The Best Movies... Ever!

Mr_Shiftright

You can't change the ending on a classic. It's blasphemy. What, Hamlet wins the duel and moves into a trailer with Ophelia? Juliet's father grabs Romeo in a bear hug and says "that's my boy!".

To say nothing of screwing up kids' relationship to the true story.

Disney is turning the world into mush. Even the oldest fairy tales were written to teach kids to be very very careful in the world. Dwarves for instance were always known to be EVIL until Disney got a hold of them.

Okay I'll stop now. :mad:

madmanmoo

!!!!!!!!!!!

Dwarves aren't evil! LOTR has tons of nice, gruff dwarves running around planting flowers and adopting children from Zanzibar. I'm apalled, Mr. Shiftright!



-Moo

fezo

Two old movies (one as old as me) that have a moment in them that choke me up each and every time.

Older one - In the Alastair Sim Christmas Carol - the 1951 movie that is the best adaptation there is. It's Christmas evening after the spirits have done their work and Scrooge goes to his nephew's for dinner. That moment he approaches the nephew's wife and says "Can you forgive a pig headed old fool..." etc. Gets me every darn year. It's stuck in my DNA.

The other one is in (I cannot believe I am saying this) a Kevin Costner movie. Well, it's not really just that. It's Field of Dreams (if you haven't read Shoeless Joe, the novel on which it's based, shame on you. Go read it.) That moment when they are playing the game in the field and Costner's daughter chokes on the hot dog. Moonlight Graham (Burt Lancaster), who never got his at bat in the majors and is playing with all these players, has to make the decision whether to live his dream in the game or cross the baseline that he can't cross back and become Doc Graham to save the girl's life. That moment that the baseball uniform and spikes crosses the line and becomes a pinstripe suit and wingtips. I cannot watch that without getting all choked up if you offered me a grand to do it.

PF_Flyer

Dad? You wanna have a catch?

That's the moment for me.

michaellno

I saw that movie for the first time at a drive-in theater just a few months after my son was born.

Yeah, the scene at the end of the movie had me choked up as well.

Alex is now 18, stands 4" taller than me, but couldn't play baseball any better than his old man -- that is, not very well at all.

Oh, well.

fezo

One of my best friends is in the "Dad? You wanna have a catch?" camp. I would be but at that point I'm still all choked up about Moonlight Graham.

Heck of a thing to have more than one of those moments in a movie.

kyfdx

I agree.. The moment where Moonlight has to decide to give it all up to save the girl.. The best scene of the movie.

fezo

Yep. "if I hadn't become a doctor - THAT would have been a tragedy."....

jlbl

I have just seen again Rear Window. It has caught me as always. Definitely, one of my favourites.

Regards,
Jose

PF_Flyer

Another good one! Now I have the urge to see it again.

jlbl

Tense script, direction and photography; great principals and characters. And the beauty of Grace Kelly at her best. All encompassed in only two sceneries! Nothing is missed. Wow!

Jose

kyfdx

Barbara Bel Geddes has a pretty big part, as well.. For you Miss Ellie fans... lol...

Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock movies... hard to beat..

I like Vertigo.... Kim Novak.. wwwoooooooo!!

snakeweasel

Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock movies... hard to beat..
How about Fred MacMurray as the bad guy (thinking "The Caine Mutiny" and "Double Indemnity").

PF_Flyer

The Devil Wears Prada

okko1

the great santini was better for duvall than scareface.

pat

I loved that one!!

okko1

it's not gonna win any prizes but then with the quality of movies that are current in theater why not another cult classic delta farce . come on movie :P people stop taking life so seriously. and have some fun. haloween by zombie sucks and will never make thjis list

madmanmoo

Latest awesome movie I watched was Pan's Labyrinth. If you haven't seen it yet, definitely go rent this one. Outstanding film, made me a bit squeamish in parts, but very good.

-Moo

PF_Flyer

Just saw a promo for Hitchcock week coming up starting Sunday on AMC

The Birds still gives me the willies!

Mr_Shiftright

I always root for the birds :P

Karen_S

I loved this film. Saw it in the theater and then bought it when it came out on DVD.

Karen_S

Yep, big fan of Hitchcock.

My favorites:

The Trouble With Harry
Vertigo
To Catch a Thief
Notorius
Rear Window

And, of course, PSYCHO! *eee-eee-eee!!!* :surprise:

PF_Flyer

We did the theme from Psycho in the summer orchestra program here two summers ago. Even the music was creepy and came alive when we played it!

rockylee

The Movie COBB with Tommy Lee Jones, about the legendary, and greatest athlete and baseball player of all time. The one and only Mr. Tyrus Raymond Cobb. :shades:

Top 5:

#1 COBB

#2 Back to the Future series

#3 Die Hard series

#4 Coming to America

#5 National Lampoons Vacation series

okko1

:shades: sling blade very dark and very realistic.

Karen_S

I decided to revive this one to see what everyone else considers the BEST holiday films. Here's my list:

A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out, kid.)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version and NOT colorized! ick!)
The Bishop's Wife (Loretta Young has always been a favorite.)
It's a Wonderful Life (I cry with Jimmy on the bridge every time. )

Your turn!

madmanmoo

A Christmas Story - 100% This movie cracks me up.
The Grinch that Stole Christmas

When I was a kid, I liked Charlie Brown and something about a pumpkin patch. Can't remember what this is anymore though.

-Moo

ajvdh

Casablanca yet? I can't tell you how many times I've seen that one.
"I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue."

A little idiosyncratic: Dr. Strangelove. Comcast had that as a free On-Demand movie a few months ago, and we watched it. I figured the kids'd bail after 15 minutes, but they thought it was great.

Field of Dreams almost makes me forgive Kevin Costner for existing.

Best golf movie ever made? Caddyshack, hand's down.

PF_Flyer

SO many to choose from.

Just saw Fail Safe the other day for the first time in a long time. Almost forgot how powerful that movie was.

Anything that won best picture works for me. Some recent Oscar winners have really grown on me.
My daughters both LOVE Million Dollar baby and I wasn't sure what to expect from Crash, but that worked really well for me.

Unforgiven, while good, didn't live up to what a best picture winner usually does for me which is to almost instantly take me to another time or place and get me interested in what's happening there. It was sort of "just a Western". But it still has a chance to grow on me I guess. Took me a while to really appreciate and enjoy American Beauty too

Mr_Shiftright

Anyone ever seen John Carpenter's first film Dark Star? Very wacky sci-fi movie, very funny.

One of my favorite creepy movies is "The Talented Mr. Ripley". GREAT cast, wonderful music, fabulous locations in Italy, and a very VERY dark tale indeed.

ajvdh

Anything that won best picture works for me. Some recent Oscar winners have really grown on me.

The correlation between "great movie" and "Oscar winner" is well below 1.0, IMHO. F'r instance, I thought "English Patient" was a couple of wasted hours of my life. I loved Ebert's comment about it (paraphrasing), "It will win best picture because it has a nice sunset."

"American Beauty," OTOH, I enjoyed. Top 10 all time great movie? Probably not, but an excellent film none the less.

"Mr. Ripley" is on my list of movies I have to see, but haven't yet.

Then there're those films that you know aren't "great," but you just can't turn 'em off when they show up on the TV. Like, "Usual Suspects." Or the first, "Die Hard."

snakeweasel

A Christmas Story

Most likely the best Christmas movie ever.

How about "Santa Claus Counqers the Martians"? :shades:

Seriously though:

A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim (I think made in the early 50's)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

snakeweasel

That would be "Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" A halloween classic.

snakeweasel

Anyone ever seen John Carpenter's first film Dark Star? Very wacky sci-fi movie, very funny.

In space nobody can hear your siren.

stever

Got to see 1960 version Little Shop of Horrors last week on cable at a cheap motel in Price Utah - the one with Jack Nicholson as the masochistic patient who needed a long, slow root canal.

My list of must see movies is down to one or two now. :shades: Maybe I'll catch the Italian Job one of these years.

snakeweasel

Have you ever seen "Brazil"? if not watch it, just make sure its the longer directors cut with the original ending not the love conquers all version.

stever

No, but I read the Cliff Notes summary on imdb.com and saved myself 141 minutes (or 93 minutes off the US version). :shades:

snakeweasel

Then you are missing something.

emmanuelchoke

The Polar Express. It was on again a few nights ago and there's something mesmerizing about it. The wife thinks it's boring, maybe she can't hear the bell, but I'm always drawn in.
Santa looks a little "Shroud-like" though.

kyfdx

I saw that in IMAX 3-D when it first came out... I was impressed..

Now: on a regular TV screen? Not so great...

xrunner2

Saw it first-run at a top level theatre with high-end projector(s) and sound system. Still recall coming out of theatre with date and talking with her and to other people in lobby and on sidewalk about "awesome" (term not used back then) viewing experience. "What the heck did we just see?, Was that incredible?, etc.?

If not 2001 as best, then others to consider:

First Godfather
Gone with the Wind
French Connection
Great Escape
Dirty Harry
Bullitt
Tess

kyfdx

That is a good list...

2001? Have you seen the website that supposedly explains it? Sorry, if that's what I was supposed to get... I still don't get it..

Oooohhh.... Tess .. I can't really talk about it.. :surprise:

emmanuelchoke

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail.
The original Frankenstein.
Young Frankenstein.
Full Metal Jacket.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Easy Rider.
Cool Hand Luke (The car wash scene, whew!)

And in the Guilty Pleasure Category
Napoleon Dynamite
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Shrek
Midnight Express

rockylee

The last few posts are something else as many of them I never heard of !!!! :surprise:

They must of been "silent movies" watched at speak easy's !!!! :P

-Rocky

stever

Got the DVD from the library.

It hasn't worn well with age ....

ajvdh

I saw them both a couple of years ago. The original's pretty good, but I prefer the remake.

You know, the actors did almost all the driving in the remake.

stever

Ok, so I got Brazil from the library too. We have company this week so I teed it up at 6:30 pm. By 6:50, my company was snoring in the easy chair. :shades:

My wife didn't care for it either so we killed it just after the protagonist got his promotion and his love interest almost succeeded in tossing him off the truck.

Next up, the Ice Princess....

Mr_Shiftright

Just saw No Country for Old Men --- wow, what a film. C-R-E-E-P-Y and thought-provoking as well. It'll leave you short of breath.

jlbl

It is not the best movie ever, but I have just seen the 'restorated' Help! and liked it more than when it was released. Very refreshing. Needless to say I was—and still am—a Beetles' fan.

Regards,
Jose

stever

Just saw No Country for Old Men

Me too - got company this week and I've watched more flicks at the flicks and on DVD than I have in a year. Didn't realize it was going to be based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, so now I'll have to go read the book.

And coming out of the theatre tonight, I saw a smart car. There must be a connection there, lol.