This is, of course, an impossible question.
I just watched A League of Their Own. Fuck, is that a great movie. I cry every time.
Wait a second, now the Bourne movies are on. Matt Damon is my man crush. What do I say now?
Checking guide, what’s on later? A Few Good Men, shit, I can’t handle the truth.
I hope to crap Godfather isn’t on tonight.
If I think of the films I’ve watched over and over, it’s probably tied between the Sound of Music and Godfather I (with an honourable mention for Room with a View).
Sound of Music is just the perfect musical, Room with a View has an incredible cast and who doesn’t love a period romance set in Italy and Edwardian England?
But, come on, it’s The Godfather. What a sublime film. I know some people love Godfather II more, but sections of that film (the Vegas years) just drag on and on - much like the Nazi section of the Sound of Music. Godfather I is perfect.
Play it Again, Sam (1972, U.S., dir. Herbert Ross)
I think The Sting. Certainly if you asked me what movie would you like to forget so that you could watch it again for the “first time”, that would be my voice.
Lost Horizon. Either the original Frank Capra version or the cheesy musical remake from the '70s. They make me feel hopeful for humanity.
Have you ever seen a version of Capra’s with the lost footage? I occasionally see the movie on late at night, and there are a lot of scenes filled with still photos while the dialogue (still intact) continues to play.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Caring for widows and orphans if they are Norman or Saxon might be the most important lesson I have ever learned.
Marion: "And one of those women was a Norman . . "
Robin: “Norman or Saxon? It is injustice I hate, not the Normans.”
There is also the oath at Gallows Oaks; to protect all women rich or poor, Norman or Saxon- to despoil the rich only to give to the poor-- to fight for freedom and justice. It is practically a morality tale and certainly a fable with a moral. I will also say that Errol Flynn provided a perfect version of manhood that was not equaled for me until I started reading Robert Parker’s Spenser novels twenty or thirty years later.
The way Robin waltzes into Gisbourne’s castle full of adversaries with the stag on his shoulders, and then giving the guard a jab in the ribs with the stag’s rack is how I have always aspired to live. Respecting authority that deserves it and calling out misuses summarizes good and strong character for me.
Don’t want to completely undercut my statements above, but I also love Airplane! and it would be disingenuous of me to say I didn’t also respect the Ted Striker character despite his drinking problem.
Several times, and I own a copy of it. This isn’t one of my favorite movies, but it was one of my father’s faves.
(One reason it’s not one of my favorites – the Capra film begins with an opening card that was put there, I think, to give the movie a more “homey” feeling. It talked about how most people have a vision of some idealized place they’d like to live, far from conflict and strife. It suggested that it might be that “little chicken farm”. And right there it lost me. I used to pass an industrial chicken farming outfit on trips, and I never forgot the smell of concentrated chicken waste. It poisoned the movie for me. )
Fantastic Mr. Fox
What edition is it? Do you know if I can order a copy?
Actually, my copy is a DVD dubbed from the VHS of the restored version.
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Horizon-Original-Restored-Version/dp/B000J5KRBS
But this looks like a DVD of the restored version – only $9.99
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Horizon-Edward-Everett-Horton/dp/6305416222/ref=asc_df_6305416222/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312139311531&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11480643963767914783&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001911&hvtargid=pla-454341558692&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62843092715&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312139311531&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11480643963767914783&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001911&hvtargid=pla-454341558692
Cool. Thank you!
It’s a tie between Anger Management and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
My all-time favorite is a tossup between Rear Window and Stalag 17.
I think I’ve seen both of them at least ten times.
Slightly modify that with a tie with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Its filmmaker - Hal Ashby - did my #3 - Being There.
That was a great movie; I saw it in a repertory theatre back then. It almost anticipates Howard Stern.
The movie I can watch over and over again and enjoy it just as much every time? “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
The movie that had the biggest impact on me and is the greatest, most important, most powerful movie I’ve ever seen? “The Passion of Joan of Arc.”
So many great movies in this thread. My #1 is The Sting (1973)
I LOVE this. A highlight of 2021 for me was introducing it to my ten-year-old kid.
But my GOAT continues to be…
Witness
ISWYDT