That's right, I just watched Straw Dogs for the first time. Sam Pekinpah did a great job. I also got a Three Stooges DVD from Netflix and was extremely disappointed to find that it had five episodes with Shemp and only one with Curly. Next up, I have All the President's Men, The Producers and The Maltese Falcon, all of which I haven't seen.

jakal, those are all very good selections, especially since you haven't seen them. "Straw Dogs" is a very unique film. Some people find the set-up boring (not true) and the ending over-the-top. Well, if "over-the-top" means highly-cinematic, intense and violent, then I'd agree. It definitely has one of the greatest last half-hours of all-time.

I think you'll like the next three as well. I guess you don't need any help from me in picking movies to watch.

Thought I might as well bring back this topic. I recently saw (for the first time) "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" in back to back viewings. It was Bogart night on TMC or something.

So anyway, by the sound of it, I was expecting to enjoy the Maltese Falcon much more. To me Casablanca sounded boring and dull, and Maltese Falcon sounded mysterious and exciting. But to my surprise, I really really liked Casablanca and didnt especially enjoy The Maltese Falcon. I cant really say why, but thats just the way it was.

Anyway, If "The Godfather" is considered a classic, then it's probably my favorite.

Try watching each one at least once a year. You might be surprised, but you will really appreciate it. I just watched "The Maltese Falcon" with my 13-year-daughter again (she'd already seen it a couple of times, but never with JUST me.) It is unbelieveably great, but I can understand why "Casablanca" might seem better...it may be the wittiest script ever written, but then, "The Maltese Falcon" kicks ass in the wit department. (Yes, Ingrid Bergman in her late 20s is hotter than Mary Astor in her late 30s, but they were both perfect for their respective roles.)

True Classics are much-more deserving of repeat viewings than current flicks.

When it comes to slapstick comedy and the like of course Charlie Chaplin, The Marx Brothers, and W.C. Fields I love. Though I know they're not limited to being slapstick actors and have far more range. That seems to be what they're associated with.

As for Buster Keaton the only thing I've seen of his was a small bit of a movie where he is being chase all over this ship, trying to save himself and this damsel in distress. He falls in the water, manages to climb back aboard and save the day. Great action sequence.

As for classics in general, my favorites tend to actually be my favorite movies overall. There's no doubt that I love Pre-"Star Wars" films far more than I do Post-"Star Wars" films. "A Place in the Sun", "Gone With the Wind", "Red River", "Greed", 'The Hustler" are just a few of my favorites.

quote:

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Originally posted by mark f:
jakal, those are all very good selections, especially since you haven't seen them. "Straw Dogs" is a very unique film. Some people find the set-up boring (not true) and the ending over-the-top. Well, if "over-the-top" means highly-cinematic, intense and violent, then I'd agree. It definitely has one of the greatest last half-hours of all-time.

I think you'll like the next three as well. I guess you don't need any help from me in picking movies to watch.

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I love "Straw Dogs". Have you read Paulene Kael's review? It's pretty brutal and rough towards the film and Peckinpah, but then again she was always a card-carrying feminist. The sad thing is, "Straw Dogs" doesn't support violence against women. Rather it shows violence against women and then loaths it. I think Kael completely turned the message of the movie around and missed the point. I've read the review and it seems kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the film.

I haven't seen too many classics..but, the good ones i have seen are:

Casablanca
Dr. Strangelove...and
The Big Sleep...

thats it for me...

Go rent "North by Northwest" or check to see if your library has it. It's probably the most accessable and entertaining of all the classics, for people getting used to older films.

Ohhh, thanks...I'll go borrow that today, before the thanksgiving/christmas holidays hit and everything closes...I hope our library has it..haha...thanks for the tip

I am a huge hitchcock fan...I love basically anything he has done toa point...including the afore mentioned "north by northwest" also vertigo and rear window.

I also love "bridge on the River Kwai" and "the gret escape".

They may not be that old enough to be classics...but maybe! If not they will be soon!

Just a few that struck my fancy this long wonderfull weekend!

quote:

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Originally posted by Heather:
I haven't seen too many classics..but, the good ones i have seen are:

Casablanca
Dr. Strangelove...and
The Big Sleep...

thats it for me...

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Yeah, "the big sleep". Memento's spiritual grandaddy.

I could put a million movies here, like any other movie lover, but this is the only movie I still see the same way as I first saw it. I still don't know what the firetruck is going on (but I love it).

Also, I have to mention "Sullivans travels" I have only seen this once, but it still haunts me. I wish someone would have the decency to give it another airing. Any where, anytime.

If you haven't seen this movie, hunt it down. It is essential.

Oh, and on a more personal note, I was listening to Jim White t'other day an' a line jumped out that immediatly brought you to mind H. "There aint nothin' as pretty as a pretty gal".

I hope your wearin' all the necssasery safety gear, that skateboarding looks very precariuos.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: burning man,

I'm not trying to horn in on you and Heather, burnie, but if you ever get all the way to SoCal, you can watch my Criterion Collection DVD of "Sullivan's Travels" as much as you want.

quote:

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Originally posted by mark f:
I'm not trying to horn in on you and Heather, burnie, but if you ever get all the way to SoCal, you can watch my Criterion Collection DVD of "Sullivan's Travels" as much as you want.

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Why, thank you. I thought of another classic I haven't seen for yonks that could also be my favorite foreign film. "The Ruling Class" with Peter O'Toole. A truly wild ride.

It's been four months since anyone's remembered, rewatched or even thought about classic films? Don't worry about what constitutes a classic. If the film is older than you are, you can call it a classic. For some of us here, we have to call movies younger than us classics, but I have other criteria besides date of release. I'd like to see some of the newer members post here too. Thanks.

Several weeks ago I watched In the Heat of the Night for the first time in many years, which is hands-down one of my favorite films of all time. I don't know that America's historical struggle with issues of race had ever been dealt with so effectively on screen and I can think of precious few equally unflinching takes save several of Spike Lee's films including the significantly less deft (and terribly overlooked) Bamboozled.

Plus, it's a pretty damn great mystery to boot!

Now Playing: "God! Show Me Magic" Super Furry Animals Songbook Volume 1

Fav movies of all time?

2001 - A Space Oydessy
Miller's Crossing
The Usual Suspects
The Shawshank Redemption
Full Metal Jacket
Waiting for Guffman

The problem with favorite "classic" films is deciding on what a classic film is? There is the idea of the instant classic - the belief that a recent movie will be able to stand the test of time. My definition of the classic is a movie that will be considered a superior film regardless of when it was made. By this definition relatively new films can be considered. My list is based on a rough standard of those films, mostly older than 30 years old - a whole generation, whereby if such films seem to have a certain resonance even now then they have the attributes of being a classic. Of course the older the film and its persistance in the public's mind, the more certain of its claim as a classic. There are also those classic films that I personally don't like. Of course there may be old films I like that aren't classic. Most of these movies are known as a classic within their own movie genre. Anyway here's my list of somewhat more contemporary films that just reveals how stuck I am in my appreciation from a certain era that I grew up in:


1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). A sci fi classic that set a new standard of technical brilliance and special effects that has yet to be surpassed. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

2. Doctor Zhivago (1965). Omar Shariff and Julie Christie star in the historical epic of the Russian Revolution.

3. Carnival of Souls (Original 1962 Version). A haunting, twilight zone film. [Likely a non-classic].

4. THX-1138 (1971). A sci fi classic of a strangely control society of the future.

5. Forbidden Planet (1956). One of the best sci-fi movies of the 1950s.

6. Lawrence of Arabia (1962). An epic, Arabian historical movie.

7. The Godfather (1972).

8. How The West Was Won (1962). An epic Western spanning four generations with an all-star cast. [Likely a non-classic].

9. West Side Story (1961). One of the first major musical dance movies updating using Romeo & Juliet as its source material.

10. Clockwork Orange (1971). A sci fi classic by Stanley Kubrick about a future society. X-rated when it first came out. Graphic violence in sharp Kubrick style.

11. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). The classic sci fi movie of the 1950s.

12. Dr. Strangelove (1964).

13. The Sound of Music (1965).

14. Planet of the Apes (1968). One of the greatest twists in sci fi history bringing a new a respectability to the genre.

15. The Exorcist (1973).

16. The Godfather Part II (1974).

17. Chinatown (1974). A classic film-noir movie.

18. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

19. The Great Escape (1963). One of the most extensive World War II prison movies made.

20. Roman Holiday (1953).

21. The Hustler (1961). A famous psychological game of pool.

22. Slaughter-House Five (1972). Adaptation of the novel that captures a time-moving individual between the past, present, future, and no time. A rather impressive piece of work, considering its development back in the 70s. Contains a somewhat un-appealing main character (a nerdish man's fantasy) along with a some great underplayed roles.

23. Fahrenheit 451 (1966).

24. Fate is the Hunter (1964). A Glenn Ford and Robert Taylor in a haunting investigation of an airplane crash. [likely a non-classic].

25. The Ipcress Files (1965). A Michael Caine vehicle in one of best classic cold-war spy movies. A strong, intense movie. [likely a non-classic].

26. The Andromeda Strain (1971). A hard-edged, serious sci-fi movie about the possible contamination of earth from outside. [likely a non-classic].

27. Charade (1963).

28. The Birds (1963).

29. Psycho (1960).

Favorite classic films...

1. Singin' in the Rain
2. The Manchurian Candidate
3. Seven Samurai
4. The Graduate
5. The Rear Window
6. Dr. Strangelove
7. Star Wars
8. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
9. The Sound of Music
10. Vertigo

Michael Powell is one of my favorite directors, and TCM is showcasing him this month on Sunday evenings. I watched The Edge of the World, Return to the Edge of the World and Thief of Bagdad last week with my daughter. Tomorrow on TCM at 5 PM Pacific/8 PM Eastern, they're showing The 49th Parallel and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. I'm taping the former (about a U-Boat stuck in Canada during WW II with an all-star cast), and I have the latter on DVD already, but needless to say, it's a great film. Michael Powell was a contemporary of Hitchcock, and he's on the level of Hitch as a filmmaker. In fact, I believe that Powell's films in the 1940s are even superior to Hitch's that decade (and that's saying A LOT!)

Next Sunday (the 18th), TCM is showing A Matter of Life and Death, my favorite Michael Powell film, and it's not on DVD. Do yourself a favor and watch/record that movie. It's a beautiful romantic fantasy comedy which is also dramatic and leaves you wondering if David Niven really did survive jumping out of his plane without a parachute and live due to an "angel's" error, or is he really suffering delusions caused by a brain tumor which needs surgical remedy ASAP. I hope somebody watches it. It could change the way you look at movies!!

Here is a list that will always remain too short:
The Grapes of Wrath
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte
Psycho
12 Angry Men
In the Heat of the Night
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Rosemary's Baby (scared the dickens out of me)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Cool Hand Luke
Rebel Without a Cause
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (sp?)
African Queen
Casablanca
Citizen Kane (sp?) (the most complete movie I've ever seen)
Easy Rider (remember, I'm a child of the 60s)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rev. Rikard,