# Great Movies Worthy of Respect... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766 "2009-11-16T11:32:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/21 "2009-11-18T05:04:56Z")
I think it’s getting some respect now but not much when it first came out – _A Face in the Crowd_ starring Patricia Neal, and Andy Griffith as a – well, maybe a 50’s version of Rush Limbaugh (if Limbaugh ever had cred as a “down home” kind of guy). It’s a powerful statement about celebrity, and Griffith is surprisingly sexy. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/22 "2009-11-18T05:38:57Z")
**Stranger than Fiction,** the Will Ferrell movie. It got good/great reviews, but most of the people that would like it never gave it a chance because it’s Will Ferrell. The marketing didn’t help either, since the trailers mostly featured the standard “Will Ferrell yelling” scenes, which maybe make up about a minute or two of the movie. But it’s a really great movie and Ferrell shows he’s got real acting chops, which is pretty impressive since he’s playing against Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/23 "2009-11-18T07:40:25Z")
One of my favorite movies is “The Corn is Green” (1945). It stars Bette Davis as a dedicated teacher in a Welsh mining town. She finds a promising student and tries to nurture him toward scholastic achievement . . . sometimes fighting with him over other distractions. Great plot and great acting. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/24 "2009-11-18T09:03:17Z")
_The Americanization of Emily_ - James Garner and Julie Andrews in a comedy about the non-glory of war. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/25 "2009-11-18T13:02:44Z")
_Hot Spell_ starring Shirley Booth, Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Quinn and Eileen Eckhart. It’s the classic story of “neglected wife” finds husband with “other woman.” The major twist is Booth’s magnificent performance. Booth portrays this woman in such a way that you _should_ feel sorry for her, but by the end of the film you can honestly understand WHY the husband is neglecting her and cheating on her. The character comes across as so pathetic you actually find yourself on one hand hating the husband, while saying “Well on the other hand you can’t really blame him.” This role clearly shows what a great actress Shirley Booth was ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/26 "2009-11-18T16:20:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > One of my favorite movies is “The Corn is Green” (1945). It stars Bette Davis as a dedicated teacher in a Welsh mining town. She finds a promising student and tries to nurture him toward scholastic achievement . . . sometimes fighting with him over other distractions. Great plot and great acting. The minor characters in this one are great too. Isn’t this the one where Bette’s housekeeper has a slutty daughter? Or what passed for slutty in the 40’s? Another overlooked Davis movie is _A Catered Affair_. When someone says kitchen sink drama, that’s the one I think of. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/27 "2009-11-18T20:58:02Z")
If you ask someone to name three classic Japanese movies, chances are they’ll respond with The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Yojimbo; or something else by Kurosawa. But Kurosawa is unfairly allowed to overshadow Masaki Kobayashi, who made [Samurai Rebellion](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061847/) and [Seppuku](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056058/). They show peole in a very different culture than ours, but we are able to understand why they behave as they do within the arcane rules of that culture. Plus, most Japanese directors’, including Kurosawa’s, treatment of the war is “the war was a terrible mistake.” In the [Ningen no jôken](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053114/) trilogy, Kobayashi was willing to say “we did some terrible things.” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/28 "2009-11-18T23:47:14Z")
> [@NicePete](#): > > [The Ninth Configuration](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081237/) is terrific. Stacy Keach plays an Army officer who returns from Vietnam to run an experimental mental hospital for vets suffering from PTSD. Great stuff. Based on a very weird, very funny, very tragic book called “Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane” by William Peter Blatty (writer of the Exorcist). Turns out he can write very funny books when he’s not scaring the hell out of you. I guess he wasn’t satisfied with the result, because he revised it into “The Ninth Configuration” a decade later. I liked the first book better, maybe because I read it first. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/29 "2009-11-19T02:16:17Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > _Hot Spell_ starring Shirley Booth, Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Quinn and Eileen Eckhart. > > It’s the classic story of “neglected wife” finds husband with “other woman.” The major twist is Booth’s magnificent performance. > > Booth portrays this woman in such a way that you _should_ feel sorry for her, but by the end of the film you can honestly understand WHY the husband is neglecting her and cheating on her. > > The character comes across as so pathetic you actually find yourself on one hand hating the husband, while saying “Well on the other hand you can’t really blame him.” > > This role clearly shows what a great actress Shirley Booth was She really was, wasn’t she? There were so many great actors in the 50’s. And another really good slice of life movie she was in was ‘Come Back Little Sheba’ with Burt Lancaster as her husband! which was a William Inge play, I believe, which leads to the great William Inge adaptations - Picnic, and All Fall Down, and who knows how many more. ---
**Author:** ![bonitahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bonitahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonitahi)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/30 "2009-11-19T02:50:55Z")
o lucky man! ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/31 "2009-11-19T03:58:52Z")
Once Local Hero Hope and Glory ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/32 "2009-11-19T04:05:20Z")
_Pretty Maids All in a Row_ with Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas and John David Carson (who recently passed away on Oct. 27) _If, Dog, Rabbit_ (also known as _One Last Score_) directed, written and produced by Matthew Modine, who also stars in it. This is an excellent movie and totally unknown. _The Postman_ directed by and starring Kevin Costner. An unpopular movie which was critically panned and to this day is almost universally despised - why? It has a good plot, it has incredible set design and cinematography, a great villain (Will Patton), a great cameo by Tom Petty, and it has a sense of humor. I think it’s a great movie but few others seem to agree. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/33 "2009-11-19T04:45:24Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > _The Postman_ directed by and starring Kevin Costner…It has a good plot, it has incredible set design and cinematography, a great villain (Will Patton), a great cameo by Tom Petty, and it has a sense of humor. See, the fact that I didn’t think any of these things were well-done is probably why there’s such a disconnect–we’re starting from a fundamentally different set of assumptions about the film’s alleged virtues. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/34 "2009-11-19T14:40:54Z")
Some great overlooked crime thrillers: _52 Pick-Up_ - Roy Scheider _Get Carter_ - the Michael Caine original not the Stallone remake. _The Silent Partner_ - Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer _Thief_ - James Caan ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/35 "2009-11-19T17:18:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Some great overlooked crime thrillers: > > _52 Pick-Up_ - Roy Scheider Roy Scheider sweating. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: You get Roy Scheider to sweat in your movie, you’ve got a winner: 😉 _Jaws_ _Sorcerer_ _All that Jazz_ ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/36 "2009-11-19T18:08:51Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > _Pretty Maids All in a Row_ with Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas and John David Carson (who recently passed away on Oct. 27) … _The Postman_ directed by and starring Kevin Costner. An unpopular movie which was critically panned and to this day is almost universally despised - why? It has a good plot, it has incredible set design and cinematography, a great villain (Will Patton), a great cameo by Tom Petty, and it has a sense of humor. I think it’s a great movie but few others seem to agree. I have always considered Pretty Maids All in a Row to be B-movie schlock, but I haven’t seen it since it was in theatres. Spouse & I have an agreement on The Postman. I have to be out of the house before he can watch it if he doesn’t want to hear mocking. I think I’d like it more if it had someone other than Kevin Costner, who has played that role too many times. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/37 "2009-11-19T18:39:44Z")
As soon as I read the OP, I thought “I’m going to post _Once_.” Even better, I see that it’s already been mentioned, so now instead of posting it, I get to say that I second “Once.” Perhaps I’m twicing it then? Anyway, yeah. _Once_. What a great little flick. It’s a musical, but not in a dance-number sense- the characters are (very good) musicians and spend half the movie singing their songs. The other half is spent _Lost in Translation_-style as they hold off the romance that is clearly developing between them yet is seemingly not possible at present, given the circumstances of both of their lives. There’s even a variation of _Lost in Translation_’s whisper scene. It’s an Irish movie. He’s Irish, she’s Czech. We had to watch it with the subtitles on because of the thickness of the accent. Of the native English speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/38 "2009-11-20T01:11:23Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I guess some respect is still difficult to earn with some, but I think _Pennies_ is brilliant and without question the best movie mentioned in this thread thus far. As always, it just comes down to personal taste. There’s no such thing as a “great movie”, in any absolute way, there’s just “I think it’s great”, or “you think it’s great”, or “a whole bunch of people and critics think it’s great”. ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/39 "2009-11-20T01:32:02Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Roy Scheider sweating. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: You get Roy Scheider to sweat in your movie, you’ve got a winner: 😉 > > _Jaws_ > _Sorcerer_ > _All that Jazz_ All That Jazz, definitely. When I need to cheer up, I look for the video of Anne Reinking dancing to “Everything Old Is New Again.” ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766/40 "2009-11-20T04:10:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Some great overlooked crime thrillers: > > _52 Pick-Up_ - Roy Scheider > _Get Carter_ - the Michael Caine original not the Stallone remake. > _The Silent Partner_ - Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer > _Thief_ - James Caan I second **The Silent Partner**. Great bank robbery flick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-worthy-of-respect/517766.md?page=3)