<p>I’d like to start a list of favorite movies. Perhaps this has already been done, but I did not find one on a CC search. Just looking for recommendations (and why), so that we have a great base from which to choose. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Favorite of the day: “Good Night and Good Luck”. It is the story of Edward R. Murrow, and his (and his news team’s) affect on the downfall of Senator
McCarthy. Directed and partially written by George Clooney – very
impressive! The 1950 sets are a blast (from the past), and the acting was great, in a very simple but effective way. The movie can be a tad “preachy” if you don’t believe in what is being said, but I do… It definitely gives food for thought for today as well!</p>
<p>This thread is right up my alley. I am looking foward to the Clooney movie - I’d also like to see the Contant Gardener and In Her Shoes (if anyone has comments of them, let me know)</p>
<p>Anyway, I write and am an avid film watcher. Here’re my favorites. You may not have heard of some of them because they are independent or foreign gems. And you may not even be able to find them any longer at Blockbuster or Netflix as I notice so many of the really interesting films disappearing and being replaced by formulaic “blockbusters” and truly silly stories. </p>
<p>When you’re blue, this gives you a lovely lift: Enchanted April
Romantic/great chemistry: Firelight, Mostly Martha, Moonstruck, Last of the Mohicans, Cinema Paradiso (Italian), The Matchmaker, French Kiss
Funny: My Cousin Vinny, Bullworth, Orange Country, Overboard, King of Hearts, Noises Off
Compelling stories: To Kill a Mockingbird, Burnt by the Sun (Russian), Malena (Italian), Garden of the Fitzi Continis (Italian), The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnamese)
Kids: War of the Buttons, The Princess Bride
For pure entertainment: My daughter would say the GodFather Trilogy - especially #1 and 2
Great Sountracks to good stories: Songcatcher, Duets</p>
<p>crash, “Constant Gardener” is great, but don’t go if you’re feeling depressed, because it will only make it worse! Excellent acting, fine cinematography and script, very thought-provoking . . . but not a happy movie.</p>
<p>Good flicks we’ve recently seen in theaters: “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – great fun with Wallace and Gromit; and “Mirrormask” – sort of Alice in Wonderland meets Cirque du Soliel.</p>
<p>I tend to choose movies by favorite directors- not in any order
John Sayles ( Lone Star, Limbo… just about all of them)
Terence Malick ( Days of Heaven & the thin red line)
Coen brothers ( Big Lebowski…Blood Simple…)
Peter Weir (Gallipoli, Fearless, Witness, the Year of living dangerously… just about all his too)
Mira Nair ( Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay)
Pedro Almodovar (Talk to her, Tie me up, tie me down, All about my mother)
my favorite genre is neo-noir
Red Rock west- Devil in a Blue Dress- LA Confidential
Planning to go see Goodnight this weekend- also really like teh Constant gardener- some great performances</p>
<p>When my husband and I first started dating in the late 70s French films were very popular
The Original Tall Blond Man & the Return of the Tall Blond Man ( with Pierre Richard- NOT the one with Tom Hanks)
Lau Cage Aux Folles
Get out Your Hankerchiefs
Heck anything with Gerard Depardeiu- even that 102 Dalmations movie- Jean de Florette & Manon of the Spring- The return of Martin Guerre,Green Card,The Last Metro, Cyrano…
Hey now I know what I can put on my NetFlicks account!
Thanks!</p>
<p>I dunno. Some of the best movies are too painful to watch again.
The Pianist and Schindler’s List are a case in point. Ditto Bergman’s Persona, The Seventh Seal.</p>
<p>La Grande Illusion
Les Enfants du Paradis
Jeux Interdits
Les 400 Coups (400 Blows)
Rashomon
Lawrence of Arabia
Casablanca
African Queen
Indiana Jones
Pink Panther</p>
<p>Great songtracks: O Brother Where Art Thou, Songcatcher; Tous les Matins du Monde (stars Depardieu, EK!) Amadeus though I did not like portrayal of Mozart)</p>
<p>I have a movie that I bet no one else will admit to seeing & I saw it three or four times when it came out
HIghlander
Starring Sean Connery as a Spanish immortal Clancy Brown ( who went to St Albans and studied theatre at Northwestern),and (the exhusband of Diane Lane and Tarzan in Greystoke,) Christophe Lambert
never saw sequels- never saw the tv series- but the original movie was a good time
( music by Queen)</p>
<p>Most of my favorite movies have had their origins elsewhere, books, plays, short stories. </p>
<p>Wonder Boys
The Hours
Iris
Paradise
The Wizard of Oz
Ladies in Lavendar
The Cider House Rules
L.A. Confidential
The Usual Suspects
Bull Durham
Field of Dreams
Empire Falls</p>
<p>I tend to enjoy character-driven films (and books) and am looking forward to Capote, Rent, Proof, and also to Harry Potter.</p>
<p>Milagro was directed by Robert Redford DDad. great film
Drama
Philadelphia, Shawshank Redemption, Fisher King
Comedy
Mixed Nuts, Laural and Hardy’s “Babe’s in Toyland”
Western
Ox-Bow Incident, Shane
Honorable mention
Wonderful Life, West Side Story</p>
<p>How about an amazing scene in a movie that blew you away…
here is my very obscure scene from the movie Cabaret:
the scene is sally’s (liza manelli) 2 male companions stop in the german
countryside for a beer…a young future nazi with an amazing stirring voice sings “tomorrow belongs to me”…this scene which signifies the impending black cloud that will soon take over europe always gives me the chills</p>
<p>Hey - yes, you guys reminded me of greats I forgot to add - Witness, Glory, Harold and Maude (who I aspire to be when I’m eighty), and Paradise…also A Man and a Woman and Farewell My Concubine.</p>
<p>Two other fab sountracks: Last of the Mohicans and The Insider.</p>
<p>Before 1960 (and mostly before 1950): All About Eve, On the Town, Casablanca, Camille, The Gay Divorce, The Palm Beach Story, Jezebel, Bringing Up Baby, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Adam’s Rib, Notorious, The Maltese Falcon, Vertigo, It’s a Wonderful Life, Pillow Talk, Gone with the Wind (my kids can recite entire whatever scene is on when they come into the room) … how to stop?</p>
<p>Later than that: Groundhog Day, Godfathers I and II, Shawshank Redemption, L. A. Confidential, Gosford Park, Back to the Future, The Fugitive, 10 Things I Hate About You (can anyone name a smarter teen movie?), Nashville, Jaws, Victor/Victoria, LOTR: The Return of the King (didn’t expect to be pulled into it the way I was - 3 times!).</p>
<p>Obscure little 1960s sex comedy that I really find funny and sweet: “Sunday in New York” with Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, and Rod Taylor. It captures the time, place, and prevailing mindset about the double standard so perfectly - watch it if you can find it!</p>
<p>If you have the time (3 hrs.) and inclination, watch the DVD of the director’s cut of Das Boot. Then watch the special features about the making the movie and the historical basis for it. Although we know who won WWII, I had to give credit to anyone who was a submariner, regardless of side.</p>
It definitely gives food for thought for today as well!</p>