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Entry: 13 movies Thursday, March 30, 2006

Last Saturday, I saw a note from Paula challenging me to do a Thursday 13. Since I missed that deadline, I'll give it a whirl this week. So here it is............

13 movies I can watch over and over and over and never get sick of, ever. In no particular order.

Actually, this is first for a reason. It jumped to mind first. Peter Sellers is brilliant here, and incredibly subtle. I never fail to catch some small thing I missed the first 20-odd times I saw it. Sellers was one of the two best actors EVER.

2) The Adventures of Robin Hood

Classic Errol Flynn swashbuckler, and no one ever did them better. Technically, Captain Blood belongs here as well.

3) The Wizard of Oz

In this age of rampant remakes, this remains untouched. Why? Because even TRYING would be stupid. This film captured something sweet, innocent and beautiful that just can't be competed with. They can improve the special effects, but there is no better magic.

4) The Philadelphia Story

The movie that put Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart (the OTHER best ever) on the map. A screwball comedy that's almost too smart to be called that, with a fantastic cast rounded out by Cary Grant. This is about the only film where I also recommend the remake, a musical called High Society.

5) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

This was difficult, as this list could easily be all westerns. The story is cool, the cinematography is top notch, but what really grabs me is the subplots- the little stories that have nothing to do with the main story, but round out Sergio Leone's portait of Civil War America. It was these vignettes that nudged Once Upon a Time in the West off the list, though I doubt I'll get sick of that one, either.

I'm not big on Gangster flicks, usually, but I love this one. It's not only stylish, it's true. And according to the History Channel, it's pretty damned accurate as well.

7) Harold and Maude

As mentioned a week or so ago, one of my favorite cult films. A strange and darkly hilarious film about appreciating life. That Ruth Gordon was something else, wasn't she?

8) The Thin Man

Netflix just got this one to me today, and I'll watch it even though I already know who the murderer is and where the body is hidden. It's the chemistry between one of Hollywood's greatest pairings, William Powell and Myrna Loy, that makes it. Hollwood doesn't often get it THAT right.

A great actor's greatest performance. Stewart is brilliant in this endearing comedy about a lush and his invisible six-foot rabbit. I can get so busy watching him that I forget to listen to the dialogue. I also have a soft spot for this one since I participated in my high school's merciless assassination of the play.

10) Young Frankenstein

No explanation is really needed, is it? You'll know the joke is coming, but you'll laugh at it anyway. Few comedies have that power. I considered Blazing Saddles, of course, but so many of the jokes are too obscure for younger audience members.

11) A Clockwork Orange

The music, the message, the ingenious direction. This movie looks like the 70's and the future at the same time. I especially love the fight against Billy Boy and his droogs, choreographed to Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie". Violent actions set to beautiful music, this scene underscores the theme of a complete person's need for his/her "darker" side.

12) Rope

Did I mention that I think highly of Jimmy Stewart? So did Alfred Hitchcock, who used him in four films. This one is a pressure cooker of suspense, shot to have the look and the flow of the play it was based on. To insure that, Hitchcock shot this in 15 minute segments, with no editing. If someone messed up in minute 14, back to the beginning!

Unlike Young Frankenstein, you'll NEVER remember all the jokes no matter how many times you see it. This is the epitome of the screwball comedy, and mighty clever, to boot. I wish I could get away with half the crap Groucho could get away with.

Well, I guess that didn't hurt too much, even considering the fact that I accidently flushed the whole thing at #6 and had to start over. Still, it's good that these things are only monthly.

Right?

15 comments


	Paula March 31, 2006 05:32 AM PST I love Young Frankenstein!! Great list.


	Jeff Kos March 31, 2006 09:18 AM PST I'm so happy to see a Marx Brothers movie on your list. I could do a Thursday 13 on Marx Brothers movies alone. I grew up watching them, as well as Abbot & Costello, Laurel & Hardy and the 3 Stooges (Reruns! I'm 37, I'm not old!). As someone who writes and performs comedy, the Marx Brothers have impacted me the most (ha, get it, I used "impact" as a verb! see my Thursday 13...). It saddens me that younger generations are losing the appreciation of the masters of vaudeville comedy. Hell, they're not even getting exposed to it. Man, nice work. Makes me want to go put "A Night at the Opera" on.


	Joe the Troll March 31, 2006 10:33 AM PST I just watched "The Cocoanuts"" the other night. Love that stuff! Why a duck? I used to watch Abbott & Costello movies every Saturday morning when I was a kid (along with the Bowery Boys) but never really got into L & H or the Stooges.


	Tim March 31, 2006 04:08 PM PST Great list! I love Flynn, as you can see from one of my blog links. I would add Pulp Fiction. It's also one of my all time faves


	Joe the Troll March 31, 2006 06:11 PM PST Well, Tim, you and I would differ there. I really didn't care for PF at all. Get Shorty almost made it, though.


	O' Tim March 31, 2006 10:10 PM PST Great List JtT! I saw Rope for the first time a couple months ago and now I think it's my second favorite Hitch film with Stewart (what could be No. 1?). The Thin Man is fantastic! The original is the best (and the only one unencumbered by the Hays Code) but the rest of the series is pretty good. I count Powell and Loy right up there with Grant and Hepburn in their snappy timing (Philadelphia Story is Jen's and my top "date" movie)


	Joe the Troll March 31, 2006 10:31 PM PST Rope is my fave, followed closely by "Rear Window".


	Tim April 1, 2006 08:36 AM PST You were high when you said you didn't like PF, right?


	Joe the Troll April 1, 2006 09:55 AM PST "You were high when you said you didn't like PF, right?" Quite possibly, but that doesn't change anything. Last night I watched "The Magnificent Seven" for the umpteenth time, since that copy of "The Thin Man" was broken. I guess 13 isn't enough!


	Fez Monkey April 3, 2006 11:19 AM PDT What ... no Big Lebowski? Ah well, Clockwork and Duck Soup saved you. Ook ook


	Joe the Troll April 3, 2006 12:08 PM PDT "Big Lebowski" is a very good flick, but I've only seen it once thus far. That means it can't actually qualify for a list llike this.


	O' Tim April 3, 2006 09:31 PM PDT TOP FIVE - HANDS DOWN! ! "Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos." "The Dude abides... I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there, the Dude, takin' her easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals."


	Name April 4, 2006 02:51 PM PDT Hmm. I'd agree with most of those. I'd swap Rope for Rear Window, have to throw in All The Presidents' Men, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Shawshank and Animal House for good measure, though!


	Jeff Kos April 5, 2006 03:50 PM PDT 1 Poast I'd Like To Stop Reading Over and Over Again: This one! Poast something new, Joe! Your fans are getting restless!


	Joe the Troll April 5, 2006 04:32 PM PDT Sorry, working and trying to move at the same time has cut my computer time down to bits and pieces. I've had something gestating in my mind for a week or so, but haven't had a large block of time to bang it out in. I'll try tonight.... I'm about to bring a couple loads over now.

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