Thursday, June 21, 2007

No, This Isn't Turning Into A Film Blog

I know I have been doing a lot of posts about film lately, it isn’t necessarily on purpose, it just worked out that way.

The AFI recently released the newest Top 100 (American) Films Of All Time List. As is always the case, these lists tend to lean toward critically acclaimed films and leave off more popular box-office hits.

I guess I’m ok with that. Film is such a wonderful medium, it can be didactic, it can be artistic, it can be escapist, it can be enlightening, and sometimes it can be just plain fun.

I tend to like small independent films that focus on character rather than special effects. That being said, I will certainly see the latest Harry Potter film on opening day. (I’ve read the books. While my kids are always there first weekend for big blockbusters, I have yet to see Spiderman III or Pirates III).

Some of my favorite (relatively) recent films are Whale Rider and Pan’s Labyrinth which of course are not American films and therefore ineligible for this list. I loved all of the Lord Of The Rings films, and I never get tired of watching Scotland, PA.

My DVD collection is embarrassingly large. I truly love film.

So, enough rambling, the point of this post is, there are some of these “Greatest Films of All Time that I just couldn’t sit through. There are some I’ve never seen. There are some I just don’t like. I don’t have time to go down the whole list, (maybe later), but what follows are some of the highlights. I will post the entire list; films I haven’t seen are in bold. I will comment on a few.

Please, feel free to post long rambling comments about this list. What is missing? What is over-rated? Would you re-order any of them etc…..

The list:

1 CITIZEN KANE 1941 I guess so. I wouldn’t necessarily put it first, but it is a solid film, and probably way ahead of its time in technique.

2 THE GODFATHER 1972 – A strong, strong case could be made for this film to be #1.

3 CASABLANCA 1942 – Wow! All- star cast, Bogart at his best, great story, intrigue, and oh, so quotable. Hard to argue with this one.

4 RAGING BULL 1980 – Boy, how did this one lose the best picture award? To Ordinary People? I mean really, the fix was in. De Niro was spectacular!!

5 SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 1952 – Ok, start throwing produce at me, top 50? Probably. Top 20? Maybe. Top 10, no. Top 5? No freaking way!!

6 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939 – Perfectly cast, incredible camera work, moving and epic. A top 5 for sure.

7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962 – Ok, more produce. I love Peter O’Toole, but this film is fucking boring as hell!!!!!!!

8 SCHINDLER’S LIST 1993 – Just an incredible, beautiful, stunning film. So, so very moving. I could spend an entire post on how this film moved me, and I might some day.

9 VERTIGO 1958 – wev. A good, no, a great film, but not a top ten film.

10 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939 – OMFG, I love Judy Garland!, (yes, I’m straight), and I love this film ….. but it is overrated and could have been much, much better. The editing is weak and the story line is choppy.

11 CITY LIGHTS 1931

12 THE SEARCHERS 1956 – Excellent film, way ahead of it’s time (thematically), but not half the film that Once Upon A Time In The West is.

13 STAR WARS 1977 – I saw it, I loved it, Empire Strikes Back was a better film.

14 PSYCHO 1960 – Great film, I can’t complain about it being here.

15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968 What makes a film American? This is a seminal work, but why is this one better than A Clockwork Orange? Not Top 20 material.

16 SUNSET BLVD. 1950 – Might be in my top ten. Best Noir film ever.

17 THE GRADUATE 1967 – Made Dustin Hoffman a star, and has a terrific theme song. Very quotable as well, and who could forget the poster?

18 THE GENERAL 1927

19 ON THE WATERFRONT 1954 – Ok, I’m embarrassed as hell that I haven’t seen this film!! I plan to remedy that, really, I do!

20 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946 – I’ve seen it about a hundred times and I still cry.

21 CHINATOWN 1974 – This is in my top ten. I freaking love this film. Jack at his best.

22 SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959 – Can you give a film 10 stars?, How about 8 thumbs up?

23 THE GRAPES OF WRATH 1940 – Not bad, but the book was so much better. I know it’s hard to take such a large book to the screen, but not top 100 material.

24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982 – Cute, groundbreaking, and way over the top. Maybe in the 80 to 100 range, but not #24.

25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962 – Excellent.

26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON 1939 – The film for which the term "Capra-esque" was invented. (And I don't mean that in a good way.)

27 HIGH NOON 1952 – About as good as a non Ford or Leone western can be. (But rated too high)

28 ALL ABOUT EVE 1950 – Ok, this is the type of film I should love!! Davis, Monroe, the Theatre …. Yawn. Just never did it for me.

29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY 1944

30 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979 – A whole post is needed. In my top 5

31 THE MALTESE FALCON 1941 – Pretty much everything I said about Casablanca holds true for this one. It’s in about the right spot.

32 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974 Should be much higher.

33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST 1975 – Great adaptation!! Should probably be rated higher.

34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937 – Creepy. The dwarves are great, but Snow White herself always creeped me out. Also, this scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Not even Disney’s best. Way too high.

35 ANNIE HALL 1977 Top ten, at least. Even thinking about the therapist scene makes me laugh.

36 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 1957 – American film? I guess, whatever it is, it is terrific!!

37 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 1946

38 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 1948 – Excellent. About right.

39 DR. STRANGELOVE 1964 – Boy, I love Kubrick, but I am not a huge fan of this one. It’s good, but not #39 good.

40 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965 – Only #40? It was robbed!!

41 KING KONG 1933 – Top 20 for sure!

42 BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967 – A fine, fine film. Great cast. Maybe #60-80.

43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969 about right.

44 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940- Ok, I’m sure I’m in the minority here. This is a terrific film, but I like the 1956 remake (High Society, a musical) better. So sue me.

45 SHANE 1953 – Pull out the tomatoes, I’m not wild about this one either.

46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 1934 – Terrific!! Top 25 maybe.

47 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951 – I’m going to get shot for this one. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this play. The movie is good, but it comes off as a bit dated to me in a way that the stage version never has. It should be on the list, if just for Brando and Leigh. I know I’m going to get massacred for this, but I really liked the TV version with Jessica Lange, Alec Baldwin, John Goodman, and Diane Lane that came out in 1995. Again, it’s my list so sue me.

48 REAR WINDOW 1954 – I’ve actually never seen this straight through. I’ve seen bits and pieces (mostly on TV), but never the whole thing. I will, I promise.

49 INTOLERANCE 1916

50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001 – As discussed before, LOVED IT!!!! The best of the three for sure. Top 20 at least.

51 WEST SIDE STORY 1961 – Boy I loved this film a lot. Where to start? The music, the gritty, yet carton colored New York City, the Choreography? Top 25 I think. I wasn’t old enough to see this on Broadway, but from what I read, people who saw it in it’s original Broadway run weren’t very fond of the film version.

52 TAXI DRIVER 1976 – Why is this rated so low?

53 THE DEER HUNTER 1978 – Christopher freaking Walken!!! Great cast, probably an important film, but it really bores me.

54 M*A*S*H 1970 – So much better than the TV show, and I LOVED the TV show.

55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959 – Great!!!!!!! Maybe my favorite Hitchcock.

56 JAWS 1975 – Loved it. Saw it over and over and over. But the book was better.

57 ROCKY 1976 – Actually a very good film. But how the hell did it beat Taxi Driver?

58 THE GOLD RUSH 1925

59 NASHVILLE 1975 – I should probably bold this one. I’ve tried to watch it. Never made it to the end. I just didn’t care how it ended. Sorry Altman, not this one.

60 DUCK SOUP 1933 – YES, YES, YES!!!!!!! Top Ten

61 SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS 1941

62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973 – Good, but not top 100 good. (Sorry)

63 CABARET 1972 – Top 20 For sure!!!!! Are you kidding me?

64 NETWORK 1976 – It should be on the list for the money-shot quote alone.

65 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951 – Way too low. Best acting Bogey ever did.

66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981 – About right.

67 WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? 1966 – Wow, how did this end up so low? I guess many people don’t understand it. If you’ve never seen this, please do. If you like great acting this is your film!! All four of them are great, but Burton and Taylor absolutely chew up the freaking scenery in this one. It is a crime that all four of them didn’t win an Oscar. (I wish it was in color)

68 UNFORGIVEN 1992 – It gets a lot of flak, but I liked it.

69 TOOTSIE 1982 – Cute, but not top 100.

70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971 – Better than 2001 or Strangelove.

71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998 – wev. War, blood, gore. If you need a great WWII film, Bridge over the River Kwai or Midway is better.

72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994 – Excellent. Maybe too low.

73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969 – about right.

74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991 – Pretty damn good adaptation. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say it was better than the book.

75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT 1967 – I know, I know, I know….

76 FORREST GUMP 1994 – I guess. Everyone seems to think so.

77 ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN 1976 – Good film, but even more important because there are probably a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise know the Watergate story.

78 MODERN TIMES 1936

79 THE WILD BUNCH 1969

80 THE APARTMENT 1960 Terrific!!! (But I prefer the musical Promises, Promises.)

81 SPARTACUS 1960 – sort of homoerotic, don’t you think? Oysters anyone?

82 SUNRISE 1927

83 TITANIC 1997 – Yes, Celine Dion aside, it was good. Leo is finally getting his due, and I love Kate!!! It doesn’t hurt that she has curves and a real woman’s body!! Are you listening Kiera Knightly?

84 EASY RIDER 1969 – A fine film which I never need to see again.

85 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 1935 – No Duck’s Soup, but great.

86 PLATOON 1986 – Best Vietnam film ever. (Apocalypse now isn’t really a war film. To quote Giles, “It’s about the journey”.

87 12 ANGRY MEN 1957 – Better on stage, but ok.

88 BRINGING UP BABY 1938 – I suppose so, but if it is here I can think of several of its genre that should be included. Where are any of The Thin Man films?, How about Hudson/Day films? Hmmm? Pillow Talk anyone? Hate to tell you. I think Hepburn is over-rated. I really do.

89 THE SIXTH SENSE 1999 – Good, but out of its league on this list.

90 SWING TIME 1936

91 SOPHIE’S CHOICE 1982 – this was an American Film? No complaints.

92 GOODFELLAS 1990 - #92? Are you fucking kidding me?

93 THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971 – About right.

94 PULP FICTION 1994 – Top 25 or 30 in my book.

95 THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 1971 – Top 20 for sure!!! His best film by Far. And Holy FSM, Cybil Sheppard was beautiful!!!! (She looks a lot like Rene’L)

96 DO THE RIGHT THING 1989 – Sorry Spike, not top 100.

97 BLADE RUNNER 1982 – No complaints here, but the Director’s cut is much better.

98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942 I love musicals, just not this one.

99 TOY STORY 1995 – WTF??? If you need another animated film, I can think of MANY others.

100 BEN-HUR 1959 – This movie is about 5 hours too long. (So is this post)

So, I hit every film on the list. It’s hard to say what has been left off because it is so hard to know what makes a film “American” I would have sworn 2001 and A Clockwork Orange were English. Why is there only one Woody Allen film here? What about Reservoir Dogs, Bull Durham? Foul Play, Caddyshack? Animal House? Paper Moon? Wild At Heart? And why isn’t there a Mel Brooks film here? Where is A Christmas Story?

What do you think?

Take your time, post as long as you want.

13 comments:

Anne said...

I've seen shamefully few of these films, and I have firm opinions on even fewer, but here are some of them:

1 CITIZEN KANE 1941 - I can see this. It's not my favorite, but it's a great film and one that I think deserves its reputation.

2 THE GODFATHER 1972 – A strong, strong case could be made for this film to be #1. Agreed. I appreciate it more each time I see it.

3 CASABLANCA 1942 – I love love love this one. I think in terms of "greatest US films" the first two on this list probably deserve to be there, but Casablanca is a very, VERY close third. The suitor says it's the only movie he can think of that has "a really good ending." I think his standards are too high, but it does have a damn good ending.

5 SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 1952 – I adore Gene Kelly, but this ranking just doesn't make sense.

6 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939 – Should definitely be above Singin' In the Rain.

13 STAR WARS 1977 – I saw it, I loved it, Empire Strikes Back was a better film. Perhaps here the choice is based on the "groundbreaking" aspect. I agree that Empire is the better film, but A New Hope was the one that really knocked people's socks off in terms of never-been-seen-before effects, wasn't it? When Empire came along, it was still awesome stuff, but not as new. Or am I way off base?

30 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979 – Top 15 in my book for sure.

34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937 – Snow White creeps me out, too. That voice!! Gives me the willies. But, since it was the first American feature-length animated film, I can see why it's fairly high on the list.

39 DR. STRANGELOVE 1964 – I actually do think it's top 40 good, but I'm not articulate enough to explain why.

40 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965 – Only #40? It was robbed!! This is one of my favorite films, but I don't know if I'd say it deserved to be higher than #40.

44 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940- I'm probably also in the minority here, but I'm not generally a fan of Katharine Hepburn. I can certainly appreciate that she was a great actress, but something about her has always bugged me.

63 CABARET 1972 – Top 20 For sure!!!!! Are you kidding me? Dunno about top 20, but certainly higher than #63. Love it.

65 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951 – Way too low. Agreed. Bogart was fantastic.

71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998 – I kinda thought this was overrated. Good, but overrated.

83 TITANIC 1997 – Yes, Celine Dion aside, it was good. Leo is finally getting his due, and I love Kate!!! It doesn’t hurt that she has curves and a real woman’s body!! Are you listening Kiera Knightly? Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actresses--never seen anything of hers that I didn't like. As for the movie, I've never been able to stand "that song," but the movie is actually quite good. Overhyped at the time, but it's definitely solid.


I'm a little surprised that The Manchurian Candidate didn't make the list. Same with Rear Window and Metropolis.

Brave Sir Robin said...

I agree that Empire is the better film, but A New Hope was the one that really knocked people's socks off in terms of never-been-seen-before effects, wasn't it? When Empire came along, it was still awesome stuff, but not as new. Or am I way off base?

No, you are dead on. I'm sure that's it. Funny how that works, I mean, look at the LOTR films. Most people seem to agree that Fellowship was the strongest, yet the Academy gave all the honors to Return of the King (Sort of a cumulative award?) I could write a whole (long) post on screwups in Academy awards.

As for Snow White, I guess, but there are much, much better Disney films out there.

Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Lilo and Stich. I digress. I often do.

BTW - Have you seen High Society?

What is your favorite movie ever? (Doesn't have to be American)

Mine - A Fish Called Wanda

Anne said...

I fully expected Fellowship and Two Towers not to win many, if any, awards, and that they would all go to Return of the King. Perhaps with Star Wars it wasn't necessarily evident that it would be a trilogy (whereas with LotR, many people are familiar with the books and could reasonably expect two sequels), so it made sense to give accolades to the first movie.

I fully agree about Snow White not being Disney's best animated feature (not by a long shot). But I do think that the concept/genre of a full-length animated feature film has been important enough to American cinema that the first one deserves something of a place of honor.

I've not seen High Society. It's going in the Netflix queue! As are a lot of the movies on the above list...

Favorite movie ever? Fracking tough question, that. There are so many things to take into account... a movie I consider my favorite on an intellectual/analytical level might not be my favorite one to watch over and over. Casablanca and the Godfather are certainly near the top of the former category. But I can watch the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, Amelie Finding Nemo, Love Actually, etc. until the cows come home. The favorite movie question is like the favorite book question. It really depends on the genre.

Brave Sir Robin said...

The favorite movie question is like the favorite book question. It really depends on the genre

True enough.

Obviously, A Fish Called Wanda is not on par with Whale Rider or Much Ado About Nothing but I never get tired of it.

celticfeminist said...

Here's what I've seen. Notice what's lacking ... like, oh, The Godfather. And Rocky. And Raging Bull. Yes. I am the only American who has never seen these films. And yes. I am pathetic. Why do you ask?

1 CITIZEN KANE 1941 - Liked.
3 CASABLANCA 1942 – Loved.
8 SCHINDLER’S LIST 1993 – LOVED.
10 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939 – Liked well. The flying monkeys freaked me the hell out though. And still kind of do.
13 STAR WARS 1977* – Loved it, though Empire is my favorite.
14 PSYCHO 1960 – Loved it.
15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968 - Loved it.
17 THE GRADUATE 1967 – Loved it.
20 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946 – Sap. But lovable sap.
24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982 – Cute, but not my favorite. Except when I was 9.
25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962 – *big puffy heart*
30 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979 – Fantastic, though not sure I'd re-watch it.
31 THE MALTESE FALCON 1941 – *loves*
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST 1975 – Loved it, not sure I'd rewatch it.
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937 – For its time, good. Otherwise? Meh.
35 ANNIE HALL 1977 *loves*
42 BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967 – Like it.
44 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940- *LOVES*
48 REAR WINDOW 1954 – *LOVES*
50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001 – *LOVES*
54 M*A*S*H 1970 – *loves*
55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959 – *LOVES*
56 JAWS 1975 – It's ok.
65 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951 – *LOVESLOVESLOVES*
66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981 – *loves*
68 UNFORGIVEN 1992 – Meh. Didn't really care for it.
70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971 – Need to rewatch it. Saw it when I was 17 and a little too naive and sheltered to *get* it. Mostly it freaked it me out and I hated it.
71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998 – Meh.
72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994 – *LOVES*
73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969 – *loves*
74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991 – Good.
76 FORREST GUMP 1994 – So.much.hate.
79 THE WILD BUNCH 1969 _ Good. And the Gorches are in Buffy, so hey.
80 THE APARTMENT 1960 – *LOVES*
81 SPARTACUS 1960 – Good.
83 TITANIC 1997 – LOVE Kate. HATE the movie.
86 PLATOON 1986 – OK. I get it, but it didn't do anything for me.
88 BRINGING UP BABY 1938 – *LOVES* And bah on you about Hepburn! ;)
89 THE SIXTH SENSE 1999 – Good, but here?
92 GOODFELLAS 1990 - #92 Good, don't know if I'd rewatch it.
94 PULP FICTION 1994 – Good.
99 TOY STORY 1995 – *loves* but here?

I can't believe Blazing Saddles isn't on that list. Or The Lion King, if you're going to include animated films.

One of my all time favorite films is The Fisher King. It's so.good. The acting is spot on, the story is compelling, and the direction is inspired. There are so many layers, so much going on ... I mean, it's not without its flaws, sure. But damn. I love it and it never ceases to move me.

I love Brining Up Baby, but I do think other films in that line were probably more deserving.

I would have thought The Purple Rose of Cairo would be on the list. "I met a wonderful new man. He's fictional, but you can't have everything." *sigh*

I can't think of others I think should be on there - so many different films mean so much to me in different ways, if you know what I mean.

Brave Sir Robin said...

You.
Haven't.
Seen.
The Godfather
??????????

Put down whatever you are doing. Right now, go ahead, I'll wait.

Ok,
1. Go to the video store, get The Godfather and The Godfather II

2. Prepare a garlicky, tomatoey pasta sauce.

3. Get some bread and one bottle of good red wine per person.

4. Unplug the phone.

5. When the sauce is simmering and the house smells like Sicily, watch The Godfather while drinking red wine.

6. After first film serve pasta with bread, wine and second movie.

7. Thank me profusely for steering you in this direction.

GourmetGoddess said...

I've never seen The Godfather, either, and, if I am lucky, I never will. Never had any desire. I have no interest in that genre of films at all. Of course, I just recently saw my first James Bond. My friends asked how I liked it. I commented that now I knew what I had been missing by not watching James Bond films. Nothing.

Maybe I am defective.

Brave Sir Robin said...

Well gg - what about the list??

ps - You NEED to see it.

Anne said...

In high school my AP US History teacher sat us all down after the AP exam and had us watch the Godfather in class. She was pretty awesome. :)

Celticfeminist--I've never seen Rocky or Raging Bull either. May I join you in being pathetic?

Brave Sir Robin said...

What, you two hate the sweet science?

Seriously - At least see Raging Bull De Niro is amazing!!!!!

GourmetGoddess said...

I am really amazed at how few of these movies I have seen. No, I guess I'm not. I grew up 45 miles away from the nearest theater. Our local video rental (actually it was a laser disc rental) was the local gas station/convenience store and they got lots of weird Autralian outback/incest films in and B horror.

My first reaction to the list was how many of them are quite macho - lots of war and angst and angry men. Which makes sense as that is a lot of the history of film in America. My second reaction was of how few American films I watch now adays. Anyway, here are my responses to the ones I have seen on the list:

8 SCHINDLER’S LIST 1993 – This film was great, but for me the best films on the Holocaust are European, like Europa, Europa.
10 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939 – Very nice film, but I wanted to smack the Dorothy character as hard as I could. All that fake eye-lash batting and helplessness.
13 STAR WARS 1977 – This film definitely broke ground and I can see why it is on the list. Great use of mythic archetypes. Empire was a better film.
14 PSYCHO 1960 – As an aficionado of serial killer info (I am from Wisconsin), this paled for me because I knew about the original story first hand. That and I grew up 45 miles from Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood abode.
15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968 Compared to the novel, this film – I hated it! Never used the fast-forward so much in my life.
20 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946 Saccharine sentimental schlock.
24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982 – A good film but not great.
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST 1975 – Loved this, and I agree with Ken - Should probably be rated higher.
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937 – Um, why this and not Fantasia?
40 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965 – Very good movie. Universal themes. Cute blonde kids. The Aryans defy Hitler!
41 KING KONG 1933 – Such a powerful film. It’s subtext on racism was incredible.
50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001 – The greatness of this film is only eclipsed by the greatness of its soundtrack. I can listen to the soundtrack and as soon as the first few notes are played, I am right back in the film.
52 TAXI DRIVER 1976 – Hated it. Hated its themes. Felt like the director kinda wanted to make a statement about violence against women and just didn’t quite make it there.
53 THE DEER HUNTER 1978 – Loved it. Reminded me of my uncle and how even if you come home from war there is a part of you that never really makes it back alive.
56 JAWS 1975 – Ah, the story of Tiamat! The mythogeek in my was entirely too thrilled by this, even if I knew the Great Goddess had to die at the hands of the bumbling hero in the end.
57 ROCKY 1976 – An ok film – probably got on the list because the essential American story is all about the underdog victorious or at least putting up the good fight.
66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981 – Excellent film.
69 TOOTSIE 1982 – This was really ground breaking at the time it came out. It hasn’t held up as well as others.
70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971 – Great great movie… should have been higher.
71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998 – I couldn’t finish it. Didn’t care about any of the characters.
72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994 – Too candified from the novella. Needed to be darker.
74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991 – This definitely needs to be higher.
76 FORREST GUMP 1994 – Whatever.
83 TITANIC 1997 – Hated it. I was the only one in the theater begging Rose to LET GO! My mother was ashamed.
89 THE SIXTH SENSE 1999 – I figured this one out in the first 20 minutes. I was bored.
97 BLADE RUNNER 1982 – Director’s cut all the way.
99 TOY STORY 1995 – I don’t think so.

Some films that I would ahve liked to see: The Blair Witch Project, TransAmerica, Dogma, United 93, Mail order Wife, The Constant gardener, The Woodsman, Secretary...

And yes, I know I am totally weird.

celticfeminist said...

Anne - *scoots over in Patheticville* Welcome! :) I'm thrilled I'm not the only one in this country who's yet to see Rocky or Raging Bull. Heh.

GG - I think I get what you're saying. I've had so many people tell me I *have* to see The Godfather ... and while I'm reasonably sure I'll like it, it keeps getting bumped down my list by other things I want to see more.
*shrug*

Brave Sir Robin - Your suggestion is well noted and sounds brilliant. Despite what I just said, I may have to bump it back up in my queue. Though I'm on such a Peter O'Toole kick lately that it might be a couple more weeks until the O'Toole fever burns out. I get on a celebrity kick every once in awhile - they usually last a month or so. *grin*

Brave Sir Robin said...

Have you seen Venus?