TCM and Classic Film Discussion in General
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veggieburgher:
Triplets Love Paul:
veggieburgher:
I think I'll request that they make you a guest programmer.
Oh, the possibilities, talk about indecision! Can you imagine someone handing you that list, indicating to pick a few films and explain why - what an awesome position to be in!
So what would you pick? I think I would opt for movies that made an impression on me as a young filmgoer, just to be a bit different. Of course, the list would be biased towards movies that appeal to a grade school boy. I would eliminate "Time Machine" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" since they were recently shown. So here is my list of four: The Shaggy Dog http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053271/ This one scared me at the time. Something about seeing a dog driving a car. Paul probably likes this one. Reptilicus http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056405/ The first monster movie I ever saw and possibly the only Danish scifi ever made. The Nutty Professor http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057372/ I think this was the first movie I ever went to by myself. It cemented my love of Jerry Lewis. X, the Man With the X-Ray Eyes http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057693/ Oddly, my introduction to Ray Milland (and Don Rickles). These are pretty much chronological. If I could add another night I would choose "Day of the Triffids" "A Hard Day's Night" and "Goldfinger" (seems to be a British Invasion theme).
Dave, this is a very cool, eclectic list! Incredibly sweet that you were frightened by the prospect of a dog driving a car - LOVE it! With so many theme options, this is definitely a kid in a candy shop question for me. Putting aside the availability list and the recently shown issue, these are a few choices that I could easily go with (in chronological order): Favorites: Wuthering Heights http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032145/ Gone with the Wind http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/ Rebecca http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/ Jane Eyre http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036969/ Celebrating Joan Fontaine: The Women http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032143/ Rebecca http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/ Suspicion http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034248/ Jane Eyre http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036969/ Celebrating Alfred Hitchcock: Rebecca http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/ Suspicion http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034248/ Rear Window http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/ North by Northwest http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/ As I have always found these types of films to be profoundly moving, ultimately, I would probably choose to program a "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" evening, hosting the following films: Now, Voyager http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035140/ Jane Eyre http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036969/ The Enchanted Cottage http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037671/ Marty http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048356/
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The_Fool:
Years ago ..... before many channels like this .... there was an old theater that used to play many of these classics ... sometimes multiple movies ...... for a good price too I remember seeing The Maltese Falcon .... the film looked really good .... that big screen made it look even better ...... it was a bummer when they closed the place .....
I experienced the same, during my teenage years, there was a single screen theater very near to my home that hosted classic and foreign films, often double features, at a drastically reduced price. It was there that I saw many of the classics that I treasure today. I was very sad to see that theater close.
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Jonathan:
Good grief... that's about the WORST top 10 favorite movies list, I've ever seen.
Yes, I kind of agree. I think that movies focused on violence, war, crime, murder are overrated. Just my opinion but well... Tarantino is great but he has 2 movies rated above Casablanca and Citizen Kane, and that's too much, I think... For instance, for finding a movie that hasn't got a crime on it you must go down on the list to... SPOILER ALERT! (don't read the rest of this post if you don't want to know) #30 It's A Wonderful Life And the top 10 is especially "like that": Figth Club, Pulp Fiction, Godfather 1 and 2, The Good the bad and the ugly... What I do is looking at the rating, and then looking at the kind of movie it is. If it's "that kind" I kind of substract one point of the rating.... This is a better rank, but it was updated last time on 2006. They have also ranks for actors, directors, genres, even the "greatest villain" on film, it's kind of funny. http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_movies.html
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veggieburgher:
Thanks for posting the list, Oliver. I hadn't seen that before. It's sad how few votes classic films have, particularly Chaplin's. At least their quality is recognized by most who choose to see and vote for them.
well, Chaplin wasn't much about violence, wasn't he? City Lights is the highest rated there that I haven't seen yet, it's kind of hard to find...
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From the digitaldreamdoor list: http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_movies.html I haven't seen pretty much all the not Hollywood ones. I must admit that lots of some that very high rated there don't mean much to me... The Bridge on the River Kwai, Sunset Boulevard, Wild Strawberries, Dr. Strangelove, The Leopard, Some Like It Hot... I guess Lincoln, the new movie, is great, Spielberg+Danny Day Lewis+Lincoln is a combination that hardly can go wrong.
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tonight @ 8 eastern "A Man's Castle" 1933 with Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young sounds like could be very good...has anyone here seen this or know anything about it? I'm going to watch
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mustangsally10:
tonight @ 8 eastern "A Man's Castle" 1933 with Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young sounds like could be very good...has anyone here seen this or know anything about it? I'm going to watch
It seems it could be great. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024302/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
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veggieburgher:
Thanks for posting the list, Oliver. I hadn't seen that before. It's sad how few votes classic films have, particularly Chaplin's. At least their quality is recognized by most who choose to see and vote for them.
I got you wrong. You mean how few votes they have, not that they are rated low. Well, some of my fav movies ever only have 6000 votes or so. Lost Horizon, Meet John Doe and Direktøren for det hele. Direktøren for det hele ("The Boss Of It All") has an average of only 6.6. I think it's the best comedy ever.
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21st Century Paul:
veggieburgher:
Thanks for posting the list, Oliver. I hadn't seen that before. It's sad how few votes classic films have, particularly Chaplin's. At least their quality is recognized by most who choose to see and vote for them.
well, Chaplin wasn't much about violence, wasn't he? City Lights is the highest rated there that I haven't seen yet, it's kind of hard to find...
Actually his early one-reelers were somewhat violent but it was of the slapstick variety. Since I used to work at a school for the blind, I was considering another "theme night" featuring films about blindness or visual impairment. "City Lights" is the first I thought of. The idea occured to me while watching "Magnificent Obsession" the other night. Interestingly, the theme also appears in some of the films I listed upthread.
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21st Century Paul:
mustangsally10:
tonight @ 8 eastern "A Man's Castle" 1933 with Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young sounds like could be very good...has anyone here seen this or know anything about it? I'm going to watch
It seems it could be great. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024302/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
I didn't understand why Tracy considered it his best. Maybe it was getting to work with Loretta Young. I enjoyed "The Life of Jimmy Dolan" much more. I still have a bunch of Young films on my DVR to watch.
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21st Century Paul:
What I do is looking at the rating, and then looking at the kind of movie it is. If it's "that kind" I kind of substract one point of the rating....
I like that you have a logic to dissecting the rankings. What strikes me is the 'familiarity' factor. I think that the number of people who have recently seen a movie give it a high score... because they enjoyed the movie. But the "test of time" will still be uncertain. Example: Dark Night (200 877,000 [8.9] Casablanca (1942) 244,000 [8.6] If we were offered a vote of "favorite movies of all time" instead of just going by the ratings themselves... I bet the list would be much different.
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veggieburgher:
21st Century Paul:
mustangsally10:
tonight @ 8 eastern "A Man's Castle" 1933 with Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young sounds like could be very good...has anyone here seen this or know anything about it? I'm going to watch
It seems it could be great. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024302/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
I didn't understand why Tracy considered it his best. Maybe it was getting to work with Loretta Young. I enjoyed "The Life of Jimmy Dolan" much more. I still have a bunch of Young films on my DVR to watch.
I absolutely loved A Man's Castle wow Tracy & Young together were chemistry run amuck! The film was so early and had the feel and sound of an early talkie. Thought the plot line was interesting for such an early film. Highly recommended You'll recognize why these two became such legends the talent was evident early on. Can't imagine The Life of Jimmy Dolan could be better so I'm excited to check it out
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veggieburgher:
21st Century Paul:
veggieburgher:
Thanks for posting the list, Oliver. I hadn't seen that before. It's sad how few votes classic films have, particularly Chaplin's. At least their quality is recognized by most who choose to see and vote for them.
well, Chaplin wasn't much about violence, wasn't he? City Lights is the highest rated there that I haven't seen yet, it's kind of hard to find...
Actually his early one-reelers were somewhat violent but it was of the slapstick variety. Since I used to work at a school for the blind, I was considering another "theme night" featuring films about blindness or visual impairment. "City Lights" is the first I thought of. The idea occured to me while watching "Magnificent Obsession" the other night. Interestingly, the theme also appears in some of the films I listed upthread.
then "Dancer in the Dark" by Lars Von Trier, it's a musical.
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Favourite actors/actresses/directors anyone? I know Brando is great, I see Olivier is great, then there's De Niro, Edward Norton but my fav is James Stewart. Then my fav director is Frank Capra. His movies have a kind of "pizza and fairy tales" magic mixed with shocks of realism like the music of Stella McCartney's dad, you know... I don't like much the 2 movies he got Oscars for... It Happened One Night and Arsenic Old Lace, quite ironic... As for actresses, they don't have many leading roles, didn't they? :/. They mostly are "the girl of". It's what everybody says but I like Meryl Streep, then Vivian Leigh, Jodie Foster
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21st Century Paul:
Favourite actors/actresses/directors anyone? I know Brando is great, I see Olivier is great, then there's De Niro, Edward Norton but my fav is James Stewart. Then my fav director is Frank Capra. His movies have a kind of "pizza and fairy tales" magic mixed with shocks of realism like the music of Stella McCartney's dad, you know... I don't like much the 2 movies he got Oscars for... It Happened One Night and Arsenic Old Lace, quite ironic... As for actresses, they don't have many leading roles, didn't they? :/. They mostly are "the girl of". It's what everybody says but I like Meryl Streep, then Vivian Leigh, Jodie Foster
My favorite actor (Cary Grant) is featured today on TCM followed by an evening of Laurel and Hardy. Doesn't get much better than that! My favorite directors have always been Capra and Hitchcock, with my favorite films of theirs being "Meet John Doe" and "Rear Window." As for actresses, I like Joan Fontaine (disappointed that TCM is not showing "Suspicion" today), Katharine Hepburn and have been furthering my appreciation of Loretta Young this month.
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21st Century Paul:
Favourite actors/actresses/directors anyone? I know Brando is great, I see Olivier is great, then there's De Niro, Edward Norton but my fav is James Stewart. Then my fav director is Frank Capra. His movies have a kind of "pizza and fairy tales" magic mixed with shocks of realism like the music of Stella McCartney's dad, you know... I don't like much the 2 movies he got Oscars for... It Happened One Night and Arsenic Old Lace, quite ironic... As for actresses, they don't have many leading roles, didn't they? :/. They mostly are "the girl of". It's what everybody says but I like Meryl Streep, then Vivian Leigh, Jodie Foster
Wonderful choices, Oliver! My favorites: Joan Fontaine Bette Davis Elizabeth Taylor Gene Tierney Katharine Hepburn Audrey Hepburn Ingrid Bergman Lauren Bacall Marilyn Monroe Greta Garbo Gregory Peck Cary Grant Laurence Olivier James Stewart Claude Rains Spencer Tracy James Dean Leslie Howard Ray Milland James Mason Alfred Hitchcock Frank Capra Billy Wilder George Cukor William Wyler Joseph L. Mankiewicz
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Enjoying Cary Grant's birthday celebration today, very much looking forward to... The Philadelphia Story 2 PM EST with Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart Notorious 4 PM EST with Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains
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For those up late or early... The Bad Seed 3:30 AM EST Patty McCormack earned an Oscar nomination for her role as a ruthless, evil child. One of those films that you never forget......
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Jonathan:
21st Century Paul:
What I do is looking at the rating, and then looking at the kind of movie it is. If it's "that kind" I kind of substract one point of the rating....
I like that you have a logic to dissecting the rankings. What strikes me is the 'familiarity' factor. I think that the number of people who have recently seen a movie give it a high score... because they enjoyed the movie. But the "test of time" will still be uncertain. Example: Dark Night (200 877,000 [8.9] Casablanca (1942) 244,000 [8.6] If we were offered a vote of "favorite movies of all time" instead of just going by the ratings themselves... I bet the list would be much different.
here are polls about "favourite movie of all-time" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_considered_the_best
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Tonight's Essential... Lolita 8:00 PM EST Stanley Kubrick, severely hindered by censors, directs this taboo subject matter, once thought impossible of being brought to the screen. James Mason delivers a brilliant performance, ensuring that we uncomfortably squirm in our seats, watching in disbelief as this wild roller coaster ride unfolds. Shelley Winters and Sue Lyon deliver equally brilliant performances, bringing forth several jaw-dropping moments. Quite interesting to see the list of actors and actresses that turned down roles in this film for fear of reputation related issues back in the day. A must see, leaving us no doubt as to why this film is a classic Essential.