Ok. I mostly loathe television. Mostly. However, there are some movies that I watch over and over again. There are also some that I may not watch that often, but that define parts of me to a T. Those are the films/movies with which I'd like to build a DVD library. Call me old fashioned (can you believe dvd's are kinda old fashioned??) but I still like to have a movie case to hold and read. Perusing the shelves of my bookcase for just the right movie on just the right night. There's a bit of an art to it.
Mainly this page is to help me remember the movies I want and the ones I already own.
CLASSICS:
Casablanca - Need I say more? (Answer: always.)
The 1st time I ever saw this movie was in the theater for its 40th anniversary in 1982. I'd slept at my friend Kathy Schroeder's house the night before. My dad came down to pick us up and bring us to the Cina 4 theater. I really had no idea what Casablanca was about but I love that I've seen this film on the big screen. :-) I've watched it at least 25 times since then.
This is truly an ensemble film. All the characters are needed and exquisitely cast. However, I'd like to note that I do not find Rick to be all that appealing. Cigarettes aside, Victor Laszlo, IMHO, is the ultimate human being. Principled, loving, understanding (love is as love does), and self assured. In short, he's an adult.
What gauls me about the film is how Rick seems to get credit for the idea of self sacrifice. At the end, when he says to Ilsa, "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now, here's lookin' at you kid." EXCUSE ME?? She and Victor had been telling him that repeatedly throughout the movie! Grrr.
Rear Window - Again, I saw this for the 1st time in the theater, this time with my dad. I could swear it was in black and white - my personal favorite. I don't recall when we saw it, except that it was after my parents split up, which would make it some time after 1983. Probably '84 or '85. I never saw much of my dad after that. I was really not looking forward to seeing it, but I was hooked the minute it started.
Now my family gets excited when it's on. I finally found it in a store to buy, so we're waiting til we can all be together to watch it again.
North by Northwest - Ahhh, Cary Grant. I find it amusing that he began this life with the name Archibald Leech. Just goes to show....Ya can't judge a blah blah blah...you get the picture.
I saw this for the first time around 2008 or '09. I had no idea what it was, I'd just been flipping channels. Unbeknownst to me, I picked it up at the beginning. The idea that it was just pure misunderstanding that got him into so much trouble really creeps me out and enthralls me. James Mason and his lush voice, it's like cashmere on Satan in this film. Oh- off topic- but there are points in the movie when Eva Marie Saint looks just like Halley Berry. Check it out sometime. Back to the picture: The house at the end is so delightful. I adore mid-century modern, at least I think that's what it is.
Spoiler alert: When the housekeeper at the end pulls a gun on our hero, I actually jumped the 1st time I saw it, and I still have to slightly cover my eyes and tense up when it happens. Kudos to the film too, for filming in South Dakota - a beautiful place.
Notorious - Again, I was just flippin' channels and came across this one night. It's really quite brutal/realistic - Grant's treatment of Bergman's character though I love it when he sticks up for her in the meeting with all the 'respectable' womens' husbands. (Not to blame their wives either, mind you.)
I still get nervous when he starts taking her out of the room to leave the house. And I have to admit, I did feel bad for the poor little Claude Rains character at the end. Live by the sword, die by the sword I guess, though it does make me wonder if I would've let him in the car. It seems that I've been "letting people in the car" most of my life and I get kinda screwed. Or maybe I'm whining. At what point does self preservation turn you into someone who probably shouldn't be preserved? lol Hard to say sometimes. I'm glad I'm not God. I would hate to be responsible for judging actions. Good thing He knows a lot more than we!! :-)
The Sting - Dear George Roy Hill, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is one of the funnest movies ever to go back and watch repeatedly. It's a new language so you can watch it around 20 times and still be learning the lingo. After you've picked up that tongue, it's still fun to watch because the characters are so incredible you want to be around them. Ya folla? Oh dear, sorry, that was sooo sad. lol
COMEDIES
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels- Last night my son and I watched this for the second time in about a month. We laughed just as hard as the first time. There are very few movies that make me laugh out loud and wheeze, this one does - & not just a chuckle or a "that's clever".
Michael Caine is brilliant as always and Steve Martin is perfect. Glenn Headly too, she's perfectly cast in this. The only part I don't care for is the last line, "Let's get 'em boys." Too Hollywood.
The movie likes to bash Americans of course, again, too Hollywood. But it's a fun show and it surprised me quite a bit - that's saying something. I tend toward cynicism so it takes a lot. Excellent show! Do I want to own it? Hmmm, maybe not. If I owned it I wouldn't treasure it as much. We'll probably just keep renting it On Demand.
The Closet Ok, it's in French with English subtitles. That's actually one of the things that makes it so fun. When things get filtered through our own minds they're funner and obviously, more attuned to us. I adore subtitles. Ya just can't knit easily with those movies.
This has Daniel Autiel(?) playing a guy who's going to lose his job so his neighbor convinces him to pretend he's gay so they won't fire him. I think the funniest part is when Depardieu's character is trying to be nice to him in the restaurant. I couldn't breathe for laughing so hard during part of it. Anyway, I'll definitely need to order this.
