Let’s Talk Movies! #31: Pandas, Zombies, Male Models, Superheroes, Greeks and…Caesar!

[Xela M]

As for Streep, I'm kind of mixed on her. Some of her performances in the 70s, 80s, and 90s were incredible. But over the last decade or so, her performances have been less impressive to me as I get the impression I'm watching Meryl Streep rather than the actual character. But whether that's because of her performance or the way I'm viewing her through my eyes is something I can't say.

Oh, I love Meryl Streep in EVERYTHING! She is brilliant in and can carry any film (in my view) - even 'Mama Mia', where I thought she would be awful, but was so pleasantly surprised!

In a few films like 'The Deer Hunter' or the TV film 'The Holocaust' she plays tiny marginal roles and only appears in a few scenes next to heavyweights like young De Niro, Christopher Walken and James Woods and she steals every scene from them.

 

[Xela M]

With people talking recently about the best films of all time, I went looking for a list for us to talk about. There was one list which polled actors and other movie industry people, but it was one of those websites where you had to keep finding an arrow to click on to move to a new page to see the next movie. Too time-consuming. So I found this one on Wikipedia, which is the updated American Film Institute list. This is from 2007, the original list was from 1998. Below is their 100 greatest film list, preceded by a link to the Wikipedia page. Which are your favourites? And which made it to the list that you find…questionable?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Movies_

1. Citizen Kane, 1941
2. The Godfather, 1972
3. Casablanca, 1942
4. Raging Bull, 1980
5. Singin' in the Rain, 1952
6. Gone with the Wind, 1939
7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
8. Schindler’s List, 1993
9. Vertigo, 1958
10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
11. City Lights, 1931
12. The Searchers, 1956
13. Star Wars, 1977
14. Psycho, 1960
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
16. Sunset Boulevard, 1950
17. The Graduate, 1967
18. The General, 1926 NEW
19. On the Waterfront, 1954
20. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
21. Chinatown, 1974
22. Like It Hot, 1959
23. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
25. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
27. High Noon, 1952
28. All About Eve, 1950
29. Double Indemnity, 1944
30. Apocalypse Now, 1979
31. The Maltese Falcon, 1941
32. The Godfather Part II, 1974
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
35. Annie Hall, 1977
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957
37. Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948
39. Dr. Strangelove, 1964
40. The Sound of Music, 1965
41. King Kong, 1933
42. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
43. Midnight Cowboy, 1969
44. The Philadelphia Story, 1940
45. Shane, 1953
46. It Happened One Night, 1934
47. A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951
48. Rear Window, 1954
49. Intolerance, 1916 NEW
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001 NEW
51. West Side Story, 1961
52. Taxi Driver, 1976
53. The Deer Hunter, 1978
54. MASH, 1970
55. North by Northwest, 1959
56. Jaws, 1975
57. Rocky, 1976
58. The Gold Rush, 1925
59. Nashville, 1975 NEW
60. Duck Soup, 1933
61. Sullivan's Travels, 1941 NEW
62. American Graffiti, 1973
63. Cabaret, 1972 NEW
64. Network, 1976
65. The African Queen, 1951
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , 1966 NEW
68. Unforgiven, 1992
69. Tootsie, 1982
70. A Clockwork Orange, 1971
71. Saving Private Ryan, 1998 NEW
72. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 NEW
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969
74. The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
75. In the Heat of the Night, 1967 NEW
76. Forest Gump, 1994
77. All the President's Men, 1976 NEW
78. Modern Times, 1936
79. The Wild Bunch, 1969
80. The Apartment, 1960
81. Spartacus, 1960 NEW
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 1927 NEW
83. Titanic, 1997 NEW
84. Easy Rider, 1969
85. A Night at the Opera, 1935 NEW
86. Platoon, 1986
87. 12 Angry Men, 1957 NEW
88. Bringing Up Baby, 1938
89. The Sixth Sense, 1999 NEW
90. Swing Time, 1936 NEW
91. Sophie's Choice, 1982 NEW
92. Goodfellas, 1990
93. The French Connection, 1971
94. Pulp Fiction, 1994
95. The Last Picture Show, 1971 NEW
96. Do the Right Thing, 1989 NEW
97. Blade Runner, 1982 NEW
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
99. Toy Story, 1995 NEW
100. Ben-Hur, 1959

Any best films of all time list that doesn't include Fellini's 'La Strada' is a joke.

I haven't seen some films on the list and I definitely disagree with many of the inclusions/omissions/rankings, but first I would like to point out films I thought were actual TRASH and shouldn't even be within a 1000000 miles' radius of this list: 'Titanic' and 'Saving Private Ryan'.

I'm also not sure how many people who voted for 'Citizen Kane' sat through the whole film.

And some highly controversial opinions here, but... I didn't see anything special in 'Casablanca' and thought it aged badly. I also see nothing genius about 'The Deer Hunter'. The first half hour of this film tries to emulate the wedding scene in 'The Godfather' but just succeeds in boring the viewer to death and leaving him to wonder "who are these people and WTF is the purpose of this" (the same 'move' is used by this director in "Heaven's Gate" only there the opening scenes last 2 hours); the plot in the 'Deer Hunter' then gets even more nonsensical with the Vietnam War being portrayed as an endless series of Russian roulette games (which never actually happened in real life) and all the situations are completely implausible. Only the acting is great with De Niro, Walken and Streep carrying the poor script.

 

[gk_891]

I also didn't care for Casablanca or The Deer Hunter.

La Strada was an incredible movie, I agree with you there. I liked it much better than La Dolce Vita.

 

[gk_891]

Oh, I love Meryl Streep in EVERYTHING! She is brilliant in and can carry any film (in my view) - even 'Mama Mia', where I thought she would be awful, but was so pleasantly surprised!

In a few films like 'The Deer Hunter' or the TV film 'The Holocaust' she plays tiny marginal roles and only appears in a few scenes next to heavyweights like young De Niro, Christopher Walken and James Woods and she steals every scene from them.

Have you seen Death Becomes Her? I thought she was hysterically funny in that movie (same with Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis).

 

[Xela M]

Have you seen Death Becomes Her? I thought she was hysterically funny in that movie (same with Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis).

Haha! Yes, she's great at comedy. Have you seen 'She Devil'?

 

[gk_891]

Yup, saw She Devil. Not a good movie exactly but she was a hoot in that one.

 

[gk_891]

Another great performance that stands out in my mind was Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People. I wonder what happened to Timothy as he's faded off the radar.

One surprisingly good performance for me was Kip Pardue in Loggerheads. I thought it was an excellent performance from an actor who's had a fairly undistinguished career (so far).

 

[Kruss]

Re 'Gone With the Wind'...

I do think it's interesting that, during the beginning of the opening event (the barbecue), in the span of a minute or two, you see all three of Scarlett's husbands.

 

[Vash01]

Any best films of all time list that doesn't include Fellini's 'La Strada' is a joke.

I haven't seen some films on the list and I definitely disagree with many of the inclusions/omissions/rankings, but first I would like to point out films I thought were actual TRASH and shouldn't even be within a 1000000 miles' radius of this list: 'Titanic' and 'Saving Private Ryan'.

I'm also not sure how many people who voted for 'Citizen Kane' sat through the whole film.

And some highly controversial opinions here, but... I didn't see anything special in 'Casablanca' and thought it aged badly. I also see nothing genius about 'The Deer Hunter'. The first half hour of this film tries to emulate the wedding scene in 'The Godfather' but just succeeds in boring the viewer to death and leaving him to wonder "who are these people and WTF is the purpose of this" (the same 'move' is used by this director in "Heaven's Gate" only there the opening scenes last 2 hours); the plot in the 'Deer Hunter' then gets even more nonsensical with the Vietnam War being portrayed as an endless series of Russian roulette games (which never actually happened in real life) and all the situations are completely implausible. Only the acting is great with De Niro, Walken and Streep carrying the poor script.

'Saving Private Ryan' Trash? To each his own. IMO it was a great movie that should have won the Best Picture Oscar instead of the 'trash' Shakespeare in love.

'Titanic' wasn't trash either; it wasn't a great movie but a highly entertaining one. Not worthy of a BP Oscar, IMO. I was hoping that LA confidential would win.

If I were to make a list of 'trash' movies, it would be 1000 miles long. Fortunately I didn't see many of those (then how did I know they were trash? Sometimes it helps just to read about a movie). I would say movies that make extra effort to show the maximum amount of blood and gore are trash and not worth seeing. I have better things to do with my time.

I didn't care for the Deer Hunter or the French Lieutenant's woman but Meryl Streep was great in both. I have liked her better in some other movies though. It's not her fault that those movies were not good.

 

[Jay42]

I agree with @gk_891 about Meryl Streep. I feel like I can see her acting in a lot of her more recent parts. I think her last really great performance was in The Devil Wears Prada, personally.

If I were to name my favourite performances I may never leave this thread . I've decided to only mention a couple of performances each that I think are amazing by two actresses that very rarely get mentioned in things like this.

The first is Rosalind Russell in The Women and His Girl Friday. I know the obvious performance would be Auntie Mame but I've decided to go for the beginning of her career instead.
Watching Rosalind Russell and Paulette Goddard steal their scenes in The Women is absolutely delightful. Norma Shearer was the Queen of MGM at the time but Russell runs away with the movie. It was her first real main role, even though she was the supporting character. But it's her scenes that stick out the most. Her fight scene with Paulette Goddard is a particular highlight but every scene she's in is just fantastic to watch. I found myself wishing she was there when she wasn't on screen. The Women is the role that made her career.
Russell's performance in His Girl Friday is a fantastic performance in a movie full of fantastic performances. The fast talking, she dive tackles a guy, she more than keeps up with Cary Grant who had been doing screwball comedies for years.

The second is Angela Lansbury in The Court Jester and The Manchurian Candidate. I like the polar opposites between these two movies because so many people only know Angela Lansbury for Murder She Wrote or Beauty and the Beast.
In The Court Jester she plays the lovelorn Princess Gwendolyn who's father illegally seized the throne of England. The movie overall is fantastic and funny in full of quotable lines, which is why I want to highlight Lansbury, by this point in her career she had been playing mostly villains and the other woman, she hadn't done anything in comedy yet, a lesser actress would have made the character ridiculous and she makes her completely believable and you don't hate her even though she is the "other woman" she's not really a villain.
Even though I had seen The Court Jester and had basically grown up watching Murder She Wrote, The Manchurian Candidate is the performance of hers where I really realised just how amazing of an actress she is. She plays the role of Eleanor Shaw Iselin so well, she's manipulative and creepy and really you should just watch this clip. That being said, that clip is tremendously spoilery so watch this one instead if you don't like spoilers. It doesn't get the point across quite as clearly but it does the job in a pinch. In any other year I think she absolutely would have won the Oscar for that role. It went to Patty Duke instead, for The Miracle Worker.

There's a fan theory that I've read a few times that says the reason why so many people around Jessica Fletcher get murdered in Murder She Wrote is because Jessica Fletcher in really a serial killer and the show is about how she covers it up so expertly. Angela Lansbury's performance in The Manchurian Candidate is the role that convinced me that theory could be feasible.

There are loads of other performances I could mention, Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn in The Lion In Winter, John Wayne in The Searchers, Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man. But this post took me over an hour to type because I kept getting sidetracked*. So I'm going to stop at this.

*I've been having a lot of Stargate: Atlantis related emotions.

 

[PeterG]

A recent viewing was 1987's The Dead, starring Angelica Huston and directed by her father John Huston. Based on a James Joyce short story...it's strictly for lovers of James Joyce who MUST see a movie directed by John Huston that MUST star Angelica Huston. I found it a struggle to get through. A bunch of privileged people nattering on all evening about nothing of interest to anyone other than a lover of James Joyce short stories... It's a well made movie, the production values are great. But man, I could have watched a Friday the 13th sequel with the time it took to watch this!

Here are some of my faves:

Flash Gordon 2 - but to be honest I had no idea there was a FG 1
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - loved the first!
Immortals 2 - I was one of the few in Morth America to love the first.
Jack Reacher 2 - love the books
Avengers 2&4
Bourne Identity 4 & The Bourne Legacy 2
Captain America 3
Mission Impossible 6
Transformers 5
Thor 3
X-Men: Apocalypse

I have to admit that the article you provided a link for had SUCH a large list that I wasn't dedicated enough to go through it. But from your edited list, I'm most interested in the Bourne movies, then Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and then maybe Jack Reacher 2.

...we could argue at length as what the sexiest performance by a male actor of all time is.

Could there be a better argument? Can't wait to hear your nominations!!

 

[Japanfan]

Any best films of all time list that doesn't include Fellini's 'La Strada' is a joke.

I think of Fellini as a body of work and wouldn't say La Strada is my favourite. I loved 8 1/2, and for sheer spectacle, Satyricon and City of Women.

My favourite film of all time is a toss up between 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Eyes Wide Shut'. Those are rivaled by the 'White' 'Blue and 'Red' trilogy, Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies' and some rather small precious films such as 'The Straight Story' and 'Frozen River'. And a small film I saw years ago made in Mongolia when it was on the brink of change - called 'Close to Eden'.

Then of course, the films of Robert Altman, my favourites being 'McCabe and Mrs. Miller' and 'Shortcuts'.

The best films I saw in the past year are the Russian 'Leviathon' and the French/British '1000 X Good Night'.

As to The Godfather films, I don't think I could watch them again despite the brilliant acting and directing - just too violent. At some points I made the decision that I just didn't want to see any more mafia movies.

 

[gk_891]

I know a lot of Fellini fans would crucify me for saying this but aside from 8 1/2 and La Strada, I have found almost all of his films to be very disappointing. I didn't like Satyricon, Amarcord, I Vitelloni, etc. When it comes to directors with a large body of work, I prefer Bergman, Kurosawa, Ozu, etc.

 

[gk_891]

My favourite film of all time is a toss up between 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Eyes Wide Shut'. Those are rivaled by the 'White' 'Blue and 'Red' trilogy, Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies' and some rather small precious films such as 'The Straight Story' and 'Frozen River'. And a small film I saw years ago made in Mongolia when it was on the brink of change - called 'Close to Eden'.

I loved both the Trois Couleurs Trilogy by Kieslowski and Eyes Wide Shut by Kubrick. I was shocked that I did like the latter so much since I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise. But that orgy scene was something to behold. It was absolutely magnificent.

 

[Xela M]

Omg my movie tastes differ so much from most people on this thread.

First of all, 'La Strada' is absolute genius cinema. The film has left such a lasting impression on me that I couldn't get it out of my head years and years later. It's the most touching and tragic film I have ever seen. And Giuliette Masina is one of the best actresses of all time. But I love all of Fellini with 'Nights of Cabiria' being my second favourite film of his.

Kubrick, on the other hand, I can't stand and consider him to be insanely overrated! The only watchable film of his was 'Clockwork Orange'. I saw absolutely nothing in 'Eyes Wide Shut'. It's stupid, not at all sexy and it's just a bad film in my view. (And I'm a huge Tom Cruise fan)

I also cannot explain how poorly made, ridiculous and typically "Hollywood tash" I found 'Titanic' and 'Saving Private Ryan'. It's as if the directors were taking the mickey out of the general public by playing on every single ridiculous cliché possible to make these films as brainless as they could.

 

[Xela M]

With so many modern films on that 'best of' list, surely 'Babel' deserved to be included over many of those others?

Another director of Fellini's stature is Tarkovsky. His film 'Andrei Rublev' left a similar impression on me as 'La Strada'. Simply genius.

 

[Artemis@BC]

I have a hard time comparing English-language films to other language films. I find that I just can't react on the same level to foreign language films because part of my brain is engaged in reading the subtitles so I'm not able to immerse myself as completely in the whole film aesthetic. I still love seeing foreign films, and agree with many of the picks cited here, but it's a different experience for me.

 

[gk_891]

With so many modern films on that 'best of' list, surely 'Babel' deserved to be included over many of those others?

Another director of Fellini's stature is Tarkovsky. His film 'Andrei Rublev' left a similar impression on me as 'La Strada'. Simply genius.

Yes, Andrei Rublev is an absolutely magnificent masterpiece! That ending in particular is stunning.

 

[gk_891]

Omg my movie tastes differ so much from most people on this thread.

First of all, 'La Strada' is absolute genius cinema. The film has left such a lasting impression on me that I couldn't get it out of my head years and years later. It's the most touching and tragic film I have ever seen. And Giuliette Masina is one of the best actresses of all time. But I love all of Fellini with 'Nights of Cabiria' being my second favourite film of his.

Kubrick, on the other hand, I can't stand and consider him to be insanely overrated! The only watchable film of his was 'Clockwork Orange'. I saw absolutely nothing in 'Eyes Wide Shut'. It's stupid, not at all sexy and it's just a bad film in my view. (And I'm a huge Tom Cruise fan)

I also cannot explain how poorly made, ridiculous and typically "Hollywood tash" I found 'Titanic' and 'Saving Private Ryan'. It's as if the directors were taking the mickey out of the general public by playing on every single ridiculous cliché possible to make these films as brainless as they could.

If it makes you feel better, I also hated Titanic (I found the entire love story completely uninteresting) and Saving Private Ryan. There was another war movie that year called The Thin Red Line that I liked better. My issue with it though was that it kind of wandered.

 

[PeterG]

Gregory Peck two-fer:

The Yearling (1946) - loooooved it. Just a beautiful movie in every way possible. Glad to see it was up for so many Oscars (and won two). Really wish one of the nominations had been for the screenplay, because without a good script, the movie could have crumbled. Claude Jarman Jr. as Jody was wonderful, shame that his movie career never really took off. His young friend played by Donn Gift did a great job as well. Gift died at 45 years of age, can't find anything about why he died so young. Jane Wyman is good in her role, but the performance is somewhat one-dimensional, but I'm pretty sure she was directed that way. There's one scene where she looks outside remembering things from her past which is quite heartbreaking. And Mr. Peck...just tremendous. And I doubt he ever looked more handsome than he did in this movie...

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - I liked it, but the whole story is rather sour, so a bit of a bummer to sit through. And the movie is just over two and a half hours long, so you gotta stick with it. My guess is that this was one of those movies that was a turning point in film, with trying to show a grittier, more realistic take on life. But I'd rather stick with the sweeter melodrama of The Yearling. Co-stars in this one include Jennifer Jones, Fredric March and Lee J. Cobb.

Some usual suspects in this year's Razzie nominations, but also some very recent Oscar winners too

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/13/razzies-nominations-2016-list

I'm finding the Razzies are becoming much too obvious. Did anyone expect Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 to be anything other than horrible? The Razzies to me should be about going after those who aimed high and fell flat. To nominate Katherine Heigl for "Home Sweet Hell" when it made zero dollars at the box office... Makes the Razzies people just look bad for kicking somebody when they're down...

I have to admit that I liked "Pulp Fiction" and the campy vampire movie (can't remember the name.) I haven't been able to stomach the other films. What if Tarantino is a reflection of what is already out there?

Whether Tarantino's work reflects the violence that is out there, or people are influenced by violence they see on a screen...to me is a discussion that's not as important as why do we find humans harming other humans as something to entertain us? Do we need movies or video games to be aware that violence exists? Why perpetuate a problem by shining a greater light on those problems? That's why I love somebody like Tom Hanks who is involved in creating work which makes us wonder about who we are as people, but from a perspective of...how can I be a little bit "more"? (More talented, more loving, more giving, more creative...) And any Hanks movie that includes violence is done in a way that makes you see the horror of what is done when there were other options, and that the character in a way mourns his choice when he could have done something which would have brought about a better possibility. If there could be twice the number of Tom Hanks movies to replace all output Tarantino could make in the future, that would make me very happy. And Tarantino could get a job cleaning restrooms at the Mall of America.

 

[manhn]

There is no way that Fifty Shades of Grey (and particularly Dakota Johnston) should be getting Razzies, but of course it would.

I like that there are two female directors in the worst Director Category. Yay for breaking the glass ceiling!

 

[PeterG]

There is no way that Fifty Shades of Grey (and particularly Dakota Johnston) should be getting Razzies, but of course it would.

I like that there are two female directors in the worst Director Category. Yay for breaking the glass ceiling!

Maybe they should change the name of The Razzies to The Bitchy Queen Awards.

 

[gk_891]

One director I could never get into was Luis Bunuel. But he did do 2 films that captured my imagination: Un Chien Andulou and Los Olvidados. I thought both were stunning but a lot of his later films bored me to tears.

There's one particular movie that I go back and forth on a lot and it's Requiem For a Dream. The music, the editing, etc are all top-notch and when I first watched it years back, I was stunned by it. But years later, I found it kind of over-the-top even if there were marvelous aspects to it. I'm also less fond of Ellen Burstyn's performance years later. It's a very flashy role but I kind of felt like it was Oscar-baiting in some respects.

 

[Buzz]

Avatar 2 which was supposed to be released December 2017 is now indefinitely delayed. But maybe a summer 2018 release is not out of the question. I wonder why the change of heart?
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Avatar-2-Just-Got-Delayed-Again-107657.html

 

[smurfy]

If it makes you feel better, I also hated Titanic (I found the entire love story completely uninteresting) and Saving Private Ryan. There was another war movie that year called The Thin Red Line that I liked better. My issue with it though was that it kind of wandered.

Oh - I hated Titanic too - so glad I am not alone. Technologically it is a good movie, but blah to the love story. Leading up to the oscars, I could not stand listening to various friends/coworkers that never go to the movies, but saw Titanic and kept talking about it being the best movie ever. Compared to what? I worked with several people - it was the only movie they saw that year in the theatre. LA Confidential or The Full Monty were better movies.
I did like Saving Pvt Ryan - so we can't agree on everything.
The Thin Red Line was verygood, great cast, I remember it seemed like no one knew about it, but it was well done. Wander is a good way to describe it, but it was different and got me thinking.

 

[Jay42]

@Xela M I am a 28 year old woman with a preference for old Hollywood films. I can go on at length about what I believe is a far superior era of film and I frequently do. Online, offline, anytime I'm given the opportunity and I think the person I'm talking to will be at least somewhat receptive.

We all have different taste in movies. That's what makes the movie threads so great. La Strada affected you in a very powerful and real way. The Manchurian Candidate affected me in a very real way. The fun is in experiencing other peoples thoughts and perspectives.

That being said, I will probably watch La Strada eventually. It has Anthony Quinn and I like the music from it. I just struggle with foreign language movies because I sometimes have problems focusing. When I watched Modern Times I had to make sure I had slept well the night before and I moved my computer and iPad as far away from my TV area as I could so I wouldn't get distracted. So whenever I find La Strada I will have to do the same thing.

 

[Xela M]

@Xela M I am a 28 year old woman with a preference for old Hollywood films. I can go on at length about what I believe is a far superior era of film and I frequently do. Online, offline, anytime I'm given the opportunity and I think the person I'm talking to will be at least somewhat receptive.

We all have different taste in movies. That's what makes the movie threads so great. La Strada affected you in a very powerful and real way. The Manchurian Candidate affected me in a very real way. The fun is in experiencing other peoples thoughts and perspectives.

That being said, I will probably watch La Strada eventually. It has Anthony Quinn and I like the music from it. I just struggle with foreign language movies because I sometimes have problems focusing. When I watched Modern Times I had to make sure I had slept well the night before and I moved my computer and iPad as far away from my TV area as I could so I wouldn't get distracted. So whenever I find La Strada I will have to do the same thing.

If you haven't seen The Godfather, I would really start with that. Just the opening sequences of Part I will give you a feel for the whole film and the music is also heavenly.

 

[Jay42]

See here is my problem with The Godfather, I've seen trailers and I still can't muster up more than a passing interest in it's existence. I know a movie that I have to see when I come across it, The Godfather doesn't make me feel like my life will in any way be improved or worsened by whether I see it or not. It's just there, as a thing that exists, and yes, I probably will see eventually, because I like movies and it's supposed to be one of the best all time classics, but it's not really high on my list of priorities. I have so many movies that I want/need to see. The Godfather is a movie that I will probably only get around to when I find someone who will watch it with me.

P.S. There is a decent chance that my lack of interest is because of Brando. I have a hard time feeling interested in most of his movies. The main reason I want to see A Streetcar Names Desire is because of Vivien Leigh. The other reason is I like a decent amount of the Tennessee Williams based movies that I have seen.

 

[Xela M]

See here is my problem with The Godfather, I've seen trailers and I still can't muster up more than a passing interest in it's existence. I know a movie that I have to see when I come across it, The Godfather doesn't make me feel like my life will in any way be improved or worsened by whether I see it or not. It's just there, as a thing that exists, and yes, I probably will see eventually, because I like movies and it's supposed to be one of the best all time classics, but it's not really high on my list of priorities. I have so many movies that I want/need to see. The Godfather is a movie that I will probably only get around to when I find someone who will watch it with me.

P.S. There is a decent chance that my lack of interest is because of Brando. I have a hard time feeling interested in most of his movies. The main reason I want to see A Streetcar Names Desire is because of Vivien Leigh. The other reason is I like a decent amount of the Tennessee Williams based movies that I have seen.

I agree with you on one thing - 90% of Brando's films are terrible/unwatchable and he took the mickey and acted badly, usually because he was in conflict with the director or just couldn't be bothered to make an effort. HOWEVER, there really is a reason why superstars like Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day Lewis, Al Pacino etc all consider him to be the best actor of all time and their "teacher" and if you watch 'A Streetcar Named Desire' you will understand why. It's the performance that changed Hollywood. It's the performance that drove women all over America to insanity. And as you can see from this thread, I'm not the only one who considers this to be the best performance by a male lead ever. The film is generally a very good adaptation and the whole cast is brilliant, but Brando is - special. Tennessee Williams would not have anyone else play Stanley Kowalski.

As for the 'Godfather'... I've not seen the trailer, but I'm guessing it didn't do it justice. Godfather Part 1 is a film where everthing just came together and 'clicked' to create perfection. There is not a wrong note, not a superfluous scene, not a single bad choice. From the music, the script, the cinematography to the director, the cast - just everything worked. It's also the most romantic and least violent of all the mafia films (nothing like Scorcese's movies). I actually envy you because you haven't seen it. And Brando is superb in it. It's a role with which he made a statement "I still got it"! After his antics in the 60's, he was considered to be the death of any director, unmanageable, unemployable and way past it. Hollywood was mocking him and using him as an example of a cautionary tale of how far the mighty can fall. Brando wanted to show them all that he is still the best. I don't think you can say you don't like Brando until you've seen his two most iconic performances.

But my favourite performances in 'The Godfather' came from James Caan as Sonny and Robert Duvall as Tom.

@Xela M I am a 28 year old woman with a preference for old Hollywood films. I can go on at length about what I believe is a far superior era of film and I frequently do. Online, offline, anytime I'm given the opportunity and I think the person I'm talking to will be at least somewhat receptive.

We all have different taste in movies. That's what makes the movie threads so great. La Strada affected you in a very powerful and real way. The Manchurian Candidate affected me in a very real way. The fun is in experiencing other peoples thoughts and perspectives.

That being said, I will probably watch La Strada eventually. It has Anthony Quinn and I like the music from it. I just struggle with foreign language movies because I sometimes have problems focusing. When I watched Modern Times I had to make sure I had slept well the night before and I moved my computer and iPad as far away from my TV area as I could so I wouldn't get distracted. So whenever I find La Strada I will have to do the same thing.

I have never seen 'The Manchurian Candidate' or many of the other films people list as their favourites. I'm going to watch it/them if you watch 'The Godfather' or 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and then we can compare what we think on here.

 

[gk_891]

Oh - I hated Titanic too - so glad I am not alone. Technologically it is a good movie, but blah to the love story. Leading up to the oscars, I could not stand listening to various friends/coworkers that never go to the movies, but saw Titanic and kept talking about it being the best movie ever. Compared to what? I worked with several people - it was the only movie they saw that year in the theatre. LA Confidential or The Full Monty were better movies.
I did like Saving Pvt Ryan - so we can't agree on everything.
The Thin Red Line was verygood, great cast, I remember it seemed like no one knew about it, but it was well done. Wander is a good way to describe it, but it was different and got me thinking.

I think part of my biggest problem with Saving Private Ryan was that cheesy ending in the cemetery. I hate it when movies end negatively with bad endings. I sort of had the same reaction with Malcolm X. While watching it, I kept thinking "Wow this is Spike Lee's best effort". And while I understand what Spike Lee was trying to do with that epilogue (demonstrate the effect that Malcolm X had on others), it was really cheesy. I also once saw a super-interesting Persian film called Taste of Cherry which is about a depressed Persian man who searches for someone to help him assist with his suicide which is huge sin in Islam. But the ending just puzzled me beyond belief.

On the other hand, I've seen some fairly uninteresting movies end extremely well with a brilliant ending. I'm not a fan of Woody Allen or Mia Farrow (I think both are annoying beyond belief) and I felt ambivalent when I first saw The Purple Rose of Cairo. But that ending was so brilliant that it made sitting through the movie all worth it. For me anyways.