Thursday 9 September 2010

FILM FUN

I have been tagged by Good Dog to list some of the films that I will happily watch several times over – or, in my case, have already watched many times over.

This is not my list of the Greatest Movies Ever Made, just a selection of those that I will happily re-watch whenever the opportunity arises. There's a month's worth here (thirty-one of them) and, following Good Dog's example, I am not giving the titles – just showing you a scene from the movie. Some are easily identified, others are harder. How many can you name?

If it helps they are (ignoring definite and indefinite articles) in numerical/alphabetical order...

Good luck!


Now, of course – as is the way with memes, I have to tag others. The rule are:

01. Provide a non-exhaustive list of films you’ll happily watch again and again. [Note you don't have to match my 31!]
02. There is no rule 02.
03. Reprint the rules.
04. Tag three others and ask them to do the same.

And my chosen victims are Irascian, Ryan Rasmussen and Steven Hartley and anyone else who wants to join in...

Now which of those movies shall I watch first?

37 comments:

scb said...

Oh, wonderful! I've been wishing for a good meme! Unfortunately, I couldn't name very many of yours -- I do with movies as Helene Hanff did with books. She said, "While other people are reading many books once, I am reading one book several times. I only stop when I get to the bottom of page 20 and can quote all of page 21. Then I put the book away for a few years." That was quoted from memory, but I'll bet I was close! Anyway, I've not seen many movies, but those I love I have watched until I have them nearly memorized!

So I was glad to see Jimmy Stewart well represented, and especially glad to see The Sound of Music (you had to know I love that one!)

*goes off happily to do the meme*

Matt said...

I must say I was quite pleased to see Disney's Alice in Wonderland on this list, well done you ;)

Brian Sibley said...

By the way, SCB over at Where there are Meadowlarks has done a version of this meme with quotes. Good fun! Check it out!

JK said...

The image from Lawrence of Arabia reminds me of a recent screening - inside Alexandra Palace. With a live camel.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/09/pop-up-cinema-takes-hold

Susan D-L said...

I recognized 18 of these right away, and the rest are probably ones I'd smack myself on the head for after seeing the title. Some of my favorites are here.

What a fun idea. ; )

Boll Weavil said...

Here's my top ten (in the order in which they come into my head)

1. Silent Running - fantastic juxtaposition between the world of the future and the hippy dream
2. Scrooge - Albert Finney as the most funny Mr S
3. Local Hero - whenever I watch it, I always see something new.
4. Titanic '98 - Cameron can't wrote a script to save his life but the cinematography in the last hour is outstanding.
5. White Christmas - inseperable from Quality Street and Baileys (bring it on)
6. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - great cast and songs, great scenery from a time when the big movie was king !
7. Toy Story - the original and best - so much love and talent in this movie.
8. Excalibur - dated but engrandised and elevated by Wagner
9. Jason and the Argonauts - just magnificent. great effects brought to life with imagination.
10, Juggernaut/Flight of the Pheonix. Attenborough's drunk and Stewart's has-been flier fight it out with Richard Harris and Omar Shariff. I can't seperate them....

I'm not very cultured, I just like being entertained !
5.

SharonM said...

Here are clues to some of my favourites:-

1. "For God, Alfonso and Spain".

2. "Keep close to ze candles".

3. "If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all."

4. "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

5. "... when I called you last night from Glasgow."

6. "C'mon Baggy, get with the beat."

7. Which of the three GI's is Gia's father, and what's it got to do with soup?

8."Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for."

9. "Let's face the music and dance."

10. "You played it for her, you can play it for me."

11. "There you are, your very own number, on your very own door. And behind that door, your very own office."

12. "I must deal with Messala in my own way."

13. "I've got this fire in my body. I'm just there. Flyin' like a bird. Like electricity."

14. "Savvy?"

15. "It's better to help people than garden gnomes."

16. "Life isn't like in the movies. Life is much harder."

17. "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

18. "Don't try to be a hero. You don't have to be a hero. Not for me."

19. "Oh, Jerry, don't ask for the moon. We have the stars."

20. "When I was a kid, you could buy meat anywhere."

Brian Sibley said...

James – Thanks for that link: what larks!

Boll Weavil – Loved your selection. Damn! I ought to have listed Silent Running and probably Chitty, which, when it was first released in the cinema, I saw, four times in ONE week!

SharonM – Right, now! Let's tackle Sharon's list... Oh, goody, there's a couple of Disney pics – and Bette Davis' best-ever (I say) movie performance...

SharonM said...

Any you didn't recognise?

Brian Sibley said...

Of course not! I recognised all of them!! ;)

What? OK! Not all, of them... But I thought I'd let other readers have fun before we gave the answers. By the way, how many of mine did you get?

Anonymous said...

Ok, either we have the same taste in men, or just the same taste in movies... or both? ^^

Anyway loved your choices, can't really say how many I recognized since I am only passing by (really busy), but at least half of them

Steven Hartley said...

Happy to see Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Fantasia as one of my favourite Disney films in there that you like?? Wizard of Oz is good to see there are they mainly the classics from around the 1930's and 1940's? Although I noticed that a 1950's film Forbidden Planet is in there and the ID monster was animated by longtime Disney effects animator Josh Meador.

I'm glad you chose me as the chosen victims and I'd love to do a list, although I've got so much stuff to go through to do a list like this but I've got film favourites and its on on my posts in my blogs somewhere but my favourite film of all time has to be 'Kes'.

Brian Sibley said...

dragonladych – Then we must round up a couple of guys (don't know about you, but I have mine already!) and go on a date to the movies... :)

I need to add that SharonM left a comment in reply to my question about how many my films she recognised saying that she identified 15 but, unfortunately, I deleted it! Sorry, Sharon!

Steven – Sorry you don't have time to do your own list but glad you are busy and thanks for mentioning the wonderful Kes.

Steven Hartley said...

Yes, Kes I think is a brilliant film and I think it deserves recognition and its got a great story about a skinny lad named Billy Casper and I feel sorry for him. I've read the book by Barry Hines. What do you like about the film?

Yes, I will be busy because I've entered Key Stage 4 in Year 10 and I'd be doing more homework at weekends and starting on my GCSE's. :)

Brian Sibley said...

Quite right! I don't think anyone recognises a GCSE in blogging!!

Boll Weavil said...

In response to Steve Hartley, what I like about Kes is what EVERYBODY likes about Kes - Glover's egomaniac games teacher. It's faultless and for myself, and my brother, it was the first time we'd ever seen REAL people in the movies.Still a massive classic !

Brian Sibley said...

I had a games teacher just like that and it was pure hell!

Good Dog said...

Brian,

Ah, that's a great selection (although there are five I'm still scratching my noggin over). A number of them would have made my list if I watched them on a more regular basis.

And while I was choosing mine I ended up watching most all of them again. Good job it wasn't a list of movies I loathe.

Rayymond Huber said...

Got them all except the one before Mary Poppins (Manchurian Candidate?) and the one after The Railway Children (Alistair Sim movie?). Love your choices especially A Matter of Life and Death! I would add Rear Window.

Unknown said...

Will have a go at my list this weekend. It's interesting that there are what I call "comfort" films which I don't mind seeing over and over again, but which often-times are really badly flawed, and then films I rate very highly but wouldn't really want to sit through again (2001 is probably the best example of this).

Will put my thinking hat on, although I see you have captured many of my "comfort" films already.

I only got 18 on your list so looking forward to discovering which ones I missed.

Suzanne said...

Oh my! I could instantly name a few, several were on the tip of my tongue... and the rest are very vague. But thanks to reading all the other comments, I know that Laurence of Arabia is there... someone has lent me the DVD, so that's my weekend taken care of!

Brian Sibley said...

Good Dog – Only five you didn't get? That's impressive! By the way, if you do ever respond to a meme on 'Movies I Loath', please don't feel any obligation to tag me! Although, come to think of it, how hard could it be...?!


Raymond – Anyone identifying Mary Poppins from the brief sequence of Mr Banks taking his long, lonely walk to his disciplinary hearing at the bank wins my admiration! As for the one before, Well now... :) And as for Alistair Sim in a wig... Let me give you a clue: it is in the nature of a 'spirit-induced' flashback scene.


Ian – I'll really look forward to your list and, yes, I understand, exactly what you mean about 'comfort movies'. For me, part of the comfort often derives from the intensely personal memories that the film evokes of when, where and with whom I first saw it: hence my inclusion of that film that you specifically wouldn't list...


Suzanne – When you watch Lawrence of Arabia, look out for the scene depicted and notice Claude Raines doing a little piece of wonderful actorly business where he runs his finger along the surface of a long cabinet or table and then examines his finger-tips. David Lean was a master and, like all his films, Lawrence combines epic scenes with brilliant moments of micro-character observation.

Probably almost time to list the answers!

scb said...

I've posted my answers, and am eagerly waiting to read yours!

scb said...

Sorry for the double-comment, but oh gosh, how did I miss Mary Poppins! *hides face in shame*

Good Dog said...

Brian,

Ah, after you gave us Mary Poppins and jogged my memory for Scrooge, there’s only three I don’t know, though I think the eighth one is The Court Jester. If that’s right, the ones I’m still stumped on are the sixth film and the eighteenth, where the wonderful lighting reminds me of Gregg Toland’s work.

I own nine of the titles on DVD. Much as I love Lawrence of Arabia (and The Bridge on the River Kwai) I don’t watch them with enough regularity to make my list. The same is true with 2001. I bought the Stanley K boxset when the films were remastered but still go back to Dr Strangelove more than any of the others.

If I had to come up with movies I loathe, Raging Bull would be top of the list for a start.

Good Dog said...

Brian,

Not for publication, but these are the films I recognized...

01. 2001: A Space Odyssey
02. Alice in Wonderland
03. All About Eve
04. La Belle et la Bête
05. Brief Encounter
06. ?
07. Citizen Kane
08. The Court Jester?
09. The Day The Earth Stood Still
10. Dr Strangelove
11. Fantasia
12. Forbidden Planet
13. The General
14. It’s a Wonderful Life
15. Jason and the Argonauts
16. Lawrence of Arabia
17. A Man for All Seasons
18. ?
19. Mary Poppins (told by you)
20. A Matter of Life and Death
21. Mr Smith Goes to Washington
22. Pinocchio
23. Planet of the Apes
24. The Railway Children
25. Scrooge (with help)
26. Singing in the Rain
27. Snow White and the Seven Drawfs
28. Some Like it Hot
29. The Sound of Music
30. Strangers on a Train
31. The Wizard of Oz

Boll Weavil said...

This sounds stupid but its the textures and colours in those stills that helped me identify them - even the Mary Poppins one (which I couldn't have told you what scene it was from.Anyone that knows you, knows there's always going to be IAWL in there and of course, I know exactly what Sim and the young Hordern are concocting in that still ! The one with the rocket (in colour) I think I have... I could get the video off the shelf but that would be cheating !

Raymond Huber said...

WELL... is it the Magnificent Ambersons? And Scrooge. This has been fun, thank you!

Brian Sibley said...

Right! Answers time!

My friend, Frank, e-mailed a list of 23 correct answers, but Good Dog pips him with (even disallowing the two I helped with) 27.

The solution is then as GD's list above, plus at number 6 (and well done Frank who got this one right!) Cabaret. Number 8 is, indeed, Danny Kaye's The Court Jester (Angela Lansbury and Mildred Natwick); and at 18 (with its Gregg Toland homage photography) is the only really contemporary film on my list: the Cohen Brothers' superb 2001 film noir picture, The Man Who Wasn't There.

Now we need Sharon's answers...

SharonM said...

Right:

1. El Cid
2. Young Frankenstein
3. Bambi
4. 2001
5. Mama Mia
6. Jungle Book
7. Buona Sera Mrs Campbell
8. Lord of the Rings
9. Follow the Fleet
10. Casablanca
11. Brazil
12. Ben Hur
13. Billy Elliott
14. Pirates of the Caribbean
15. Amelie
16. Cinema Paradiso
17. Gandhi
18. High Noon
19. Now Voyager
20. Soylent Green

Which, if any, didn't you know, Brian?

Brian Sibley said...

Do I have to be honest, Sharon?

OK, then....

I've never seen Buona Sera Mrs Campbell; didn't recognise Mama Mia!, Brazil, Amelie, Billy Elliott and Ghandi; knew I knew, but couldn't place, Cinema Paradiso (though I love the film) and I got all the rest...

Well, that is 'all' except... Oh, lor, this is embarrassing... I didn't identify The Lord of the Rings! My only excuse: it's not a line from the book!

Ryan Rasmussen said...

Tagged!? I shall get on the job post haste! (Some nice choices in your list, Brian!)

Arts and Crafts said...

Uff, I am unable to do a list... but I'm complete agree with all of you with your lists.

Rob Cox said...

Inspired to do a list myself although, not being a film buff or regular film goer I'm going to restrict it to ten - and in no particular order:-

1. Ordinary People
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Sicko
4. Life of Brian
5. Silence of the Lambs
6. Bowling for Columbine
7. Duel
8. Airplane
9. A Few Good Men
10. Secrets and Lies

So - no musicals, no cartoons, no romcoms!! What does that say about me?

But good blog Brian - and this is the 34th comment. Is that a record for your blogs?

Brian Sibley said...

Interesting selection, Rob, and two Michael Moore movies on one list.

Boll didn't list Twelve Angry Men, but I think it's one of his favourites, too. It's certainly a brilliantly acted and directed picture and it is interesting when a film such as that (or one of my choices, All About Eve) which is very much a set-bound, talkie-talkie movie wins out over epics with sweeping cinematography.

Haven't seen Duel in years. Must watch it again: one of the scariest films ever...

34 (now 35) comments... Not bad, but not quite the record. The most comments I've ever received on one of my blogs was 85 when I wrote about the passing of the artist Pauline Baynes who illustrated the fantasy worlds of J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis.

Ryan Rasmussen said...

Mission accomplished here: http://holyembersofdreams.blogspot.com/2010/09/playlist-meme.html

Brian Sibley said...

Ryan – Another great film catalogue! Thanks! Although, I have to confess, I'm still puzzling over one or two of them!