Movies I Like
Aug 04 '05
The Bottom Line A list of movies I can pop into the machine anytime and become enthralled no matter how many times I've seen them.
I like movies. I review movies because I like to remember the parts that attracted me to them and writing it down helps me do that. I am gratified to have so many fine movie reviews to read here on epinions.com and am frankly re-animated when I see such members as Stephen_Murray and metalluk who put out quality as well as quantity, and eplovejoy who has written several inspiring compilations concerning film noir, a great genre that I love to watch myself. If I didn’t mention your name, please don’t think I don’t like your reviews, I was just stunned by some of the recent assemblages posted by the writers I mentioned.
I’m not going to kid you that the following are the "greatest movies of all time," although an argument could be made for several if not most of them, but these are movies I LIKE to watch. I can slip one of these into the old player any time and get lost in the world they create. So without further ado, here is a baker’s dozen (or so) of my favorite flicks.
The Siege of Firebase Gloria – "We're going to refortify this $#!+hole and protect it like it was your daughter's cherry - I'm not gonna die here!" - a harrowing film, starring R. Lee Ermey and Wings Hauser that shows the horrific time of the Tet Offensive of 1968, a time of trial for America, and a war we still do not fully understand. R. Lee Ermey plays the Marine Sergeant Major in charge of a forgotten firebase somewhere in Vietnam that sustains an all out attack by the Dong Nai Regiment of North Vietnamese regulars, some 4,000 strong. Dialog is salty and appropriate to the situation and the characters rivet themselves indelibly into your memory. You may find your hands clutching the arms of your seat, white knuckled as you watch the unceasing attacks by one of the toughest enemies America ever faced.
Khartoum We sent Gordon; we did all we could." - National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston plays General Charles George Gordon, sent as minister without portfolio in a vain diplomatic gesture to save Khartoum in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. His opposition is the charismatic Mahdi (the Expected One) played by the inimitable Sir Laurence Olivier. Watch for Sir Ralph Richardson in a superb performance as the conniving politician William Gladstone, as well as a bevy of heavyweight British thespians in the supporting parts. Heston makes a great stuffy Englishman, the sign to me that his acting is highly underrated these days. Fans of Lawrence of Arabia will like this one. This is one of the best.
The Maltese Falcon "This is genuine coin of the realm. With a dollar of this, you can buy ten dollars of talk." So you like film noir? Why not start with the original? Yes, the French coined the term but the Americans invented the genre. Watch the superb collaboration between Humphrey Bogart and John Huston showing unlikable characters taking the fast lane to hell, based on the famous Dashiell Hammett novel. Great support from Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cooke, Jr., and Walter Huston. Superior photography, lighting, and score.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre "Can you stake a fellow American to a meal?" Another collaboration between the dream team of Humphrey Bogart and John Huston that studies the character of man when the chips are down. Possibly the finest movie ever made. Bogart and Tim Holt are good natured but lazy layabouts until they meet up with dynamic prospector Walter Huston in Tampico Mexico Watch the men change before your eyes once gold is discovered in the wilds of the untamable Sierra Madre. And no, the police don't need no "steenkin badges" there in the outback, either. Story, cinematography, score, and supporting cast of the highest quality.
The Adventures of Robin Hood "You speak treason!" ... "Fluently!" One of the original TechniColor extravaganzas that still delivers the goods in the action adventure genre. Fighting oppression with the good men of Sherwood combined with a love story for the ages. Who can resist Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland as the perfect couple - they had so many fine films together? Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale, Claude Rains, and Eugene Pallette provide a perfect frame for the action and the brilliant TechniColor cinematography is still the finest entertainment ever. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's memorable score, and Michael Kurtiz's muscular direction make this a perennial family favorite.
They Died With Their Boots On "We ride to hell - or to glory - it depends on your point of view." The definitive General Custer film, complete with enough screaming redskins to give you nightmares for a week. Anthony Quinn in an early appearance as Crazy Horse. Ya Ta Hey! Charley Grapewin, Sydney Greenstreet, Arthur Kennedy and Olivia DeHavilland join Errol Flynn as the fightingest (or craziest) general the Civil War ever produced. Yeah - they fictionalized it - so what? actually nobody knows what really happened there on the Rosebud Ridge back on Sunday June 25, 1876, but Raoul Walsh did the best job of showing what might have happened there on that lonely day when Custer's command rode (or were driven)) into history.
Black Hawk Down It's all about the men beside you; that's all it is." A story of modern war, based on the Mark Bowden best seller of the same name. Ridley Scott shows he knows what esprit de corps and comraderie is all about in the story of the peacekeeping mission that went horribly wrong. Josh Hartnett headlines an ensemble cast who portray the men of the 160th SOAR Rangers and Delta Force caught in a maelstrom of events far beyond their control in far off Mogadishu. Absolutely top of the line storytelling with an inimitable Hans Zimmer score that will send chills up your backbone. If you want to find out if you have what it takes to be a team player, this movie's for you. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The Gunfight at the OK Corral "There's always a man faster on the draw than you are, and the more you use a gun, the sooner you're gonna run into that man." The best version of the many on the most famous gunfight in the old wild west. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as the stern Wyatt Earp and rum soaked Doc Holliday, respectively, provide superior performances as the unlikely friends who finally decide "enough is enough" and head to that fatal encounter. Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, and Dennis Hopper provide great support under the able direction of John Sturges. In color, with music by Dimitri Tiompkin.
Ride the High Country "I want to know if you red-necked peckerwoods are too chicken-gutted to finish this thing in the open?". Like Sam Peckinpah's superb and better known The Wild Bunch, this film follows a pair of aging protagonists facing the end of the wild west, touching on themes of honor, loyalty, and change, themes that Peckinpah explored again and again. Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea are the cowboys who leave the squalid plain for the clean air of the High Country only to find that evil exists there, as well. Mariette Hartley, James Drury, and Peckinpah regulars Warren Oates and L. Q. Jones provide sterling support for the action. Unbelievably fine Lucien Ballard cinematography and George Bassman score make this fully equal to The Wild Bunch as one of the greatest fin de siecle westerns.
Shane "A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that." Is Shane a ghost or is he a living man? A stranger rides into town and helps right some wrongs before riding into the sunset. Alan Ladd portrays possibly the most perfect hero in film history under George Stevens' able direction. With Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Brandon DeWilde, and Jean Arthur under the Big Sky of Wyoming. Beautiful Loyal Griggs cinematography and Victor Young provides a fitting score to make a film the whole family will love and watch again and again.
Red Heat "I'm gonna get us something from all four food groups: hamburgers, french fries, coffee and doughnuts." Arnold Schwarzeneggar and James Belushi do this fresh take on the buddy cop genre when a Russian cop and a Chicago detective team up to capture an international menace. You won't know whether to roll on the floor or perch on the edge of your seat as the laughs and thrills alternate at breakneck pace. A highly underrated film that more people should see. Arnold has not often been accused of acting, but in this one he proves he can. Directed by Walter Hill, lensed by Matthew F. Leonetti, and scored by James Horner. Supporting cast includes Ed O'Ross, Larry Fishburne, Peter Boyle, Gina Gershon, and Brion Jones.
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold "I reserve the right to be ignorant. That's the Western way of life." Unquestionably the finest spy film I've ever seen with the emphasis on emptiness and deception that will make you forget about "Bond. James Bond." Richard Burton plays the burnt out spy who must stay "out in the cold a little longer" in his finest performance. Cyril Cusack, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, and Peter Van Eyck head a stellar supporting cast. Burton and film should have gotten Oscars, instead the statuettes went to 'The Sound of Music" and Lee Marvin for "Cat Ballou." Directed by Martin Ritt with an evocative spacious score by Sol Kaplan and lensing by Oswald Morris. I can watch this one again and again and draw new insights each time.
Paths of Glory "If those sweethearts won't face German bullets, they'll face French ones!" Kirk Douglas in a story that will tear your heart out. France 1916, Douglas' regiment is ordered to take an impossible objective and then punished when it fails. The best film depicting trench warfare and the senseless sacrifice of thousands of men on the Western Front. Even better are the behind the scenes machinations by the French General Staff who are at best dilletants, and at worst criminals. The film that made Stanley Kubrick a household word. Ensemble cast includes Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, Wayne Morris, and Timothy Carey. Cinematography by George Krause perfectly captures Kubrick's vision while the score by Gerald Fried complements the action admirably.
The Big Easy "Relax darlin, this is the Big Easy. People got a certain way of doin things down here." Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin ignite the screen in this story of corruption in the Crescent City and a superior love story. Zydeco music drives the action along with nary a pause under Jim McBride's able direction. Ned Beatty, Grace Zabriskie, John Goodman, and Ebbe Roe Smith headline the supporting cast. If you haven't seen The Big Easy yet, it is destined to become one of your favorites. I gah-Ron-Tee.
Sharky’s Machine Burt Reynold's answer to Dirty Harry, this dark drama set in Atlanta explores a high priced call girl racket run by organized crime. This film sets the standard for police dramas and shows what a fine director Burt Reynolds could be had he continued down that path. It took his pal Clint Eastwood several times before he got a film this RIGHT. Supporting cast to die for, including Charles Durning, Brian Keith, Richard Libertini, Vittorio Gassman, Henry Silva, and the mysterious and sexy Rachel Ward. Tremendous dark cinematography by William A. Fraker punctuated by a delicious jazz score selected by Burt himself. If you're a detective drama fan and haven't yet seen Sharky's Machine, you ought to be under arrest.
Well, there you have them. There could have been dozens more, so don't think I neglected your favorite, but this thing was just getting too long. I hope I named some of your favorites and given you a few to add to your viewing queue.
Thanks for reading!
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.