Favourite movies

Thought it might be fun, and maybe a bit revealing, if people wanted to list the three best movies they have ever seen, possibly giving reasons
My selection, not in any particular order, would be
1) Popeye, starring Robin Williams. This is a Disney movie, which seemingly sank without trace - possibly a bit 'strange' for Disney. I will watch even bad movies with Robin Williams, but this one, with its surreal settings and strange songs, not to mention a fascinating performance by Shelley Duvall, just ticked all my boxes. Strangely moving, too, as he hopelessly seeks his 'Pappy'
2) Beetlejuice - director Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton. Loved the calypso sound track, loved the special effects, loved the story, loved the happy ending.
3) AI (Artificial Intelligence) starring Haley Joel Osment (the boy that was in the 6th Sense) and Jude Law. A very moving story, in my view, that also provided thrills and spills in the shape of special effects and scary chase scenes.
Another movie that I don't remember seeing on general release. In case you haven't seen it, the story concerns a robot boy who is bought to replace a loved child who is terminally ill, and what happens to him once the 'real' child recovers.

In my world, there are many more, but first, see if anyone else wants to share some favourite movies

Popular "Top Ten" lists tend to be skewed by the short-term memory of those who compile them, quite often youngsters anyway, so their selection is now made largely from material created in the 21st. Century. Some classic film is of course black-and-white, which pushes it even further down the popularity scale for contemporary viewers.

On a different but related subject, commentators on the "Today" BBC radio 4 were saying that the current trend of downloading music could mean the death of Record Companies' invaluable Back Catalogues because the emphasis is always upon novelty and trends.

A bit disappointed this thread didn't take off.
I really enjoy movies, and hoped to get some recommendations from other members - ho hum

I do take your point, OW, that movies and popular music, being ephemeral art forms, do tend to emphasise novelty and trends, and that tastes are often informed by one's generation.
Having said that, when I've had the opportunity to see older movies (1940's film noir , silent features etc) I've often found them as relevant now as when they were made. Still have copies of some old Humphrey Bogart movies, and a couple of Marx Brothers, but wouldn't necessarily know about the more obscure older offerings unless someone points them out.

Paradoxically, "Film" is quite well-served by current television. With 120 voracious channels devouring material every day, there are a number of compilations shown regularly which cannibalise classic cinema and are none the worse for that. Over the Christmas period there was more than one program shown which revisited stars of the 1930s. My personal favourite is the Astaire/Rogers collection and those incredible Busby Berkley musicals which had only one purpose - to divert the Public from the gloom of the Depression.

Which seems remarkably contemporary.

Maybe someone should think of a remake - better than Big Brother and the X Factor at any rate

Our children's children may find it rather quaint that anyone actually went outside the home to see a movie, when there is so much available on TV.

But so much rubbish, by and large - I very rarely watch TV, but over Christmas was astonished by the rubbish on offer - and everything repeated at least 4 times, it seems - I'm sure it used to be better - or am I just getting old and cranky?

Off the top of my head...

Bladerunner

The Usual Suspects

Saving Private Ryan

High Fidelity

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

K-Pax

The Seven Samurai

Yojimbo

Bunraku

It's a Wonderful Life

Die Hard I (for Alan Rickman's villain)

The Bourne Identity

Schindler's List

Identity

The 39 Steps

Strangers on a Train

12 Angry Men

Gladiator

Would you, upon mature reflection, add modern works like "Inception" or the first "Matrix" to that list, Steve?

Actually, I definitely would! Also 'Tombstone' for Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday, though that's not that modern.

And Leon!

Some brilliant titles there sk - I'd forgotten the 7 Samurai - did you realise the first Magnificent 7 movie had more or less exactly the same dialogue?
I happened to see the two movies very close together in my 20's and they were almost word for word.

boatlady wrote:Some brilliant titles there sk - I'd forgotten the 7 Samurai - did you realise the first Magnificent 7 movie had more or less exactly the same dialogue?
I happened to see the two movies very close together in my 20's and they were almost word for word.

Yes. The Magnificent Seven starts with a note saying it is based on The Seven Samurai from a few years earlier. 7S Director Akira Kurosawa was credited as a writer on M7, as was Shinobu Hashimoto, 7S's principal screenwriter (if I remember correctly).

Didn't see the note at the beginning, but remember having a real 'wow' moment - I completely lost any need to be intellectual at that point - truth is every where

Just realised we were only supposed to post 3 lol. If forced to choose, it would have to be Bladerunner, The Usual Suspects and Seven Samurai.

But I'd prefer not to be forced

To my longer list, The Last Samurai would need to be added, too.

During World War 2, the South of England became a mini-USA when GI's appeared in their tens of thousands during the preliminaries to the invasion of Europe on D-Day. Many Hotels and evacuated large houses in English seaside resorts were requisitioned for their accommodation.
They were fascinated by our Limey accents, and impressed at our mastery of their speech patterns. (Clue: A twenty-year exposure to Hollywood "talkies" helped). Spielburg's "Saving Ryan's Privates" shows an accurate reconstruction of that unusual time.

Nosferatu - the old silent film version - I found very atmospheric and creepy - totally poiled me for the Hammer Horror versions. (Although they were fun in their way)

Nosferatu had to be given that name because of Copyright objections from (the "Dracula" author) Bram Stoker's estate.

Hammer Horror surely falls into the same class of "Film" as does the Carry-on series. What the book trade usually refers to as Pot-boilers.

And these days we have soap operas and don't so much need the cinematic pot boilers

My favorites are old English films from such studios as Elstree/Borehamwood, Ealing and Gainsborough to name but three. It would be fair to say that my wife doesn't like them much, she would much sooner watch a Hollywood blockbuster 'movie' but give me Alec Guinness or Alastair Sim over Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp anyday.

It's difficult to say what my favorite film is, I find it changes with time. However, among my favorites are London Belongs to me (1948) Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and Genevieve (1953). OK I may be a bit of a nostalgia buff, but they are superb films.

oftenwrong wrote:...Hammer Horror surely falls into the same class of "Film" as does the Carry-on series...

I think that rather depends how old you were when you watched them. I seem to remember as kids we sat wide eyed hugging a cushion as the raving Baron Von Frankenstein pumped electricity through his monster. To be fair, carry on camping didn't have quite the same effect.

Red
I thought Kind Hearts and Coronets a wonderful moview when I first saw it, don't know how long ago - it stands the test of time and I laugh every time I see it.
Don't knock Johnny Depp, though - man seem to have a wicked sense of humour

boatlady wrote:Red
I thought Kind Hearts and Coronets a wonderful moview when I first saw it, don't know how long ago - it stands the test of time and I laugh every time I see it.
Don't knock Johnny Depp, though - man seem to have a wicked sense of humour

Kind Hearts is one of the best films to come out of Ealing, for some reason it was the high point in Dennis Price's career, strange that one.

Knock Johnny Depp! perish the thought, I don't even know the chap...OK I'll fess up, Mrs Rackham has all the Pirates of the Caribbean films, she thinks he's a bit of a babe apparently! I've obviously spoiled her.

I recently read that since Johnny boy and Ms Paradis went their seperate ways he has been having quite a time with the ladies, Amber Heard in particular, and why not.

Like Mrs Rackham I have the Pirates movies, but didn't like the most recent one so very much - think he'd got sick of the concept. Loved Edward Scissorhands.
Sure he will always find a lovely woman to share time with - no hope for us older ladies

My Top 10 Films

1) Withnail and I (The last scene always makes me cry)
2) The Ipcress File
3) M*A*S*H
4) Goodfellas
5) Brassed Off
6) Galaxy Quest
7) Mongol
Red Cliff (Not about Tony Cliff!) Trotskyist joke there)
9) The Croupier
10) The Lord of The Rings

KnarkyBadger wrote:My Top 10 Films

1) Withnail and I (The last scene always makes me cry)
2) The Ipcress File
3) M*A*S*H
4) Goodfellas
5) Brassed Off
6) Galaxy Quest
7) Mongol
Red Cliff (Not about Tony Cliff!) Trotskyist joke there)
9) The Croupier
10) The Lord of The Rings

Some great choices! Wish I'd thought of the IpCress File for my list - and Galaxy Quest is great for someone who grew up on Star Trek and still loves Bill Shatner (Boston Legal would definitely be high in my list of favourite TV series!).

Badger
Never managed to like Withnail and I, although so many people rave about it, but then I never took to what's his name who stars in it in anything else either so I think that's just something about me.

Many of us find the "languid toff" style of character intrinsically repellent.

The types played by Noel Coward and Richard E Grant, not forgetting Hugh Grant (no relation), manage to get right up my nose without even trying. I could never understand why my mother was such a great fan of Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes in GWTW), and frankly never gave a damn.

For me I first found the Film as a 17 yr old in 1996 thinking it was the funnyest thing I'd ever seen but now at 33 the comedy I once saw has turned into a tragedy.

I enjoyed a lot of the movies skwalker mentioned, but I'll add a few more to the list:

Pearl Harbor. Yes, the new version that everyone else hated and the reviewers skewered. A lot of history buffs claimed it was historically inaccurate. It wasn't - it was surprisingly accurate right down to actual words and phrases used by the actors' historical counterparts. Of course the whole romance side of the movie was fictional, and the dogfights were pure Hollywood, but it was still a very historically accurate movie. Don't let the critics fool you - they're talking out their anal orifice.

Red Dawn (1980's version): It was strange seeing the "brat pack" in a movie like this, but I suppose that just made it all the more visceral. It was as if the cast of the Breakfast Club suddenly had to form a resistance group against Soviet invaders of the United States. I haven't seen the remake, but I'll probably be cringing at how much reality they had to forfeit to make North Korea a credible invader. I mean, really ... North Korea? They don't have anywhere near the capability and very little motive to physically land troops on American shores.

What Lies Beneath starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Another movie critics didn't like, but I really like a good ghost story. Not hack and slash screamers, but a solid movie about ghosts that doesn't involve the random killing of teenagers. This is one of the few modern movies that fits the genre. I enjoy a good, deep-down, almost primal fear as opposed to most other movies in the horror genre that startles you with cheap carnival funhouse type "gotchya" scares.

The Kingdom starring Tommy Lee Jones: A solid "keep it real" action movie focused on the FBI investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. It was interesting how the Saudis and Americans had to work together yet had so many differences, especially with the female member of the FBI team.

The Men in Black series: Just a good, fun series with a different, quasi-comedic take on aliens living on planet earth.

The Indiana Jones series - yes, even the fourth one that people whine about.

Well, I could go on at some length. These aren't necessarily my all-time favorites, and I don't think I could pinpoint favorites. Movies are too different from each other and often serve different purposes. Some are just mindless entertainment, others try to make you think ... it just depends on what you're in the mood for.

I'm not a fan of the old black and white movies, I must admit, for a variety of reasons too numerous to mention here. I will say that one of the biggest reasons is that the classical acting style irritates me, and folks in the 30's through the 50's had a very distinct speaking cadence when in front of the camera. In short, you can TELL that they're acting, and that puts a wall between myself and the characters. I can't really "feel" them or empathize with them in any way because movies in those days were designed to make sure audiences knew it was acting. Plus the stars didn't really adopt the persona of a character. Instead, they were simply themselves playing roles in different situations - the typecasting back then was atrocious.

Nice to see you Shirina
Frivolous soul that I am, the only films from your list that I've yet seen are the Men in Black movies - a hoot, in my opinion.
I think you've got a good point aboput the old black and white movies - they were differently more stylised and stiff, but I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing - just different from what we see today (maybe like Shakespeare - no-one is writing plays like that any more)

Had a conversation saturday night about movies with and old (in more than one sense) friend, who suggested a thread called 'movies I'm ashamed to like'.
We both nominated Pollyanna, and ended up having a lovely evening playing the glad game.

Would definitely add 'Speed' to my list...

Yesterday we watched 'Oh Mr Porter' A 1937 classic from Gainsborough studios, Will Hay at his best.

The Times described the film as "a comic masterpiece of the British cinema" and film critic Barry Norman listed it in his top 100 films of all time.

If you are into this genre of film and you haven't seen it, it's well worth watching, in my humble.

Red Rackham wrote:Yesterday we watched 'Oh Mr Porter' A 1937 classic from Gainsborough studios, Will Hay at his best.

The Times described the film as "a comic masterpiece of the British cinema" and film critic Barry Norman listed it in his top 100 films of all time.

If you are into this genre of film and you haven't seen it, it's well worth watching, in my humble.

It is a great film. Will Hay was a wonderful performer.

Speaking of "Late Greats", who can remember the "Old Mother Riley" comedy films with Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane? (You probably need to also remember Saturday Morning Cinema.)

Once saw a clip on TV - although I remember Saturday morning films (I was a 'minor of the ABC') the earliest I remember is the three Stooges - which was a bit after that, and of course American.

oftenwrong wrote:Speaking of "Late Greats", who can remember the "Old Mother Riley" comedy films with Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane? (You probably need to also remember Saturday Morning Cinema.)

I was a proud member of the ABC Minors! But I don't remember those films.

To the tune of "Blaze Away"

We are the boys and girls well known as
Minors of the ABC
And every Saturday we line up
To see the films we like
And shout aloud with glee
We love to laugh and have a sing-song
Just a happy crowd are we
We’re all pals together
We’re minors of the ABC

"Aunty Andy" was the Board Executive of ABC duly appointed to set up and supervise those Saturday Morning Cinemas, presumably because she drew the short straw (and was not a male, though she wore her hair short and dressed in "manly" tweed suits with stout brogue shoes).

Funny the things that stick in the memory as a kid.

Really impressed that you remembered all the words to the song