Here's a "Top Twenty" list (films)

[Bryan]

Interesting. None of the Godfather movies are up there, nor Lord of the Rings, Lawrence of Arabia, Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, Citizen Kane, or Casablanca.

[chancethegardener]

Interesting. None of the Godfather movies are up there, nor Lord of the Rings, Lawrence of Arabia, Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, Citizen Kane, or Casablanca.

Yeah, Casablanca and Kane should really be there I suppose, but for me they are too "like them because the critics say I should". I've seen them, but nothing in them calls me back for more. My list is very "personal". You can tell I'm a big Sellers fan. Shawshank I have yet to see. Rings the same.

[dean_martin]

You caught me at a time when I'm really into Sergio Leone's westerns and Christopher Guest's comedies (I like "A Mighty Wind" too). I have a Rhino anthology of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack music called A Fistful of Film Music that is pretty good. It's a 2 disc set.

As far as Casablanca and Kane go, I prefer The Big Sleep over Casablanca and Touch of Evil over Citizen Kane.

As with any list I attempt, here's some I left off - Welcome to the Doll House, Fight Club, Crumb, Roger and Me, Faster Pussycat...Kill Kill, Suspiria and the list goes on. I really enjoy Euro and B horror movies but it's hard to pick one that would go in a top 20 list. And, I left off some of my favorite fantasy flicks like Jason and the Argonauts, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and Time Bandits.

You have High Fidelity way up there. The first time I watched it I didn't give it much of a chance because I generally don't care for John Cusack. After watching it again, I modeled my office system around his character's system (remember that Sansui integrated?) Obviously, I enjoyed it the 2nd time!

I'm not familiar with Brief Encounter and Allegro non Troppo from your list. I haven't seen The Party and Being There although I like Sellers. Too many movies, not enough time.

Any homegrown Australian films you can recommend?

[chancethegardener]

Ooooh! That's embarrising isn't it! Me an Aussie and no Australian films in my list! Well there are some that I think are quite good, but not many.

In the 1970's the South Australian Film Corporation decided to make and effort to burst onto the international scene with some excellent films - perhaps the best known being Picnic at Hanging Rock. A spooky film based on real events. I visited Hanging Rock two years ago and just stood there and tried to absorb some of the mystique. I won't give the game away by telling you what happens - you might want to see it. It's not bad at all.

Another Aussie film that I like, but which is quite weird is called Bliss (1985). Black comedy that won many awards over here, but not well known internationally.

John Cusack's stereo system in High Fidelity is a classic old one isn't it! Looks like an AU 5500 amp or something similar. Glad you gave it a second chance.

Brief Encounter is a British film (Rank Organisation), directed by Noel Coward. It is a love story.

Allegro non Troppo is an Italian send-up of Disney's original Fantasia - ie: cartoons set to music. Very clever, and the cartoon realisations of the classical pieces chosen are in some ways even more inspiring that Disney's. Unfortunately, the sound track is not well recorded for the time (1970's). The Disney engineers achieved a better sound quality in the 1940's (have you heard it in "Fantasound"!!!!!!!). That's really true - that's what they called the sound track. It was a multi-channel recording and must have been quite a stunning experience for the original movie goers in the 1940's in cinemas that were equiped to replay the sound as intended.

I don't know any of the films that you mentioned in your extras list - sorry! But that gives me lots of fodder for exploring new films - so thanks!

Check out The Party and Being There. If you like Sellers, you will love these. Be patient with Being There. Need to concentrate.

Cheers
Tony

[dean_martin]

Tony,

Thanks for the Aussie film recommendations. I'll definitely track down Picnic at Hanging Rock and Bliss. They sound suited for my taste. BTW, is Road Warrior/Mad Max (the original) a genuine Australian film?

Here are some brief synopses for my extras, hopefully without giving too much away:

Welcome to the Doll House - US independent film about a pre-adolescent middle girl competing with nerdy older brother and cutesy younger sister for attention. Dark comedy.

Fight Club - with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in excellent form. Not sure how to describe this one, but it's quite a roller-coaster ride.

Crumb - documentary about an underground comic book writer/illustrator and his weird family. Reality is truly stranger than fiction.

Roger and Me - Michael Moore's documentary (some might call it semi-documentary) about the economic decline of his home town, Flint, Michigan. IMHO, and others may disagree depending on their political leanings, this film will give you a glimpse of who really runs the US. Michael Moore also did Bowling for Columbine which I found interesting but I still have some unresolved issues with it. Run a search for that movie in this forum and you'll see how polarizing it is.

Faster, Pussycat...Kill! Kill! - striking black and white images, three leading ladies with amazing screen presence (and anatomy), over-the-top dialog, calls itself an expose on violent women. Russ Myer picture. I think it's a true original.

Suspiria - Dario Argento (Italian) horror film that gives great attention to visuals. Excellent use of color. Beautiful in an eerie/haunting way. Soundtrack drives the film. Unfortunately, I've only seen 2 Argento films. The first time I watched Suspiria, I put it in after midnight with all the lights out and it gave me a good scare. It had been a long time since a horror movie actually scared me.

The fantasy flicks I mentioned are simple pleasures, particularly Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad movies. Before computer generated FX, Ray Harryhausen (w/his "claymation") was the man. Some say his work was unrealistic, but I find the movement of his figures mesmerizing.

Cheers,
Tim

[vivisimonvi]

Being from the newer generation I've naturally preferred movies that came out during my time. Somehow I've never really gotten into the 'older' movies (prior to 1980) compared to the newer ones out. Perhaps I sense movies these days seem to have more depth and really grab your attention (to me at least), putting aside the evolution of special effects, visual and audio of course. Here's my current list (that changes periodically from time to time). Like dean previously stated, depends on my mood.


1. Schindler's List (I doubt any movie in the next few years will surpass this on my
list)
2. Donnie Darko
3. Silence of the Lambs (and it's successor Hannibal)
4. K-PAX
5 The Last Samurai
6 The Matrix series (Animatrix included)
7. Lord of the Rings trilogy
8 Lost in Translation
9 Good Will Hunting
10. Willow (one of my still few favorites since I was little)
11 Amadeus
12. Shawshank Redemption
13. Fight Club
14. Donnie Brasco
15. Terminator 2 (one of the FEW movies that far surpasses it's predecessor, my favorite
as a kid)
16. The Negotiator
17. Heat (Pacino vs. Deniro... I mean, you know)
18. Conan the Barbarian
19. Jacob's Ladder
20. Requiem for a Dream


There are probably tons of movies that came out the last few years that I want to watch that I hear are really good (the Secretary, Big Fish, Road to Perdition, etc.). There are many I would have liked to include in this list, perhaps some I can't remember off the top of my head at the moment (I would like add some other excellent titles, The Cube, Leaving Las Vegas, AI, Office Space, Amistad).

I'd like to see a thread dedicated to favorite comedians...

[chancethegardener]

I'd like to see a thread dedicated to favorite comedians...

Hi there!

Well, if you want to see a new thread dedicated to comedians, all you have to do is start one! Just click on "new thread" in the category you want (Favourite Films in this case) and go for it! I'll join in for sure! I'm sure lots of other people will too. I can start one off if you like, but I would rather you did, because you thought of it. It's a great idea.

Schindler's List seems to pop up on everyone's list (except mine). I must see it again and give it a fair go. I think I saw it when I was tired and not able to absorb the issues properly, which is an insult to the film and the issues which it explores.

Oh, I have just realised that maybe you mean a new category (rather than thread). I think the moderator of the site might have to do that one, but for now we can put
"favourite comedians" into the "Favourite Films" forum. Just do it. If someone complains then they can jam a 35mm reel of film up you-know-where.

I like your list - lot's of those films are favourites of mine too. I'm a bit "stuck in the past" and need to get some new movies into me. Thanks for some of your suggestions.

Cheers
Tony