Just from the title alone, you know it’s good. It’s not Lawrence of Grand Rapids, or Lawrence of San Bernardino. Lawrence of Arabia. You can’t even pronounce it the same way you pronounce other movie titles. You can’t say it matter-of-factly like “lawrenceofarabia.” You have to say it like “Lawrence of uh-RAY-bia,” with the stress
1. Lawrence Of Arabia (Lean, 1962) Read More »
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love Mary Poppins, and those who love Mary Poppins but are ashamed to admit it. ***** Some say there isn’t a word in the English language that could adequately describe Mary Poppins. On the contrary, there’s a very good word. It’s … Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, even
2. Mary Poppins (Stevenson, 1964) Read More »
“I always think there’s a band, kid.” ***** Heard anyone say recently that America isn’t all she’s cracked up to be? That we’re undergoing some sort of identity crisis? That a better name for us might be the United Hates of America? That beneath our status as the world’s number one superpower lies an underbelly
3. The Music Man (DaCosta, 1962) Read More »
Sometimes with a movie, it’s all about the tagline: “They’re young … they’re in love … and they kill people.” [record scratch] Say what? ***** Until a couple of weeks after I turned seventeen, Bonnie and Clyde was one of those movies I vaguely knew existed but didn’t know the first thing about. Sort of
4. Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) Read More »
Uh … didn’t that year happen already? Are they going to update the movie so that it’s accurate? You mean I’m supposed to watch some movie that includes a bunch of mistaken predictions? At least when Prince wrote “1999,” he didn’t fill the lyrics with a bunch of mistaken predictions about the year 1999. I
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) Read More »
You know what I love about Italian movies? I love that I can watch them more than once. American movies? Too easy. Give me one viewing and I’m good. Citizen Kane? Yeah, I knew what time it was. The Godfather? Didn’t need a Ph. D in Best Movies Ever Studies to figure that one out.
6. La Dolce Vita (Fellini, 1960) Read More »
I’ve always wanted to hijack a hospital intercom, press the little button and go, “Paging Dr. Zhivago, paging Dr. Zhivago.” Just to see if anyone notices. ***** Some movies are like a snack that tides you over – a can of Pringles, a box of Triscuits, a bag of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. Doctor Zhivago is
7. Doctor Zhivago (Lean, 1965) Read More »
New York. Just like I pictured it – skyscrapers, and ev’rythang. ***** One uneventful day during my interminably monotonous youth, I decided that, when I grew up, I was going to live in New York City. Seemed pretty obvious to me. Hard to pinpoint any one thing in particular that did it. Perhaps a few
8. Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) Read More »
I almost thought about placing this film at number 8 ½ on my list instead of 9th, but upon further reflection, I decided that doing so might have been considered too cute by half. (Alternate first line: I almost thought about turning my essay on 8 ½ into an essay about an adrift blogger despondently
9. 8 1/2 (Fellini, 1963) Read More »
This movie is part-time Buddhist? This movie? The movie that opens with shots of sadistic children torturing scorpions and ants via flaming twigs? The movie that, before you’ve even had time to unwrap your box of Red Vines, gives you a shootout where a temperance union full of little old ladies who just happen to
10. The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969) Read More »