Over the past week I’ve seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (#29), West Side Story (#41), and A Streetcar Named Desire (#45).
While watching the movies on my list, I’ve found that movies are better when you watch them with people who like them. My mom really liked Mr. Smith, so she watched it with me. Having her point out things helped to keep it interesting. And West Side Story is one of my dad’s faves, so hearing the story about when he first started watching it and why he liked it (and hearing him recite lines and sing along) made it more enjoyable. Again, Wikipedia helped me to follow along with both movies.
I saw Streetcar many years ago, but didn’t remember it, so it went on my “To See” list instead of the “Seen” list. I’m glad I put it there too, because I really enjoyed watching it recently. Vivien Leigh is one of my favorite actresses (thanks to Gone with the Wind, one of my favorite movies ever!) so I liked seeing her in this role. It was funny how her character had some of the same characteristics as her Scarlett caracter. The story was really good, and I saw the recent version which had parts that had been cut from the original.
Of the 3 movies, Streetcar is probably the only one that I would have watched without this list, but I’m glad to have seen all 3 for the historical significance of them.
kkolumbu has written 14 entries about this goal
I recently saw “On the Waterfront” and “The Manchurian Candidate”, so my list is at…
To See
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
56. MA*SH (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
Seen
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
78. ROCKY (1976)
84. FARGO (1996)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
99. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
If I’m counting correctly, that means I’ve now seen 43 of the movies now. After 3 years, I would’ve thought that I’d be further along, but… at least I’m making progress.
I’ve just recently rediscovered the wonderfulness of the library, not only for my kids, but for me too. I’m not a big reader, so I never thought about going to the library as an adult (once I got out of college anyway). I just discovered that the library has movies that I can check out. I still have a VCR and since many of the AFI movies are older, playing them on video tape doesn’t really compromise the quality. I’ve been checking out VHS tapes of the movies, and plan to do that a lot more as I make weekly trips to the library with my kids! And the best thing is… it’s free!
During this past week, I’ve watched 2 more of the top 100 movies, Annie Hall and The Godfather II. I’ll start with the movie that I saw first, Annie Hall.
I have never been a fan of Woody Allen movies. I just don’t get the humor. While I appreciate the cultural significance of Annie Hall, it definitely isn’t going to the top of my list of my favorite movies. Again, Wikipedia made me appreciate the movie a little more, but it wasn’t a movie that had me engrossed and left me wanting more. I did love Diane Keaton though… she was a fox and I love her innocence. Reminds me of an early Meg Ryan, from back when Meg was young herself. :)
The Godfather II was another movie I “couldn’t refuse”. :) I liked it every bit as much as the first. It makes me want to see the third one, but I’ve heard that the 3rd doesn’t stack up to the first two. I really liked that II acted as both a sequel and a prequel. I almost want to go back and watch the first one again. I’m sure this will become a movie that I start leaving on the tv when I see it on, just like Gone with the Wind.
Oh, and although I’ve seen it before, I also saw The Wizard of Oz this past week. This time I saw it at the theather, which was a first. I also saw it with my 3 year old daughter, another first. It was a very cool experience to watch it as an adult, yet still seeing it through the eyes of a child as she asked questions and I explained to her what was happening. I have seen the movie so many times that I have many of the lines memorized, but this is the first time that I remember actually sitting down and watching the whole thing from start to finish. I usually catch it on TV and watch it while doing other things, and also usually miss the beginning. This is probably the first time that I’ve watched the whole black and white part of the movie (without Pink Floyd playing over it anyway). :) Very cool!
Just watched Taxi Driver while the kids napped. One of my favorite things about the movies from this time period is seeing the big name actors and actresses before they were really big name. I also like knowing the context of where famous movie quotes like “You talkin’ to me?” come from.
While this movie was a little slow going for most of the movie, that seems to be the way that many of the 70s movies on this list are. The best part of the movie was probably the epilog that followed the climax. Having read wikipedia’s interpretations of the ending, I think it’s even more interesting.
So, overall good movie. It was definitely darker than movies that I typically enjoy, but it was worth watching.
I am sitting here watching “Snow White” with my daughter and wanted to look up where that movie fell on the AFI list. While looking for “Snow White”, I noticed that there are a bunch of movies that I’ve seen and haven’t marked off of my list, so I’m updating my “To See” and “Seen” lists. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’ve now seen 40 of the top 100. Still a ways to go, but at least I’ve made progress. :) Also, I noticed that I’ve now seen nearly all of the top 15 movies. Guess I better keep an eye out for “On the Waterfront” so I can say I’ve seen all of the top 15.
To See
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
56. MA*SH (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
Seen
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
9. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
78. ROCKY (1976)
84. FARGO (1996)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
99. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
Speaking of “hot”... I watched another movie off of the AFI list the other day, Some Like It Hot. According to AFI, not only is it #14 of the top 100 films ever, but it’s the #1 comedy ever. I’m sure the movie was very risque for it’s time (with cross dressing, men accidentally kissing men, grabbing boobies, etc.) which contributed to it’s humor-factor back then (it was made in the late 1950s), but I found it mildly entertaining. I have a hard time getting past the forced acting of movies of that time period, especially comedies. I even have a hard time understanding what they’re saying sometimes, not because of accents or anything, but because of the way that they yell all of the lines. And even though the movie was not meant to be taken seriously, it annoys me when movies ignore obvious things like the fact that the guys disguised as girls were in a room across the hall from Marilyn Monroe’s character, and the doors were not even solid doors (they had slats in them), yet anytime the guys were in the room they would talk at a regular pitch in their regular man voices and no one ever heard them or suspected anything… even though the whole floor was supposed to be women with their band! I know, petty, but… whatever. It also was silly to me that just because they were dressed like women, all of the men who saw them seemed to be hitting on them, yet they weren’t doing the same thing to the other real women who were better looking and not big burly “women” like these two appeared to be. Having said all that, it was an okay movie and one that I’m glad to have seen from a historical and movie-references point of view. I’m just not very into slapstick-type comedy anyway, and it seems the definition of comedy really changes from decade to decade, so I definitely wouldn’t rate it as #1 on my list of the funniest movies of all time. I mean come on… it’s no Pootie Tang. :)
As of my last movie date with Chelsi last Thursday, I can say that I’ve seen #66 on the list of AFI’s 100 Best Movies (1998 version)- Network. I have to admit, I was getting pretty lost on the plot in this movie. Going into the movie, I didn’t know anything about it, so I didn’t have any clues to go on either. About half way through the movie, it lost my attention, but I kept watching it so that I could check it off of the list. I can now at least say that I’ve seen it, I understand the cultural significance of it (thank you wikipedia), and I know what the famous line is all about. I can appreciate this movie from a cultural significance point of view, but I can’t say that it’s a movie that I ever care to see again.
One thing that I commented on a few times during the movie was that aside from the televisions, the setting could definitely be seen in a movie set in modern day. The furniture, buildings, colors, and everything is definitely being recycled in modern decor and architecture.
One final thing… I was quite surprised at how sexy Faye Dunaway was. Seeing her boobies scared me a little, but it didn’t scar me too bad.
(Note: In case you haven’t seen Network, the title of this entry is the beginning of the famous quote which is a big part of this movie’s cultural significance.)
Watched “The Grapes of Wrath” today. It definitely exposed me to a way of life that I had never thought about. It’s a movie that I’m glad to have seen for the plot, and I always find the cinematography of movies of that time interesting.
I’ve seen 2 more of the movies on the list lately, #43 King Kong & #84 Fargo.
I watched Fargo a few weeks ago. I guess I am just not into that type of “humor”, but I really didn’t enjoy the movie at all. I didn’t find it funny, and it wasn’t particularly interesting either. I’m sure many people will look down on me for not “getting it”, but… I don’t.
I just watched King Kong last night. Of course, I’ve seen the Jack Black version a couple of times, so I knew the story already, but I was interested in seeing how true to the original the latest version is anyway. Also, it was interesting to see the high-tech special effects of 1933. Some of the acting and special effects were quite comical (even though I’m sure they weren’t supposed to be), but I’m sure it was very impressive and even a scary movie to watch in its time. The Jack Black version was actually surprisingly close to the original movie plot, and the only major difference that I could pick out is that Kong didn’t form the same relationship with the girl that he did in the modern movie. She didn’t do tricks and fall in love with him like in the modern movie, but other than that, it was VERY similar. While the 1933 King Kong movie isn’t something that I’m going to watch every time that I see that it’s on tv, I’m still very glad that I watched it.
