Ho, Ho, Ho....Tis' the season to have some fun, so let's do it!

What is your Favorite film and why?

My favorite film and has been for about 2 years now...is "Boogie Nights". Yes, believe it or not! The reason I love that film is because of the amazing character study. It has lots of stories and everything weaves together perfectly. Also, the performance of Mark Walberg is the best. I think it's great. The whole cast is great. Also, the film takes a subject matter that's sensitive (something we all share, and yet it's taboo) and makes it very human.

I've watched the film 15 times now, and everytime I'm so sucked into the stories and the great performances. Also, "Magnolia" is an amazing big brother to the film.

Ok, post your FAVORITE film!! Please don't say, "can't pick one"...just pick something you keep going back to and use that as your choice.

Murph

Boogie Nights is fabulous, utterly. Easily one of my favorite American films from the last twenty years.

Could this be one of the great difficult to answer questions? I have a list of the most important films but the one that always goes to the top and vies, with one other film, by the same filmmaker no less, for the number one spot is

Andrei Tarkovsky's

STALKER.


...I've attempted several times here to put into words WHY, and I think i'll just go with:
Tarkovsky is cinema, a true artist and poet (a rarity in cinema). No one understood the medium better. STALKER was the zenith of his vision. It was the first of his films that I'd seen, and it is the one that has had the most impact on my understanding of cinema, and it's possibilities, and of the social role of art and artists. STALKER is the religious experience, in the broadest sense of the term. STALKER is Life. STALKER is the film that I watch to reset my compass and to remember what really matters while on this planet, in this form. Sounds pretentious, eh? The limitations of words...

Shawn

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

The camera angles are all fun and engaging, the acting is excellent, but above all the content keeps me coming back for more. I've seen it countless times but I still notice new tidbits with each viewing.

Gattaca
Ghost World
Adaptation


But nothing comes close to...

Lost in Translation.

Tremors

Strictly Ballroom - I always seem to end up finishing this movie, whenever I accidentally come across it on IFC. I always find it amusing and just fun to watch.

"I don't want to win your stupid Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Amateur Championships, I just want to dance my own steps."

The Decalogue Series,Trois couleurs, The 400 Blows, Once Upon A Time In America, M, The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life, The Bicycle Thief, The Grapes of Wrath, Tokyo Story, The Seventh Seal, Singin' in the Rain, Rear Window, Persona, 8 1/2, Lawrence of Arabia, In the Heat of the Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Leon, Infernal Affairs, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Offret - Sacrificatio, The Motorcycle Diaries, Ichi The Killer, Auditon.

Whoa, what a crazy mix of films!

Has anyone seen "The Statement" with Mike Caine? The film is ok, but the interview with Norman Jewison is interesting. He talks about independent film, and what he says is something like (paraphrase), "Hollywood is owned by international corporations, and Independent film is owned by the the people going out looking for the money. The most interesting stories are from indie films because you are not trying to sell products etc."

It's just opinion, but I read something similar in an article about 1-2 years ago. It said the Hollywood system is imploding because the "bigger, better and and more marketing" aspect can't sustain itself. The movie theaters, movie studios, actors are all racing towards a brick wall.

However, I have found and from what people have said here film-wise that indie films are like "Davey" (from Davey and Goliath). The success of the documentry genre in the past few years...to me points to the fact that people are saying "We're capable of watching films that make us think too."

I love Hollywood films like everyone, but I'm more encouraged by the future of film than I am about music! The Britney Spears' of the world seem to more bothersome than Hollywood film.

This rant probably made no sense. Sorry..

Murph

Gattaca
The Fellowship of the Ring
Fight Club
Blade Runner
The Matrix

Okay, here goes:
The Seven Samurai
Spartagus (original Kubrick)
Alien / Aliens
Matrix
Warriors
Braveheart
Tora Tora Tora
Return Of The Pink Panther
The Unforgiven
Amalie
Croaching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
All of the Fellowship of the Ring series

more as my mood changes....

Jeff P :>)

star wars (all 6). it rescued cinema and created a hunger for myth retold in different mediums (not just film). it is a rebirth of storytelling writ large. for some strange reason these series of movies tapped into American psyche. you can argue the world but i believe the phenomenon is very localized. i know there are fans worldwide but the states of the western civilization are the ones loving it the most. the citizens of the far east could give a rat's arse about it.

I thought we were shooting for the ONE favorite film? Making a pile is easy! What is your favorite film?

Memento

...

Okay and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A Clockwork Orange, Requiem For A Dream, Edward Scissorhands... ow, you know, just add a lot of Spielberg movies :-p I can't help it, sorry :-)
LOTR trilogy is also very good, 25th hour... No no I have to stop, they only asked one movie...

I hate your question ;-):-p
Héhé, driving people so nuts ;-)

Yeah come on guys. Don't wuss out and drop your top ten list. Anyone can do that. Pick one or go home. :)

Ok..now I'm thinking it should have been "Top 10 Favorite Movies"?

Anyone think I should change the rules? Afterall, they were made to be broken right?

Star Wars.




Followed very, very closely by Casablanca and The Godfather.

Don't change the rules! Make 'em sweat! And/or start a Top Ten list thread, if you'd like.
The tasty aspect of this thread is that you have to choose ONE. The One.
Yes of course it's hard to do. That's, like, you know, a good thing.

<<<-- Originally posted by Christopher C. Murphy : Ok..now I'm thinking it should have been "Top 10 Favorite Movies"?

Anyone think I should change the rules? Afterall, they were made to be broken right? -->>>

No way. I'm with Shawn. One film to rule them all....

My choice is still TREMORS.

Top ten lists are for late night talk shows and Cosmo magazine.

No, just kidding.. That was a terrible movie. One is difficult but I can say that I've never been more pleasantly surprised than when I saw..

spelling warning.. "Moulin rouge"

the music and the colors made my hair stand up!

Dylan, why TREMORS?????

if i had to pick one, seven samurai. kurosawa is my fav dir. of all time of all places. epic, romantic, honourable. everything about the movie is top notch. it's the great world classic.

<<<-- Originally posted by Christopher C. Murphy : Dylan, why TREMORS????? -->>>

Because I like it more than anything else. :)
I think it is the combination of humour, action, and interesting characters in a psuedo-horror environment that just hits my mark of what I enjoy in a movie. If there was some T&A, it would be perfect. My next choice after that is Race For Your Life Charlie Brown.

One film, huh? Damn. Thats hard.

I'd say for me it would be JAWS.

To this day I can watch it over and over and over again. A perfect film with perfect characters.

LOL to Dylan, more than once. Don't ever change, man.

<<<-- Originally posted by Shawn Mielke : LOL to Dylan, more than once. Don't ever change, man. -->>>

Don't worry, if anything I'll get worse. :)

Shoot, yeah....Jaws is the best movie ever.

Ok, fine...my favorite movie is Jaws.

Murph

Now you where all waiting for this one:

" Meet Joe Black "

Why? Not entirely sure, but it evokes a great feeling with me
and I just love Brad's character. Can't beat the "peanut-butter man"!

No, it isn't too long... <g>

p.s. it's probably a tie with The Green Mile....

"Local Hero" 1983, Peter Reigert, Burt Lancaster. This movie just sucked me in, quirky, but very beleiveable. Wonderful characters, good story, nice and easy pace. A good "things are rarely as they seem" theme.

Shawshank Redemption

<<<-- Originally posted by Eric Emerick : "Local Hero" 1983, Peter Reigert, Burt Lancaster. This movie just sucked me in, quirky, but very beleiveable. Wonderful characters, good story, nice and easy pace. A good "things are rarely as they seem" theme. -->>>

Erick that movie is still well-loved. I just came back from a story-editor's workshop where that movie was brought up.

Eric and Rob... you both beat me to it. Both of those are in my handful of best films. Rob, you and I have already talked at length about "Meet Joe Black." But like you, Eric... "Local Hero" got under my skin and stayed there.

Okay then...let me offer another three-way tie:

"Harold and Maude" and "The Parallax View" and "Barry Lyndon"
(apologies for not committing to one)

Full Metal Jacket and Taxi Driver


There are gazillion movies that I love, but these 2 are the first to pop up in my mind.

"No Way Out" with Kevin Costner. After the movie ended, I sat there for at least 5 minutes with my jaw open. The best surprise ending I've ever seen.

=gb=

Lots of good films listed here. Glad to see Barry Lyndon as someone's number one, give or take two more ;-] . Experiment any with shoots by candle light because of that one, John? I would imagine smear to be a general concern, with video...One of the most memorable aspects of camera work in that film is the consistent if not systematic use of zoom outs. Camera isolates a person or a vista or other lone subject, then zooms out to take in broader context, usually a social context. These zooms were often funny and always rich.

Shawn, one of the greatest DV movies had extensive shooting by candlelight. That was Thomas Vinterberg's "Festen".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154420/

I'll check it out, thanks.

<<<-- Originally posted by John Locke : Eric and Rob... you both beat me to it. Both of those are in my handful of best films. Rob, you and I have already talked at length about "Meet Joe Black." But like you, Eric... "Local Hero" got under my skin and stayed there. -->>>

Sorry! <g> So Local Hero is one to definitely watch? I haven't
seen it yet, will see if I can find it somewhere!

Run...do not walk, Rob, to the nearest DVD store to get "Local Hero." I'll bet you watch it more than once.

Shawn...glad to hear you're a fellow admirer of "Barry Lyndon." Most people I know can only get half way through it since there aren't any explosions or girls in tight leather outfits. ;) It's interesting to know that Kubrick had to confer with NASA to come up with the lens that could shoot in such low light conditions but maintain clarity and color. Very beautiful movie.

Keith, "Fester" has now been added to my Netflix queue, thanks to you.

John, make sure you look for "Festen" (in English: "The Celebration"). Otherwise if you look for "Fester" you might come up with a horror flick.

It was the first Dogme film and I think is still the best. Wonderful story.

Hah! Mistyped!

I did add "Festen". "Fester"...could that be the film where Jackie Coogan takes on the persona of his most famous character?

Keith make sure you look for "Dogma".. "Dogme" might be something from Snoop doggy.. ;)

Couldn't agree more about the movie. Simply wonderful. (Although you feel quite embarassed for the characters in the movie..)

Arfled, you and Keiht are being a bit too anul about spellings, I'd say. ;)

Do you mean I'm being a bit to "anal"?? Because.. Just kidding..

Actually I was kidding in my last post too.. no harm intended. =)

And for those of you who liked The FESTER ;) and haven't seen the Danish Dogmea, "Italian for beginners". Do it now!
A great movie!

<<<-- Originally posted by Alfred Okocha : Keith make sure you look for "Dogma".. "Dogme" might be something from Snoop doggy.. ;) -->>>

Alfred, to continue to be anal, it is Dogme.

http://www.dogme95.dk/

The Shipping News


Billy: "They said he slept with his wife after she were dead."

Quoyle: "Oh God!, is there anything else I should know?"

Billy: "No, dat about covers it."

The Vow of Chastity

I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGMA 95:


1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).


2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot).


3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place).


4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).


5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.


6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)


7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)


8. Genre movies are not acceptable.


9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.


10. The director must not be credited.


Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a “work”, as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.


Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY
_

Copenhagen, Monday 13 March 1995


On behalf of DOGMA 95, Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg

I've been reading that vow of chastity for a few years now; I'm into it. Violence and music are so damn easy as hooks for material. I won't get into it too much here, but, very cool that Dogme managed to enter into the folds of this thread.

The FUNNIEST film known to me is either Wes Anderson's Rushmore or his The Royal Tenenbaums. The comedy as a work of art or whatever, this guy's films kill me, everytime. Because they're brilliant cinema. The humor isn't script/word based solely, or gag based. It's lighting, angles, colour, pace... Kills me!

If you haven't already, you should watch "Bottle Rocket." Great dialogue.

Barry Lyndon.

Often overlooked, its the work of a master at his peak.