howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Not even heard of hald of them, let alone knowingly seen ANY of them !!
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Obviously a very incorrect list as there is no mention of Zulu or Casablanca (the film that invented so many cliches). I do like Vertigo and 2001 but Citizen Kane is another of those films that critics love because it is so boring it must be brilliant. I put Lost in Translation firmly in this category.
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Yes I heard this mentioned on the news. There are only three what you might call commercial films there...Vertigo, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and The Searchers. So it is clearly a list for the purists, the talking heads of cinema, or the talking heads on cinema. Serious buffs with frowning foreheads and Buddy Holly glasses.! But the choice of Vertigo surprises me, good film alright, gorgeous use of early technicolour..almost pastel colours as I remember...but wouldnt go for it for all time choice as No 1.
The Searchers is terrific..great images in it..John Wayne silhouetted in the doorway and so on.
2001 captured the imagination at the right time...as mentioned re the music on the full moon thread...all were mad on space travel in dem thar days. The opening scene with the apes was much talked about at the time.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
I love your comment Chris about critics loving a film because it is so boring. You are sooooo right.... The most boring film I have ever watched was An English Patient, critics love it but it is the best cure for insomnia there is, dreadful film.
I agree totally about Casablanca and in particular my all time favourite, Zulu. They are right to include The Searchers in that list.
As for 2001 A Space Odyssey - that was in many ways a great film and I have it on Blu-Ray and rewatched it recently, but I am afraid it has not aged well. Those once wonderful special effects that gripped the imagination are no longer so wonderful so the film is now just another slow, slow bore.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
One further bit...I seem to remember watching 2001 in those far off days on Cinerama. Cant be certain but I think it was shown in Cinerama. Anyone else remember that? For those who dont go that far back Cinerama was a very wide screen divided into three parts as i remember with excellent sound and quite an exciting development at the time...it didnt last though.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i watched "the english patient", to be precise about half an hour before i switched off.
even more boring was "sleepless in seattle", i was snoring my head off in ilford after the first 20 minutes.
liked 2001 the music helped make it special.
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
I remember Cinerama, the best film shown in that format was How the West Was Won, the buffalo stampede stood out as almost 3D. They also did try Circlerama, where the screen was all around you and you stood in the middle. The American Tourist Office put one up in Battersea Park showing a Disney film called America the Beautiful which had an incredible scene (presumably filmed from a helicopter) diving in and around the Grand Canyon. As I was working at it (for an agency) I saw it quite a few times.
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Maybe we should have a poll on here to find out the Top Ten films people actually watch.
In no particular order:-
Zulu
Battle of Britain
Casablanca
Night at the Opera
The Alamo (the original)
Father Goose
Von Ryans Express
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Passchendaele (if you have never seen it believe me, the final scene is worth it alone)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Its a start, now who wants to suggest changes or post their own?
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
The Truman Show
Death By Numbers
The Thin Man (series)
The Bourne Trilogy
Dead On Arrival (DOA)
[that's probably more that ten]
Dang! I cannot stop there. Have you seen this 'Fantasia' type movie?...Allegro non troppo...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074121/Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,883
Mine in no particular order.........
The Pianist
Oliver
The Green Mile
Shawshank Redemption
Dirty Dancing
Saving Grace
Les Miserables (An old black and white French version)
Cat Balou
Dam Busters
Reach For The Sky
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i will have to compile a list - many already mentioned above, just to digress a steptoe and son episode from the 60's had harold take the old man to see fellini's 8 and a half in an attempt to raise their intellectual level.
they're standing in a queue at an art house cinema in soho and the next cinema was showing a porn film with a picture of a rather buxom lady outside. albert sees it and with a dirty leer says "i'd rather see her 48 and a half".
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Yes a lot of great films about...have given it a wee bit of thought and here are my ten..had a lot of enjoyment watching these over the years.
A lot of films are great at their time and you look back later and hmmm maybe not so good. I think 2001 was/is like that.
The Cinerama time was exciting..I saw How the West was Won in Cinerama too.
great stuff!
But back to the ten...
Lawrence of Arabia
you know that feeling you get when you know you are in for a big sweep of a spectacle..lovely feeling. Lawrence delivered that. Peter O'Toole's finest hour!
Gunfight at the OK Corral
great partnership of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas ( Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Couldnt resist all that oul Oirish blarney..and the scene coming through the wilds of Arizona in a storm.
The Searchers
more John Ford
The Third Man
Black and white imagery a real treat..and who can forget Orsen Welles.
The Horse Soldiers
more John Wayne a civil war western..I have a lot of westerns on the list.
Sunset Boulevard
probably the greatest one ever..surprised it wasnt on the official list from the bods with the Buddy Holly glasses.
The Great Gatsby
the one with Alan Ladd...dont go near the one with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow
Battle of Britain
as mentioned by the other guys. Good stirring war effort..spectacular.
and last but not least
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
This was probably from the era where all these kinds of films were the vogue..they were very popular for a short time...and this one was great fun. Great cast of British veterans.
I think Ive got 10 there.
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Now you've done it PaulB, the only one of your list I do not have on DVD is Those Magnificant me.. and now I really have to get it.
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,883
Chris I had real trouble trying to think which was my favourite war film and also thought of The Great Escape and Ice Cold in Alex along with 633 Squadron, Bridge On The River Kwai, Shindler's List, Mash.
Did you know in the lager drinking scene from Ice Cold in Alex John Mills was drinking real lager and had the dubious misfortune of having to do numerous takes, he was rather wobbly by the time shooting was finished.
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines pure light hearted enjoyment with baddy Terry Thomas and I love the music from excellent The Horse Soldiers.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
A family friend had a similar experience on the set of Straw Dogs, Jan. He was employed as a driver but they needed extras for the pub scene. As it was filmed in a real pub they were using real beer and he had to stand behind the door drinking a pint. By the end of the shoot they had to order taxi's to take the drivers home.
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
as mentioned by paul "sunset boulevard" has been left out for some inexplicable reason, another one from that time was "double indemnity" before that fritz lang's "metropolis.
later there was "gone with the wind" which hasn't been mentioned yet then in the 50's "bad day at black rock" with spencer tracey.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Yes music played a huge part in the movies particularly at one time. Frankie Lane singing all through Gunfight at the OK Corral was particularly good. Obviously you dont get that sort of thing any more. The theme from The Magnificent Seven was hugely popular. There were many..remember the theme from A Fistful of Dollars. Going for populist scores was a way of marketing I guess. Everyone whistling or singing the tune and you just had to go find out more about the movie and the music. These themes used to go into the top twenty those days creating a great buzz of enthusiasm for one movie or other.
Here's one for Jan..are ye standing well back Jan as my singing voice wouldnt quite trouble the judges on X Factor
"
I left my love a letter in the holler of a tree-ee
I told her she could find me in..
the US Caval-reee
in the US Cavalreee
"
The Horse Soldiers
Yes indeed Howard Double Indemnity is a good one...poor Fred MacMurray
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,883
Thanks Paul, I hope you were riding your horse along the seafront weaving in and out of the benches whilst singing that.
Can I add any of the early Disney fairy tales to my list, my favourites being Snow White and Cinderella.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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