.
- The numbers all go to eleven.
Right across the board.
11, 11, 11.
- Most amps go up to ten.
- Exactly, what we do is if we need that extra push over the cliff,
you know what we do?
- Put it up to 11.
- 11, exactly.
One louder-.
- Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and
make that a little louder?
- These go to 11.
- Devilishly simple and easy to make.
There's something immensely silly about the slightness of the modification.
In a bit that's absolutely iconic for such an absurd idea presented so dedicatedly.
This prop manages to perfectly capture the deadpan spirit of the joke.
Compared to the wonderfully loud Mel Brooks-ian prop gags,
this pic manages to get a laugh out of a single extra printed number on its dials.
And for that, we love it.
(Sound) Sometimes a prop isn't meaningful in and of itself, but in how it
facilitates the interaction of the characters around it, the actor business.
Taking a page out of Vaudeville's book,
this type of prop opens up a new mode of actor expressiveness through its use.
Think 'Annie Hall's lobsters', or 'Big's' keyboard.
Or "Sam's" piano or the 'Godfather's' cat, or 'Ghost's' clay pot, or
'Copland's' sandwich.
'Singing in the Rain's' umbrella is a wonderful song and dance version of this.
But for our Number 7 pick we're actually going with an entire riverboat from
'Fitzcarraldo'.
- There, (Foreign) (Foreign)
(Foreign)
- We know that a whole riverboat sounds
like more of a set than a prop.
But if you've ever seen 'Fitzcarraldo' you know that's kind of why it's so great.
"Werner Herzog" and his cast and crew and characters and
story take a massive 300 ton riverboat and try to treat it like a hand prop.
And the result is phenomenal.
Not only is the story a tale of a madman trying to drag a river boat
over a mountain the production itself actually did that.
The behind the scenes mirrors the film in the most bizarre life imitating art
imitating life utter madness.
It is the physical struggle of nearly every scene,
it is the emotional catalyst of every conflict.
It is the thematic thrust of entire tale and it is exactly
because they took something so insanely huge and tried to use it as a prop.
(Sound) Sometimes a prop can cause an entire plot without actually meaning
a damn thing.
Instead of coloring every possible interaction with its specificity,
it's just a thing that people want because they want it.
And what it is doesn't matter so much as that they do.
In a word, it's a it's the holy grail.
Government secrets or military secrets or transit papers or the ark of the covenant.
It's a mysterious Maltese Falcon.
It's arguably 'Citizen Kane's' rosebud.
But for our Number 6 pick,
we're actually going with the briefcase from 'Pulp Fiction'.
(Noise) - We happy?
- Vincent?
Are we happy?
- Yeah, we happy.
(Music)
- This is the ultimate.
It's the so purposely presented to the audience as a valuable
without any actual meaning to hang that value on.
It's a end joke.
Worth with no substance.
Seen only in its reflected glow in the envious eyes of those who look upon it.
And because it's "Tarantino", you know he's doing it on purpose.
And yes, we know, we know, some of you probably think it's "Marcelle's" soul that
slipped out of the back of his band aided head.
But what sounds more like "Quentin Tarantino" to you?
Creating a super secret spiritual easter egg and then not talking about it,
or playing with audience expectations and hanging a lampshade on it?
That's what we thought.
Now, other times a prop has clear concrete meaning right now and
it's place in the narrative is to tell us something.
It's a clever tool of narrative expression from the director to us.
Think about the brilliant cup of water from 'Jurassic Park'.
It's not particularly important,
but boy is it an awesome way to tell us that a T-Rex is coming.
Or there's 'Chinatown's' glasses.
'Memento's' Polaroids.
'Twelve Angry Men's' second knife.
In the 'Mood for Love's' cigarette.
'Blow Up's' photos.
The 'Kobayashi' mug.
The 'Matrix' pill's.
'The Seven's' box.
'The Shining's' writing.
'Inception's' top.
'Godfather's' horse head.
And our Number 5 pick 'Blade Runner's' origami unicorn.
(Music)
- It's too bad
she won't live.
- In the theatrical version,
the origami unicorn probably belongs more in our next category about symbolic props.
But in the director's cut, the unicorn is a very clear message to "Deckard" and
the audience.
Brace yourself because spoilers are coming.
"Ridley Scott's" director's cut contains a Deckard dream sequence that producers had
previously cut for being, quote to artsy.
Without that the origami, is just a symbol but
after having seen it when Gaft leads Decker this particular prop.
it has a very clear message that Gaft knows exactly what is going on in Decker's
head, which can only mean one thing.
At Number 4 we're looking at the prop as a symbol,
a little object speaking to something bigger than itself.
Think 'Forrest Gump's' box of chocolates or 'Battleship Potemkin's' baby carriage,
or 'Late Spring's' vase.
Think 'Raging Bull's' title belt, the 'Seventh Seal's' chess board or
'Miller's Crossing's' hat, think 'A Christmas Story's' leg lamp.
Think 2001's' Bone'.
And for our Number 4 pick, think 'American Beauty's' plastic bag.
- You want to see the most beautiful thing I've ever felt?
(Music)
- Is one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing.
And there's this electricity in the air.
- Now it's easy to look at this plastic bag and
assign it all kinds of hyper-literal significance.
The bag stands for trash, for that which is discarded, for
some kind of spirit of the universe.
But our take is much simpler.
The bag really is just one example of the kind of
beauty that "Lester" is talking about when he talks about his
heart filling up like a balloon that is about to burst.
It's simple and uncomplicated and yet
when we look at it we kind of feel the exact same way.
Watching it, we really do get drawn into the sense of wonder that is so
key to the emotional arc of the film.
It's just a simple plastic bag acting as a physical reminder of our sense of
childlike awe at the beauty in the world.
(Sound) Now sometimes a prop can basically be a character itself.
We see this with the one ring, 'Lars' Real Girl', 'Harry Potter's' sorting hat,
2001's 'HAL', and kind of its Monolith.
And maybe even 'Weekend at Bernie's' "Bernie",
which is an actor as a prop as a character.
However, for our Number 3 pick,
we think it's pretty obvious that we've gotta go with 'Castaway's' "Wilson".
- And what is your point?
Well, We might just make it.
Did that thought ever cross your brain?
Well regardless, I would rather take my chance out there on the ocean.
Than to stay here and die on this shit hole island
spending the rest of my life talking to a God damn volleyball!
- If you've never cried over a prop, then you have never seen Castaway.
He's won awards, given interviews, and even has his own IMDb page.
And what probably started as a simple practical solution to keep "Tom Hanks"
talking while he's alone on screen turns into so much more.
As we watch him cope with his loneliness by turning this simple,
painted volleyball into a friend.
Projecting his emotions and fears onto it, we as viewers start to do it with him too.
Our empathy for "Hanks" drives our connection with "Wilson",
who sits there quietly collecting all our vicarious identification.
And reaping the rewards by becoming one of the most
loveable hunks of leather there ever was.
(Sound) Closing in at Number 2, we're looking at the props that aren't
characters themselves but that stand for them all the same.
A momento, a proxy, an icon.
A prop that's association with the character allows us to think and
talk and feel about them even when they're not on screen.
It can be a potted plant, or a painting, or a child's ball, or a garden gnome.
A pocket full of flower petals, a golf watch, a bell, or even a water tank.
However, for our Number 2, we're going
with a simple candle from 'Nostalghia'.
(Foreign) - In 'Nostalgia',
"Andre" befriends a bizarre madman who has spent much of his life endeavoring
to cross a mineral pool's water with a lit candle.
Believing that in doing so, he might save the world.
But he leaves the village for Rome, insisting that "Andrei" take up his
candlelit mantle, and then emulates himself to 'Beethoven's 9th'.
And so, in an utterly moving nine minute long take,
"Andrei" returns to the mineral pool to honor his friend.
And finding it empty, he takes the candle, and
tries to walk its full length without it going out.
And it is riveting and it is heartbreaking.
It is as beautiful a filmic memorial as has ever been shot.
Each flicker of the candle flickering with the fragility of human life.
Burning like madness, facilitating a touching moment of remembrance,
a true testament to the power of a prop.
And finally finishing off at Number 1,
we're looking at the character defining prop.
A personality incarnate.
A prop that tells us everything we need to know about its owner.
This is "Holly Golightly's" cigarette holder.
"Juno's" hamburger phone.
"Radio Raheem's" radio.
"Groucho Marx's" wire.
"Elle's" pink fuzzy pen, it's a business card from 'American Psycho',
brass balls from 'Glengarry Glen Ross', and a wallet that says bad motherfucker.
But for our Number 1 pick,
it's Kikuchiyo's comically large sword from 'Seven Samurai'.
(Sound) Okay, sure we could have filed this under our weapon slot in place of
the lightsaber, but that's not really why it's wonderful, is it?
This one prop has so so much meaning attached to it that shifts and
changes throughout the film.
We can probably squeeze it into nearly every category on this list.
In the beginning, it is a hilariously oversized accessory for
a man of undersized prestige.
A hummer of a weapon.
The reason we're all laughing at "Kikuchiyo" and later it's a means of
actor business, a giant walking stick he leans on and poses with.
An example of his lack of marshall discipline.
But then it takes on tragic shape as its origin comes to life.
It is the stolen weapon of a fallen warrior taken by a farmer's son who now
poses as the samurai his family killed.
And then it is a weapon.
The manifestation of "Kikuchiyo's" dedication to that which is truly
noble about the samurai.
And finally, it is a mementum, a memorial for a fallen hero,
a single item that has taken on so much meaning throughout the film.
Tracking the complexity of its most interesting character while revealing and
expounding upon.
Which is why we think it's the best prop of all time.
(Music)
So what do you think?
Disagree with any of our picks?
Did we leave out any of your favorite props?
Let us know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe for
more Cinefix movie lists.