Ike, I don’t know where you live, or anything else much about you, but I believe we may be long separated brothers. My list, in rough order:
Maltese Falcon: I just can’t say enough about this movie. A pure joy. Great characters, great acting, great writing. See my sig for a taste.
Casablanca: Maybe these two should be 1a and 1b. I saw this one a few years ago at the Byrd Theater here in Richmond, a big old movie palace that has been renovated to 1920s splendor. It was Valentine’s Day and my SO thought it the most romantic thing in the world.
The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II: Big, sprawling stuff, this. Poor Abe Vigoda, he sleeps with the fishes.
Ben Hur: Sure, Charlton Heston chewed the scenery to pieces, but the chariot race alone is worth the price of admission. “Row well, and live.”
Chinatown: Its got Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, and Roman Polanski. I think that just about covers it.
Its A Gift or The Bank Dick: A toss up here. W. C. Fields doing fine, fine work.
A Day at the Races: “Ice cream, tootsie frootsie ice cream.”
Some Like It Hot: Marilyn Monroe never looked as good as she did playing Sugar Kane. Plus, it has the best closing line of any film.
Bride of Frankenstein: Chills, thrills, AND laughs. “We belong dead.”
Cassanova’s Big Night: You’ll have to look long and hard for this one. Bob Hope in a case of mistaken identity with the greatest lover of all time.
The Philadelphia Story: Cary Grant, Cary Grant, Cary Grant.
Citizen Kane: Orson Welles decides to try his hand a movie making. Not bad at all for a first time effort (!)
Raising Arizona: My vote for the funniest movie of all time. A weak ending, but the chase scene is priceless.
The Apartment: Jack Lemmon saves Shirley MacLaine from Fred McMurray. Billy Wilder was on a roll.
The Big Sleep: I’ve watched it a dozen times, with the extra footage added and with it left out, and I still can’t follow the damn story; however, you have Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in their first on screen pairing. “You can wean this one, she’s ready.” “Yes, sir.”
Greatest Japanese films and no Mizoguchi, Imamura, Ichikawa, or Suzuki? For shame!!
[worthy hijack] My favorite 15 Japanese films (in chronological order):
A Page of Madness (Kinugasa)
I Was Born, But… (Ozu)
Sisters of the Gion (Mizoguchi)
Ikiru (Kurosawa)
Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
The Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)
The Burmese Harp (Ichikawa)
An Autumn Afternoon (Ozu)
High and Low (Kurosawa)
Woman of the Dunes (Teshigahara)
Branded to Kill (Suzuki)
Death by Hanging (Oshima)
Vengeance Is Mine (Imamura)
[/worthy hijack]
If I’d have seen them, I’d probably have listed them. Those are definite must-see films but are hard to find, but I only catch a few gems once in a while… and a few turkeys. I recently snored my way through Oshima’s Nihon no kiri to yoru, it was like being trapped in a theater full of arguing socialists for 3 hours.
I am naming these because I really enjoyed them, and in many cases could watch them repeatedly. I make no apologies for their actual quality. Well, okay, I apologize for including Flash Gordon. What can I say?
The Sound of Music --loved it since I was a kid
Raising Arizona – I think it’s brilliant
Blazing Saddles – just good fun
Field of Dreams – enjoyable on many levels, but it’s partly because I aspire to be the kind of wife Amy Madigan’s character is
Jeremiah Johnson – just like it. Funny, lots of nature, has that “surviving” aspect to it
When Harry Met Sally – a lot of perfect things about this one
Flash Gordon – I can’t explain it. The Music has something to do with it.
Giant – just a great big movie I loved, even though I thought James Dean sucked
Life of Brian – too funny
Monty Python’s…Holy Grail – no explanation needed
Princess Bride – ditto
Animal House – it’s just funny.
Shawshank Redemption – only movie I’ve ever paid to see in a theater twice
All The President’s Men – maybe I have a Robert Redford theme here?
1,2,3 The original Star Wars Trilogy
4,5,6 Star Treks 2, 4, and 6
7 Tremors
8 ET
9 John Carpenters Prince of Darkness
10 Apollo 13
11 Airplane
12 Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom
13 Ghostbusters
14 Two early Woody Allen films, Bananas and Sleeper, they are both really the same movie
15 (I should put in at least one thats not sci-fi, fantasy, or a ZAZ parody) Rain Man
Light the Red Lanterns
Pulp Fiction
Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels
Trains, Planes, and Automobiles
My Blue Heaven
The Money Pit
Red Dawn
Matrix
Men in Black
Onegin
Dr. Zivago
Ill Postino
Shawshank Redemption
Fargo
The American President
These aren’t necessarily my favorites, just the ones that stick in my mind the most. They also are not in order.
The Towering Inferno
Saving Private Ryan
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Airport
Blazing Saddles
12 Angry Men
Scanners
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
Evil Dead 2
Citizen Kane
Seven Samurai
Chicken Run
Blazing Saddles
Casablanca
I have no taste, and I know it. I apologize in advance for the last two especially.
I had to think long and hard before I could even think of fifteen movies I’ve seen, much less fifteen movies I like.
I’ve never watched a movie with Opal.
So, here’s my list:
[list][li] Monty Python and the Holy Grail: This goes without saying.[/li][li] The Land Before Time: My childhood favorite, and still my favorite animated movie.[/li][li] The Princess Bride: This, too, goes without saying.[/li][li] Braveheart: The longest movie I’ve ever been able to sit and watch without getting fidgety. The drama![/li][li] Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie: Hilarious. I love MST3K.[/li][li] Gone In 60 Seconds: Mostly on account of the cars.[/li][li] The Blues Brothers: Funny, a classic, and I want the Bluesmobile…[/li][li] Days of Thunder: Sure, they managed to mess up their explanation of drafting (a concept you can hear explained in full if you watch or listen to any NASCAR event for more than fifteen minutes), and it’s extremely unrealistic, but it’s fun to watch.[] The Never-Ending Story: I have a dog that looks like the luck-dragon, only black.[/li][li] Clay Pigeons: Vince Vaughn as a psycho killer who wears the awesomest shirts I’ve ever seen. Everyone else I know who has seen this movie hated it. I love it.[/li][li] The Dead Hate The Living: A bunch of amateur filmmakers break into an old hospital to film a horror movie, and end up being assaulted by zombies. It’s incredibly campy, yet it somehow manages to be scary and hilarious at the same time.[/li][li] Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery: Funny, and a source of all kinds of fun quotes.[/li][li] Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me: Funnier than the original.[/li][li] South Park: The Movie: I know, I know. I thought it was funny. And I’m always singing the "Kyle’s Mom’s A B**" song.[/li][] Dude! Where’s My Car?: The most recent movie I’ve seen in a theater. I found it to be quiet amusing, despite (because of) its stupidity.
1 - Local Hero
2 - Harold and Maude
3 - Raiders Of The Lost Ark
4 - Star Wars
5 - Raising Arizona
6 - Swimming With Sharks
7 - The Ref
8 - Usual Suspects
9 - Fight Club
10- Magnolia
11- Underground
12- Black Cat, White Cat
13- The Wrong Trousers
14- Unforgiven
15- Koyaanisqatsi
This is a nice idea- we can find people whose lists share a lot of movies in common with our own, and then go see the remainder!
The Heroic Trio- an HK kung-fu superhero movie. Must be seen to be believed, in more ways than one.
Kurosawa’s Dreams, Sanjuro, Yojimbo
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Exorcist 3 (IMO much better than the original, and vastly underappreciated.)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Blade Runner
Psycho, Rear Window, Rope
Cube
Ghost in the Shell
Heavy Metal
Forbidden Planet
The Shining, 2001
Shawshank Redemption
A Chinese Ghost Story (Pao Yeh Pao Mo Li!) (Incidentally, I recently found a translation of the 17th-century book of ghost stories from which Hark took ACGS.)
Iron Monkey. (This one has Donnie Yen- apparently there’s another one which I haven’t seen. I remember watching this in grad school, at a time when I was working every waking moment. My wife convinced me to take a break, so we rented two videos. The first was the depressing-to-the-point-of-self-parody “I, Zombie.” After watching that, we popped in “Iron Monkey,” which turned out to be the best feelgood kung fu movie ever.)
