How many have you seen?
Yes, it's another list of movies, this one called "101 Movies You Must See Before You Die." I'm sorry I don't have the list "101 Movies You Must See After You Die," I'm getting that from Lestat de Lioncourt. This is from Roger Ebert, who I can never decide if I agree with or disagree with. I do find him annoying though, and that's always a plus.
They're what I like to think of as the common cultural currency of our time, the basic cinematic texts that everyone should know, at minimum, to be somewhat "movie-literate." I hope I can assume these movies are experiences we can all assume we share.I feel it my duty to point out that "You Must See Before You Die" is a stupid idea because you can't see a movie after you die. Mostly. Mitch Hedberg did a routine about, "This is a picture of me when I was younger," because all pictures are like that. When you get a picture of you when you were older, call me.
I have seen 55 of these movies. How many have you seen?
Labels:
movies
15 comments:
45...wait, 46. Forgot to count Psycho. But I can see from this list that one of the few (perhaps the only) thing I agree with ol' Roger "I wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" Ebert (and I can prove it) on is that Empire is the best movie of the Star Wars trilogy.
However, a few points.
1) I demand one extra point in protest of the Woody Allen movie on the list, because he is a douchebag and I refuse to see any of his movies. You don't marry your children, I don't care that she was adopted...it was still a parent/child relationship and that means he has nothing to say that I am interested in. Period. Since he writes all his own movies, that means I don't care if he's funny or if it's satire or whatever. So he's exempt.
2) Is "Un Chien Andalou" that good, or did Ebert just want to appear intellectual with the inclusion of Salvadore Dali?
3) Dirty Harry? I mean, on a 101 must-see list? I'm sure it's not bad, but didn't Kurosawa make another good movie or something?
4) I am incensed that D.W. Griffith's makeup movie, Intolerance, is on the list. He only made it, in my opinion, to get some public goodwill back after he released the highly racist Birth of a Nation. I mean, BoaN had a Klansman on the movie poster. If this is what the man had to offer, I don't give a rat's ass how important a silent film Intolerance is. He and his movies can still kiss my ass.
5) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior? Must-see? Really?
6) My mister will be annoyed that it was Alien and not Aliens that made the cut.
14...a lot of these movies are old and I don't really have an interest in.
If I read that right, Mad Max2 made it but Mad Max 1 didn't? And what about Tina?
The Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou) is unique. You'll never see a film like it. You'll also probably never want to see it again. It is a Dadaist masterpiece, which is to say it makes no sense whatsoever.
Annie Hall is a wonderful and delightful movie, made from a time when Woody was behaving himself, if that helps at all. Reconciling the Artist and The Artist's Life is a personal choice for all of us.
Movies on Ebert's list that didn't belong, IMHO: Bambi, Dirty Harry, Rear Window, and Mad Max 2.
I have seen 20. And I watch hundreds of movies every year. Of those 20. I liked about 5.
Lame list.
24 for me. Glad to see "The Day The Earth Stood Still". That's a very underrated movie. Surprised at Mad Max II but where was Snow White? The problem with lists like this is that the author would probably change it if someone said "what about XX" and he'd say "Oh yeah, forgot that one."
I've seen 39, including Un Chien Andalou, which I got the rest of the movie buffs here to watch for the sole reason that I told them it was very weird.
Anyway, a few other random comments:
Generally speaking, one does best to not delve too far into the person behind the art. Art, at its heart, comes from a pretty F'ed up mentality, and to generate anything worthwhile, there's got to be a problem somewhere. Just because Woody Allen married his adopted child doesn't mean he makes bad movies.
For that matter, I kind of cringe whenever I see a live performance by Tool or APC, just because Maynard's a freaky cat. But it doesn't mean he doesn't make good music.
I will never see all 101, though, because there is a movie there I have vowed to never see. Can you guess which one? Maybe...
I don't know why, but my guess would be Schindler's List, BK. I know that I once saw part of Saving Private Ryan on television, and that's a movie that I will never watch again.
I've seen 33 of them. The only comment I have to add, is that, at least of the ones I've seen he picked older movies that still stand up today. On the Waterfront, The Manchurian Candidate, Double Indemnity, The Bicylcle Thief, Citizen Kane are all still great to watch. Though I did only find Seven Samurai to be okay.
I actually own Schindler's List, so no. And I have seen Saving Private Ryan, it's an excellent movie once you get past the D-Day scene. Much like Seven, everyone should see the full movie once, after that, you can skip the shock parts.
Answer: It's a Wonderful Life. The only movie that is horribly over-broadcasted at some point in the year, I have not seen it in 25.5 years, and I see no reason to break the streak.
It's a Wonderful Life is now owned by NBC and it is only shown once per year. And yes, I watch it once, every year. Don't let Ted Turner's stupidity at starting to air that prior to Halloween ruin a good movie for you.
I'd better "get busy viewin' or get busy dyin'", cause I've only seen 25. (How that's possible with all the movies I see, I couldn't tell ya.)
Yeah, I'm at about 20 or 21. I find it odd that I see Blade Runner in nearly all of these movie "insert reason" lists. Nothing wrong with it; it's one of my top 5. I just thought it was a niche movie and not really a candidate for all these "must-this" and "seen-that" lists.
I topped out at 44, although I am sure there are a few oldies there I never actually saw pillar-to post.
You gotta read the full description though, for example, don't count of
"Scarface" too early, until you note it is the gansgter original, 1932 by Howard Hawks.
And yes KL - Mad Max 2 defined the genre. And for The G, a much more balanced movie than Mad Max 1 which was grottier, but spotty in both its acting and its pacing.
And I am surprised how few recent movies made the list. How long do you need to define a classic? E.g. one of the Lord of the Rings movies, or even more recent like . say, Crash?
I think rather than "classic" or "favorite" movies, this list is movies that are unlike any other. Or perhaps defined a genre, as you said, Aussie. "Must-see" movies.
18. I'm not much of a classic movie-watcher.
Post a Comment