We've probably done this before, but it came up in a conversation today, so I had to think about it for some seconds. :gasp:
So what are your favourite ten films and if you wish for what reasons, be it because of context or Idesque film review pretensions. (sorry Ide :P )
Note I'm not starting an argument for The Best ten films of all time, that's another debate, so just your own favourites, films you've no doubt actually watched too.
Off the top of my head:
'Doctor Strangelove' - a genuinely superb film, arguable the best satire, here as my own satire/comedy choice.
'Apocalypse Now' - largely because I grew up watching Vietnam and it was the first film I saw where the Cinema audience walked out in complete silence.
'Far from the Madding Crowd' - it's a well made film, perhaps not a classic, but it stands in for my love of our local landscape, the regions 'true' history and all things beautiful from the 1960s. Otherwise 'Doctor Zhivago' would have gotten the nod.
'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' - a great film in its own right, and my stand in for spaghetti and all Westerns.
'A Matter of Life and Death' - so many things make this film great, plus it's my stand in for all the great post-war British films be it 'Passport to Pimlico' 'The Lavender Hill Mob' or 'Ice Cold In Alex'
'Planet of the Apes' - obviously the original, my one choice for sci-fi, though I could equally have chosen '2001' or 'Soylent Green'
Emir Kusturica's 'Underworld' - can you get a bleaker tale about the Balkans. Alternatively his 'Black Cat, White Cat' standing in for fun and stupid shit.
'The Devil Rides Out' - not a great film, but here representing all of those great and not so good Hammer Horror films I devoured as a child.
'Casino' - a great film, 'Goodfellas' is probably better, but i like this ones toned down, less musical 'realism'. Equally 'The Departed' could have been the choice.
'Longitude' - well made and acted, but her because it tells a great story about scientific progress against ignorance and it here as my one choice of costume dramas
edit:
scrap this choice as it's no.11 and such a weak group.
'The Wall' - the best rock opera, music film, though I could have equally chosen 'The Blues Brothers' - though arguable it's really weakest category here.
I should have chosen one for love stories and another for romantic comedies, but couldn't think of any off the top of my head.
And obviously I've missed out who genres like US musicals/dance films, film noir etc.
edit 2:
Ten really is too limiting isn't it, make it a dozen or at most your favourite twenty films. Ad I've missed out the likes of Robert De Niro's 'A Bronx Tale' which whilst not one of the greats, is nearly the most perfectly crafted films I've seen. Also I really should have chosen a Coen brothers film. :(
I separate them into lists of top ten films made before I was born, top ten made afterward, and, by necessity, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Indiana Jones movies.
After the top 5, it's amorphous, but I'll run with a loose top 10 made before I was born:
10. Sanjuro
9. Lawrence of Arabia
8. Carrie
7. Things To Come
6. Harakiri
5. The General
4. The Invisible Man
3. Rope
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
1. Flash Gordon
(Design For Living and Apocalypse Now are right at no. 10.)
The "after I was born" I won't be held to after the top 3:
10. Evil Dead 2
9. Eyes Wide Shut
8. The Little Mermaid
7. Death Proof
6. Explorers
5. Speed Racer
4. Tron: Legacy
3. Gattaca
2. The Truman Show
1. Gravity
(Transformers: The Movie and Pain & Gain are the very close runners-up to no. 10, but neither have gotten me laid three times.)
P.S.: FU Mongers.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Pulp Fiction
Star Wars original trilogy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Princess Bride
Casablanca
Last Crusade
Temple of Doom
Can't decide among these for slot 10:
American Beauty
Clueless
The Dark Knight
Double Indemnity
The General
The Godfather
The Great Escape
Inception
Mean Girls
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Rashomon
BTW, this is not a top 20 list. That would require a lot more tricky comparisons. For instance, I know I like The Godfather better than Goodfellas and The Great Escape better than The Dirty Dozen. That doesn't mean I like all those other films better necessarily. The top 9 was pretty easy in comparison.
1.) La passion et la mort de Jeanne d'Arc; Dreyer's masterpiece, the slow build up to the fast paced conclusion is a wonderful example of pacing. Flaconetti's acting is incredible.
2.) The General; Buster Keaton has a lot of strong contenders, but this is his best. Such a simple structure and yet so many laughs.
3.) Aresnal; this rather than Earth is Dovzhenko masterpiece; brilliantly set up, well paced, folkloric and it even has a cavalry.
4.) Der letzte Mann; almost perfect with no title cards (until the tacked on happy ending) and camera that captures the mood of every scene brilliantly.
5.) The Gold Rush; Chaplin was never funnier, and never more able to milk laughs out of tragedy.
6.) Die Büchse der Pandora; Louise Brooks performance as somehow both naive and knowing makes this tale of sinister sexuality brilliant.
7.) Safety Last; In his silent features Harold Lloyd will sometimes let the gag run on too long; here, though, letting the building climbing gag go on and on works perfectly.
8.) Man with the Movie Camera; the best "City" movie, this is dynamic and brilliant in every way that the Soviet Union was not.
9.) Metropolis; what Lang was trying to do in Die Nibelungen he actually did in this film; big, bold and operatic.
10.) The Last Command; wonderfully ironic premise with a slam-bang ending. Hollywood's "Timely" films were seldom better.
Quote from: Savonarola on July 25, 2014, 04:06:29 PM
1.) La passion et la mort de Jeanne d'Arc; Dreyer's masterpiece, the slow build up to the fast paced conclusion is a wonderful example of pacing. Flaconetti's acting is incredible.
That is pretty awesome. :)
I'm sure I can't remember many of my favourites on the spot, so I'm going with films that made a big impression on me, first 12 that come to mind.
1 2001 a Space Odyssey
2 Dr Strangelove
3 Dr Zhivago
4 Paths of Glory
5 Lawrence of Arabia
6 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
7 Twelve Monkeys
8 Monty Python and the Holy Grail
9 Der Himmel uber Berlin
10 Stalingrad
11 Pan's Labyrinth
12 La Stanza del Figlio
edit: 13 Cidade de Deus should be in there too, scared the crap out of me.
Some excellent choices here, nice to be reminded of good accessible films one should watch again, rather than just a critics choice list.
Schindler's List
The Godfather I & II
Pulp Fiction
Star Wars Trilogy
Once Upon A Time in the West
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
The Matrix
The Departed
Terminator 2
Back to Future
Das Boot
Blade Runner
Yeah, that's thirteen. So what.
Night of the Hunter
Alien
Boogie Nights
The Apartment
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Le Samourai
Vertigo
Fanny and Alexander
Don't Look Now
Chunking Express
Cargo 200
Detour
I'll just make a list of ten.
1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. The Godfather
3. Dr. Zhivago
4. Come and see
5. Stalingrad (the German one)
6. Der Untergang
7. Cinema Paradiso
9. Kramer vs Kramer
10. Mean Streets
Changes too much as I remember one film or another, but this instant it would include
1984
Dr. Strangelove
2001
Alien
Citizen Kane
They Might Be Giants
Clockwork Orange
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
Bladerunner
Buckaroo Banzai
I'm in an SF mood, it appears.
It seems as if I took my war movie supplement pills as well. War. Divorce. Some guy who likes movies. The Cosa Nostra. Youth violence. Yeah, I'm fairly certain I'm not all that mentally healthy.
Quote from: Norgy on July 25, 2014, 06:07:03 PM
It seems as if I took my war movie supplement pills as well. War. Divorce. Some guy who likes movies. The Cosa Nostra. Youth violence. Yeah, I'm fairly certain I'm not all that mentally healthy.
That's a little harsh on yourself, maybe you just gravitate towards films that really stir one's soul, rather than just pure entertainment ?
In alphabetical order, avoiding duplicate directors/leading actors:
Akira
A Night at the Opera
Blade Runner
Brazil
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Das Boot
Dr. Strangelove
Fight Club
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Grosse Pointe Blank
Kung Fu Hustle
Miller's Crossing
Pan's Labyrinth
Princess Mononoke
Ratatouille
This is Spinal Tap
Trainspotting
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Yojimbo
Young Frankenstein
The next 20 (cause I couldn't stop):
Adaptation
Fifth Element
City of God
Glengarry Glen Ross
Good Night, and Good Luck
Heathers
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Life of Brian
LotR: Two Towers
Office Space
Out of Sight
Pi
Princess Bride
Repo Man
Run Lola Run
Rounders
Shaun of the Dead
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Thank You for Smoking
Toy Story 2
I'm a complete sucker for sci-fi, so it dominates my list.
8 1/2
Blade Runner
All That Jazz
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Empire Strikes Back
Brazil
Solaris (Tarkovski's, not the yank remake)
Once Upon a Time in the West
Groundhog Day
Raiders of the lost Ark
Even 8 1/2 has a tangential sci-fi motif!
EDIT: I can't leave out these two, so I'll make it a Top 12 list:
Apocalypse Now
Goodfellas
I wanna see All That Jazz. A musical with Roy Scheider? SOLD.
Also 8 1/2, though less so.
Also Night of the Hunter, though this relates to Psellus' list. But Cargo 200? "You probably haven't heard of it. It's pretty obscure." HIPSTER.
Basic Instinct
Alien
Amelie
The Last Seduction
Velvet Goldmine
Princess Mononoke
About Time (or interchangeably Love Actually)
Kill Bill Volume 1
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
Weekend (2011 film)
Maybe also:
A Knight's Tale
Clue
Evita
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Vanity Fair
Trainspotting
I Heart Huckabees
Mildred Pierce
The Royal Tenenbaums
And then to add a 21st - Devdas (2002)
Quote from: Ideologue on July 25, 2014, 07:47:11 PM
I wanna see All That Jazz. A musical with Roy Scheider? SOLD.
that would have been on my list in another 20 minutes. Brilliant flick, even if I admit that i didn't understand it.
Quote from: Ideologue on July 25, 2014, 07:47:11 PM
I wanna see All That Jazz. A musical with Roy Scheider? SOLD.
The closing song is worth a million bucks. One of my favorite moments in the story of film. And yeah, Roy completely owns the film.
Triumph of the Will
Quote from: celedhring on July 25, 2014, 08:07:25 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on July 25, 2014, 07:47:11 PM
I wanna see All That Jazz. A musical with Roy Scheider? SOLD.
The closing song is worth a million bucks. One of my favorite moments in the story of film. And yeah, Roy completely owns the film.
It's on a "very long wait" on Netflix. Also on a "very long wait"? Hardcore. Which has been sitting at the top of my queue since, um, 2012, I think. :lol:
Well I guess I know what to blind buy during the Criterion sale in November. :D It's worked out for me so far with this one.
Favorite movies at the moment:
His Girl Friday
LA Confidential
La salaire de la peur
Kickass
Cidade de Deus
Seven Samurai
Drive
Fucking Amal
Almost Famous
Miller´s Crossing
No particular order;
Alien
The Man Who Would be King
All Quiet on the Western Front
Shawshank
Strangelove
Seven Samurai
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Blade Runner
Goodfellas
Unforgiven
Quote from: grumbler on July 25, 2014, 08:00:10 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on July 25, 2014, 07:47:11 PM
I wanna see All That Jazz. A musical with Roy Scheider? SOLD.
that would have been on my list in another 20 minutes. Brilliant flick, even if I admit that i didn't understand it.
It's just a badly disguised hyper-stylized bio of Bob Fosse. [spoiler]He was genuinely afraid he had few years left after suffering a stroke, so he made that film pretty much to come to terms with his demons. He paints himself as a brilliant artist (and tbf, he was), but a complete cuntish person; throughout the film he's given several chances to "repent" but he always chooses to be amoral yet successful, slowly killing himself in the process. A lot of stuff in the film is drawn from events in his life; in particular how he treated his wife. At the end, he finally dies and asks for forgiveness in the final number, but regrets nothing. It's a testament, extremely self-centered and masturbatory, but oh, so brilliant and entertaining.[/spoiler]
I'm not sure there's much point to it, because my list would change every time someone asked me, but for right now, in no particular order:
Jaws
Raiders of the Lost Ark
True Grit
Airplane!
As Good As It Gets
Star Wars
The Green Mile
Die Hard
This Is Spinal Tap
The Maltese Falcon
I liked Zanza's list to start when I read it a while back and I'm not going to read the rest of y'all's knuckleheadhed lists.
I wanted to pitch The Exorcist. Just watched it again on cable. The only movie that has ever made me lose my shit as an adult. The only horror movie that has ever taken seriously the existence of the Devil.
Also Les Ailles de Desir/Die Himmel uber Berlin. The movie that does the best job ever of expressing the magical feeling of falling in love.
Most of the movies mentioned, at least over 90 %, I have seen and enjoyed.
The Exorcist is a good call, Yi. That movie was bloody frightening the first time I saw it.
The Exorcist is an amazing film. Strange how Friedkin's career went down so quickly.
The Killer
La grande illusion
No or the vain glory to command
2001 A Space Odyssey
Blade Runner
Das Boot
Capitaine Conan
Casablanca
Aguirre der Zorn Gottes
The Lives of Others
It Happened here
The Wild Bunch
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (any dollar trilogy by Leone in fact)
Good Bye Lenin
To Live and Die in L.A (French Connection is more famous and older but I went for something more original)
Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rambo (First Blood)
Nico/Above the Law (not enough left-wing action movies with a back then non-obese Steven Seagal)
The Prize of Danger (Le prix du danger plagiarised by The Running Man)
Robocop
Total Recall
The Thing (Carpenter's remake)
So bad it's good movie list
Ninja Terminator
Samson's Revenge (great naive movie against Dutch imperialism)
Blood Freaks
Samurai Cop
Hard Ticket to Hawaii (Andy Sidaris deserved a mention)
Black Ninja
Warrior of the Lost World
Delta Force (insert any Cannon Chuck Norris Cannon period movie if you disagree)
Rambo III
Turkish Star Wars (any Çüneyt Arkin movie basically)
Ninja III the domination (being available in glorious blu-ray helped as well)
Bridge of Dragons (Dolph's finest worst hour, along Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa)
Parole de Flic (Delon's vigilante movie based on Magnum Force)
Escape from the Bronx
White Fire/Le Diamant/Vivre pour survivre
Starcrash (compulsory italian Star Wars rip-off with David Hasselhoff and a lost Shakespearian actor David Plummer plus Caroline Munro a James Bond girl)
For your Height only/Agent 3 1/2 (any Philippino midget secret agent basically)
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on July 26, 2014, 06:58:04 AM
The Prize of Danger (Le prix du danger plagiarised by The Running Man)
Earlier still you had Das Millionenspiel.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066079/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Funnily, the game show host later went on to become a popular show host on German TV.
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on July 26, 2014, 06:58:04 AM
.....
For your Height only/Agent 3 1/2 (any Philippino midget secret agent basically)
Nice list Duque, some I shall have to check out.
Just love this as a genre of films. :)
Quote from: Syt on July 26, 2014, 07:11:35 AM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on July 26, 2014, 06:58:04 AM
The Prize of Danger (Le prix du danger plagiarised by The Running Man)
Earlier still you had Das Millionenspiel.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066079/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Funnily, the game show host later went on to become a popular show host on German TV.
I might buy it while I'm still in Germany.
I reckon it's inspired from the same short story by Sheckley. It's just that for the Hollywood movie the producers acquired the rights of the Stephen king book but then took whole sections of of the Prix du Danger without due credit. They were sued and lost after 10 years of sueing.
Interesting. :)
Thought about it, and my personal all-time, fave-rave, stuck-on-a-desert-island list:
Rocky
Fight Club
The Bedford Incident
Primer
Planet of the Apes (original, duh)
La Femme Nikita
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Rushmore
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
West Side Story
Danton
Fight Club
The Godfather I and II (I consider them both as one uber-flim)
Young Frankenstein
Zulu
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 28, 2014, 08:52:42 PM
The Bedford Incident
Read the book; it was pretty good. Interesting idea, re-doing Moby Dick as a Cold War thriller. Haven't seen the movie.
Quote from: dps on July 28, 2014, 10:37:04 PM
Interesting idea, re-doing Moby Dick as a Cold War thriller.
Elaborate.
Quote from: Ed Anger on July 25, 2014, 08:10:14 PM
Triumph of the Will
I liked the part with the Nazis. :yes:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 28, 2014, 08:52:42 PM
Rushmore
This,my wife says it's excellent but I never got to watch it;
some of my favourites, on top of my head:
Alien
Blade Runner (NOT the director's cut)
Manhunter
Clerks
Rocky Horror Picture Show
For a few dollars more
Hollywood Party
The Elephant Man
Memento
The Godfather II
L.
Quote from: The Brain on July 29, 2014, 05:54:57 AM
Quote from: dps on July 28, 2014, 10:37:04 PM
Interesting idea, re-doing Moby Dick as a Cold War thriller.
Elaborate.
Saw the movie a few years ago, I don't know how closely it follows the book but [spoiler]a psycho destroyer captain chases a Soviet submarine and recklessly escalates the situation.[/spoiler]
Some of my favorites:
Schindler's List
The Princess Bride
Lord of the Ring: The last one, Return of the King, is my favorite of them all.
Patton
A Knight's Tale
Zulu
Transformers
Quote from: The Brain on July 29, 2014, 05:54:57 AM
Quote from: dps on July 28, 2014, 10:37:04 PM
Interesting idea, re-doing Moby Dick as a Cold War thriller.
Elaborate.
An obsessed destroyer captain hunts a Soviet submarine in the North Atlantic. It doesn't go well.
2001
Conan the Barbarian
Fargo
Goodfellas
High Noon
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Patton
Pulp Fiction
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rocky
Shawshank Redemption
Spartacus
I just watched Fargo last month. Still a great film. I noticed it was labeled a "dark comedy", which struck me as weird. It doesn't seem like a comedy to me. I guess we are suppose to laugh at the silly accent people have. The accents are bit overdone, but otherwise the characters seemed very real and interesting. To me it appeared to be the story of a pathetic criminal who runs a scheme that goes badly almost immediately and the competent, and good-hearted police officer who foils it.
Jerry Lundegaard is so inept that his actions are laughable. The interactions between Steve Buscemi and the giant Norwegian dude are funny too. WHERE IS... PANCAKE HOUSE!
All the interactions are funny. Shep Proudfoot being interrogated, Steve Buscemi bitching at the parking lot guy, Steve chatting up his hooker, lunch with the Asian guy, etc. etc., etc.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 29, 2014, 03:09:43 PM
All the interactions are funny. Shep Proudfoot being interrogated, Steve Buscemi bitching at the parking lot guy, Steve chatting up his hooker, lunch with the Asian guy, etc. etc., etc.
I forgot about the parking lot guy and the Asian guy. 'Steve chatting up his hooker' - you mean in the hotel room right, when they were watching Letterman or Leno or whatever?
Jose Feliciano covering Light My Fire in the VIP Room.
Very nice movie. And while we're at the Coens, The Big Lebowski shoould enter my top ten.
L.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on July 28, 2014, 08:52:42 PM
Thought about it, and my personal all-time, fave-rave, stuck-on-a-desert-island list:
Rocky
Fight Club
The Bedford Incident
Primer
Planet of the Apes (original, duh)
La Femme Nikita
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Rushmore
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
West Side Story
Danton
Fight Club
The Godfather I and II (I consider them both as one uber-flim)
Young Frankenstein
Zulu
Dammit, I left off
Shakes the Clown.
Tough. Off the top of my head:
A Matter of Life and Death
Casablanca
It's a Wonderful Life
Battle of Algiers
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
West Side Story
Apocalypse Now
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Last of England
Rocky
La Haine
Secrets and Lies
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Carrie
Ring (Japanese)
Last of the Mohicans
Heat
From Russia With Love
Edit: Fuck it - Wicker Man and Theatre of Blood as well.
Off the top of my head.
Was that list off the top of your head?
You know, it was.
A lot of room on the top of your head.
Got a capacious head.
Quote from: Sheilbh on August 02, 2014, 05:18:46 PM
Wicker Man
Yeah Nicholas Cage was great in that huh?
You people disgust me.
My lists were unimpeachable.
Quote from: Ideologue on August 09, 2014, 08:40:46 PM
My lists were unimpeachable.
Ahem, Speed Racer? :wacko:
Ide should be sent to Gitmo for that one.
Only the original matrix came close to the truth.
The matrix is everywhere.
It is your cultural perception of reality.
It colors your decision making process.
It is the filter placed upon your eyes by the education you received.
The filter beteween you and reality.
We all have it, and none of us can escape it.
From our ideal of what an ideal breakfast should be, to what should be the right decision in combat.
We are all victims of our cultures, and we are all doomed to misunderstand people from other cultrues.
Quote from: Sheilbh on August 02, 2014, 05:18:46 PM
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I assume you're thinking about the 70s one, not the new one?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on August 09, 2014, 08:56:54 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on August 09, 2014, 08:40:46 PM
My lists were unimpeachable.
Ahem, Speed Racer? :wacko:
Why do you hate visually dynamic parables about fair play and family togetherness?
Quote from: Ideologue on August 10, 2014, 02:31:43 PM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on August 09, 2014, 08:56:54 PM
Ahem, Speed Racer? :wacko:
Why do you hate visually dynamic parables about fair play and family togetherness?
Because it's a visually dynamic piece of shit that could induced epileptic fits in anybody other than Japanese Assburger Millennials hopped up on freebased Ritalin?
I'm terrible at these.
But I'll have a go.
This is not of all time. Just at the moment. It will change over the course of my life.
In absolutely no order:
Gattaca
Scott Pilgrim
Detroit Metal City
Spinal Tap
Zulu
Iron Man
The Matrix
Get Carter
Kes
Fight Club
Moon
Pulp Fiction
The Great Escape
Day of the Jackal
Dog Day Afternoon
Enter the Dragon
Highlander
Bill and Ted
Life of Brian
Rumble in the Bronx
Quote from: Norgy on August 10, 2014, 02:26:02 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on August 02, 2014, 05:18:46 PM
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I assume you're thinking about the 70s one, not the new one?
What was wrong with the new one?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 10, 2014, 03:54:46 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on August 10, 2014, 02:31:43 PM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on August 09, 2014, 08:56:54 PM
Ahem, Speed Racer? :wacko:
Why do you hate visually dynamic parables about fair play and family togetherness?
Because it's a visually dynamic piece of shit that could induced epileptic fits in anybody other than Japanese Assburger Millennials hopped up on freebased Ritalin?
Olds gonna Old.
I don't believe I'm in the minority around here when it comes to that shitburger. You couldn't have worst taste in movies if Kimba the White Lion dragged his furry anime ass across your tongue.
Quote from: crazy canuck on August 10, 2014, 09:42:25 PM
Quote from: Norgy on August 10, 2014, 02:26:02 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on August 02, 2014, 05:18:46 PM
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I assume you're thinking about the 70s one, not the new one?
Nothing really wrong. Personally, I prefer Alec Guinness as Smiley to Gary Oldman.
What was wrong with the new one?
Personally I think the novel worked better as a mini-series than as a film, even if the film was good in itself. There's a crapload of backstory, nuance and detail on Cold War spionage that was cut off the film for obvious reasons, that I found fascinating in the BBC series.
Plus Guiness as Smiley is genius casting, indeed.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 10, 2014, 10:29:06 PM
I don't believe I'm in the minority around here when it comes to that shitburger. You couldn't have worst taste in movies if Kimba the White Lion dragged his furry anime ass across your tongue.
I just got done with a highly positive review of an Edward G. Robinson movie. I bet you like Edward G. Robinson.
Godfather 1 & 2
Pulp Fiction
Fargo
Kind Hearts & Coronets
The Maltese Falcon
Dr Strangelove
It's a Wonderful Life
Trainspotting
Breakfast at Tiffanys
Life of Brian
Quote from: celedhring on August 11, 2014, 02:37:57 AM
Personally I think the novel worked better as a mini-series than as a film, even if the film was good in itself. There's a crapload of backstory, nuance and detail on Cold War spionage that was cut off the film for obvious reasons, that I found fascinating in the BBC series.
Plus Guiness as Smiley is genius casting, indeed.
All true. But I already know the story. I've read the book and seen the series.
I think the film is perfect though. It's very dense and subtle about the story which I think doesn't help people who don't know it. But if you do it's very enjoyable reading between the lines, as you do with Le Carre and it's got some brilliant performances and the Christmas party scene (all of them) is one of my favourites.
Fuck youall!!!
I think the Carlos miniseries would be up there for me if you count it as one film. Or 3 films, actually.
Lawrence of Arabia
Citizen Kane
In the Heat of the Night
The Empire Strikes Back
Miller's Crossing
The Big Sleep
Casablanca
M
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
Goodfellas
The Incredibles
A Few Good Men
The Battle of Algiers
The Godfather II
Doctor Zhivago
In no particular order, and with no particular deep thought behind it (or as Sheilbh would say: "off the top of my head"):
the Celebration - I was amazed when I saw it. "They can do that?" Amazing and hilarious and profoundly touching at the same time, once you get past the first few minutes of shaky cam annoyance.
Casablanca - I always have time to watch it. Coincidentally, it is my mother-in-law's favourite film too.
the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - the score, the actors, the cinematography... so much yes.
Pulp Fiction - another film that felt like a revolution at the time, and always watchable.
Old Boy - I didn't know what to expect, and it delivered. Korean cinema has changed since those days, it seems.
Bridge Over the River Kwai - a classic.
Seven Samurai - there's been times where I've found it a little slow and plodding, and I've lacked patience with the film. Not anymore.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - I feel the same way about this film as I do about the great spaghetti Western epics; pure love.
Once Upon a Time in the West - another wonderful adventure film.
Romper Stomper - youth alienation and skinheads in Australia. It's my personal Clockwork Orange.
Quadrophenia - huge cultural influence on a bunch of my youth, even though it precedes it by decades.
Infernal Affairs - intense and nuanced, with excellent performances. This was the first Chinese movie that I really enjoyed.
the Election (aka Triad Election) - my personal favourite from the HK gangster film genre. More political and personal; brutal enough, but less showy than many of them.
Princess Bride - hillarious. Perfect.
Kiki's Delivery Service - my favourite of Miyazaki's oeuvre, though most of them are wonderful. Princess Mononoke is also up there.
In the Mood for Love - I just love the set-dec and costuming so much. It's a lovely little story too.
QuoteRomper Stomper
Very good movie.
Quote from: 11B4V on August 15, 2014, 06:26:37 PM
QuoteRomper Stomper
Very good movie.
"We came to wreck everything. And ruin your life. God sent us."
Quote from: Jacob on August 15, 2014, 06:50:15 PM
Quote from: 11B4V on August 15, 2014, 06:26:37 PM
QuoteRomper Stomper
Very good movie.
"We came to wreck everything. And ruin your life. God sent us."
Jacob, nice list. :cool: