DRACULA (1979)

Director John Badham’s romantic version of the Bram Stoker horror classic stars Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.  [I herein admit that I am a huge fan of Frank Langella and it was not because this film was my first exposure to him… but we’ll get to him later.]  This stylish screenplay version was written by W. D. Richter, deviates from the Bram Stoker novel and is based on the Broadway play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston (which also starred Mr. Langella who received a Tony Award for the role). John Badham began directing series and movies in TV and struck gold several times with popular (and watchable) films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977, starring John Travolta); War Games (1983, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy); and Short Circuit (1986, starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg).  In 1998, Badham went back to doing episodes and movies for TV including cable.

I first saw Frank Langella in Mel Brooks’The Twelve Chairs (1970, starring Ron Moody and Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise).   [Due to the charming characters, I consider The Twelve Chairs my favorite Mel Brooks’ movie, even ahead of Young Frankenstein(1974, starring Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman and Peter Boyle).]  Frank Langella was acclaimed for his role inDiary of A Mad Housewife (1970, starring Carrie Snodgress, Richard Benjamin and Frank Langella) but I have not seen it. (It is going on my must-see list right now though!)  Other films with Mr. Langella that I highly recommend are:  Sphinx (1981, starring Lesley-Anne Down and Frank Langella); Frost/Nixon(2008, starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella in his Best Actor Academy-Award nominated performance); andRobot & Frank (2012, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Frank Langella).  For the record, I do rather enjoy Bela Lugosi’sDracula (1931) and if you haven’t seen either one, then I recommend you watch Lugosi’s prototypical portrayal to fully appreciate Langella’s characterization.

To Langella’s Dracula, Olivier plays Professor Van Helsing.  Olivier may be most well-known for his role as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and David Niven); however, I find that the pairing of those two is more satisfying in The Divorce of Lady X(1938, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and Binnie Barnes).  Other Olivier performances I recommend are found in Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine);Pride and Prejudice (1940, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier);That Hamilton Woman (1941, starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier);Spartacus (1960, starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons);Marathon Man (1976, starring Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Oliver and Roy Scheider); A Bridge Too Far (1977, starring Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal and Michael Caine, amongst many others);The Boys from Brazil (1978, starring Gregory Peck, Laurence Oliver and James Mason); A Little Romance (1979, starring Laurence Oliver, Diane Lane and Thelonious Bernard); and The Bounty(1984, starring Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson and Laurence Olivier).  If you prefer your Shakespeare with the Olivier flair then Hamlet (1948 in which Olivier won his only Oscar), Richard III (1955 in which he was nominated for Best Actor) and Othello (1965 in which he was nominated for Best Actor) might be your cup of tea.

Donald Pleasence is considered well known for his part in the Halloween saga which began with the filmHalloween (1978, starring Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis and P. J. Soles); however, his range is (obviously!) better displayed in meatier roles in several films, namely:  The Great Escape (1963, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and James Coburn); You Only Live Twice (1967, starring Sean Connery, Mie Hama and Donald Pleasence); THX 1138 (1971, starring Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence);The Eagle Has Landed (1976, starring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall); and Telefon (1977, starring Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and Lee Remick) and Escape From New York (1981, starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Issac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau).  And, of course, it’s no small feat to be cast as the personification of Satan [in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965, starring Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Charlton Heston and Claude Rains amongst other famous character actors)].

To date, my favorite Kate Nelligan performance is in Eye of the Needle(1981, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan).  I have not seen most of her other movies, or the roles have been very small; therefore, I recommend you visit www.imdb.com to see what might interest you out of her complete filmography.  The original music score for Dracula was composed by John Williams (who will most likely get a review all to himself in the near future.) If you are inclined to appreciate musical scores then I suggest you look him up but for the sake of something indicative of his massive talent and incredible influence in cinema, you only need to view the amazing Jaws (1975, starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss) or Star Wars (1977, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher).  Both of those films won Williams Oscars for Best Score.  He had to compete against himself in 1977 forClose Encounters of the Third Kind(starring Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut and Teri Garr), another example of a finely crafted film worth multiple viewings.

A Favorite Quote:  “I am the king of my kind.” (Frank Langella as Count Dracula)

Running Time:  109 Minutes

PAPER MOON - A

Set during the Depression, a con man is suddenly responsible for a little girl who may or may not be his daughter.  The characters are played by real life father and daughter, Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal.  Also starring Madeline Kahn and John Hillerman, this motion picture is charming and definitely not for young children.  Madeline Kahn and Tatum O’Neal were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress and the Oscar went to 10-year-old Ms. O’Neal, making her the youngest Oscar winner ever. (The other nominees in that category were Linda Blair for The Exorcist; Candy Clark for American Graffiti and Sylvia Sidney for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.)

Adapted by Alvin Sargent from Joe David Brown’s novel “Addie Pray”, the film was directed by Peter Bogdanovich and filmed in black and white.  Paper Moon is a very endearing comedy and one of my favorite films of all time (probably in the top 20 to 25).  The film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound though it did not win in those categories.  That year, the film, in those categories at least, had to compete with Day of the Dolphin(starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere and Paul Sorvino), The Exorcist(starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Linda Blair ), The Last Detail(starring Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid), The Paper Chase (starring  ),Serpico (starring Al Pacino, John Randolph and Jack Kehoe) and The Sting (starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw).

I recommend Mr. Bogdanovich’s screwball comedy What’s Up Doc?  It was released in 1972 and stars Ryan O’Neal, Barbra Streisand and Madeline Kahn. I regret I haven’t seen The Last Picture Show (1971, starring timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd with John Hillerman) and therefore won’t recommend it but I will put it on my must-see list, especially since I love Larry McMurtry who wrote the novel on which it is based.  Alvin Sargent wrote many screenplays, two of which are on my must-see list:  Julia(1977, starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave and Jason Robards) andBobby Deerfield (1977, starring Al Pacino, Marthe Keller and Anny Duperey).  Of movies I have seen, I most recommend Ordinary People (1980, starring Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch, Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton) which was adapted from the Judith Guest novel of the same name. Ordinary People won four Academy Awards:  Best Picture (Ronald L. Schwary), Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hutton who vied with Judd Hirsch in the category), Best Director (Robert Redford) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent).  Mary Tyler Moore’s performance is powerful and she was nominated for Best Actress but she had to compete against some formidable opponents that year:  Ellen Burstyn in Resurrection (which also starred Sam Shepard and Richard Farnsworth); Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin (which also starred Eileen Brennan); Gena Rowlands in Gloria(which also starred Buck Henry and Julie Carmen) and my favorite, the winner Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner’s Daughter where she plays Loretta Lynn(which also starred Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline).

As for Ryan O’Neal, I am not a big fan of sad romantic movies like Love Story(1970, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal) and it has been many years since I have seen Barry Lyndon (1975, starring Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson and Patrick Magee); however, I can recommend A Bridge Too Far (1977, starring Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal and Michael Caine amongst many others). As far as Ms. O’Neal goes for younger audiences I would recommend:  The Bad News Bears (1976, starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Ben Piazza and Jackie Earle Haley); International Velvet(1978, starring Tatum O’Neal, Christopher Plummer and Anthony Hopkins) and Little Darlings (1980, starring Tatum O’Neal, Kristy McNichol and Armand Assante).  I also recommend The Runaways (2010, starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon) wherein Tatum O’Neal plays Dakota Fanning’s mother. 

Madeline Kahn’s most famous work would probably be in the Mel Brooks’ classic films Blazing Saddles (1974, starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder and Slim Pickens with Madeline Kahn and John Hillerman)and Young Frankenstein(1974, starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman with Cloris Leachman, Peter Boyle and Teri Garr); however, I think her role as Eunice is pivotal because as the ‘straight man’, she anchors the whole picture so you can appreciate the rather bland Ryan O’Neal and the peppery Barbra Streisand in What’s Up Doc?  John Hillerman may be best-loved as Magnum PI’s Higgins; however, he was a character actor in many films, the most notable being:  High Plains Drifter(1973, starring Clint Eastwood and Verna Bloom); Chinatown (1974, starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston); and The Day of the Locust (starring Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith and William Atherton).

 A Favorite Quote:  “No, I don’t know what it is, but if you got ‘em, it’s a sure bet they belong to somebody else!” (Tatum O’Neal as Addie Loggins)

Running Time:  102 Minutes

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT - A

Produced by Frank Capra and executive producer Harry Cohn, director Frank Capra’s romantic comedy stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert with Walter Connolly and Roscoe Karns.  Released in 1934, It Happened One Night won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.  The screenplay, written by Robert Riskin, was adapted from a short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams.  Colbert plays a wealthy socialite on the lam to reunite with her new husband (that her father disapproves of) when she gets spotted by a reporter, played by Gable, who recognizes and essentially blackmails her into giving him her story. Sometimes credited as the first screwball comedy, this film is lighter on the screwball and heavier on the romance. 

Gable and Colbert are well matched and their interaction is both witty and charming.  This is my favorite Gable film as I really do not enjoy Gone With the Wind (1939, starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Thomas Mitchell among many others).  I would prefer to watchMutiny on the Bounty (1935, starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone and winner of the Oscar for Best Picture) or Boom Town (1940, starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert and Heddy Lamar). Gable and Tracy fans might also enjoySan Francisco (1936, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy).  Colbert fans might enjoy Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra (1934, starring Claudette Colbert, Warren William; Henry Wilcoxon); however, I prefer Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, starring Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda and Edna May Oliver).

My second favorite Capra film is You Can’t Take It With You (1938, starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore amongst other great cast members and also written by Robert Riskin) which I much prefer to the much-loved It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, starring James Stewart).  I highly recommend these:  Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936, starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and George Bancroft; written by Robert Riskin and winner of Best Director Oscar for Capra); Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains Harry Carey, and also winner of Best Original Screenplay for Lewis R. Foster); Meet John Doe (1941, starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward Arnold and nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Connell and Robert Presnell Sr.)  Another Capra film, the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace(1944, starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey), written by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein [famous for Casablanca (1942, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains, among others)] , is worth a viewing as well as a few good laughs.

Running Time:  105 Minutes

A Favorite Quote:  “I want to see what love looks like when it’s triumphant.  I haven’t had a good laugh in a week.” (Clark Gable as Peter Warne) [It’s a comedy, so don’t expect me to give away any really funny lines!]

WALKABOUT - A

Cinematographer-director Nicolas Roeg’s visually stunning tale finds two siblings lost in Australia’s outback, one teenage girl and one small school-aged boy, where they encounter an aborigine boy who is on a ritual journey (known as a ‘walkabout’).  Roeg’s imagery is practicably axiomatic so that the viewer is shown without intellectualism of any sort, the stark contrasts between urban and wild, civilization and nature, Australian and aborigine.  This is the film to study to understand the maximal contribution that cinematography can make to storytelling.  I would put in the same category both Lawrence of Arabia (1962, starring Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn, which won the Cinematography Oscar for Freddie Young) and Gravity (2013, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, which won the Cinematography Oscar for Emmanuel Lubezki).  The distance between the viewer and the scene is at once apparently so far yet we are intensely and inexorably in it. Since I wrote this several years ago, I have since seen several films by Cinematographer/Director Pawel Pawlikowski and recommend what I have seen to date:  Cold War, Ida and My Summer of Love.

I am at this point in time unable to recommend almost all of Mr. Roeg’s other directorial works because I have not seen most of them, except for The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976, starring David Bowie, Rip Torn and Candy Clark).  As cinematographer, Mr. Roeg’s credited and uncredited works are numerous and I refer you to the www.imdb.com website to see what might appeal to your tastes but I would strongly suggest that any of the BAFTA nominees are worthy of a viewing.

Starring Jenny Agutter, Lucien John (Roeg) and David Gulpilil, Walkabout was written by Edward Bond and inspired by the novel (1959) of the same name by John Vance Marshall.  Edward Bond wrote the English dialogue for the Michelangelo Antonioni film, Blow-Up (1966, starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles).  Walkabout was produced by Sy Litvinoff and was nominated for a Palme d’Or when it debuted in 1971.  It is very possible that I may have erred by not putting Walkabout in my top ten films of all time.  It is definitely vying most competitively with Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971, starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee and Michael Bates.)  A Clockwork Orange was executive produced by Sy Litvinoff who optioned the Anthony Burgess novel.  He certainly had an ability to pick projects that shock and awe (A Clockwork Orange) and awe and shock (Walkabout).

Jenny Agutter has been in many films but I most recommend these three:  Logan’s Run (1976, starring Michael York Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Brown, Farrah Fawcett and Peter Ustinov), Equus (1977, starring Richard Burton with Peter Firth, Colin Blakely, Joan Plowright, Eileen Atkins, Harry Andrews and Jenny Agutter) and An American Werewolf in London (1981, starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne).  David Gulpilil has been in several films but the two most recognizable roles for American audiences are probably from Peter Weir’s The Last Wave (1977, starring Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett and David Gulpilil) and Crocodile Dundee (1980, starring Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon and David Gulpilil).  Luc Roeg has been a film producer since 1987.  I haven’t seen any of his films as a producer but I am immediately putting onto my must-see list his Othello (1995, starring Laurence Fishburne, Irene Jacob and Kenneth Branagh).

Running Time:  100 Minutes

SPELLBOUND - A-

Director Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological suspense thriller Spellbound (1945) stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll.  Bergman plays a psychoanalyst who helps her new boss, played by Peck, figure out what’s bothering him.  While Bergman battles the stereotype of the female working professional as cold, she begins to warm up to Peck as they discover that his amnesia and dreams may be evidence of murder.  One dream sequence was designed by the Surrealist Salvador Dali and cut down to two minutes from a reported twenty. Some additional sequences which were designed by Dali were not used in the film; however, from what I’ve seen they might have made the film even better as they would have introduced the (potentially) interesting psychological aspect of Peck’s developing relationship with Bergman.  I am fairly certain that Hitchcock wanted to keep the focus on the central mystery of the film, which is what actually happened to Dr. Edwardes.  [It has recently been brought to my attention that the Producer, David O. Selznick, appears to have been the motivating figure behind Hitchcock directing a film about psychoanalysis in the first place and Hitchcock frequently feuded with Selznick’s personal therapist who was an advisor on the film.  It is not clear to me if Selznick or Hitchcock was more troubled by Dali; however, as Hitchcock was very meticulous about editing, etc. I give all the credit or blame to Hitchcock.]

This film is in my top ten primarily because of interplay of the suspense, the psychological themes and the romance.  I refer you to my review of Notorious (1946) on this website where I mention the romantic relationship and dialogue between Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant which is more deftly played. I could speculate that Peck was naturally less of a warmer character than Grant anyway or that Hitchcock was not interested in the male-female dynamic from a psychological point of view.  (Was he Psycho?] Other Hitchcock movies which display Grant’s warmth and also the snappier dialogue are To Catch A Thief (1955) with Grace Kelly and North by Northwest (1959) with Eva Marie Saint.  Spellbound was inspired by the novel The House of Dr. Edwardes (1927) by Hilary Saint George Saunders and John Palmer (as ‘Francis Beeding’).  It was adapted by Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht.  Ben Hecht wrote the screenplay for Notorious aswell as many other Oscar-nominated films, some of which he did not receive credit on the final productions for having made contributions.  I repeat my advice to use the awesome www.imdb.comwebsite to find all the Wonderful andHot writing he has done for The Picturesfrom 1926 to 1964, except to say how much I enjoy His Girl Friday (1940, starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy and adapted by Hecht from the play The Front Page).

Other Hitchcock movies which I highly recommend for various and sundry reasons:  The 39 Steps (1935, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll);The Lady Vanishes (1938, starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave and Paul Lukas); Jamaica Inn (1939, starring Maureen O’Hara, Robert Newton and Charles Laughton);Rebecca (1940, starring Laurence Olivier; Joan Fontaine and George Sanders and also produced by Selznick); Lifeboat (1944, starring Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak and Charles Slezak); The Paradine Case(1947, starring Gregory Peck, Ann Todd and Charles Laughton and also produced by Selznick); Rear Window(1954, James Stewart and Grace Kelly);The Trouble with Harry (1955, starring John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine and Edmund Gwenn); The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, starring James Stewart and Doris Day).

You may realize if you are big fan of Hitchcock that there are certain Hitchcock movies which I have left off the above list (not counting the films I already reviewed).  This is because I am not particularly enamored of them; however, I will state for the record that I generally recommend any of Hitchcock’s films and would consider it beneficial to see any of them at least once.  (One of my standards for a highly recommended work is that it is worth multiple viewings.)  I may be forgiven for repeating my suggestion to check out the awesome www.imdb.com website as well as my recommendation forHitchcock (2012, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren) for those who want more insight into him but more particularly on the making of Psycho (1960).]

Ingrid Bergman has already been recommended for Notorious and I here repeat myself to mention some other most worthy works:  Gaslight (1940, starring Charles Boyer and has Ms. Bergman in her first Best Actress Oscar-winning performance); Anastasia (1956, which has Ms. Bergman in her second Best Actress Oscar-winning performance); Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958); Indiscreet (1958, starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant); Cactus Flower (1970, starring Walther Matthau and Goldie Hawn in her Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winning performance); Murder on the Orient Express (1974, starring Albert Finney and in which Ms. Bergman won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar);  Autumn Sonata (1978, Ingmar Bergman directed this feature starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann); and A Woman Called Golda (1982 made-for-television movie).

I refer you to my review of The Big Country (1958) on this website so you know how much I like Gregory Peck and herewith highly recommend some other pictures of his:  Captain Horatio Hornblower R. N. (1951, starring Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo and Robert Beatty); Roman Holiday (1953, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, winner of the Best Academy Award);Moby Dick (1956, starring Gregory Peck and Richard Basehart); Guns of Navarone (1961, starring David Niven, Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn); To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, starring Gregory Peck in his Oscar-winning role):Cape Fear (1962, starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen); Captain Newman, M.D. (1963, starring Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis and Angie Dickinson); The Omen (1976, starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick); The Boys from Brazil (1978, starring Gregory Peck); and The Sea Wolves (1980, Starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven) and Cape Fear (1991, starring Robert DeNiro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis with cameos by Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam who were in the original 1962 version).

Genre:  Psychological Suspense Thriller

Running Time:  111 Minutes

A Favorite Quote:  “Women make the best psychoanalysts until the fall in love.  After that they make the best patients.  (Michael Chekhov as Dr. Alex Brulov)

Now you know my top ten favorite films of all time.  My next review will be Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout (1971).

PULP FICTION - A+

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino crafts cinematic sequences that mix heady-themed, snappy dialogue with visceral action to create intense, if not orgiastic, masterpieces.  While all of Tarantino’s films are in this same class, Pulp Fiction(1994), with Django Unchained (2012, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson) a close second, is clearly at the head of it.  The screenplay for Pulp Fiction was co-written by Tarantino and Roger Avary who won Best Original Screenplay Academy Awards, the only Oscar winners out of the seven categories nominated including Best Editing by Sally Menke.  The story’s nonlinear path is complemented by a collection of popular songs which help maintain the viewer’s sanity by offering pointed and lyrical pauses between episodes of witty banter and stark violence.  (If it were possible to make a person insane just by watching a film, I am sure I would nominate both Quentin Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick as Best Crazymaker …but it’s the kind of crazy I love!)

Produced by Lawrence Bender, Pulp Fiction was nominated for Best Picture and won the Palme d’Or.  The other Bender-Tarantino pictures which I highly recommend are Reservoir Dogs (1992, starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney and Michael Madsen), Kill Bill Volume 1( 2003, starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen) and Kill Bill Volume 2 (2004, with the same stars as Kill Bill Volume 1plus Lucy Liu, Viveca A. Fox and others) and Inglourious Basterds (2009, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender among others, including narration by Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel).

The awesome cast of Pulp Fictionincludes John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, (all three of which were nominated for Acting Oscars), Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Maria de Medeiros, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, with Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette and Christopher Walken.  A quick list of recommended films in which Mr. Travolta appears: Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976, starring Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie with Amy Irving and John Travolta); Saturday Night Fever (1977, starring John Travolta); Blow Out (1981, starring John Travolta with Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz and also directed by Brian de Palma); Look Who’s Talking (1980, starring John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and George Segal with Bruce Willis providing the Baby’s voice);  Get Shorty(1995, starring John Travolta; Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and Danny DeVito ); Face/Off (1997, starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage); The General’s Daughter (1999, starring John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe).  Travolta is also extremely watchable in the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter (initially aired in 1975, starring Gabe Kaplan) and the made-for-TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976, starring John Travolta, Glynnis O’Connor, Diana Hyland, Robert Reed and P. J. Soles).

Recommendations for Samuel L. Jackson fans (if not already mentioned): A Time To Kill (1996, starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey); The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson); and The Negotiator (1998, starring Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson). Recommendations for Uma Thurman fans (if not already mentioned): Dangerous Liaisons (1988, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Mildred Natwick and Uma Thurman); and Henry & June (1990, starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Richard E. Grant, Maria de Medeiros and Kevin Spacey).

Films to see for Bruce Willis fans (if not already mentioned):  Die Hard (1988, starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia) and rest of the Die Hard series films; The Last Boy Scout (1991, starring Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans); Twelve Monkeys (1995, starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt); The Jackal (1997, starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier); Mercury Rising (1998, starring Bruce Willis, Miko Hughes and Alec Baldwin); The Sixth Sense (1999, starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette), Hart’s War (2002, starring Bruce Willis); Sin City (2005, starring Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen and Bruce Willis); Surrogates (2009, starring Bruce Willis, ); Red (2010) and Red 2(2013, starring Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich); and Looper (2012, starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt).  Also Willis was terribly cute in the TV seriesMoonlighting in which he co-starred with Cybill Shepherd and initially aired in 1985. (Yes, he was terribly cute at least once!)

In addition to films already mentioned, must-see films with Mr. Keitel are: Mean Streets (1973, starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel); Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974, starring Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson with several hidden gems including Jodie Foster and Harvey Keitel); Taxi Driver(1976, starring Robert De Niro; Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd); The Duellists (1977, starring Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel with Albert Finney); The Last Temptation of Christ(1988, starring Willem Dafoe, Barbara Hershey and wherein Keitel plays Judas); The Piano (1993, starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill);Little Fockers (2010, starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, wherein Keitel plays Randy Weir); Moonrise Kingdom (2012, starring ); and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, starring Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham and Mathieu Amalric, wherein Keitel plays Ludwig).

Honorable mention films for the rest of the cast:  Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (1990, starring Gary Oldman, Tim Roth and Richard Dreyfuss); Rob Roy (1995 starring Liam Neeson, Jessical Lange; John Hurt and Tim Roth); Planet of the Apes (2001, starring Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Roth); Broken (2012, starring Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy and Charlie Booty); Cattle Annie and Little Britches(1981, starring Burt Lancaster, Rod Steiger, Diane Lane and Amanda Plummer); The World According to Garp (1982, starring Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close and John Lithgow wherein Amanda Plummer plays Ellen James); and The Fisher King(1991, starring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl wherein Amanda Plummer plays Lydia).

Running Time:  154 Minutes

A Favorite Quote:  “Any time of the day is a good time for pie.” (Maria de Medeiros as Fabienne)

The final installment of my top ten films of all time alphabetically is Spellbound.

PSYCHO - A

Alfred Hitchcock’s trend-setting film Psycho was released in 1960 and terrorized many theater-goers with its (surprisingly sparse) violent shower scene.  I recommend the movie Hitchcock (2012, starring Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as Alma Reville, Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh and Danny Huston as Whitfield Cook) which tells the story of the development and making of the film Psycho.  It puts into proper perspective how Psycho as a new kind of horror movie was a practically necessary deviation to (or perhaps evolution of) Hitchcock’s existing suspense thriller genre.  As I mentioned before, I am not going to go into Hitchcock too much until my list of top ten movies of all time alphabetically is finished.  (This is because I still have one more Hitchcock film in my top ten to discuss.)

The screenplay was written by Joseph Stefano, based upon the novel by Robert Bloch which was inspired by the actual murderous crimes of Ed Gein.  As in all of Hitchcock’s films, the writing is worthy of study; however, in this film it is more understated as compared to, for example, Notorious [see my review on this blog], which makes perfect sense because a) there is no living or growing romantic relationship between the male and female stars in the movie and b) the film’s gothic visuals speak more appropriately to the themes of killing and death.  It is well known that Hitchcock as a Producer-Director was a ‘control-freak’ and therefore it is appropriate to give Hitchcock credit within the context of the writing as he approved every word.

Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam, the film received four Academy Award nominations including Best Director for Hitchcock, Best Supporting Actress for Leigh, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for John L. Russell and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White for Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy and George Milo. Janet Leigh was in many movies; however, at this time I can only recommend The Manchurian Candidate (1962, starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh).  Vera Miles starred in many movies and series for TV for which I will refer you to the awesome www.imdb.com website; however, in terms of notable films of hers, I recommend two:  The Searchers (1956, starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond and Natalie Wood) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962, starring James Stewart, John Wayne and Vera Miles).

John Gavin played Julius Caesar in Spartacus (1960, starring Kirk Douglas) which is one of the few ‘sword and sandal’ movies I can recommend with a straight face.  Martin Balsam was a popular character actor in many critically acclaimed and/or popular films including On the Waterfront (1954, starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden and Rod Steiger); 12 Angry Men (1954, starring Henry Fonda along with a whole host of fabulous character actors); Cape Fear(1962, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum); Seven Days in May (1964, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas); Catch-22 (1970, Starring Alan Arkin); Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970, starring Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotton, So Yamamura, E. G. Marshall, James Whitmore and Jason Robards); Little Big Man (1970, starring Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway and Chief Dan George);The Taking of Pelham One Two Three(1974, starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo); Murder on the Orient Express (1974, starring Albert Finney); All the President’s Men (1975, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman); and Cape Fear (1991, starring Robert De Niro; Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange; Juliette Lewis with cameos by the original stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam).

A Famous Quote:  ‘A boy’s best friend is his mother.’ (Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates)

Genre:  Horror

Running Time:  109 Minutes

The next installment of my top ten films of all time alphabetically is Pulp Fiction!

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY - A

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn (nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress) play a wealthy divorced couple who are forced into close proximity for the preparations leading to Hepburn’s next marriage ceremony.  To explore the rich themes of marriage, love, romance and the class system, we get the average Joe’s perspective from James Stewart as a reporter and Ruth Hussey as a photographer who are brought in deceitfully to cover the Philadelphia Socialite’s wedding.  The dialogue is witty and the characterizations by Grant and Hepburn are exquisite.  Massey’s performance got her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress and Stewart’s won him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Hepburn starred in the play of The Philadelphia Story which Philip Barry wrote for Hepburn who backed the production and purchased the movie rights with the help of Howard Hughes so she could engineer a comeback after having a few flops.  Donald Ogden Stewart won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award and George Cukor got nominated as Best Director but didn’t win.  Roland Young as Uncle Willie and Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord are sporting good fun to watch as they appropriately counter the pointedly staid John Howard, John Halliday and Mary Nash.

As I already promised Cary Grant will come later in a review all of his own; however, I will here recommend a few of Hepburn’s pictures which are worth seeing any day of the week:  Bringing Up Baby (1938, a screwball comedy also starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn); Adam’s Rib (1949, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, directed by Cukor which I like much better than Pat and Mike [1952, directed by Cukor] or Desk Set [1957, directed by Walter Lang] which they both also starred in); The African Queen(1951, starring Humphrey Bogart in his Oscar-winning portrayal of Charlie Allnut and Katharine Hepburn, nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, directed by Oscar Nominee John Huston); Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967, starring Spencer Tracy [Oscar nominated] and Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar-winning role; Oscar-winning script by William Rose, nominated for best picture and best director Stanley Kramer; 10 Oscar nominations in total); The Lion in Winter(1968, starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar-winning role; directed by Anthony Harvey, seven nominations total with three Oscar wins); Rooster Cogburn (1975, starring John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn) and On Golden Pond (1981, starring Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar-winning role, also starring Henry Fonda in his Oscar-winning role and Jane Fonda in her Oscar-nominated Best Supporting Actress role; directed by Mark Rydell; ten nominations total with three Oscar wins including Adapted Screenplay for Ernest Thompson from his play).  Hepburn was nominated in 1933 for her role in Morning Glory as well as some other productions but I have not seen them or feel I can personally recommend them at this time; although it’s probably true that none of her movies would ever be a waste of time. As always, I suggest you look at the awesome webpage www.imdb.com if you wish to discover a complete filmography.

As to James Stewart again there is probably no movie of his that wouldn’t be worth seeing; however, some of my personal favorites are You Can’t Take It With You (1938, starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore amongst other great cast members, directed by Frank Capra and in my humble opinion much better than It’s A Wonderful Life [1946, which also was directed by Frank Capra]); Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains, also directed by Frank Capra);Broken Arrow (1950); The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Doris Day); Cheyenne Autumn (1964) ; The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) [the remake of that from 2004 is okay, too, especially if you like Giovanni Ribisi and/or Hugh Laurie] ;Harvey (1972, TV Movie); and The Shootist (1976, starring John Wayne; Lauren Bacall and Ron Howard).  I’m sure some of you are feeling like I missed some titles there but those are most likely movies I will recommend with reservations to be discussed at a later date or not.

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Ruth Massey’s performance for Best Supporting Actress, Best Director for George Cukor and Best Production for Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this film was released in December 1940.  George Cukor directed several films with Hepburn which I did not already mention such as A Bill of Divorcement (1932, starring John Barrymore and Billie Burke); Sylvia Scarlett (1935) and Little Women (1933) but with other stars which I recommend more such as Dinner at Eight (1933, starring John Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke and Wallace Beery); David Copperfield(1935, starring Freddie Batholomew, W. C. Fields and Lionel Barrymore);Gaslight (1944, starring Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotton, Angela Lansbury and which won Ingrid Bergman her first Best Actress Oscar).  Incidentally Cukor was fired from Gone with the Wind (1939) and some of the scenes he shot are in the final version.  I really wonder if I wouldn’t have liked that movie so much more if he had been kept on as the director for the whole production!

Personal favorites of Mr. Mankiewicz include The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947, starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney, directed by Makiewicz and produced by Fred Kohlmar and a tear-jerker so don’t forget to keep those hankies handy) andAll About Eve (1950, starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders and Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter which was written and directed by Mankiewicz and produced by Daryl Zanuck, winner of multiple Oscars and apparently still holding onto its record for the most female acting nominations at four). If you are an actress this is obviously a must-see!

The Philadelphia Story was remade as the musical High Society (1956, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong) which I find annoying and barely watchable but honestly I don’t like many musicals.  I make an exception for two:  Guys and Dolls (1955, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser) and My Fair Lady (1964, starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn and directed by Cukor, winner of eight Academy Awards from the Lerner and Loewe musical adaptation of the 1938 film adaptation of the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw).  I like these two because the music keeps me humming while I iron my shirts and darn my socks!  I WAS KIDDING – but I really do like those two movies for their music.

Favorite Quotes:   (James Stewart as Macaulay Connor) “Doggone it, C. K. Dexter Haven, either I’m gonna sock you or you’re gonna sock me.”  “Shall we toss a coin?” (Cary Grant as C. K. Dexter Haven)

Trivia Quote:  "I have no one to thank but myself!”  [Donald Ogden Stewart during his Oscar acceptance speech]

Genre:  Romantic Comedy

Running Time:  112 Minutes

The next installment in my top ten films of all time alphabetically  is Psycho!

NOTORIOUS - A

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains, Notorious (1946) is to me one of the three best Alfred Hitchcock films ever.  [You will have to wait for the rest of my list to come out to figure out the others as I am not going to go into any of his other films in this review.] Producer-director Alfred Hitchcock’s spy thriller is to me much more satisfying than Casablanca (1942, starring Humphrey Bogard, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henried and Claude Rains and which won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay out of the total eight Academy Award nominations that it received).  Casablanca is often cited as one of the best pictures ever, if not outright mythological in its character portrayals and we-were-once-lovers ‘romances.’

Ben Hecht wrote the screenplay for Notorious.  (Again, I don’t want to give away anything more about the films that remain on my all-time top ten by alphabet by talking about any of Mr. Hecht’s other films but suffice it to say that for Notorious he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.)  This film, like many of Hitchcock’s others, has wonderful dialogue in addition to his signature mix of suspenseful action and male-female tensions (romantic and otherwise). There is no better script as far as I can remember for the sheer number of times that irony plays in the extraordinary scenes between Grant and Bergman. 

Frankly as much as I love Jean Simmons and Gregory Peck in The Big Country (1958 and you can read my review on this blog), I think there is no more exciting couple on screen than Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman and therefore, I also recommend a personal favorite Indiscreet (1958) which stars these two as older lovers who are childishly keeping secrets from each other.  Other Ingrid Bergman films which I recommend are Gaslight (1940, starring Charles Boyer and has Ms. Bergman in her first Best Actress Oscar-winning performance); Anastasia (1956, which has Ms. Bergman in her second Best Actress Oscar-winning performance); Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958); Cactus Flower (1970, starring Walther Matthau and Goldie Hawn in her Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winning performance); Murder on the Orient Express (1974, starring Albert Finney and in which Ms. Bergman won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar); Autumn Sonata (1978, Ingmar Bergman directed this feature starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann); and A Woman Called Golda (1982 made-for-television movie). As for Cary Grant I do believe I will save him for a special review all his own at a later date (i.e. after my top ten of all time alphabetically is finished).

Apparently one of the love scenes in Notorious is notorious because Hitchcock was able to get around the not-longer-than-three-seconds (kissing) code rule by having the lovers break their kiss long enough to press cheeks and then resume kissing again for another few seconds.  Yeah, that’s true romance!  In this film, Bergman plays Alicia, the daughter of a Nazi spy, who is by her own American sympathies and the presence of her crush Cary Grant, persuaded to become an American spy.  As you probably have figured out, I don’t much care for giving away a lot of the plot because I think good movies can speak for themselves. Just know that Notorious has all the suspense you have come to expect from Hitchcock and a great bad guy in Claude Rains who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the American government’s target Alexander Sebastian.  In addition to Casablanca, some of my favorite Rains appearances are in The Invisible Man (1933), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, starring Errol Flynn in which Rains plays Prince John), The Sea Hawk (1940, also starring Errol Flynn), The Wolfman (1941) and as Mr. Dryden in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).  He was in numerous other films which, as I always say, you can find on the awesome www.imdb.com website. Additional credits of note for Notorious are music by Roy Webb and cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff.

A Favorite Quote:  “Wouldn’t it be a little too much if we both grinned at her like idiots.” [Leopoldine Konstantin as Madame Sebastian]

Another Favorite Quote:  “There’s nothing like a love song to give you a good laugh. [Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman] (Hint:  She might be saying it ironically!)

Genre:  Espionage Thriller

Running Time:  101 Minutes 

THE GODFATHER - A+

The story of an Italian-American crime family introduces a multi-year, multi-film, multi-career-catapaulting, multi-Academy-Award-winning saga with this outstanding first installment based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name. This film is rated by many critics as great, must-see, etc. and it is interesting to note that the fear which initially disinclined Francis Ford Coppola to direct it, appears to have no long-term surviving sway (to my sights anyway) that portraying a Mafia family so epically would reflect badly on Italian-Americans.  It is perhaps well known that this is an often trotted-out complaint against productions with mafia related characters but Coppola (as he so often does) succeeds in creating something much larger, grander and more important than any single ethnic, cultural or historic identity.  [This is the place where I will also admit that I am by many means a fan of violence in movies when it appropriately (here read meaningfully) frames the theme or themes of the film.]  

I am personally happy that he endured this self described ‘extremely nightmarish’ film production which included many conflicts including Coppola’s continued fight for star Marlon Brando who won an Academy Award for Best Actor.  Also starring Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Richard Conte with music by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola, this film was produced by Albert S. Ruddy from a screenplay writeen by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo (which won them Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars).  This is the second appearance of writer-director Coppola in my top ten films of all time (alphabetically).  [You can read my review of Apocalypse Now (1979).]

http://www.lisasmovielist.blogspot.com/2014/04/apocalypse-now-a.html

Knowing that I would have the pleasure of recommending more of Mr. Coppola’s films, I forcibly delayed giving the man his proper due by not mentioning any of his other notable pictures there.  He co-wrote the screenplay (with Edmund H. North) of Patton (1970, winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for George C. Scott [who was the first actor to refuse his Oscar]) which won Coppola his first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay which was based on several Patton biographies though not adapted per se on, hence the ‘Original Screenplay’ Award; The Conversation (1974, which starred Gene Hackman and also has John Cazale in it and was written, produced and directed by Coppola and winner of the coveted Palme d’Or).  The Conversation was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and it lost to The Godfather Part II (1974, starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Talia Shire and John Cazale, produced, directed and written (with Mario Puzo) by Coppola, nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winner of six including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro, Best Adapeted Screenplay and the first sequel to win Best Picture); The Godfather Part III (1990, starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, produced directed and written (with Mario Puzo) by Coppola, nominated for seven Academy Awards).

As I’m such a fanatic about writing, I am making special mention of The Rainmaker (1997, starring Matt Damon, produced by Michael Douglas, Fred Fuchs and Steven Reuther, and adapted by Francis Ford Coppola from John Grisham’s novel of the same name).  This film was deemed by Grisham [at the time] to be the best film adaptation of any of his books. This film has the final performance of Teresa Wright, who I have previously mentioned was the Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in one of my favorite films Mrs. Miniver (1942, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, Best Director went to William Wyler and Garson won Best Actress).

I should take this moment to mention that all of Mr. Coppola’s films are worthy of note for many reasons but it is clear he has taken the time to cast the smaller parts in his films so adroitly.  [I don’t mean to minimize Casting Directors but the Director makes the final cut, ha hah, yes, some day you will hear me talk about editors.]  I could not do justice in the Godfather saga alone to call out all the veritable gems of performance art of the minor characters.

You will not get many chances to hear me go on and on about the specifics of directors and their artistry (usually because their techniques vary and the judging is clearly in the results, and my reviews); however, one mark of a great director is to understand how the lesser roles serve both the larger roles as well as the multiple themes of a film.  Coppola uses every element possible in his films to complement his chosen themes and one of those elements could be termed human capital of which much exists and not just in the major roles but in the supporting players, bits and extras.  This is evident in all of the pictures that he directed and you can go to the awesome www.imdb.com to find a complete list of them.

I would have to write whole articles on Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Sterling Hayden and Diane Keaton to do them justice so I will save them for other pictures to be reviewed later; however, I will here mention two John Cazale movies which I highly recommend:  Dog Day Afternoon (1975 starring Al Pacino and directed by Sidney Lumet, and winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay by Frank Pierson) and The Deer Hunter (1978, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, and Meryl Streep, winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture for Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Best Director for Michael Cimino, Best Supporting Actor for Walken, Best Film Editing for Peter Zinner and Best Sound for Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight, nominations were garnered for De Niro, Streep, the Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and writers Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn Redeker.)  Yes, of course I would be remiss not to say that you should see Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in The Freshman (1990) just because it gives you another chance to see Marlon Brando as a Mafia Don.

A Favorite Quote:  “It’s a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes. [Richard Castellano as Clemenza]  Apparently if you watch The Sopranos (1999-2007) you can find lots of direct and indirect allusions to The Godfather (as well as other Mafia crime stories) but personally I liked it a lot when Tony Soprano had a strange fish dream.

For those who are purists, of course, here’s the most famous one, though not my favorite:  “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” [Al Pacino as Michael Corleone]

Genre:  American Crime Drama

Release Date:  March 15, 1972

Running Time 175 minutes

The next installment in my top ten by alphabet will be Notorious.  See I told you Gone with the Wind wasn’t on my list!

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS - A

Screenplay by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly and Dale Van Every from Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 serialized novel, this movie for me is all about what it means to be a [masculine?] role model for a young person [in this case a boy].  Freddie Bartholomew plays a rich and arrogant lad who is rescued and forced to take a job on a schooner.  Spencer Tracy won an Academy Award for his performance as Manuel Fidello, an American-Portuguese fisherman on the schooner who rescues the boy and becomes a much-needed mentor. 

This is the place to mention a few other Kipling inspired movies which I recommend highly:  The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 starring Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland, yeah, okay, I will probably always recommend anything with Errol Flynn it it!); Elephant Boy (1937 starring Sabu); Gunga Din (1939 starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine [who is Olivia de Havilland’s sister); The Jungle Book (1942 starring Sabu); Kim (1950 starring Errol Flynn, see, I told you!); and, of course, the musically delicious animated 1967 version of The Jungle Book.

Produced by Louis D. Lighton and directed by Victor Fleming, this picture is one of those movies my family liked to watch with me so they could prove that I was actually capable of crying (I AM KIDDING but it really does make me cry).  Some of my personal favorites of Mr. Tracy’s are Boys Town (1938 which also has Mickey Rooney in it), Adam’s Rib (1949 with Katharine Hepburn), Father of the Bride (1950 with Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1968 which also stars Katharine Hepburn).  Two additional notable and recommended Victor Fleming-directed films are:  Gone with the Wind (1939 and not on my top ten list, so there!) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 also starring Spencer Tracy with Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner).

The film also stars Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Charley Grapewin and John Carradine.  If you want to see more of these great actors in very good films then I also recommend Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936 which also has stars Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney in it and is my second favorite movie with the ‘spoilt brat gets a taste of the real world’ plotline),  David Copperfield (1935 which also has stars Freddie Bartholomew and Lionel Barrymore in it), Treasure Island (1934 which has Lionel Barrymore in it with stars Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery and also directed by Victor Fleming) and Grand Hotel (1932 which has Lionel Barrymore in it along with stars Greta Garbo and John Barrymore). 

I have not seen A Free Soul (1931 for which Lionel Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor) however you can see from Wikipedia’s webpage why it’s on my short list of movies to see ASAP:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Free_Soul

As for Melvyn Douglas he has been in so many films that most of them I have never seen or heard of however two personal favorites are Billy Budd (1962 starring Terence Stamp) and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) which is a comedy that stars Cary Grant and Myrna Loy and puts movies like The Money Pit (1986) on the bad side of town.  He was in films like Ninotchka (1939) and Hud (1962) which I cannot remember if I ever saw them but are fairly well known films. Being There (1979 stars Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine) was one of Douglas’ last films and he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Benjamin Rand.  Douglas was in a lot of playhouse and made for TV productions which you can find on www.imdb.com. 

Charley Grapewin is famous for playing Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz (1939 also directed by Victor Fleming) and Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940 which stars Henry Fonda and also has John Carradine as Jim Casy).  In addition, Grapewin is credited with appearing in more movies in the 1930’s than anyone else. 

John Carradine deserves his own paragraph because he was in a lot of movies as a bit player, however I am only going to mention a few which I know are movies I have seen and recommend:  Stagecoach (1939), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) and The Shootist (1976) which starred John Wayne; Kidnapped (1938); The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 which stars Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the famous duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson); Drums Along the Mohawk (1939 starring Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda); Captain Kidd (1945 starring Charles Laughton and Randolph Scott); The Court Jester (1955 starring Danny Kaye); Cheyenne Autumn (1964 starring Richard Widmark); and, of course, my all time favorite is Sex Kittens Go to College (1960 starring Mamie Van Doren where he plays Professor Watts - I AM KIDDING but he really was in that movie.)  Carradine was in so many horror movies and made so many guest appearances on lots of TV series (such as The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Ironside and Kung Fu [imagine that!]) that if you want a complete list then check out the awesome www.imdb.com.

A Favorite Quote:  “Wake up, Little Fish.  Hey, wake up, wake up!  Somebody think you dead, they have celebrations.” [Spencer Tracy as Manuel Fidello]

Genre:  Sea Adventure [Yeah that sounds so cool, doesn’t it?]

Running Time:  115 Minutes

Release Date:  May 11, 1937

THE BIG COUNTRY - A

This movie for me is all about what it means to be a person of character.  I don’t mean as in ‘she is a real character’ but as in ‘she has real character.’  The story is about an East Coast sea captain, played by Gregory Peck, who has to navigate the dangerous waters that exist in and around the family of his Texas fiancé (played by Caroll Baker).  The movie is long at 165 minutes but it is well worth it. One of the gems you will find is Burl Ives as the patriarch of the Hannassey clan.  He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. 

While there are several traditional western elements in the film they admirably serve to expound on the theme of the movie which is about the nature of a person’s behavior (i.e. their character) and how what other people think and do has no bearing on that issue.  When a woman of character (played by Jean Simmons) is introduced, the film gets additional valuable subplots and the theme is shown to apply equally to women as to men.  Let me just come right out and say it (not a spoiler) that Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons play heroes and they would be good role models for anyone!

Produced by Gregory Peck and William Wyler and directed by William Wyler, this film was released October 1, 1958.  Other notable William Wyler films (all of which he was nominated for Best Directing Academy Awards) are Dodsworth (1936, starring Walter Huston), Wuthering Heights (1939, starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon), The Little Foxes (1941, starring Bette Davis and winner of Best Director Academy Award for Wyler), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946 and winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director for Wyler and Best Actor for Frederic March and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell), The Heiress (1949, starring Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson), Roman Holiday (1953, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, winner of the Best Actress Academy Award), Ben-Hur (1959 and Best Director Academy Award for Wyler among a total of 11 Academy Awards for the film), Funny Girl (1968, starring Barbra Streisand), The Children’s Hour (1961, starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner) and my favorite Mrs. Miniver (1942, starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon and Teresa Wright, for which Wyler won a Best Director Academy Award, Garson won Best Actress and Wright won Best Supporting Actress).

Screenplay by James R. Webb, Sy Bartlett and Robert Wilder, adapted by Jessamyn West and Robert Wyler from Donald Hamilton’s serialized magazine novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon.  Starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Caroll Baker, Charleton Heston, Burl Ives (Winner of Academy Award for Best Suporting Actor and Golden Globe), Charles Bickford, Alfonso Bedoya, Chuck Connors.  Score by Jerome Moross who was nominated for an Academy Award.

A Favorite Quote:  [I am not going to put my favorite quotes in here because they are so integral to the story’s theme that I don’t want to spoil the fun of hearing the actors speak them for you on screen first.]  So here’s one that is good and famous but not my favorite:  “There’s no prettier sight in the world than 10,000 head of cattle… unless it’s 50,000.” [Charles Bickford as Major Terrill].

Genre:  Epic Western, Romance

The next installment in my top ten by alphabet will be Captains Courageous.

BEAU GESTE - A

Producer-director William A. Wellman’s film from a Robert Carson screenplay adaptation of the P. C. Wren novel that was written in 1924 was released in 1939.  According to Wikipedia, this version is essentially a remake of the silent version done in 1926 starring Ronald Colman. Since I haven’t seen the silent one, I have no comments about that version.  There have also been other talkie adaptations but most everyone agrees that Wellman’s film is the standard.

The story line is basically who of the orphan Geste Brothers will outdo whom in the goody-goody department by taking credit for a thievery which they may or may not have committed in order to save various other people’s honor. The story is played out in what is a fairly accurate representation of the pre-World War I French Foreign Legion as the brothers are forced to confront what they ran away from. (Yes, I will dangle a preposition if I want to.)

It’s an engaging morality tale (if you like black and white movies and Gary Cooper, that is).  (I mean who couldn’t love Sergeant York, 1941!)  I like to compare Beau Geste to The Four Feathers (also released in 1939) which is similar but not as fun. I am not giving this film an A+ or A- because I haven’t seen it in awhile and I want to make sure it has stood the test of time for me. (I basically am reserving the right to add a plus or minus or not depending on how I feel later.)

Some other notable Wellman films which I highly recommend are Wings (a silent film starring Clara Bow, released in 1927 and the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture), The Public Enemy (released in 1931, starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow), The Ox-Bow Incident (starring Henry Fonda, released in 1943) and Battleground (released in 1949 starring Van Johnson).  Beau Geste stars Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy (Academy Award Nominated Performance as Best Supporting Actor), Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Albert Dekker, and Broderick Crawford and has music by Alfred Newman.

Additional information can be found on Wikipedia but don’t read their plot if you don’t want the story twists and ending spoilt for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau_Geste_(1939_film)

Trivia:  Donald O’Connor as Beau as a child; one of four stamps issued in 1990 commemorating four films from 1939 including Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.

A Famous Quote:  “Wait a minute.  I don’t know much about mutinies, but I do know it isn’t good form to plan them at the top of your voice.” [Gary Cooper as Michael ‘Beau’ Geste]

Genre:  Action Adventure

Release Date:  August 2, 1939

Running Time:  112 Minutes

If you are paying attention so far you may see a similarity between this film and the number one film on my list (alphabetically, so far, Apocalypse Now) which is that they are both adaptations.  Of my top ten, six were adapted from novels, one was ‘suggested’ by a novel and one was based on a play, meaning only two were original screenplays (both of those were nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award and one of them won that Oscar. Don’t feel bad for the one that didn’t because that writer won in a different year and was nominated multiple times.) 

Anyhow, you can see how important writing is for me in judging a film. My Dad is a writer and he introduced me to movies early on and we bought lots of them when they first came out on VHS. I know I’m dating myself but what do you expect from someone whose top ten list hasn’t changed since the 1990’s?  My top twenty is populated by a lot more recent films but those reviews will come after the first ten as well as some awesome recent releases.

The next installment in my top ten by alphabet will be The Big Country.

APOCALYPSE NOW - A+

Adapted from Joseph Conrad’s novella “Heart of Darkness” (written in 1899 and taking place in the Congo), this film is set in Vietnam by screenwriters John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola (with narration by Michael Herr). Mr. Coppola produced and directed the film. To understand how completely we are engrossed by Mr. Coppola’s vision I would suffice it to let the filmmaker himself say:  “My film is not about Vietnam, it is Vietnam.” He thoroughly succeeds in creating an experience by carefully using all that film has to offer (combinations of light, sound, music and performances to present a mood which conveys the themes of the film).  

I hesitate to use the term theme because there has been a lot of argument stemming from a pro- or anti-Vietnam War stance as well as the apparent ambiguities in the novel itself; however, while a nice amount of credit goes to Joseph Conrad, there is no denying that Coppola, if he had done nothing else, would be famous for this film alone.

Nominated for Oscars in all three categories (Best Picture, Screen Adaption, Direction), Mr. Coppola did not win an Academy Award.  He did win a BAFTA for Directing and the film garnered Oscars for Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro) and Sound.  Mr. Coppola won Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and also for Best Original Score with Carmine Coppola and the film won the coveted Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or.  The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories for Best Editing, Art Direction – Set Decoration and Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall).  Other nominations were received from WGA, DGA, and the Grammy Awards among others which are listed on the film’s wikipedia webpage:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Now

You might be crazy if you didn’t want to see this film after learning who makes up the amazing cast.  The great performances perfectly serve Coppola’s narrative and that is why this is one of my top ten favorite films of all time.  It stars Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen (BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor), Robert Duvall, Frederick Forrest, Albert Hall and Sam Bottoms.  Look for Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Scott Glenn, R. Lee Ermey, G. D. Spradlin and the notable appearance by Harrison Ford as Colonel G. Lucas as well as cameos by Coppola and Storaro as a TV Director and Cameraman.  Trivia note:  Charlie Sheen is an extra.

A Famous Quote:  “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning.” [spoken by Robert Duvall as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore]

Genre:  Adaptation, Drama, Epic, War

Release Date:  August 15, 1979

Running Time: 153 minutes (original release)

[Thank you for reading my first post.  I am starting with my top ten films of all time (in alphabetical order).]