BS: Favourite films and why

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 26 Oct 04 - 08:41 AM

'Mudge and I used to own an independent video rental shop (Cinematheque) in Portsmouth, NH that specialized in foreign films, classic films and totally off-the-wall and independent films -- all the stuff the other shops didn't carry. Unfortunately, between being undercapitalized, the economy going to hell in a handbasket (1989-90) and Blockbuster moving to town, it went belly up in 1990, but we managed to escape with our lives (more or less).

I've been keeping a chronological list of all the films I've seen since about 1985 and recently I've also been trying to reconstruct lists from, say, 1965 onward. What a wonderful bunch of films I've seen -- and how many I've missed (sometimes by inches).

Many times over the past 15 years or so I've tried to put together my "Top-10" list -- to no avail. I have MANY "Top-10" lists -- just depends on what mood I'm in at any given moment or what my top criteria are when put on the spot.

And the lists above have reminded me of so many more that should have been on my list.

I LOVE "Shirley Valentine"!

And how about --

Captain's Paradise with Alec Guinness (or ANYTHING with Alec Guinness?!?)
Women In Love
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Enforcer (Humphrey Bogart)
Any Errol Flynn film even the bad ones
The Virgin President (very funny but very very obscure; I saw it in a theatre in 1967)
Swiss Family Robinson (for the wonderful tree house)
Two for the Road (for the T-series MG)
Spaceballs (one of the best Mel Brooks parodies -- everything works)
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Over-Sexed Rugsuckers From Mars
A Polish Vampire From Burbank
Elizabeth of Ladymeade (one of the most feminist films I've ever seen -- from 1949)
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures
Last Picture Show
John Huston's Moby Dick (with A.L. Lloyd)
The Snapper
Best of Show, Waiting for Guffman, etcet etcet (and including This Is Spinal Tap)
A Hard Day's Night
Beautiful Dreamer (about Walt Whitman -- love the asparagus eating scene)
Tom Jones
Breaker Morant
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith
We of the Never Never
Jesus of Montreal

And one of the most irreverant (and funniest) films ever made -- "The Thorn" originally made as "The Incredible Mr. J" with Bette Midler as the Virgin Mary, God is a Harpo Marx character, John the Baptist is a flasher and the Three Kings are the Three Queens. Joseph is an inventor who creates items that are combinations of things -- he calls them "crosses." When we first see Bette Midler she's humming, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas."

Dim Sum
Marnie (that's where I fell in love with Sean Connery)
Vertigo
Rear Window
Heat and Dust
Fistful of Dollars (for the soundtrack as well as it's innovation)
Anything by David Lynch, John Waters, Kenneth Anger, Peter Greenaway, Luis Bunuel . . .
King of Hearts
Tapeheads
Matewan
Margaret's Museum
Cousin Cousine (original, of course)
Blue Country (not sure of the French title)
My Dinner With Andre (and I'd LOVE the "My Dinner With Andre action figures" from Waiting for Guffman)
Mindwalk


Well, that's TODAY's additions . . .

Too many films; not enough time.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Cluin
Date: 26 Oct 04 - 12:58 PM

Fellowship 9/11 for a laugh. It's not very good but it did make me chuckle.

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Socorro
Date: 26 Oct 04 - 02:14 PM

The Searchers (Saw it when I was little; still remember loving it).

Empire of the Sun (my best movie ever; I have it on video, have watched it ~7x, and find something new to love & appreciate each time.

The World of Henry Orient (hilarious Peter Sellers & comedienne whose name I can't remember). Beautiful of Manhattan.

More recently, I liked Mermaids with Cher & As Good as it Gets with Jack Nicholson, Cuba Gooding Jr, & Helen Hunt.

Midnight Lace & Sorry, Wrong Number, also Vertigo.

I have a question: when I was very little (early 1950s) I saw a movie set in the desert (in Mexico, I think). A little boy found a beautiful black horse. I just loved the movie, & sure wish I could find the name, so I could show it to my grandkids (& myself :)

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 11:22 AM

New favorite (in theatres now)--Shall We Dance--the American remake (starring Richard Gere) of a Japanese movie of the same title (aka Shall We Dansu). It is a wonderfully warm & funny story about life, relationship, & ballroom dance. The audience applauded at the end. When's the last time that happened?

best,

bbc (dancing in NY)

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: GUEST,P.S. from bbc
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 11:24 AM

GUEST, Chinmusic mentioned the original. It's been highly recommended to me & I'd love to see it, but it doesn't seem to be easy to get now. Amazon, used, at $50 is a bit rich for me!

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Cluin
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 05:40 PM

"The audience applauded at the end. When's the last time that happened?"

after Return of the King, last year.

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: s6k
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 07:52 PM

return of the king SUCKED. it was well made, and that was it.

It COMPLETELY missed the last chapter of the book (scouring of the shire.)
many people see this as insignificant, but this chapter carries one of the main, if not THE main message, of the entire story. I was apalled when I went to cinema and saw a happy ending, with The Shire completely fine and dandy

well this annoyed me to the point of wanting to punch peter jackson in the face for leaving out this highly important chapter.

A very big disappointment

another piece of trivia, is that in the books of The Lord of The Rings, the battle that is seen in The Two Towers film, is called the Battle of Helms Deep, and takes up 1 hour and 20 minutes of the film (an entire half)
In the book, it is called the Battle of the Hornburg, and is only 9 pages long!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: frogprince
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 08:06 PM

s6k,you just threw me as complete curve; when I read Return of the King, it ended exactly where the movie did. Were there different editions with and without such a crucially different ending?

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 08:49 PM

Last movie I was in with applause was 9/11, both times I saw it, once at a premier in the US Midwest with a sympathetic audience, and in PA Republican country this summer.

No applause after any of the LOTR films here.

And now I'm wracking my brain to recall other recent instances. My sis really liked Shall We Dance too, but didn't mention applause.

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 04 - 09:05 PM

CarolC, as usual, has excellent taste in everything from men to movies....

The older I get, the harder it seems for me to lavish praise on recent releases. I find myself looking not to the near present but to the near and not so near past for all time favorites. I'm not sure what that says about me...or movies, but in any event.....................

These days I'm more inclined to see a movie if I have had favorable experiences with its director in the past. Based on that, I will make an effort to see any celluloid creation - past, present, or future - if it is directed by any one of the following five directors (not in any particular order):

1) Jim Jarmusch
2) Stanley Kubrick
3) Roman Polanski
4) Darren Aronofsky
5) Robert Altman

Of these five, movies that I have enjoyed by them include:

Night On Earth; Mystery Train; Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samuri (by Jim Jarmusch ...this list is by no means complete - I have neither seen nor liked every film by this director. If anyone has seen "Down By Law" and would care to post a critique, I would be most interested. I have heard good things) .....I am not really sure why I like the movies by this director. Maybe it's because the reasons are so varied. In general, I think it's because I like Jarmusch's humanistic handling of the absurd.

Barry Lyndon; A Clockwork Orange; Paths Of Glory; Dr. StrangeLove; 2001: A Space Odyssey; Full Metal Jacket (by Stanley Kubrick)........because, at the risk of sounding poetic, a story under his direction makes me think of dancing.   Cinematic choreograpy...or choreographed cinematography. That's the only way I can describe it.

Rosemary's Baby; The Ninth Gate; Chinatown; Frantic (by Roman Polanski) .......because there's a subtle intensity that permeates his films - and sometimes he features young, sexy, independently capable French women. Okay, so I can be shallow at times.

Requiem For A Dream; Pi (by Darren Aronofsky) ....because of the subject matter, and especially in the case of "Requiem," innovative film technique and Jennifer Connelly.

Three Women; Streamers; Nashville; Fool For Love (by Robert Altman .......because of Altman's portrayal of Americana, among other reasons.

Honorable Mention: American Beauty; The Last Picture Show; Magnolias; One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; Papillon; The Graduate ......because they captured a specific moment in time and portrayed it exceptionally well.

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: s6k
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 06:33 AM

frogrpince....

in the books, the hobbits return to the Shire, to find it being destroyed and burnt by a group of men and a hooded man. Many hobbits have been killed, the houses destroyed, and the fields burned.

Turns out the hooded man is Saruman. Frodo gathers the survivors together, and defeats Saruman and his army and save the Shire, however it is noted, that The Shire will never be the same again.

There's no different versions to my knowledge, and the extended DVD thats coming with 50 minutes of extra footage, will not include this chapter either.

It's a crime if you ask me, this chapter held one of the central messages of the story.

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Chris Green
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 06:36 AM

s6k - you're right. It's also the reason why at the end of the last film we have to put up with 20 minutes of everyone laughing at each other! There was clearly no other way to fill the time without the Scouring of the Shire!

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: s6k
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 08:04 AM

yeah, it just really, really annoys me. They could have condensed the ending to about 10 minutes, and lengthened the film to allow for the Scouring of the Shire.... it's such an important part of the story

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 08:50 AM

Let's see . . . lying awake at 3 a.m. and the brain drifted.

How could I forget to mention the Dutch Film "A Question of Silence" -- wow!

Paths of Glory
No Way to Treat a Lady (Rod Steiger)
Oh, and the other Rod Steiger films:
    The Sergeant (never on videotape and unavailable)
    Heat of the Night
    The Illustrated Man
    The Pawnbroker
A Joke of Destiny (Lina Wertmuller)
The Fourth Man (Dutch, Paul Verhoeven)
Woman In the Dunes
The Duelists
Window to Paris (Russian)
Reflections in a Golden Eye (Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando -- even better than the Carson McCullers novel because of one scene which focussed the entire film and brought it to a much stronger climax)

I just watched a clip from "The Sergeant" Here -- first time I'd seen it since I saw the film in a theatre in Milwaukee in the late '60s when it came out. I would REALLY like to see this film again.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: GUEST,Minerva
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 09:43 AM

I have a rather complex (aka "messy") view of cinema:

1. I rarely see films.

2. Most films are schlock.

3. Reality is so much more interesting, complex, and dramatic than schlocky films.

4. Most of reality is twisted about in our brains.

4. Ergo, the films I like best seem to be those that seem the most like reality but with a dream-like quality.

5. It's a very short list:

Mulholland Drive

Hard 8

The Secret of Roan Innish

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: s6k
Date: 28 Oct 04 - 10:16 AM

Watch Magnolia, Happiness and The Usual Suspects

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 03:10 AM

I love movies! thanks for creating this thread, duellingbouzoukis.

Some of my alltime favorites:

12 Angry Men.
Great ensemble acting, very taut, intense screenplay, very reiveting, and it all takes place in a jury room (except for a brief opening moment in the courtroom when the accused fearfully surveys the jury, and at the end, when the jurors step out into the sunlight after the trial and go their own ways).

The Godfather, I and II.
Brilliant filmaking in every way. They get better with time. (I thought III was nowhere near the first two).

The Children of Paradise.
Filmed in 1943-45 in secret from the Nazis. Very passionate, sad, funny...it brings out many emotions. Dialogue by Jacques Prevert. Incredible street scenes of mid-19th century paris, and its street theatre and mimes. Great story and acting.

Greed.
A friend recommended it. I never thought I would enjoy and be riveted by a long, serious silent movie from the 1920's. Wouldn't it just seem dated? Did I ever get a surprise! This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Every scene filmed on location (San Francisco, the Mojave desert, etc.). It is Frank Norris's novel "McTeague." So faithful to the book was the director, the movie had to be cut down, to the director's dismay, from something ridiculously long, like 8 hours (maybe more). It runs almost 3 hours, and it holds my attention throughout.

Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Buster Keaton. My favorite film of my favorite film comedian. Laugh out loud stuff.

West Side Story
My favorite musical. Unforgettable Leonard Bernstein score, Jerome Robbins choreography, Sondheim lyrics. Some of the dialogue seems dated, the role of Tony miscast, but despite that, it's still a great, great movie. A part of my life since I was a kid.

The Seven Samurai
Another riveting story, great acting, great filmaking altogether. Another example of how a movie doesn't need nonstop action to hold your attention.

Lord Of The Flies
(original version). Great acting from a very young cast, great story...liked it better than the book.

The Seventh Seal.
Same reasons why our thread creator likes it. The more I see it, the more I get out of it.

Whistle Down The Wind
I'm with Georgiansilver and Jerry Rasmussen on this one.

The Killing
Early Stanley Kubrick. A plot to rob a racetrack. You see in detail how all the conspirators prepare for and execute the theft. How about that scene where the chess-playing wrestler takes on the track's entire security force? To top it off, it has one of the 1950's most seen "Oh, THAT guy " actors; Jay C. Flippen :-).

It's A Wonderful Life.
It's a wonderful film. Still enjoy it after many years and many viewings.

The Best Years Of Our Lives.
Post WWII film about three servicemen returning home from the war and trying to adapt to civilian life. Ok, I'm a broken record: great story, script, cast.

Ordinary People.
Still an emotionally intense experience.

Hoosiers.
A favorite sports movie. You can't help but cheer for this underdog high school basketball team. Along with the feel-good sports story is an intelligent script, and fine, understated acting.

Holiday Affair
Robert Mitchum as a suitor to an attractive, smart widow with a young son. It's not a great film, just one of those films I love, and enjoy seeing over and over again. Mitchum in a rare good guy role. Mitchum breaks down her defenses and tries to win her over from a another man she's engaged to. You just know Mitchum's character is the better man for her, and it keeps you wondering what decision she'll make, right up to the film's end.

That Thing You Do!
Tom Hanks becomes manager of an up-and-coming bubblegum rock band. It captures the period so well! Hanks co-wrote many of the songs, which re-creates a 1964-65 type of American rock music. most of the songs are pretty catchy, and it makes one wonder if the songs were put in a time machine and dropped to earth in 1964, would they have been hits? Not a significant film but great, great fun! I love this one!

Radio Inside.
A very underrated movie (originally for Cable TV) about a young man, haunted by his father's recent death, who visits his older brother in Florida for the summer and falls in love with his brother's girlfriend. She responds and falls in love with him. A very emotional and moving conclusion. A fine, understated film. look for it on video/DVD.

Topsy Turvy.
What makes this movie so great is the detailed look at the creative processs, the great acting which is so good, it doesn't look like acting, the recrerations of period productions of G & S operettas, and the detailed attention paid to the victorian period.

Singing In The Rain
Dead Poets Society
My Left Foot
David And Lisa
The Temptations
The Ten Commandments
The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit
Forrest Gump
Crossfire
D.O.A. (original version)
Big
Breaker Morant
The Talented Mr. Ripley

I'm sure there are some others I'm not thinking of at the moment.

Chanteyranger

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 03:21 AM

Damn the typos.

That should be "riveting" and "re-creations."

Subject: RE: BS: Favourite films and why
From: kendall
Date: 29 Oct 04 - 08:21 PM

Doctor Zhivago
Robin & Marian
Breaker Morant
Monty Python and the holy grail
High Noon (The original)
The Bounty
Harold and Maude
Lonesome Dove