Same here, and me neither.
The Lost Boys! Still the best vampire movie out there, speaking as someone who loves non-sparkly vampires
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
All the best Woody Allen films, especially Manhattan, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Hannah and her Sisters and Radio Days
Alien
American Graffiti
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Badlands
The Black Stallion
Blazing Saddles
Cabaret
Chinatown
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Conversation
Days of Heaven
Deliverance
Dog Day Afternoon
Eraserhead
Five Easy Pieces
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Godfather, Part II
Harold and Maude
The Hospital
Jaws
Killer of Sheep
MASH
Manhattan
Mean Streets
Nashville
Network
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Patton
Rocky
Shaft
The Sting
A Woman Under the Influence
Young Frankenstein
I’ve pulled these from the recesses of my mind, and did a quick search to see if anyone else came up with them. It looks like I chose movies that didn’t appear on anyone else’s master list.
HA!
The Longest Yard (original version)
Marathon Man
Bronco Billy
The Eiger Sanction
Dirty Harry
Slapshot
Smokey and the Bandit
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
The Bad News Bears
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Boys in Company C
Enjoy! (oh, and I’ve got more…)
I was blown away when I saw Brazil in the theater. Saw it at least twice. A few years later I watched it on TV, and it was completely different. It was a few years after that that I read The Battle of Brazil and realized it was the “Love Conquers All” version that had been broadcast.
Someone recommended Silverado to me with a similar caveat. It starts with Scott Glenn in a tiny cabin. People are outside trying to kill him, but he can see their shadows through slats in the walls and manages to kill them instead. It’s very claustrophobic, until the end of the scene when Glenn walks out of the cabin and it opens up to an incredible western vista. (I did manage to see it on a big screen, at a Jeff Golblum film festival, no less.) There’s a lot that’s great about that movie; casting, dialog, and the grand themes of an epic Western.
And I concur with everyone who has mentioned Network. It was great when it came out, and it’s even better now. This movie showed us tabloid and reality TV before we even knew what to call them. Satires should never come true.
I liked
Dangerous Liaisons
Planes Trains and Automobiles
Pope of Greenwich Village
Ghostbusters
Sixteen Candles
Miami Blues
This Is Spinal Tap
hh
Great soundtrack, too. Everybody Wang Chung tonight!
Some that may not have been mentioned yet.
Atlantic City (1980) - Burt Lancaster in his last great role along with Susan Sarandon.
Blazing Saddles (1974) - One of the funniest movies ever made.
Blood Simple (1984) - First movie by the Coen brothers and they started out good.
Broadcast News (1987) - Comedy/drama with William Hurt, Albert Brooks, and Holly Hunter. Great script and great performances.
Caddyshack (1980) - Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase at their comedy peak.
Escape From New York (1981) - Great SF action thriller with Kurt Russell.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - Excellent screwball comedy
Get Carter (1971) - A classic British gangster movie. Michael Caine plays a bastard looking for revenge against bigger bastards.
The Getaway (1972) - Starring Steve McQueen, directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Walter Hill, from a book by Jim Thompson. How can you go wrong?
Near Dark (1987) - A great vampire movie. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who directed The Hurt Locker.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) - A Jack Nicholson classic.
Raging Bull (1980) - May be Robert DeNiro’s and Martin Scorsese’s best movie.
Reds (1981) - An old-fashioned historical epic about the Communist movement in America.
Roxanne (1987). Nice romantic comedy with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.
Slap Shot (1977) - Great performance by Paul Newman. A sports movie but about more than sports.
Sleeper (1973) - Woody Allen’s science fiction comedy.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - Classic improv pseudo-documentary comedy.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). A children’s film but worth watching by adults.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - Film Noir/Cartoon crossover. Sounds crazy but it works.
Regarding This is Spinal Tap - if you’re a fan of commentary tracks, get hold of an anniversary edition of this film. There is a “15 years later” (IIRC) commentary by Guest, Shearer, and McKean in character as the band members, watching the film, talking about how their lives have changed, and what they think of the film/if they remember the scenes/what was going on during that time. It adds a whole new layer to the film.
It is a great soundtrack. I’m far from a Wang Chung fan, but I snapped up the soundtrack right quick.
Bizarre. I debated whether to suggest David Lynch’s Dune, due to its bad reputation and here I find myself thirding the suggestion.
Forgot to mention “All of Me” - Steve Martin & Lily Tomlin are hilarious.
bought this on DVD for 3 bucks at Big Lots. Made my fiance’ watch it with me. She just did not like it or care. It was very sad for me as I love that movie.
I think any of the Savage Steve Holland comedies are still great- Better off Dead, One Crazy Summer, etc. “How I got into College” was his last feature and it’s pretty good with a nice ensemble cast.
Anyone a fan of “White Palace” with Susan Sarandon and James Spader? He’s a young upperclass 80s businessman and she’s a middle aged hamburger stand waitress.