In the second part of our best Dreamworks picture rundown FemaleFirst takes a look at the top five pictures produced or distributed by the studio.
5 - Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Benjamin Barker is a simple barber with a beautiful wife and child. But he is falsely imprisoned by Judge Turpin who has an eye on Barker's wife.
Fifteen years later Barker returns to London under the guise of Sweeney Todd. Recognised by pie maker Mrs Lovett Todd is informed that he wife is dead and his now teenage daughter is Judge Turpin's ward.
Together they devise a plan of revenge, with Todd practicing his murderous barbering skills on an unsuspecting general public, with the remains made into meat pie filling by Mrs Lovett.
Sweeney Todd is the sixth partnership between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp.
Depp is quite simply fabulous as the ghoulish villain Todd, and a surprisingly good singer. While he is no Pavarotti, and he doesn't try to be, he seamlessly blends the lines between singing and acting making it appear the musical is a genre that he is very comfortable with.
The film was a hit critically and commercially as it went on to win Best Actor and Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy genre at the Golden Globes and Depp was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.
4 - American Beauty
The number one Dreamworks picture since the studio was founded in the nineties is Sam Mendes' debut feature American Beauty.
American Beauty follows Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a suburban father who snaps when he becomes disgusted with his stale, repetitive existence.
On a whim, Lester quits his job and begins a regression into young adulthood, lifting weights, smoking pot, doing nothing, and discovering the overflowing sexuality of his 16-year-old daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari).
His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), has her own midlife crisis of sorts. A real estate agent, she experiences a youthful awakening when super-agent Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) seduces her repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Jane (Thora Birch), the Burnhams' daughter, is pursued by Ricky (Wes Bentley), the mysterious boy next door who carries a video camera around with him at all times.
When Ricky's militaristic father, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), discovers something potentially horrifying on one of his tapes, and when Carolyn's rage for Lester's actions boils over, the time bomb finally explodes.
The film dominated the 2000 Oscars with eight nominations and five wins including Best Picture, Best Director for Mendes and Best Actor for Kevin Spacey.
3 - Shrek
Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) is a fearsome green ogre living in isolation in his own cozy little swamp. He is not receptive to visitors, and fends off the occasional party of torch-wielding villagers with ease.
But when the power-hungry Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) turns Shrek's swamp into a relocation camp for dozens of banished fairy-tale characters (including some pesky dwarves, wolves, and fairies) Shrek's quiet, introverted life is ruined.
Joined by the talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek makes his way to Farquaad's realm of Duloc, where the Lord promises makes Shrek and offer: He will rid Shrek's land of the unwanted visitors if Shrek will go on a simple quest to free Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her remote, dragon-guarded castle and convince her to marry Farquaad.
On their quest, Shrek and Donkey run into a number of bizarre situations, and Shrek finds himself realizing that he isn't quite the fearsome monster he has always made himself out to be.
Shrek kicked off Dreamworks' serious competition for Pixar who had dominated the animation market.
It grossed over 484 million at the global box office and began a franchise of movies Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third that together have grossed over $2 billion.
2 - Gladiator
Just piped at the post as Dreamworks' best picture is Ridley Scott's roman epic Gladiator starring Russell Crowe.
Russell Crowe plays Maximus, a Roman general who leads the troops in conquering Germania for the empire.
When an aging Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) tells Maximus that he'd like him to rule Rome once he's gone, a classic confrontation ensues between the brave and charming soldier--who wants to return home to his wife, son, and farm--and the jealous and conniving Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the emperor's only son, who is thirsty for power.
Bought as a slave by the profiteering Proximo (Oliver Reed, in his last role), Maximus must kill or be killed in the ring, battling to save not only himself but the future of the very empire that he loves and honours.
The film was one of epic scope with its intense battle scenes being the highlight of the movie which was received well critically, in particular Crowe's performance.
The film grossed over $457 million at the global box office and was nominated for twelve Academy Awards.
It went on to win five including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
1. - Saving Private Ryan
Director Steven Spielberg's World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines.
Led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), the unit is under orders to track down a soldier, Private Ryan (Matt Damon), so he might return home to his mother in America, where she is grieving the unimaginable loss of her three other sons to the war.
The first unforgettable 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan realistically and horrifically depicts the Normandy invasion as Miller. his second-in-command, Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), and the others in the unit land at Omaha Beach.
Both a critical and commercial success Saving Private Ryan, directed by Spielberg, sparked a resurgence in America’s interest in World War II.
The film grossed $480 million at the global box office, taking $216.5 million at the American box office alone.
The film was later nominated for eleven Academy Awards, with wins for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Editing and Best Director for Spielberg, but lost the Best Picture award to Shakespeare in Love.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
In the second part of our best Dreamworks picture rundown FemaleFirst takes a look at the top five pictures produced or distributed by the studio.
5 - Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Benjamin Barker is a simple barber with a beautiful wife and child. But he is falsely imprisoned by Judge Turpin who has an eye on Barker's wife.
Fifteen years later Barker returns to London under the guise of Sweeney Todd. Recognised by pie maker Mrs Lovett Todd is informed that he wife is dead and his now teenage daughter is Judge Turpin's ward.
Together they devise a plan of revenge, with Todd practicing his murderous barbering skills on an unsuspecting general public, with the remains made into meat pie filling by Mrs Lovett.
Sweeney Todd is the sixth partnership between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp.
Depp is quite simply fabulous as the ghoulish villain Todd, and a surprisingly good singer. While he is no Pavarotti, and he doesn't try to be, he seamlessly blends the lines between singing and acting making it appear the musical is a genre that he is very comfortable with.
The film was a hit critically and commercially as it went on to win Best Actor and Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy genre at the Golden Globes and Depp was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.
4 - American Beauty
The number one Dreamworks picture since the studio was founded in the nineties is Sam Mendes' debut feature American Beauty.
American Beauty follows Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a suburban father who snaps when he becomes disgusted with his stale, repetitive existence.
On a whim, Lester quits his job and begins a regression into young adulthood, lifting weights, smoking pot, doing nothing, and discovering the overflowing sexuality of his 16-year-old daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari).
His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), has her own midlife crisis of sorts. A real estate agent, she experiences a youthful awakening when super-agent Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) seduces her repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Jane (Thora Birch), the Burnhams' daughter, is pursued by Ricky (Wes Bentley), the mysterious boy next door who carries a video camera around with him at all times.
When Ricky's militaristic father, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), discovers something potentially horrifying on one of his tapes, and when Carolyn's rage for Lester's actions boils over, the time bomb finally explodes.
The film dominated the 2000 Oscars with eight nominations and five wins including Best Picture, Best Director for Mendes and Best Actor for Kevin Spacey.
3 - Shrek
Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) is a fearsome green ogre living in isolation in his own cozy little swamp. He is not receptive to visitors, and fends off the occasional party of torch-wielding villagers with ease.
But when the power-hungry Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) turns Shrek's swamp into a relocation camp for dozens of banished fairy-tale characters (including some pesky dwarves, wolves, and fairies) Shrek's quiet, introverted life is ruined.
Joined by the talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek makes his way to Farquaad's realm of Duloc, where the Lord promises makes Shrek and offer: He will rid Shrek's land of the unwanted visitors if Shrek will go on a simple quest to free Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her remote, dragon-guarded castle and convince her to marry Farquaad.
On their quest, Shrek and Donkey run into a number of bizarre situations, and Shrek finds himself realizing that he isn't quite the fearsome monster he has always made himself out to be.
Shrek kicked off Dreamworks' serious competition for Pixar who had dominated the animation market.
It grossed over 484 million at the global box office and began a franchise of movies Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third that together have grossed over $2 billion.
2 - Gladiator
Just piped at the post as Dreamworks' best picture is Ridley Scott's roman epic Gladiator starring Russell Crowe.
Tagged in Saving Private Ryan Shrek