Going to the Movies: past, present, future.

[Tambora]

Best Westerns of all time:


The Hanging Tree--Gary Cooper
Shane--Alan Ladd
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--John Wayne
The Shootest--John Wayne
Rio Bravo--John Wayne
High Noon--Gary Cooper
High Plains Drifter-Clint Eastwood
Pale Rider--Clint Eastwood
True Grit--John Wayne
The Searchers--John Wayne
Winchester '73--Jimmy Stewart
Tombstone--Kurt Russell
Hombre--Paul Newman

Not necessarily in this order. However, 'The Hanging Tree' with Gary Cooper is my all time Favorite western. I recommend it to everyone. It's now out on Blu-ray. It also stars, Karl Malden and George C. Scott (His first movie.)

Good list!
There are soooooooooooooo many good westerns.

John Wayne - The Cowboys, where he had to hire school boys for his cattle drive because all the adult men had left for a gold rush.
James Stewart - Shenandoah.
Gene Hackman - Bite the Bullet.
Tommy Lee Jones & Robert Duval - Lonesome Dove.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

I guess folks have different views of what 'favorite' is.

There are movies that I thought were excellent and thought provoking and would recommend them.
But I don't want to sit and watch them again.
Mainly because they are emotionally draining.
Example: The Passion

My 'favorites' would be the ones that were so enjoyable that I could sit and watch them again and again.

I only saw 'The Passion" once. and that was enough. A great film, though. When I went and saw it, you could hear a pin drop in the theater. Nobody was munching on popcorn or making any noise. I bought the DVD, but never watched it and didn't want my Mom to see it, because it was just too much for her. She past away in 2008 and is now in the presence of the REAL Christ.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

Good list!
There are soooooooooooooo many good westerns.

John Wayne - The Cowboys, where he had to hire school boys for his cattle drive because all the adult men had left for a gold rush.
James Stewart - Shenandoah.
Gene Hackman - Bite the Bullet.
Tommy Lee Jones & Robert Duval - Lonesome Dove.

I had a huge collection of DVDs and when Blu-rays came out I got rid of most of my DVDs and purchased a HUGE collection of those. It stops at Blu-rays, however. They're probably going to go strictly to Digital streaming in the future and then, Blu-rays will become obsolete.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

I have more than a few of yours on my list...my top ten would be:

The Searchers
Shane
High Noon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Unforgiven
Once Upon a Time in the West
Red River
Tombstone
Rio Bravo
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Honorable Mentions:
Stagecoach
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Ox-Bow Incident
Winchester 73
The Big Country
Open Range
3 Godfathers

All excellent movies, as well.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

I like a lot of movies but when compiling lists I always think of the ones that stand up to repeat viewings and (mostly) never get old. In random order,

Fail-Safe
Citizen Kane
The Mummy (1932)
The Wizard of Oz
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Colossus: The Forbin Project
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Taking of Pelham 123
The Naked Jungle
Conspiracy (HBO, 2001)
The Invisible Ray
Casablanca
Goldfinger

You seem to like old horror melodramas? Might I suggest a Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi film entitled: "The Body Snatchers." It was based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story. It's very intriguing and I believe it's Karloff's BEST performance, ever. I'm also an old horror film aficionado. Stevenson also wrote: "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

By the way, Town, if ya ever want to talk about one of the old 'Classics" on this thread, name the film and we'll share our personal critiques on the film in question? I love talking films.

 

[musterion]

Haven't seen Body Snatchers in decades, will look it up.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

Haven't seen Body Snatchers in decades, will look it up.

It's not to be mistaken for the Science Fiction classic: "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" starring Kevin McCarthy, made in the 1950s. That film had an entirely different premise.

 

[nikolai_42]

Don't worry about it if you have. Sometimes it's fun to try again after a long break then go back and search your posts to see if anything has changed. You have a good list. A few of them are on my all-time favorites list.


This and The Lion in Winter are bookends for me. Love both of them.

As one who purports to enjoy historical dramas, I'm almost ashamed to admit I haven't seen The Lion in Winter. I did see O'Toole in Becket...

Great choice. I was worried the score would undermine it when it came out, but I don't believe it does.

I was too young to have that concern - so the script, the plot and the score are all married in my mind. It's almost astounding how much movie content has changed in just the last 30 or 40 years. It's refreshing to have a character like Liddell put on the screen without overhype either one way (hagiography) or the other (demonization). When he shared the gospel with people after some of his races, there was no apparent political (or religious) axe to grind in the way he was presented.

A Norman Rockwell version of the mythology of baseball, but in that context and as an experience it's pretty darn good.

Like watching a comic book. The mystique is almost palpable. I was surprised to find out Randy Newman did the score.

Another top choice. The Ten Commandments too, though I prefer Ben Hur, and The Agony and the Ecstasy.

As an actor, I can take or leave Heston. But the vehicles he chooses are usually pretty good (of course, maybe I just like epics...). In the case of El Cid (and it's been a while since I've seen it) I remember coming away thinking it was better than I expected. Ben Hur was good, but I would have to place it just behind Ten Commandments and El Cid (maybe in that order...maybe not).

 

[Town Heretic]

As one who purports to enjoy historical dramas, I'm almost ashamed to admit I haven't seen The Lion in Winter. I did see O'Toole in Becket...

I'm happy for you, in a way. You have a good one coming.

I was too young to have that concern - so the script, the plot and the score are all married in my mind. It's almost astounding how much movie content has changed in just the last 30 or 40 years. It's refreshing to have a character like Liddell put on the screen without overhype either one way (hagiography) or the other (demonization). When he shared the gospel with people after some of his races, there was no apparent political (or religious) axe to grind in the way he was presented.

It was a fairly solid window into the period and characters, though it used a fairly sanitized approach to bigotry of the time.

Like watching a comic book. The mystique is almost palpable.

The only sore point for me was "The Whammer" monicker. They could have done better than that.

I was surprised to find out Randy Newman did the score.

As a long time fan of Newman and knowing his background it felt like a great fit to me. His orchestrations on some of his records is amazing (see: In Germany Before the War, Sail Away, etc.).

As an actor, I can take or leave Heston.

To me he's a lot like Kirk Douglas or John Wayne. Strong physical actors can leave people with the impression that they're playing themselves.

But the vehicles he chooses are usually pretty good (of course, maybe I just like epics...).

Or both.

In the case of El Cid (and it's been a while since I've seen it) I remember coming away thinking it was better than I expected. Ben Hur was good, but I would have to place it just behind Ten Commandments and El Cid (maybe in that order...maybe not).

And, of course, they all would have been better movies if the rest of the cast had been talking apes. lain: Or maybe not.

 

[nikolai_42]

I'm happy for you, in a way. You have a good one coming.

Really? You've piqued my interest. I haven't kept up with new releases for several years - partly due to lack of time and partly due to a growing cynicism (age or experience...or both?). What light may be breaking on the horizon?

It was a fairly solid window into the period and characters, though it used a fairly sanitized approach to bigotry of the time.

I'm not sure how to properly express this, but in the end I thought it worked well. You knew that anti-semitism was a factor in his competitor's life but it didn't become the theme of the movie. Any more and I think it would have started to take over when the main thrust of the film was Liddell's running and concomitant pursuit of God's will.

The only sore point for me was "The Whammer" monicker. They could have done better than that.

No argument there.

As a long time fan of Newman and knowing his background it felt like a great fit to me. His orchestrations on some of his records is amazing (see: In Germany Before the War, Sail Away, etc.).

I really didn't have much known exposure to him (Short People Have No Reason To Live and Toy Story should tell you my impression of him) so to for him to be responsible for something more classical than folksy caught me by surprise. It just underscores his talent.

And then there's Barry Levinson. I remember really being struck when I first saw Rain Man.

To me he's a lot like Kirk Douglas or John Wayne. Strong physical actors can leave people with the impression that they're playing themselves.

Good point. I've always felt like Nick Nolte fit into that category. He has a fairly large presence but his voice...

Since we're freeform here, I'm not a Western fan but just mentioning Wayne brings to mind a couple of other films I loved :

The Green Berets - exciting and a catchy theme song
The Quiet Man - Wayne AND O'Hara.

Or both.


And, of course, they all would have been better movies if the rest of the cast had been talking apes. lain: Or maybe not.

I remember when they used to come on TV on Saturday afternoons and I would try and watch them. They were fun. But now...what was he thinking?

 

[Tambora]

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Comedy at it's best!

 

[musterion]

It's not to be mistaken for the Science Fiction classic: "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" starring Kevin McCarthy, made in the 1950s. That film had an entirely different premise.

Karloff also did a good job in THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES, one of the earliest medical-science fiction films. Underrated film.

 

[Tambora]

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Don't know how I forgot that one on my western movies list.

"Who are those guys?"

 

[musterion]

Showed the girls The Ten Commandments. They liked it. We're halfway through Ben Hur.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Kubrick Rare Video Interview Reveals Meaning to ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Kubrick Rare Video Interview Reveals Meaning to ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey

From a Slashdot post yesterday:

When it was originally released in 1968, audiences didn't really know what to make of "2001: A Space Odyssey". In fact, 250 critics walked out of the New York premiere, literally asking aloud, "What is this {profanity}?"

[...] Stanley Kubrick himself was always hesitant to offer an explanation of the ending, once telling Playboy,

"You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film -- and such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep level -- but I don't want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he's missed the point."​

But, in a bizarre video, which appeared recently, the director seems to provide a very simple and clear explanation of the "2001: A Space Odyssey" ending. Esquire:

It comes from a Japanese paranormal documentary from TV personality Jun'ichi Yaio made during the filming of The Shining. The documentary was never released, but footage was sold on eBay in 2016 and conveniently appeared online this week timed with the movie's 50th anniversary.

Kubrick says in the interview:

I've tried to avoid doing this ever since the picture came out. When you just say the ideas they sound foolish, whereas if they're dramatized one feels it, but I'll try. The idea was supposed to be that he is taken in by god-like entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form. They put him in what I suppose you could describe as a human zoo to study him, and his whole life passes from that point on in that room. And he has no sense of time. It just seems to happen as it does in the film.

They choose this room, which is a very inaccurate replica of French architecture (deliberately so, inaccurate) because one was suggesting that they had some idea of something that he might think was pretty, but wasn't quite sure. Just as we're not quite sure what do in zoos with animals to try to give them what we think is their natural environment. Anyway, when they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made into some sort of superman. We have to only guess what happens when he goes back. It is the pattern of a great deal of mythology, and that is what we were trying to suggest.​

 

[ok doser]

Watched The Gunfighter this morning, in bed, on my phone. A very young Gregory Peck, Karl Malden before his nose took over his face, and Alan Hale in a bit part - Gilligan!

 

[Tambora]

From a Slashdot post yesterday:

When it was originally released in 1968, audiences didn't really know what to make of "2001: A Space Odyssey". In fact, 250 critics walked out of the New York premiere, literally asking aloud, "What is this {profanity}?"

[...] Stanley Kubrick himself was always hesitant to offer an explanation of the ending, once telling Playboy,

"You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film -- and such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep level -- but I don't want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he's missed the point."​

But, in a bizarre video, which appeared recently, the director seems to provide a very simple and clear explanation of the "2001: A Space Odyssey" ending. Esquire:

It comes from a Japanese paranormal documentary from TV personality Jun'ichi Yaio made during the filming of The Shining. The documentary was never released, but footage was sold on eBay in 2016 and conveniently appeared online this week timed with the movie's 50th anniversary.

Kubrick says in the interview:

I've tried to avoid doing this ever since the picture came out. When you just say the ideas they sound foolish, whereas if they're dramatized one feels it, but I'll try. The idea was supposed to be that he is taken in by god-like entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form. They put him in what I suppose you could describe as a human zoo to study him, and his whole life passes from that point on in that room. And he has no sense of time. It just seems to happen as it does in the film.

They choose this room, which is a very inaccurate replica of French architecture (deliberately so, inaccurate) because one was suggesting that they had some idea of something that he might think was pretty, but wasn't quite sure. Just as we're not quite sure what do in zoos with animals to try to give them what we think is their natural environment. Anyway, when they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made into some sort of superman. We have to only guess what happens when he goes back. It is the pattern of a great deal of mythology, and that is what we were trying to suggest.​

That movie has been talked about a lot over the years, and there is a lot that can be said about it.
What did you think of it?

 

[Arthur Brain]

From a Slashdot post yesterday:

When it was originally released in 1968, audiences didn't really know what to make of "2001: A Space Odyssey". In fact, 250 critics walked out of the New York premiere, literally asking aloud, "What is this {profanity}?"

[...] Stanley Kubrick himself was always hesitant to offer an explanation of the ending, once telling Playboy,

"You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film -- and such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep level -- but I don't want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he's missed the point."​

But, in a bizarre video, which appeared recently, the director seems to provide a very simple and clear explanation of the "2001: A Space Odyssey" ending. Esquire:

It comes from a Japanese paranormal documentary from TV personality Jun'ichi Yaio made during the filming of The Shining. The documentary was never released, but footage was sold on eBay in 2016 and conveniently appeared online this week timed with the movie's 50th anniversary.

Kubrick says in the interview:

I've tried to avoid doing this ever since the picture came out. When you just say the ideas they sound foolish, whereas if they're dramatized one feels it, but I'll try. The idea was supposed to be that he is taken in by god-like entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form. They put him in what I suppose you could describe as a human zoo to study him, and his whole life passes from that point on in that room. And he has no sense of time. It just seems to happen as it does in the film.

They choose this room, which is a very inaccurate replica of French architecture (deliberately so, inaccurate) because one was suggesting that they had some idea of something that he might think was pretty, but wasn't quite sure. Just as we're not quite sure what do in zoos with animals to try to give them what we think is their natural environment. Anyway, when they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made into some sort of superman. We have to only guess what happens when he goes back. It is the pattern of a great deal of mythology, and that is what we were trying to suggest.​

2010 seemed to play a bit with that although it wasn't in the same league as a piece of film making. 2001 is an immersing experience no matter what the take on the ending but interesting to read this.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

That movie has been talked about a lot over the years, and there is a lot that can be said about it.
What did you think of it?

It its day it was a ground breaker for visual effects. "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that" lives on and is about all that I took from it as the years past.

AMR