Probably the best role Sean Connery ever had!

(July 6, 2013 at 4:29 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: You have to understand, I was raised on Bogart, not Tarantino.

And I was raised on both.

(July 6, 2013 at 7:53 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:

(July 6, 2013 at 4:29 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: You have to understand, I was raised on Bogart, not Tarantino.

And I was raised on both.

Bully for anyone who was.

Pulp Fiction still didn't hold my attention.

still summer, you must find this scene epic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HenZ4Z7w0qM

Schindler's list is another movie that I would strike from the list. It was so formulaic that the pathos became just pathetic, and there were moments of overacting that would make even William Shatner sit up and take notice. Watching Schindler's List was akin to finding my foot stuck in the switching track on a railroad and hearing the horn of the freight train in the distance; I knew there was going to be a collision, and what it would look like, but I really just wanted to get my foot out of the track.

I suppose that I have the same problem with Schindler's List that I have with Shawshank Redemption. Both are movies which excel in aspects of the craft which result in the viewer having a strong reaction to the film, but there is nothing unusual, novel, or unique about the elements which are used to bring about that strong reaction. So, such movies ended up being very worth watching, but ultimately leave no trace in the collective unconscious because their effects are indistinguishable from the effects of other movies which, also, similarly excelled technically, but did nothing spectacular otherwise. And while it's understandable that this film list is biased towards English language cinema, it underscores the point that this list is the product of a culture, and not a very broad culture at that. (I keep wanting to draw a comparison between Shawshank Redemption and Jean de Florette, but my memory of both films is not up to the task.)

---

The mention of A Few Good Men is interesting, and though it's one of my favorite movies to watch because there are a lot of good scenes, and it is an eminently quotable movie, it has flaws. The most important being that Cruise's acting in parts is so anemic that he's practically sleep-walking through the part; Cruise is a better actor than this, but from watching this movie, you wouldn't know it.

---

Napo recently had a thread where you list your top 5 films ("top" being at the time, basically undefined; ).

I'm just going to cut & paste, but I think the sense of "best" applied in the two threads are different, with Napo's thread being those films you like best, as opposed to this thread which appears focused on those films that are, in unspecified ways, "worth watching."

(April 22, 2013 at 7:42 pm)apophenia Wrote: ...in no particular order:

1. The Seventh Seal
2. No Country For Old Men
3. Jane Eyre (2011)
4. Midnight Cowboy
5. Aguirre: Wrath Of God
... Even as I'm typing this addition to this comment, I realize I once again have shorted Rashomon which I just ordered on blu-ray. It would have to knock either Aguirre or Jane Eyre out of the top 5 in order to make room, neither of which I would willingly do, except by being dragged kicking and screaming or some such. So make mine a "Top 6."

---

It might also be worth mentioning the films that I'm glad I purchased on blu-ray, and would do so again, even if it cost.

1. Rebecca
2. Jane Eyre (2011)
3. Pulp Fiction

There are others, but most of those qualify because, real or not, I find the sound quality of Blu-ray to be vastly superior to that of DVD.
There are others that I would re-purchase, but less on account of the specifics of the Blu-ray experience, as they are largely the same experience on both. And, I would certainly re-purchase Rashomon on Blu-ray, both for the reason of it being a personal favorite, as well as specifics of the Blu-ray release. (I have the Blu-ray, but have not watched it yet; I've seen comparisons of video captures from the Blu-ray in comparison to the 2002 Criterion DVD release.)

---

ETA:

I had an additional point about the cultural specificity of this list. The movies on the list reflect specifically western sensibilities about cinema. Asian horror, and pinku, and anime, are genres which bring sensibilities and qualities which are foreign to many western audiences and would leave them cold. A typical American horror fan would react to a quality Asian horror flick with a puzzled look and various expressions of "Wtf?" I thought Jules et Jim was an excellent film, but its sensibilities were so distinct to the culture that produced it, it likely would leave most American viewers shaking their heads in wonder. Woody Allen's Interiors is a movie closer to home, which, because it didn't conform to cultural expectations about narrative and cinema, received a rather cold response, yet it was for years one of my favorites. Woody Allen's films had a tradition of challenging the dominant culture's sensibilities, and while it is becoming a part of the culture's sensibilities that challenging those cultural assumptions is valuable, there are still many who react negatively to a film if it doesn't coddle their pre-existing prejudices. The numerous threads on the internet impugning the merit of the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men being a case in point. (For a non-cinematic comparison, think of Cage's 4'33". Is that art? Or is it just a stunt masquerading as art? And what would have to change about the piece to make it art, if it isn't already?)

(July 6, 2013 at 7:56 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: Pulp Fiction still didn't hold my attention.

It was the same with me. I watched the first few minutes of it and then I turned it off. Never bothered with it again.

Particular movies of a certain type simply never fascinate me.

From the original list, I liked the Shawshank Redemption and Shindler's List .. though I admit they were just damn good entertainment. (Sounds like Apo had the reaction to these two that I had to The Color Purple *gag*.) Not on the list but better than the others, I like Groundhog Day, and, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Of the franchise movies, I've liked: the Matrix saga; the Lord of the Rings movies; the Bourne lot; and the Star Wars films. The Game of Thrones and True Blood episodes on HBO are kind of like these and equally good. Oh hell, throw in the I Claudius episodes from pbs while we're at it.

For a nail biter I'd go with Day of the Jackal (the original). For the best, surprisingly good adaption of a book to movie form I'd choose Steppenwolf.

There have been numerous little foreign movies we've enjoyed whose names are escaping me, along with plenty of other Hollywood films which will make me cringe when I remember them.

Eternal Sunshine was an excellent movie.

I got all the way through it, and when the guy I was seeing at the time asked what I thought, I burst into tears.