The Blue Angel. Marlene Dietrich in an early role that may have been her all-time
best, a modern-day Circe who turns men into roosters rather than swine. Whatever
happened to Germany’s ability to make great movies? Did the last Great War kill it?
Amadeus. The music alone is worth the price of admission. But what ever happened
to Tom Hulce (Mozart) and F. Murray Abraham (Salieri), each of whose performances
made this film so memorable.
Bull Durham. A great story of failed ambition, Kevin Costner in rare good form,
especially nostalgic for me from all the afternoons and evenings I sat with my dad in
the old Southside park watching Carolina League baseball games.
The Sting. One of the early and undoubtedly the best collaboration between Paul
Newman and Robert Redford. Here is where Newman should have won his Oscar, if
at all. That background or ragtime and the whole early century treatment are simply
unforgettable.
High Noon. Although the movie ends like many early westerns, with a predictable
shootout, the point of it all is not the ending. It is the movie itself: a troubling
discourse on the cowardice of the multitude in the face of evil, the bravery of one man
to stand alone against a gang of desperadoes when every plea of help goes for
naught.
Dr. Zhivago. A classic epic, a love story played out against the background of the
Russian Revolution, with a musical theme to match its powerful and tragic plot.
Stalag 17. A world war II thriller that brought the first taste of true greatness to William
Holden’s Career.
Rambling Rose. What could be more unexpected than yet another twist to the story
of a whore with a heart of gold, and lest anyone fail to understand that this movie is
Southern to the core, there is a mighty burst of Dixieland jazz to help get the point
across.
The Bridge over the River Kwai. Another good Holden movie and an extraordinary
performance by the brilliant British actor, Alec Guinness.
Casablanca. Who could leave this out, possibly the most frequently replayed movie
of all time, and an early burst of brilliance by Humphrey Bogart before the great films
of the late forties and fifties, and a slightly less brilliant performance by the sometimes
overrated Swedish actress, Ingrid Bergman.
All about Eve. Wonderful film about betrayal, with a marvelously ironic ending.
To Kill a Mockingbird. A realistic portrait of the Jim Crow South, which shoves to the
side the romantic overkill of Gone with the Wind, though the latter did have its
moments. Even Clark Gable, an actor noted for his bad breath, for an inability to
remember his lines, for an inability to dance, and, despite his mustache and devilish
good looks, for his notoriously inadequate performances in bed—“the worst lay in
Hollywood,” his wife at the time, actress Carol Lombard, once said of him.
The Best Years of Our Lives. A must see for anyone who thinks only Vietnam vets
suffered rejection on their return from foreign soil. Another World War II masterpiece.
Peacetime version.
The Hustler. Another good film by Newman, who had too few despite his reputation.
The Kevin Costner of his generation. Actually he has been better if some of his later
films, made when he was in his late seventies and early eighties.
The Pride of the Yankees. Another great Cooper movie made when he was still a
solid citizen. Only one flaw for nitpickers: Cooper, as Lou Gehrig, manages to hit a
home run off a pitch intentionally thrown outside to put him on first. If this has ever
happened in the big leagues or anywhere else, it would be a wonder to know about it.
Midnight Cowboy. I believe this may have been the first big-time dirty movie. If not, it
was certainly one of the first.
Terms of Endearment. A wonderful tear-jerker with Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine
and Debra Winger all in top form.
Rainman. If this is not Dustin Hoffman, as an autistic savant, at his best, it is close.
Tootsie and The Graduate might have a claim. Even Wag the Dog.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Jimmy Stewart is the underdog gunfighter in
this one, but John Wayne to the rescue, arranging a shooting that kills the evil
bastard Valance and thereby creating the legend that makes Stewart the hero and
ultimately a U.S. Senator. If it is a question printing the truth or the legend, always go
with the legend.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Fate destroys the dream of wealth for Bogart
and two companions, who go off confident that they will make the world's biggest gold
strike in the High Sierras.
Something to Talk About. If ever a funnier movie has been made, I would certainly
like to see it. The hated Julia Roberts is in top form, her sister, Kyra Sedgwick, is
better, especially when she kicks Roberts' philandering husband in the nuts.
A Fish Called Wanda. OK. This may be it. If not as funny as Something to Talk
About, it is awfully close, some scenes better. Think of Kevin Kline, who got an Oscar
for supporting roles, as he ate the valuable fish with the caretaker sitting there his
mouth stuff full of something or other so that he could not at least raise a voice to
protect the most precious specimens.
Patton. Unquestionably the finest movie to come out of World War II, ringing to mind
all the old headlines of that era. Patton's 3rd Army Smashes into Sudetanland. Nor
is his speech to the 3rd Army in Britain, as dramatized in the 1970 movie, easily
forgotten: Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans
despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for
a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose
a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American." George C. Scott was, as
they say, born to play Patton. You easily get the feeling that he could have been the
man himself.
Fatal Attraction. This movie probably won't have much effect on committed
philanderers. Those just getting into the game may get a little nervous.
Giant. A big-screen epic about Big Oil and Texas oil magnates. It works marvelously
well despite the presence of second-rate actors like Rock Hudson and Elizabeth
Taylor. James Dean helps. A brilliant actor destined for early death.
East of Eden. Again James Deal triumphs with only a little help from supporting cast.
Script is tight and powerful, unlike Steinbeck's best-selling novel.
Days of Wine and Roses. I can't believe this movie was nominated for five or six
Academy Awards and won none. Stars Lee Remick as the alcoholic wife of PR drunk
JacK Lemmon.
Elmer Gantry. Tighter and far more powerful than the book. Sinclair Lewis is
rambling and uncharacteristically tedious in the written work.
12 Angry Men. Maybe the best trial movie ever made, with an angry Henry Fonda
persuading eleven other jurors of a man's innocence whose guilt was supposedly
open and shut.
Songcatcher. Someone suggested this should have been titled 'O Sister, where art
thou?' a throwoff on George Clooney's "O brother, where art thou." Mainly because
of its treatment of lesbianism and its chilling effect on the main character. Gifted
musicologist Lily Penderic, played by Janet McTeer, roaming the North Carolina
mountains for ancient Scottish and English ballads never before heard by the outside
work, is at first stunned and later reconciled to discover that her schoolteacher sister
is homosexual.
Cat Ballou. Hate Jane Fonda if you will. But no one can hate Nat "King" Cole who,
teamed with Stubby Kaye (Does anybody know this guy?) provide a kind of Greek
chorus interlude from time to time in what may be the finest Western parody of all
time. Lee Marvin is marvelous in one of his first leading roles.
Others Receiving Votes
Lawrence of Arabia; Gone with the Wind; O' Brother, Where Art Thou?; A Place in
the Sun; The Apartment; Splendor in the Grass; Requiem for a Heavyweight;
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?; Rear Window and Vertigo.
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