Movies & TV Discussions

What Top 5  (or 3) Movies do you wish more people would see and talk about?

Could be old.. could be new....

1.  Recently out on DVD.  Sidnely Lumet's    Before the Devil Knows Your Dead

A really well done melodramatic crime thriller with some superb acting from Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marissa Tomei (sp?) and Ethan Hawke.   A knock-out that should given Lumet, Hoffman, Tomei and particularly Lumet OSCARS last year, but did not.  One of the very best from 2007 that I hope a lot more people see. (definitely rated R).

2. Short Cuts

Robert Altman's masterpiece.   Still controversial, and unique.  Very influential work.  Hope a lot more people see it and talk about it.

3. The King of Comedy

Scorsese's black comic Taxi Driver with DeNiro superb but surprisingly so is Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhardt.   It's ultimately a tragic sad tale and you probably have to watch it a few times to really appreciate what a masterpiece it truly is.

4.  O Lucky Man

One of the great 70s films that had been difficult to see for several years but is now out on DVD.  It's a follow-up to IF with Malcolm McDowell reprising his role.  Now out of boarding schools he joins the corporate world and goes on a serious of adventures and mis-adventures in this rule breaking, ambitious, sometimes expiremental film.  Great soundtrack by Alan Price that is integrated into the film ingeniously.  Don't miss it.

5.  Edmond

Stuart Gordon filmed one of David Mamet's early plays. It is not politically correct and is very talky and full of characters you won't like.   William H. Macy and everone else gives superb performances.  Unique, different, daring, controversial and definitely a film not made to be loved by a wide audience.  Check it out.

Also: Two Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter, King of Hearts, Harold and Maude, Where's Poppa, Mean Streets, Husbands, Contempt, L'Adventurra, Satyricon, The Stunt Man, Long Good Friday, Long Goodbye, Jason and the Argonauts, Fall of the Roman Empire.

 

In no particular order, here are some great movies that I'd like to see again if they just happened to be on TV:

Sleeper (the Woody Allen film)
Dances With Wolves
What's Up Doc? (with Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Groundhog Day
Rear Window (Grace Kelly is gorgeous!)

--Bob

ChrisJarmick said…

2. Short Cuts

Robert Altman's masterpiece.   Still controversial, and unique.  Very influential work.  Hope a lot more people see it and talk about it.
 

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Cool.  I was a wee lad when this came out but I still remember it getting a lot of attention.  I'll pop it in the queue.  The others that you list are less recognizable to me, but I'll probably add a few and see.  You've definitely been broadening my horizons over the last year or so.

ChrisJarmick said…

What Top 5  (or 3) Movies do you wish more people would see and talk about?

Could be old.. could be new....

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Hmm, how about 3 in 1?  Kieslowski's Three Colors series:  Blue, White, and Red.  I think as far as foreign films go they did pretty well in the US, but in comparison to a Hollywood film, I'm guessing very few people ever saw these.


These three films made a huge impression on me when they first came out and I still pop them in from time to time.  I think they opened my mind to what film could be from a couple of aspects.  First, the cinematography, which allows each title color to subtlely infuse each movie (other films have done similar, but often in a much more heavy handed manor).  Second, the complete merging of the score with the film (especially in Blue where the music is essentially a character, almost a narrator).  And third, they were dramas that tackled real human emotions and difficulties without the sugar coating sappiness that I'd come to expect from Hollywood.

Anyhow, I think these films stand with the best and are worthy of being seen by more folks.  And I think you've inspired me to write a few reviews!

Great suggestion Kevin.  Yes, very popular, well regarded trio of foreign films. 

However still not widely seen and I'll bet not a real popular rental title either. It takes many many reminders and suggestions before people go ahead and take a chance and rent a foriegn movie.. especially a trilogy of foreign films....  some people will never ever watch it because they insist they can not or will not read subtitles and so... if it is not in english.. either originally made in english or poorly dubbed in english they will ignore the existence of other films .

ah welll...... 

 

Lots of foreign films just never get much in the way of promotion here, either. I finally got around to seeing Almodovar's Volver and Talk to Her early this year, and was blown away. As a huge fan of the director, I knew he'd made some great films, but these two just blew all of his previous work out of the water. Sadly, a lot of people who never see foreign movies never really get to sppreciate some fine actors. In America, Antonion Bandaras is sort of a joke. He's, at best, known for Zorro. In Spanish movies (especially Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down), he's a brilliant actor with enormous range.

At the top of my list is Gone Baby Gone, which a lot of people haven't given a chance, but which should have had more notice at Oscar time.  Then there is Once Upon a Time in the West, which seems to have gotten lost in the "old western" genre, but which is arguably the best western of all.  Finally, if you are up for a scare, I really liked Premonition, a Japanese film, which hasn't been translated to American Cinema just yet.

ChrisJarmick said…
some people will never ever watch it because they insist they can not or will not read subtitles and so...

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Yea, true.  The funny thing is my wife and I watch almost all movies with subtitles on!  Even English ones.  Stops us from constantly yelling "stop! rewind! I didn't hear what she said".

Gone Baby Gone was one I couldn't quite bring myself to see in theaters and was slightly surprised how it became a different kind of film then the one that was marketed.  Good performances, very well directed, enjoyed it.   It did well and there was some oscar buzz on it.  Definitely worth seeing.

Course the oscars are a skewed  affair... first you have to be a member of one of the branches of the accademy... committees whittle down nominations and in only a few categories does the entire membership get to vote and then they vote for what is nominated... so it depends on whose a member, which films and people get through the nominating process and then how many people are actually voting.

Some people who vote have agendas, preferences and what have you.  So it is a skewed contest and there's a lot of support and money coming from the studios and a combination of old Hollywood and hungrier New Hollywood types.  

I'm amazed that quite a few good films actually get nominated at all.  I don't expect the very best ones to actually get noticed and nominated, let alone win and a lot of times this is the case.

 

 

I like film noir like Asphalt Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, the Pawnbroker, This Gun for Hire, Double Indemnity, and the like.  I could talk about that stuff for hours but nobody ever mentions it.

GeorgeChabot said…
I like film noir like Asphalt Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, the Pawnbroker, This Gun for Hire, Double Indemnity, and the like.  I could talk about that stuff for hours but nobody ever mentions it.

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I enjoyed "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid"...

--Bob

GeorgeChabot said…
I like film noir like Asphalt Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, the Pawnbroker, This Gun for Hire, Double Indemnity, and the like.  I could talk about that stuff for hours but nobody ever mentions it.

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Dark City is another great film in the noir tradition.

I think EVERYBODY should see The Shawshank Redemption, but I think most of them have! :).  A film that really, really moves me is The Passion of the Christ.  Oh, and Schindler's List.  Comedy?  The Jerk.  Noir? L.A. Confidential and Sin City.   I really could just go on and on here....

Film Noir is one of the most internationally revered films styles, pretty much an American movie genre that the French New Wave embraced whole-heartedly and it hit a peak in the late 50s and early 60s thanks to television and early revival and international film festival showings.

There has been a recent mini-revival of Noir with several wonderful DVD sets released.

One of the greats that might have slipped past you George.. is Raw Deal.

Anthony Mann made several great film noirs and then brought film noir to the Western particularly with the Westerns he did with Jimmy Stewart.  Check that out soon.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid  for me is a great concept for a film that works for about 30 minutes or so and then I want something more... the film gets really really silly during the last 20 minutes... too much so.    Might be worth a rental for fans of Carl Reiner and Steve Martin movies though.

ChrisJarmick said…
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid  for me is a great concept for a film that works for about 30 minutes or so and then I want something more... the film gets really really silly during the last 20 minutes... too much so.    Might be worth a rental for fans of Carl Reiner and Steve Martin movies though.

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Well, I said that as a one-liner, looking for a laugh. I do remember liking "Dead Men..." though.

You're gonna laugh, but I really enjoyed the episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Captain Picard played private eye Dixon Hill on the holodeck. Those were always a lot of fun and plenty "noirish."

--Bob

I only watched some of the TNG episodes and vaguely recall what you mention.  Star Trek, particularly when it didn't take itself very seriously was a lot of fun and very entertaining.

ChrisJarmick said…

...

One of the greats that might have slipped past you George.. is Raw Deal.

Anthony Mann made several great film noirs and then brought film noir to the Western particularly with the Westerns he did with Jimmy Stewart.  Check that out soon.

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Not so, my friend. I have Raw Deal, He Walked by Night, and T Men, all by Mann and John Alton on camera.  They drip with suspense and have great noir sensibilities.  I have several more choice noirs that I will review in time.

I also have The Naked Spur and Winchester 73 by Mann & Stewart.  I think Robert Ryan upstaged old Jimmy in Naked Spur, although Janet Leigh was scary. Thanks, Chris! :>

ABsolutely Ryan upstaged Jimmy, he was supposed to... Yeah Leigh was a great loose cannon type...

Chris, there is another one called "Detour," with Tom Neal and Ann Savage. Have you seen it?

I personally would like to see more discussions/reviews of such films as the Iwo Jima duology (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima) as well as Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now, and Summer of '42. 

Fardreamer said…
I personally would like to see more discussions/reviews of such films as the Iwo Jima duology (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima) as well as Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now, and Summer of '42. 

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I saw both of th Iwo Jima films and both were excellent.  Clint Eastwoods methodical style and attention to detail served him well on both these films.

The Eastwood polish brings a coldness to his films and I think most of them, the Iwo Jima films as well are very good but they don't quite make it to the next level and you kind of want them to.  Very worthwhile fims protraying honor in a very balanced manner (not cheesy).

Apocalypse Now is a glorious mess of a film.  Some absolutely incredible scenes, sound design, editing, acting moments, use of music etc.   But it's a mess and all over the place in terms of tone and style and many things do not come together or feel like they are from a completely different movie.

DETOUR  is of course one of the classic extremely low budget classic Noirs that should be required viewing for anyone calling themselve a true film afficianado or student of film.    It has an ultra low budget and is dated... but in ways that enhances the film if you let it.  The simple story and directorial choices someof which dictated by the miniscule budget are sublime and almost poetic.   A must see.

Fardreamer said…
I personally would like to see more discussions/reviews of such films as the Iwo Jima duology (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima) as well as Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now, and Summer of '42. 

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I had high expectations for these two films but felt vaguely disappointed. I saw "Flags of Our Fathers" just a month ago and can't really remember what happened -- it was that unremarkable. I remember more about "Letters From Iwo Jima," but it also left me wondering about what happened next. I thought both were well-made but... distant. If that makes any sense.

--Bob

Anyone have a film they want me to review.. you know.. what do you think of this movie?  Choose 3.. I've hopefully seen one of the three and I'll review it.

George C.  here's 3 for you... pick one

Little Caesar   ,  Ghost Dog ,  Glengarry Glenross,

 

 

 

ChrisJarmick said…

Anyone have a film they want me to review.. you know.. what do you think of this movie?  Choose 3.. I've hopefully seen one of the three and I'll review it.

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Woody Allen's Sleeper, Dances With Wolves, and What's Up Doc? with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal.

--Bob

GeorgeChabot said…
I like film noir like Asphalt Jungle, Sweet Smell of Success, the Pawnbroker, This Gun for Hire, Double Indemnity, and the like.  I could talk about that stuff for hours but nobody ever mentions it.

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I recently watched Born to Kill (1947) with Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor. Very dark - maybe too dark for my tastes, but the characters were incredible.

I've got Born to Kill and it is among the top handful of noirs.  The DVD has a dynamite commentary from director Robert Wise who should be better known, based on the many great films he made.  According to Wise, Larry Tierney was just like his character and that's why he was blacklisted by Hollywood.  Too much of a hellion.  He was resurrected by Tarantino about 30 years later. Thanks

I agree totally with SpokaneMan -- "Once Upon a Time in the West" is probably the greatest western ever made -- and there have been some great westerns.  It probably was one of Henry Fonda's best roles -- who would have thought he could have been such a great villain.