Fave Movies, Any Subject

[+ WilliamM]

Until I saw the longer director's version of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," I would have been surprised so many people included the film. Not anymore, I like it very much too.

 

I mentioned Hitchcock before, but Wenders and Antonioni both strongly deserve mention, especially Wenders.

 

I must have a very unusual sense of humor because I like Mel Brooks, but few other "comedy" films.

[+ poolboy48220]

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Always and forever. I can't count how many times I've rewatched it.

[+ José Soplanucas]

Until I saw the longer director's version of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," I would have been surprised so many people included the film. Not anymore, I like it very much too.

 

I mentioned Hitchcock before, but Wenders and Antonioni both strongly deserve mention, especially Wenders.

 

I must have a very unusual sense of humor because I like Mel Brooks, but few other "comedy" films.

 

HITCHCOCK, OF COURSE HITCHOCK!! How did I forget? And also Wells.

[+ WilliamM]

HITCHCOCK, OF COURSE HITCHOCK!! How did I forget?

 

For some years "Vertigo" and "Rear Window" were not available in theaters or video tape because of contract and other issues. I believe those issues were not resolved until after Hitch died. But he was aware that his films had becaome much more valued, especially "Vertigo."

[+ quoththeraven]

I agree about Python. I considered it, but in the end it didn't make the list. I think what he does is clever, and entertaining, but like Quoththeraven the humor just doesn't click with me like The Grand Budapest Hotel does...and you are possibly right about Juno, but like Little Miss Sunshine (which should have made the list) I thought it was a wonderful film.

 

I really like Juno, just not enough to put it at the very top. It's well-done, but the storyline is not anything extraordinary.

 

I'm ignoring the fact that centering a movie on a pregnant teen without making it into an after school special is unusual because it shouldn't be unusual. And I saw the husband misreading the situation and hitting on her miles away, meaning some of it is predictable.

 

I haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine. Must add that to my Netflix queue.

[+ glennnn]

Judy Galand's A Star is Born for which she should have received the Academy Award, Funny Girl, Chicago, Meet Me in St. Louis, Bringing Up Baby ( Cary Grant jumping in the air and yelling, "I've suddenly gone gay"), The Searchers (John Wayne's best film), Jezebel, the Little Foxes, The Apartment, and........

[+ quoththeraven]

HITCHCOCK, OF COURSE HITCHOCK!! How did I forget? And also Wells.

 

As in Orson Welles? He plays a supporting role in Compulsion, a fictionalization of the Leopold and Loeb case. For me, Citizen Kane is the most technically adept movie I'll never like because I don't care about the characters.

 

I haven't seen most Hitchcock classics, just Psycho (which naybe should be on the list), The Birds, and Rebecca.

[+ WmClarke]

Lots of great films mentioned in this thread!

 

Some of mine:

 

Tokyo Story (Ozu)

Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)

Vertigo (Hitchcock)

Psycho (Hitchcock)

Repo Man (Cox)

M (Lang)

Creepshow (Romero, written by Stephen King)

Casablanca (Curtiz)

The Maltese Falcon (Huston)

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)

Fantasia (Disney)

Nosferatu (Murnau)

Desparate Living (Waters)

Serial Mom (Waters)

Napoleon (Gance)

The Wizard of Oz (Fleming)

 

Napoleon is the only one I don't own on DVD or bluray.

[+ WmClarke]

As in Orson Welles? He plays a supporting role in Compulsion, a fictionalization of the Leopold and Loeb case. For me, Citizen Kane is the most technically adept movie I'll never like because I don't care about the characters.

 

I haven't seen most Hitchcock classics, just Psycho (which naybe should be on the list), The Birds, and Rebecca.

Agree on Citizen Kane. Just bores me to tears.

[+ WilliamM]

Judy Galand's A Star is Born for which she should have received the Academy Award, Funny Girl, Chicago, Meet Me in St. Louis, Bringing Up Baby ( Cary Grant jumping in the air and yelling, "I've suddenly gone gay"), The Searchers (John Wayne's best film), Jezebel, the Little Foxes, The Apartment, and........

 

I agree with almost all of your other picks, excellent choices.

 

But I can barely watch "A Star is Born." For me it's a boring soap opera with first-rate songs.

[curiousnomore]

ET.

Star Wars: Episode 4

Pay It Forward

Uncommon Valor.

[bigvalboy]

Just a quick comment regarding Citizen Kane. I won't argue the strength of the characters or it's technical adeptness, but I did find it fascinating, mostly because I am the quintessential California boy, who faithfully made an annual pilgrimage to Hearst Castle for the better part of 30 years. I know every turn of the old El Camino Real, every crack in that highway, every view from every corner, every tree and every season, once sailing south from San Francisco, I insisted that my friend pass San Simeon in the daylight hours so that I could see it from the sea..yes, one of my many addictions. Rightly or wrongly, I am transported there through the film. I am not defending Hearst's journalistic integrity, only the dream he built on that mountain and gave to the rest of us to enjoy, however we saw fit.

[+ quoththeraven]

Agree on Citizen Kane. Just bores me to tears.

 

I wish I could double like this post. Film critics, stop saying Citizen Kane is the best movie ever. (I was being diplomatic previously.)

 

Just because, here are the other Asian movies on my faves list:

 

Akira Kurosawa: Drunken Angel, Throne of Blood, High and Low, Yojimbo, Ran

Kenji Mizoguchi: Street of Shame

Nagisa Oshima: In the Realm of the Senses

Yasujiro Ozu: Tokyo Story

Mikio Naruse, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Stephen Chow: Kung Fu Hustle

 

Second-tier:

Ozu, Tokyo Chorus

Kurosawa, Ikiru, The Lower Depths, The Bad Sleep Well

Mizoguchi, Sansho the Bailiff

Oshima, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

 

Gee, it's not at all obvious who my favorite director is.

[+ quoththeraven]

Just a quick comment regarding Citizen Kane. I won't argue the strength of the characters or it's technical adeptness, but I did find it fascinating, mostly because I am the quintessential California boy, who faithfully made an annual pilgrimage to Hearst Castle for the better part of 30 years. I know every turn of the old El Camino Real, every crack in that highway, every view from every corner, every tree and every season, once sailing south from San Francisco, I insisted that my friend pass San Simeon in the daylight hours so that I could see it from the sea..yes, one of my many addictions. Rightly or wrongly, I am transported there through the film. I am not defending Hearst's journalistic integrity, only the dream he built on that mountain and gave to the rest of us to enjoy, however we saw fit.

 

You have personal reasons to appreciate the movie that I don't have. That's great! It's a technically well-made movie and deserves an audience. I'm just afraid that audience isn't going to include me.

 

If I were in the vicinity, I would love to see Hearst Castle. Old/historic homes are one of my passions. I even used to subscribe to Colonial Home and Victorian Home whilst living in an Edwardian-era Dutch colonial.

[+ WmClarke]

I wish I could double like this post. Film critics, stop saying Citizen Kane is the best movie ever. (I was being diplomatic previously.)

 

Just because, here are the other Asian movies on my faves list:

 

Akira Kurosawa: Drunken Angel, Throne of Blood, High and Low, Yojimbo, Ran

Kenji Mizoguchi: Street of Shame

Nagisa Oshima: In the Realm of the Senses

Yasujiro Ozu: Tokyo Story

Mikio Naruse, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Stephen Chow: Kung Fu Hustle

 

Second-tier:

Ozu, Tokyo Chorus

Kurosawa, Ikiru, The Lower Depths, The Bad Sleep Well

Mizoguchi, Sansho the Bailiff

Oshima, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

 

Gee, it's not at all obvious who my favorite director is.

I love Tokyo Story. It's my favorite movie of all time. Setsuko Hara (Noriko) just passed away in late 2015.

 

Spelled her name wrong and as I went to highlight it to correct it, autocorrect said "No Replacement Found"--so true!

[+ WilliamM]

Film critics, stop saying Citizen Kane is the best movie ever.

 

Some film critics now pick "Vertigo" over "Citizen Kane." That split started about 5 years ago. The one very unfortunate result: Kim Novak's TV appearances, especially at the Academy Awards. Novak will be 83-years old next month, but probably had way too much plastic surgery.

 

It's a shame, because men are not held to the same standard. But, elderly women are expected to look the way they did 50 plus years ago.

[+ quoththeraven]

I love Tokyo Story. It's my favorite movie of all time. Setsuko Hara (Noriko) just passed away in late 2015.

 

Spelled her name wrong and as I went to highlight it to correct it, autocorrect said "No Replacement Found"--so true!

 

While I appreciate Ozu's movies more than, say, Citizen Kane, I am definitely one of those who finds them less appealing than the more dynamic films of his contemporaries. As part of the film club that's one of the many functions of the akirakurosawa.info website I mentioned earlier, we've watched and discussed other movies related to Kurosawa's, including most of Ozu's and some Mizoguchi. Setsuko Hara starred in a couple of Kurosawa films, too; her death is noted on the website as well. Did you know that she retired at the height of her fame, refused all interviews, and became a virtual recluse?

[+ WmClarke]

Whole I appreciate Ozu's movies more than, say, Citizen Kane, I am definitely one of those who finds them less appealing than the more dynamic films of his contemporaries. As part of the film club that's one of the many functions of the akirakurosawa.info website I mentioned earlier, we've watched and discussed other movies related to Kurosawa's, including most of Ozu's and some Mizoguchi. Setsuko Hara starred in a couple of Kurosawa films, too; her death is noted on the website as well. Did you know that she retired at the height of her fame, refused all interviews, and became a virtual recluse?

Yeah, I knew that. She is such a fascinating person. Said she just worked to support her family, didn't she?

[+ quoththeraven]

Yeah, I knew that. She is such a fascinating person. Said she just worked to support her family, didn't she?

 

That, I don't remember. She was great in Ozu's films. Kurosawa directed her to be more dramatic in his movies than sge was in Ozu's; she's almost larger than life in The Idiot, which makes sense for the role, and No Regrets for our Youth, where hers is the starring role.

 

ETA: In my earlier response, I meant to mention Kyoko Kagawa, who worked with Kurosawa a fair amount. (No leading actress worked with Kurosawa as often or as consistently as Toshiro Mifune, who starred in all of Kurosawa's films from 1948 through 1965 but one, and Takashi Shimura.) She also worked with Mizoguchi. I know she's still alive; I believe she's still acting.

[+ José Soplanucas]

What about the Dogma movies? I don't remember the titles and the directors. I enjoy a lot good acting and all those movies casted wonderful performers.

[+ SundayZip]

I have too many favorite movies to list but there is one that hardly anyone has heard. I watch it maybe once a year (I have the DVD). I especially love the last 10 to 15 minutes - it makes me cry everytime. It's Broken English, staring Parker Posey.

[body2body]

I'm so happy to find that Japanese films are being discussed. I remember seeing Ugetsu on TV in L.A. back in the 60's. I had never seen anything so exquisite. I still cherish it, and watch it on DVD. Back in the 80s there was a Mizoguchi film festval and I got see many films, each of which impressed me. The Life of Oharu is so stunning, and so emotionally draining that I have to be careful about who I view it with. Tokyo Story is another favorite which I stumbled on TCM one night while channel surfing. I feel a long night exploring on YouTube coming on.

[N13]

Woman in the Dunes

[tyro]

Dayum. Mizz T feels like a dumb 'Murikin (sp?) after reading this thread...

T

[+ WmClarke]

I have too many favorite movies to list but there is one that hardly anyone has heard. I watch it maybe once a year (I have the DVD). I especially love the last 10 to 15 minutes - it makes me cry everytime. It's Broken English, staring Parker Posey.

I love Parker Posey. I will have to check that one out.