How odd that this old thread just got dredged up tonight! Speaking of the movie Rad, looky what I just got in the mail!
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All Time Favorite Movies
- Thread starter dsnort
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How odd that this old thread just got dredged up tonight! Speaking of the movie Rad, looky what I just got in the mail!
Asphalt Jungle
Little Caesar
White Heat
The Maltese Falcon
Ride The High Country
Gaslight
Casablanca
so many more from the 30's and 40's...
...can't believe you haven't mentioned Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein, both favorites of mine.
Blade Runner - Final Version
Nosferatu - F.W. Murnau
Apocalypse Now Redux
The Great Dictator
Le Feu Follet
Zelig
Goldfinger
Blow Up
La Dolce Vita
Basil The Great Mouse Detective
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Wild Strawberries
Le Trou
The Life Aquatic
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Throne of Blood - Kurosawa
Once Upon A Time in The West
The 39 Steps and Torn Curtain by Hitchcock
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I love The Terminator..suffered a lot under the sequel and its (MTV)merchandise. Great TechNoir like Blade Runner! Speaking about bleak movies which suffer from baroque sequels: Rambo - First Blood would be another entry.
I love your list!!!
I just couldn't keep putting stuff on, but you mentioned many I would have added. Especially like the "Nosferatu" (1921, I think) reference.
I also left out many of the Warners film noir from the 30's and 40's.
I love your list!!!
I just couldn't keep putting stuff on, but you mentioned many I would have added. Especially like the "Nosferatu" (1921, I think) reference.
I also left out many of the Warners film noir from the 30's and 40's.
Thank you! ..I'm sure I missed one or two though.
re: Nosferatu, you probably know it, actually I'm sure, but I forgot mentioning Vampyr by Dreyer, its from the early 30s. If you don't know, it is highly expressive, of course beautifully b/w and was shot right during silent to talkie transition. If I remember correctly, they didn't synch later on but shot every scene repeatedly in different languages. It is very eerie (sometimes one can't really understand what they're saying) and has one of the most expressive camera movements I know of. Maybe you remember the scene in Frankenstein where the father carries his dead child into the celebrating village? That handycam style they nowadays pretend to be inventing. But I'm waffling now.
Another two would be Das Cabinet des Dr Caligary and MacBeth by Welles
How odd that this old thread just got dredged up tonight! Speaking of the movie Rad, looky what I just got in the mail!
View attachment 354062
That is awsome! I was listening to 'Send Me an Angel' last night thinking about this movie. I always wanted to ride Helltrack. BTW its not a guilty pleasure, its a classic
How odd that this old thread just got dredged up tonight! Speaking of the movie Rad, looky what I just got in the mail!
View attachment 354062
Ha! I own one, too!
Thank you! ..I'm sure I missed one or two though.
re: Nosferatu, you probably know it, actually I'm sure, but I forgot mentioning Vampyr by Dreyer, its from the early 30s. If you don't know, it is highly expressive, of course beautifully b/w and was shot right during silent to talkie transition. If I remember correctly, they didn't synch later on but shot every scene repeatedly in different languages. It is very eerie (sometimes one can't really understand what they're saying) and has one of the most expressive camera movements I know of. Maybe you remember the scene in Frankenstein where the father carries his dead child into the celebrating village? That handycam style they nowadays pretend to be inventing. But I'm waffling now.
Another two would be Das Cabinet des Dr Caligary and MacBeth by Welles
Although I don't seek out silent movies much (yes, I'm a philistine), The Cabinet Of Dr Caligary, and it's wonderful example of German Expressionism, is one I'll watch anytime it's on TV. In that vein, Metropolis (missing parts and all), is another silent favorite of mine. I do admit, though, that I go more for the talkies, especially the film noir and gangster films of the 30's and 40's (mostly Warner films, although to my amazement one of the great film noir, The Asphalt Jungle, is MGM!!) are my favorites. Also, the Universal horror films of that period, as you mentioned.
Philistine? Yes, indeed!
Haven't seen The Asphalt Jungle yet, it's with Lancaster, isn't it?
Within the Noir section I like almost all the Mitchum movies. Isn't really Noir but brilliant (also with a strong wink to German Expressionism) The Night of The Hunter.
Another All Timer comes to mind The Sunset Boulevard
I love your list, too; I've seen most of the movies on it, and - cue applause - that is a great selection (and some of us really need to be taken out and declawed or something equally painful as for the crime of mental inertia and laziness....)
I love your list!!!
I just couldn't keep putting stuff on, but you mentioned many I would have added. Especially like the "Nosferatu" (1921, I think) reference.
I also left out many of the Warners film noir from the 30's and 40's.
Nosferatu is excellent; I saw The Cabinet of Dr Caligary over twenty years ago at a university art house screening when I was an undergrad, and it absolutely blew me away. A sublime and stunning piece of cinematic excellence.....
Another that I would add to that list, is a movie I love, which is Visconti's The Leopard, his adaptation of the book of the same name by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. The Leopard is a rare case of both literary and cinematic excellence, and is one of the very few adaptations I have seen which is both faithful to the book, yet a stunning and visual and narrative treat in its own right.
Other movies which I loved include:
My Life as a Dog,
Au Revoir Les Enfants,
Jesus of Montreal,
The Nasty Girl
The Leopard always stares at me when I'm shopping...next time I won't resist anymore I believe.
Au Revoir Les Enfants was probably too tough when I saw it as a youngster..great film! And if you like Malle and Satie's Gnossiennes (I think I know you do) but haven't seen Le Feu Follet / The Fire Within with Maurice Ronet, I strongly recommend that to you!
You'll enjoy The Leopard; Visconti got an amazing performance from Burt Lancaster as the Prince at the centre of the story; a beautiful film adaptation of an exquisite book.
Au Revoir les Enfants is haunting, and a really great film.
Thanks for recommending Le Feu Follet/The Fire Within; no, I haven't seen it, and, of course, you are absolutely right - I love Malle and of course, the music of Erik Satie, especially his Gnossiennes. Something to look forward to on my return from the Caucasus.
Re American movies, one from the 90s that I loved is Lone Star, directed by John Sayles. Another great movie, to my mind, complex, intelligent, bitter-sweet, subtle and thought-provoking.
Asphalt Jungle stars Sterling Hayden, with an amazing supporting cast: Louis Calhern, Jean Hagan (wonderful) James Whitmore, Marc Lawrence,and an amazing turn by Sam Jaffe. John Huston directed...I think he has never made a bad film. See it if you get a chance.
Night Of The hunter is, hands down, absolutely the most frightening movie I ever saw. Even as a kid, movies never scared me. This movie scared the living poop out of me. I'm getting chills just typing this. Mitchum was brilliant. Exceptional movie!
Sunset Boulevard also an amazing film.
Sterling Hayden from The Killers? Interesting, must have mixed it up with Brute Force. John Huston..thank you for the hint, I do have to check him out more closely as I know only The Maltese Falcon and the awesome Treasure of the Sierra Madre
And yes, The Night of the Hunter is one of the darkest movies I've seen too (btw. you know Freaks from the 30s, pretty dark and intelligent as well). Maybe even scarier than The Shining.
To cheer things up again, the most entertaining and positively light-hearted buddie movie I can recall: Butch Kassidy and The Sundance Kid
Sterling Hayden from The Killers? Interesting, must have mixed it up with Brute Force. John Huston..thank you for the hint, I do have to check him out more closely as I know only The Maltese Falcon and the awesome Treasure of the Sierra Madre
And yes, The Night of the Hunter is one of the darkest movies I've seen too (btw. you know Freaks from the 30s, pretty dark and intelligent as well). Maybe even scarier than The Shining.
To cheer things up again, the most entertaining and positively light-hearted buddie movie I can recall: Butch Kassidy and The Sundance Kid
Ah, The Maltese Falcon - sheer class, dark, clever and brilliant; and what a superb cast. Actually, I never saw The Night of the Hunter, but I did like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Actually, I recently saw The Sting again (for the first time since I was an undergrad) - and it was still very enjoyable.
Another - slightly bittersweet, but exquisitely filmed and very well told - is the classic The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
Colonel Blimp? Never heard of it but it's already noted, you have huge credit after Kind Hearts and Coronets. Another Redford classic I saw several times is Three Days of the Condor.
And Scepticalscribe, the tender and bittersweet Le Feu Follet is maybe nice to discover or not if you haven't seen it, you definitely should, but the possibility of discovering the seminal The Night of The Hunter is a precious gift! Honestly, a must see!
Sterling Hayden from The Killers? Interesting, must have mixed it up with Brute Force. John Huston..thank you for the hint, I do have to check him out more closely as I know only The Maltese Falcon and the awesome Treasure of the Sierra Madre
And yes, The Night of the Hunter is one of the darkest movies I've seen too (btw. you know Freaks from the 30s, pretty dark and intelligent as well). Maybe even scarier than The Shining.
To cheer things up again, the most entertaining and positively light-hearted buddie movie I can recall: Butch Kassidy and The Sundance Kid
Actually, the star of The Killers was Burt Lancaster. I believe it was his first starring role. I just saw Freaks again the other day...Todd Browning certainly made a unique film, there.
As far as the Redford/Newman movies...enjoyable, but, for me, a little fluffy. Not really deserving of more than one viewing, unlike, for example, the John Huston films, which stand up to multiple viewings.
And now, an embarrassing admission...I really like Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott westerns. I especially liked Sam Peckinpah's "Ride The High Country", with both Scott and McCrea. Also, John Wayne notwithstanding, I liked John Ford's westerns. The opening shot in The Searchers, when the camera pushes out from a pitch black room, through the open door, slowly revealing Monument Valley, Utah, is one of the great opening shots. (And talking opening shots, can't beat Orson Welles' 8 minute tracking shot opening Touch Of Evil - another terrific noir film).
My bad, I ment The Killing by Kubrick.
That's an excellent reminder. The Touch of Evil BluRay is still unused here..I've to admit not knowing The Searchers and being a huge fan of the Leone westerns (usually I'm not so fond of Eastwood). Plus High Noon, Wild Bunch and the likes.
One movie I definitely forgot and watch on a regular basis is Dance of The Vampires by Polanski.
Sunset Boulevard is simply superb; a real classic, one of those movies where every line spoken, every shot, every frame, is exquisitely composed. And what a stellar cast - gripping; the story, the lighting, the cast, the sheer unadulterated class of the acting.....all absolutely first-rate and timeless. Well worth watching (and mea culpa for having forgotten it).
I agree re the Redford/Newman movies - an enjoyable night's entertainment, but not the kind of thing that enriches your soul. Which is why I watched The Sting again for the first time in decades.......
Re Orson Welles, two movies come to mind, both of which I've seen several times, and neither remains anything but fresh. The first, obviously, is Citizen Kane - another movie which completely blew me away when I first saw it as a student. In fact, the movie came so loaded with superlatives and a top-heavy reputation that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to its promise; it did so, and so brilliantly. An terrific narrative technique of several narrators, amazing cinematography, great script, terrific acting, and a first class tale to tell.
The other, obviously, is The Third Man, written by Graham Greene, filmed on location in postwar Vienna, a subtle, clever tale reeking of rotten compromised people in a setting of few moral boundaries, appalling dilemmas and conflicted loyalties. Again, setting, script, acting (a first class cast) and story combined to deliver a masterpiece. And that haunting unforgettable theme music, played and composed by Anton Karas...
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The Searchers is not Leone, who is a whole, campy story of his own. Italian westerns (and Italian 50's sci fi) films are so bad they are a delight to watch...with the right attitude going in. Hysterical.
Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) are worth a look, if only for historical interest...the style was not cliche yet...he was the original High camp and ridiculous, but original.)
The Searchers is John Ford, and is, I believe, the first of his Monument Valley films. I'm not much for color (exception...Bladerunner, which is the only color film I consider a true color film noir). Ford westerns, and especially The Searchers, have terrific direction and cinematography and are worth a look, even if you are not a western fan.