Miscellaneous Thoughts on Film

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

My kind of film. Even people who screw up their lives can still do some good and get things done. A riveting, crescendo of an ending too.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

One of my favorite scenes from a movie that has a number of great scenes.

“I looked at the stars and considered how awful it would be for a man to turn his face to them as he froze to death and see no help or pity in all the glittering multitude.”

That the read passage from Dickens (Great Expectations) so accurately describes the plight of Blacks in America pre Civil Rights days is a compelling revelation. The bonus aspect of the scene is Mr. Rose's rationale at the end. So absurd it's actually brilliant.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Great performance. Petulant, tinged-with-nastiness diva Delores Purdy's moment-in-the-spotlight wonderfully portrayed by Quentin Dean, who was 22 at the time. Diva Veruca Salt turned small town Mississippi white trash.

[Brooklyn]

In the Heat of the Night



Steiger



I well remember the original movie and novel. Also watched a few episodes of the TV show with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie. Am fascinated with that character's extraordinary evolution. In the novel (and in the movie to a lesser extent) he was presented as a brute. One with massive power and not to be messed around with. The tv show started to show a softer side to him - he admitted to having been a bigot who once burned down a synagogue and refused to take responsibility for the consequences. Thereafter, he reformed and eventually married a black woman. I cannot recall seeing any other character go through such an amazing transformation. No question that Gillespie is one of the most fascinating characters in tv history.



O'Connor

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I scroll down through this list and I see a lot of films I would never try watching because they're musicals.

Citizen Kane seems to show up #1 on most lists. Way overrated but what do I know. I've seen it a couple of time. Didn't do anything for me. Not sure I'd have the Godfather 2nd either. In fact, only three of the films in the top 10 would make my all time list.


100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)*
98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)*
96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)*
94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)*
92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)*
91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)*

90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)*
89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)*
86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)*
84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)*
83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)*
81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)*

80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)*
77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)*
75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)*
74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)*
73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)*
72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)*

70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)
68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)*
67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)*
65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983)*
64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)*
61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)*

60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)*
59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)*
58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)*
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)*
56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)*
55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)*
54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)*
53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)
52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)*

50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)*
48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)*
47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)*
45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)*
44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)*
41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)
38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)*
37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)*
36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)*
35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)*
33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)*
32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)*
29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)*
28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)*
27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)*
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)
25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)*
24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)*
23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)*
22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)*
19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)*
18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)*
15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)*
13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)*
12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)*
11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)

10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)*
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)*
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)*
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)*
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)*
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)*
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)*
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)*

* Seen

[Sam990]

I love Guy Ritchie's movies. Especially the movie Gentlemen starring Matthew McConaughey.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Roman Holiday
Sunset Boulevard
A Streetcar Named Desire
On The Waterfront
Vertigo
12 Angry Men
Peyton Place
The Long Hot Summer
Stalag 17

Not in any particular order. I didn't get all the way through the 50's but these are a few films from the decade that are solid favorites. Probably others have slipped my mind.

[Brooklyn]

Points to ponder ~ why does Dracula fear the Holy Cross?





https://www.google.com/search?q=why+doe ... e&ie=UTF-8



The cross represents the bravery of Jesus during the Crucifixion, which is the courage to die that Dracula lacks.

Dracula is frightened of death and the Cross confronts him with a man, Jesus, who was willing to die. They reject superstition and tradition in favour of something far neater, more relatable and very in fashion. Drac has a psychological hang-up.