Movies that will always be in your DVD collection

[Sir Bygber Brown]

I thought other Wellesnetters might not know this was hidden at the end of the Wind post: blunted and I had a good thing going that i thought others might care to partake of:

blunted by community

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films that i will always have in my collection besides everything welles ever did - rio bravo, key largo, searchers, man who shot liberty valance, stagecoach, maltese falcon, treasure of the sierra madre, rear window, godfather 1 and 2, goodfellas, taxi driver, detour, sunset boulevard, dead end, great dictator, sons of kattie elder, gentleman jim, on the waterfront.

i can always get into bogart, john wayne, errol flynn, marlon brando.

and of course, white heat. "i'm on top of the world, ma!" BOOM! roaring 20s, public enemy. it's just total viewing enjoyment.

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Sir Bygber Brown

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Group: Members
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Joined: Dec. 2003
Posted: Feb. 21 2004,19:22

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If i could only pick a handful of movies to take to Brando's island (or Xanadu) and live out my days, aside from Welles (which, if i had to narrow down, i could not go without Touch of Evil, Ambersons and Kane... though i would dearly miss Falstaff...), it would be Streetcar Named Desire, 8 1/2, I am Sam, Mulholland Dr, Pulp Fiction, Annie Hall, Dr Strangelove, Third Man, Good the Bad and the Ugly, To Catch a Thief, Seven Year Itch.

And probably Groundhog Day, to cheer me up (though Marilyn can always do this).

[blunted by community]

good choices brown. 8 1/2, good bad and the ugly, streetcar named desire are real high on my list.

i've never seen to catch a thief, i love hitch. north by north west is incredible. it's my second favorite hitch.

i could not get into annie hall, but i love stardust memories, and manhattan. manhattan is such a beautuful film, so well filmed. will have to try ANNIE HALL again.

as i'm boarding the train to brando's island to live out my last days, in my carry-on bag i would shove 2 edward Djmytryc films, CROSSFIRE, and MURDER MY SWEET love them both, i would have to sneak in a few erich von stroheim films, murnau's SUNRISE. joseph losey's GUN CRAZY. STERNBERG'S SCARLET EMPRESS, and the european version of BLUE ANGEL, richard brook's IN COLD BLOOD, and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. THE WILD BUNCH, EL DORADO, RED RIVER, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE --- and then i'll be yelling at the conductor that is telling me i have too much luggage

.............

STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE is such a dark film, i love it. the new version has added footaged and it really changed the complexion of the film. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF has added footage also that deals with the more adult material.

brando was in another tenessee williams film called THE FUGITIVE KIND that a lot of critics slammed as a lot of hooey. i like it. brando is in fine mumble form, anna magnani is at her miserable best. and brando did a lot of excellent mumbling and directing in ONE EYED JACKS.

[blunted by community]

what really cracks me up about old movies is all the drinking, and smoking. every time a character visits another, they get offered a drink, then a smoke. it was just a prop so the actor does not have to stand and deliver his lines, he can say his lines more interestingly while pouring scotch, and lighting a few butts. you can see why that generation did not have a chance to escape smoking and booze.

[Oscar Christie]

Mr. Blunted's list is excellent

[Sir Bygber Brown]

I think i enjoyed To Catch a Thief so much because i fell in love with Grace Kelly while watching it. She's simply a goddess in that movie.

My favourite Hitches so far are Strangers on a Train, Rear Window and Vertigo (though i didn't like it first time). I also thought Lady Vanishes was lots of fun. I'll watch anything Cary Grant is in, same with Grace Kelly, so there are three reasons i couldn't do without To Catch a Thief. My favourite Hermann scores for Hitch are Vertigo and Psycho (obvious choices, but they're just such fantastic scores).

I must confess i've been deprived of the American Western tradition so far. I've seen pleanty of Clint Eastwood, and i've seen Shane, but in general its something that's escaped my nets. They're showing The Searchers on TV tomorrow here, and i'm really looking forward to it. I love Leone westerns, obviously - but i'm yet to see a John Ford. I can't wait.

I didn't care for Stardust Memories. I felt it was Woody's dilution of 8 1/2 which lacked its magic, its rhythm. And i'm a Woody fan. I just didn't care for that one. I loved Husbands and Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Annie Hall, Mighty Aphrodite, Radio Days, Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Deconstructing Harry (though i did see it before i'd seen Wild Strawberries, which it is in retrospect an obvious homage to) and Manhattan.

At the moment i'm working my way through Fellini, Kurosawa, Bergman, Robert Altman and the Coen Brothers... very slowly! But i'm having a marvellous time. Of that lot, the best things i've discovered lately:

La Strada, La Dolce Vita, Nights of Cabiria
Rashomon, Yojimbo
Hour of the Wolf, Smiles of a Summer Night
MASH, Nashville
Big Lebowski (incredible experience the second time), Hudsucker Proxy

[Sir Bygber Brown]

Wasn't impressed by One Eyed Jacks. Couldn't get through half of it. Will try again some day.

They have just released Fugitive Kind on DVD here - was thinking of the purchase. Never seen it - but my favourite Brando is when he played in Tennessee Williams, so why not? Its going for thirty bucks, so it would want to be some pretty good Brando.

I've been wanting to see Sunrise for some time. Loved Nosferatu and The Last Laugh.

Some choices in your original list i'm hearing for the first time:

Gentleman Jim
Detour
Dead End

Could you outline what draws you to these titles?

[blunted by community]

you will love SEARCHERS. i hope they are showing it in lbx. if they are you are in for a treat. lots of artistry. ford was awsome.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is tremendous. it's in my top 5 hitch films. i loved cary grant in NORTH BY NORTH WEST, need to see more of him. and i loved the herrman score in both CAPE FEARS.

ONE EYED JACKS i started liking when i was a huge brando fan and loved anything he did. i know a lot of critics panned it, but over the years it seems to be appreciating. origionally when brando gave it to the studio it was 4 hrs long. they hacked it up. and it was kubrik that was supposed to direct but brando pissed him off so much kubrik quit. brando was holding production meetings in oriental garb, and a gong, and people had to talk around the gong. what a maniac.

i loved la dolce vita, and nights of cabiria

every one recomends the big lebowski and i have not seen it yet.

gentleman jim is one of my favorite errol flynn films. flynn is wonderful in it, i think it was walsh that directed, and it's was well directed, well written, and the acting is good. it also has a lot of woman appeal. if there is a mrs brown, she will enjoy it also.

detour was made in like 6 days, it a poverty row picture, some critics have called it the greatest cheap movie ever made. i think it's a very special picture. there is just something about it that always draws me in. and there is enough artistry to keep a classic film fan interested. i have some bitching analysis on it. if you get your hands on a copy, i will scan the article and email it to you.

dead end, wyler directing, toland cinematography, again, it has a lot of artistry. i think it's a radical film. and there is a lot of reading that can be done on the staging, angles, framing, character positions, etc. radical lighting, excellent sets. years ago i saw a great version that the whites were glowing, deep blacks, reduced midtones. the last few times i saw it all this was gone, but it still kicks butt.

check out www.half.com, you can probably get the godfather box set, detour, and the fugitive kind for a fraction of the cost of buying them new. 2 weeks after fugitive kind is released, some one won't like it and will be selling their copy.

i don't have gentleman jim, detour, and dead end on dvd or we'd trade. i have them on vhs.

[TheMcGuffin]

Its very interesting reading everyones favorite movies and directors they are interested in. Currently I am going through the collected works of Hitchcock, Wilder, Kurosawa, Burton and Coppola. Hitchcock, I am almost done with. Last night I watched his WWII shorts Bon Voyage and Adventures Malagaces (sp?) and am getting his three 1-hour long Alfred Hitchcock Presents eps (not available from Universal) in the mail. Those hitchcock eps were as hard to find as some OW stuff =). But I am happy to have them in my collection. Wilder is a very underated director. He has a great body of work, but does not get as much respect as an auteur since he was a minimalist at the healm. He did have some great moments, the shot from the bottom of the pool in Sunset Blvd or Kirk Douglas' death in Ace in the Hole.

I am curious to see what everyone's Top 10 Films of all time are. Mine are as follows:
1) Casablanca
2) Some Like it Hot
3) Citizen Kane
4) Seven Samurai
5) Psycho
6) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7) Singin in the Rain
Notorious
9) Touch of Evil
10) The Apartment

This isn't myopinion of the 10 greatest movies ever made, more its the 10 movies I would most wanna pick up and watch no matter what mood i am in.

Rob

[R Kadin]

Re favourite Hitchcock: I can't let that topic go by with at least a deferential nod to "Rope". Yes, Hitch was reportedly disappointed in it - probably because his aim for it was so high, i.e., nudging cinema into a real-time experience that blended the language of both the screen and the stage into something very new. But from a spectator's perspective, I can't help but delight in its ambition, style, wit, and craft.

[Flint]

Hey All-

Here's my two cents in some kind of order from best to worst-


Wizard of Oz
2001: A Space Odyssey
Citizen Kane
Vertigo
Gone With the Wind
Star Wars
The Sound of Music
Close Encounters
Apocolypse Now
Doctor Zhivago



Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Rear Window
The Ten Commandments
Andrei Rublev
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (no comments please)
It's a Wonderful Life
La Dolce Vita
The Magnificent Ambersons
Lawrence of Arabia
Psycho
West Side Story
The Red Shoes
Days of Heaven
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Empire Strikes Back
The Last Emperor
The Godfather
Bullets over Broadway


Also must mention those director's who's COMPLETE WORKS I think are essential:
Hitchcock
Kubrick
Welles
Allen



It really took me awhile to decide on this, but I had to go with the "Repeat viewing" factor as my ultimate guide. As "The McGuffin" mentioned, I too hold no claim that these are the most significant films of all time - only for me. These are the top films that I have watched countless times and could still sit down tonight and enjoy. I was surprised that I did not include any foreign films in my top ten (as much of a buff as I am). I was also surprised at how "commercial/pop culture" my list was, but hey, I have to be honest.


Thanks for reading.

[Glenn Anders]

I'll pitch a penny. My candidates for the Top Ten Films of all time are pretty close to my favorites, but when I get beyond Number 7 or so, there are many others competing, some which are on your lists.

Here I go:

1) THE RED SHOES

2) CITIZEN KANE

3) SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

4) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

5) GREED

6) CHINATOWN

7) THE WILD BUNCH

MY MOTHER'S COURAGE

9) COME AND SEE

10) LE PLASIR

If you care to read my remarks on these pictures with links to full reviews packed with odd facts, the kind which keep some of us awake at night, go to this URL:

http://www.epinions.com/mvie-review-2CF-E157FA3-398B7E5B-prod1

Regards.

Glenn

[Flint]

I just had to mention as well that my LEAST favorite film of all time is "Moulin Rouge". I hate this film so much that if you like it, I can't be your friend. A very honorable mention goes to "Popeye".

-Flint

[Glenn Anders]

Flint: If we're talking about Baz Luhrmann's MOULIN ROUGE, I fully agree. It's a garish, tasteless mess, despite the production design by Baz's partner.

Glenn

[Sir Bygber Brown]

There are some great lists here.

The Apartment has to be one of my favourites. Certainly my favourite Wilder comedy so far (though i haven't seen many). I'm a Marilyn fan, but i liked Apartment better than Some Like it Hot. Shirley Maclaine is radiant in that movie. Jack Lemmon is so much fun, also. Its like The Good the Bad and the Ugly - you just watch it and think: this is so perfect, and so thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm seeing so many different things at the moment and each experience seems to open my eyes in a different way, but my original list is also the list of movies I know i could watch again tonight.

I know if i tried to make a list of greatest pictures, included on it would be

2001
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
8 1/2
Annie Hall
Rear Window (it has a sort of divine unity, that The Birds lacks, for example).
Dr Strangelove
Its a Wonderful Life
(the scene where Stewart and Donna Reed are listening to the same telephone and not hearing a word said on it because they're standing so close to each other is one of my favourite scenes of all time. I saw this again the other day and was struck by how great and genuine Stewart's performance is. He was really a marvellous actor. He gives us real tears in the bar scene near the end. A moving scene).
Citizen Kane
(i'll think and think about whether it deserves its reputation, but each time i see it again i remind myself to include it on lists like this, because it truly does.)
Vertigo



I've yet to see those grande David Lean epics. I've seen Great Expectations, Brief Encounter. I think i saw Lawrence of Arabia when i was really young, but i don't remember it. I need to see Lawrence, Zhivago and River Kwai.

Haven't seen Notorious. Bergman and Cary Grant, isn't it? Hear its great. I just saw a Cary Grant Hitch the other day i was disappointed with. Suspicion, i think it was called. The one where he meets a girl and marries her in the first ten minutes, the father gives them a set of chairs as a wedding present, and so on... One of the finest moments in all Hitch, i think, is the scene where Grace Kelly answers the phone in Dial M for Murder. The whole movie isn't one of his best, i think, but that scene, with that nightgown, the rope and the struggle, is just superb. Of course, the fireworks scene in To Catch a Thief is like the doorway scene in The Third Man - i think about it at least once every day and could watch it over and over and over and it wouldn't lose its magic.

[Sir Bygber Brown]

I keep forgetting Scorcese...

Goodfellas is a movie that i think would go on my list of greatest films, and also i could watch it again tonight.