Movies On My 'To See' List
Submitted by Phreak on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:23
Tags:
- African Queen, The (V)
- After Hours (M)
- Aguirre, The Wrath of God (!)
- Alice in the Cities (M)
- All About My Mother (!)
- Alphaville (M)
- Always Tell Your Wife (-)
- American Friend, The (M)
- And Your Mother Too [Y Tu Mamá También] (!)
- Anger Management (N)
- Animal Crackers (V)
- Appointments of Dennis Jennings, The
- Baraka (V)
- Battleship Potemkin (!)
- Battlestar Galactica (V)
- Be the Man (-)
- Beat Girl (-)
- Bedazzled (1968)
- Ben Hur (!)
- Best Intentions, The (M)
- Best of Kids in the Hall
- Best Years of Our Lives, The (!)
- Big Night (V)
- Bite Me, Fanboy (Z)
- Black and White in Color (-)
- Blackmail (Z)
- Blind Chance [Przypadek] (-)
- Blow-Up (V)
- Blue Flame (-)
- Blue Velvet (!)
- Bob Le Flambeur (V)
- Bon Voyage (?)
- Bowling for Columbine (!)
- Boyfriends and Girlfriends (-)
- Breathing Lessons (V)
- Bringing Up Baby (V)
- Brothers McMullen, The (V)
- Bruce Almighty (N)
- Camera Buff [Amator] (-)
- Capturing the Friedmans
- Cars That Ate Paris, The (M)
- Catch-22 (!)
- Caveman's Valentine, The (-)
- Champagne (-)
- Champagne for Caesar (-)
- Chappaqua (M)
- Chicago (!)
- Chinatown (!)
- Chungking Express (!)
- Citizen X (V)
- Climber Girl [Klatretøsen] (-)
- Clockmaker, The (V)
- Closest Thing to Heaven (-)
- Clowns, The (M)
- Color of Money, The (V)
- Colors (?)
- Confidence Girl (-)
- Conspirators of Pleasure [Spiklenci slasti]
- Cranes Are Flying, The [Letjat zhuravli] (V)
- Cries and Whispers (V)
- Crime of Father Amaro, The [El Crimen del Padre Amaro] (!)
- Dark City (V)
- Day of Wrath (V)
- Decade Under the Influence, A
- Dead Man (!)
- Deathroom Gameshow (-)
- Delicatessen (V)
- Detour (!)
- Diabolically Yours (M)
- Diabolique (V)
- Dial M for Murder (V)
- Distant Voices/Still Lives (M)
- Do the Right Thing (!)
- Dogme 4: King Is Alive, The (!)
- Dogme 5: Lovers (M)
- Dogme 7: Interview (-)
- Dogme 18: Et Rigtigt Menneske (-)*
- Don’t Look Now (-)
- Down By Law (!)
- Downhill (-)
- Dream With the Fishes (-)
- Drowning By Numbers (M)
- East of Eden (V)
- Easy Virtue (-)
- 8 ½ (!)
- Elastic Affair, An (-)
- End of Violence, The (M)
- Envy (Z)
- Eraserhead (M)
- Evil Dead 2 (V)
- Espresso Bongo (-)
- Faces (V)
- Fail-Safe (V)
- Fall of the Roman Empire (Z)
- Family Plot (V)
- Fanny and Alexander (V)
- Farmer's Wife, The (-)
- Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (M)
- 15 Minute Hamlet, The (-)
- Floundering (-)
- Food [Jídlo] (Z)
- Forbidden Games (?)
- Forbidden Planet (-)
- Foreign Correspondent (V)
- Four Friends (-)
- Freaks (!)
- Frenzy (V)
- Full Tilt Boogie (!)*
- Gang Tapes
- General, The (V)
- Ghost in the Noonday Sun
- Go Go Second Time Virgin (-)
- Gold Rush, The (!)
- Great Dictator, The (!)
- Great Race, The (Z)
- Happiness (V)
- Hard Case (-)
- Hearts and Minds (!)
- Hero [Ying Xiong]
- High Noon (!)
- Hit, The (-)
- Homicide (M)
- Horse Feathers (!)
- House Across the Bay, The (-)
- House of Angels [Änglagård] (Z)
- Hunters, The [Jägarna] (-)
- Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (M)
- I Confess (V)
- I Stand Alone [Seul Contre Tous] (M)
- Idiot, The [Kurosawa] (-)
- I’ll Never Forget What’s ‘is Name (M)
- In a Lonely Place (-)
- In the Mood For Love [Hua yang nian hua] (!)
- Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms (-)
- International House (M)
- Intolerance (1916 version) (M)
- Iris (!)
- It Happened One Night (!)
- It Runs in the Family (Z)
- It's a Gift (V)
- Jacob's Ladder (-)
- Jalla! Jalla! (Z)
- Jamaica Inn (V)
- Jesus 2000 (-)
- Jonah Will Be 25 In Year 2000 (-)
- Joy of Knowledge, The (-)
- Judgment at Nuremburg (V)
- Juggernaut (-)
- Julia and Julia (-)
- Juno and the Paycock (V)
- Just One Look
- Kafka (M)
- Kansas City (V)
- King of Comedy (!)
- Kings of the Road (M)
- Klute (V)
- Kurosawa (!)
- L.I.E. (!)
- L-Shaped Room, The (M)
- La Promesse (!)
- La Vie de Boheme (V)
- Lady Jane (V)
- Last Movie, The (M)
- Last Wave, The (!)
- Laura (V)
- Life Upside Down (-)
- Lifeboat (V)
- Little Otik [Otesánek] (!)
- Lolita (’61 Kubrick version) (!)
- Long Goodbye, The (V)
- Love and Death on Long Island [Jackson Pollock documentary] (-)
- Love Liza (!)
- Lovely & Amazing (!)
- Madagascar Landing [Aventure Malgache] (?)
- Made in Hong Kong [Xianggang Zhizao]
- Magic Christian, The (M)
- Man in the White Suit, The (!)
- Man on the Flying Trapeze (-)
- Man on the Train, The [Homme du train, L'] (Z)
- Man Without a Past, The [Mies vailla menneisyyttä] (O)
- Manna From Heaven (-)
- Manxman, The (-)
- Mary (Z)
- Matewan (V)
- Meetin' Woody Allen (M)
- Message, The (Z)
- Mighty Wind, A (O)
- Monkey Business (!)
- Mountain Eagle, The (-)
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (V)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (V)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (!)
- Mr. Jealousy (V)
- Mumford (V)
- Muppet Revue, The
- Murder! (!)
- Music From Another Room (Z)
- My Little Chickadee (V)
- Naked (M)
- Naked Man, The (-)
- Name of this Film Is Dogme95, The (-)
- Naqoyqatsi (N)
- Nashville (!)
- Nazarin (-)
- Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (M)
- Never Met Picasso (V)
- Next Stop Wonderland (?)
- Night of the Generals
- Night of the Shooting Stars (V)
- Nightwatch (V)
- 1999 (-)
- No Surrender (M)
- Number 13 (-)
- Number Seventeen (-)
- Old Fashioned Way, The (-)
- Olivier, Olivier (-)
- On the Waterfront (!)
- Once Upon a Time in America (M)
- One and a Two..., A [Yi Yi] (!)
- Ordet (-)
- Out of the Blue (M)
- Panique (-)
- Paper-Thin Immortals (-)
- Paradine Case, The (V)
- Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (M)
- Passenger, The (M)
- Permanent Vacation (Z)
- Persona (V)
- Philadelphia Story, The (!)
- Platoon (!)
- Pleasure Garden, The (-)
- Possessed [Besat] (!)
- Prozac Nation (Z)
- Quiet American, The (!)
- Quiet Man, The (!)
- Raging Bull (!)
- Ran (V)
- Rancho Deluxe (V)
- Red Circle, The [Cercle rouge, Le]
- Rendezvous in Paris (-)
- Rich and Strange (-)
- Rosemary's Baby (!)
- Rules of the Game [Regle de Jeu, La] (V)
- Sabotage (V)
- Saboteur (V)
- Scar, The ’76 [Blizna] (-)
- Second Best Secret Agent In the World, The (-)
- Seconds (?)
- Secret Agent (-)
- 7 Plus 7 (-)
- Seven Samurai (!)
- Seventh Seal, The (V)
- 7 Up (-)
- Sex Mission [Seksmisja] (?)
- Shadow of a Doubt (V)
- Sheltering Sky, The (-)
- Short Film About Killing [Krotki Film O Zahijaniu] (M)
- Short Film About Love, A [Krotki Film O Milosci] (M)
- Short Working Day [Krotki Dzien Pracy] (-)
- Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th (Z)
- Silence, The (-)
- Silver Streak (V)
- Six O'Clock News (-)
- Skin Game, The (V)
- Sleep With Me (-)
- Some Like It Hot (!)
- Sorcerer (M)
- Sour Grapes (-)
- Spartacus (!)
- Spellbound (1945, Hitchcock) (!)
- Spellbound (2002, Spelling Bee Documentary) (N)
- Spirited Away (!)
- Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The (V)
- Stage Fright (V)
- Start the Revolution Without Me (V)
- State of Things [Der Stand der Dinge] (M)
- Stranger, The (V)
- Stranger Than Paradise (!)
- Subsidaries (-)
- Sum of All Fears (!)
- Sunrise (-)
- Sunset Boulevard (V)
- Suspicion (V)
- Swindle (V)
- Talk to Her [Hable con ella] (!)
- Taste of Others, The (-)
- Tenth Victim (M)
- Thief (V)
- 35 Miles from Normal (-)
- 39 Steps, The (!)
- Three Brothers (!)
- Through a Glass Darkly (V)
- Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (V)
- Time of Drunken Horses, A
- Time Out (!)
- T-Men (-)
- To Catch a Thief (V)
- To Live (V)
- Tokyo Story (V)
- Top Secret!
- Topaz (V)
- Torn Curtain (!)
- Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (-)
- Transporter, The
- Treasure of the Sierra Madre (V)
- True Confessions (V)
- Truly, Madly, Deeply (M)
- 12:01 (-)
- 28 Up (-)
- 21 Up (-)
- 2 Days in the Valley (?)
- Two People Talking [Futari ga shabetteru] (-)
- Umberto D. (V)
- Unauthorized Star Wars Story (-)
- Under Capricorn (M)
- Underground (M)
- Unknown Soldier, The [Tuntematon sotilas] (-)
- Until the End of the World (-)
- Uuno Turhapuro (-)
- Vanishing, The (!)
- Vanya on 42nd Street (V)
- Vernon, Florida (M)
- Visitor Q
- Wages of Fear (V)
- Waltzes from Vienna (-)
- Watchtower Over Tomorrow (-)
- White Heat (V)
- White Rose, The (-)
- Who Am I This Time? (V)
- Wild Bunch, The (!)
- Winter Light, The (V)
- With a Friend Like Harry
- Wittgenstein (M)
- Wonderland (V)
- Wrong Man, The (V)
- Wrong Move, The (M)
- Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (M)
- You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (M)
- Young and Innocent (V)
- Zardoz (!)
Author Comments:
Key:
New Additions
Recently Watched
And, keys for my personal ease (in order):
(!) = Exists in my library system in DVD format
(V) = Exists in my library system in VHS format
(O) = On order for my library system
(M) = Available at Mondo Video rental store
(?) = Exists in my library system, but may be lost or damaged
(-) = Not available to me via my library system or Mondo Video
Feel free to comment on any movies you think I shouldn't see, any movies you think I should add to this list, or movies I should rush to see. [With as many movies as I have lined up, it's hard to figure out which to see first] You'll also notice that movies disappear or suddenly appear on this list. That's due to either my having watched them, my having discovered that I *should* watch them, or my lack of interest in watching that movie.
A few random comments...
Skip Topaz. It is easily one of Hitchcock's worst works. One fantastic death scene, and hours of sheer boredom. Even the colors are drab. If you're interested in under-rated Hitch gems, may I suggest Rope, Lifeboat, Notorious (already on your list), or, especially, Strangers on a Train? Of course, Rear Window is one of his greatest.
Birth of a Nation, Breathless, 8 1/2, Blue Velvet, Forbidden Games. Freaks, Blow Up, The Hustler, Nashville, Network, Once Upon a Time in America, Persona, Rear Window, The Seventh Seal, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sunrise, 2001, and Visions of Light would certainly be my votes for moving to the front of the class. All great movies, and all (in my opinion) quite important to the history of film. That's quite a combination. Forced to pick two of these, I would go for 2001 (especially if you can see a remastered, widescreen version like the one on DVD) or 8 1/2.
I recently saw Lolita, and I was rather disappointed. An editor would have helped, as the film was over-long and full of silly sexual puns that grew more childish than amusing. Peter Sellers was good, but SK should have never allowed him to steal the film, as it distracts from the true strengths of the film. James Mason is a revelation. I never knew he had such terrific range, and his performance is certainly the highlight of the film.
Lots of great films here. Aside from Topas, I don't believe I have seen any I would particularly warn you away from, though some I like much less than others. You have some great film viewing ahead of you!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Interestingly enough, your top two movie choices [2001 and 8 ½] not only are expressed by numbers [I'm sure you also enjoyed Se7en and Pi :P ], but I've also started watching both, and was unable to finish. I've seen 2001's beginning three times, but due to either time restraints or improper taping techniques [thanks to my mom], I haven't finished watching that.
I'll probably remove Topaz, then. I have a .doc file [films2c.doc] that I keep with some notes for each movie, but I unfortunately don't have room to put notes on *why* they made the list initially. This list has been evolving for the past 2½ years, so it could have come from anywhere!
I first heard about 2001 as a kid, and I picked up a pre-viewed copy at a local video store to check it out. I was very disappointed. Later, in my early 20s, I found a remastered widescreen copy for rent, and I decided to give it another chance. I cannot express what a difference this made. 2001 is one of the few films to largely tell its story through visual and audio techniques, and the film simply fails to impress unless it can be seen under optimal conditions. My old, bleed-out, pan-and-scan video could not give it justice.
8 1/2 is an odd bird, an incredibly poetic film that must be absorbed in one setting. There is an intelligible narrative lurking there, but the film is more poetry than prose, and I can easily understand why most people either love it or loathe it.
Oh, and yes, I certainly did enjoy 7 and Pi. Very interesting... Of course, I'm not a great fan of either 2010 or 10. ;)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I didn't know you could even get a pan & scan version of 2001!
Same with Manhattan, I can only find widescreen versions of that. [Not that I'm *searching* for pan and scan, mind you, but I make it a point to confirm that any copy I see is a widescreen version]
Lots of super movies here.
I enjoyed Frenzy by Hitchcock, already on your list.
One of my all-time favourites, also already on your list, that I can recommend you prioritising is 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' which I absolutely loved - also quite funny. Let us know what you think.
Thanks for the info. I've requested Frenzy from my library. For some reason, they don't have Truly Madly Deeply, so there may be a delay on that one...I prefer to use my library's free resources rather than pay to watch movies :)
I can throw in my recommendation for Army of Darkness, Blow-Up, Blue Velvet, Breathless (assuming Godard), The Brothers McMullen, Double Indemnity, Evil Dead 2 (!!), The Hit (Stephen Frears), House Of Yes, The Hustler, Juggernaut (Richard Harris), Kafka, Nightwatch, The Player, Rear Window (!!!), Seconds, Smoke Signals, Tapeheads, True Romance (!!), The Vanishing (Original), Waking Ned Devine and Your, Friends and Neighbors. Dude you have a lot of movies to watch!
Heh, I sure do :) I love to watch great movies, so I continuously collect ideas of things to watch. It continually grows, and since I was VCR-less for the past 2 months, I haven't taken any *off* the list! I got my VCR hooked up 2 days ago, though, and I've watched 4 of these movies already :)
There is some undoubted classics on your list. I am really glad to see the Nicolas Roeg classic "Dont Look Now" on this list. Some people are reluctant to watch Roeg films because of his unabridged sexuality and his bizarre directing style. However, I'm intrigued by his genius. Other films By Roeg that are brilliant include; WALKABOUT INSIGNIFIGANCE PERFORMANCE and of course his master work THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH.
Sure, I'll add Don't Look Now.
Unbeknownst to me, I actually watched a Roeg film last weekend--Heart of Darkness.
I'm interested in his 2000 film, "The Sound of Claudia Schiffer"...do you know anything about it?
No I certainly don't. I need to see what Roeg is up to.
Whoops, I thought you said you *wanted* to see it on my list :)
Well, after watching that one, I'll add other Roeg films as well.
Damn, now this is some list! You'll get bed sores from watching them all!
Sean
Heh, if only you knew how many movies have been taken off this list already...
How did you come up with the items on your list? For instance, you have listed Alphaville and Ambush. Did you read about them and just decided you wanted to watch them at some time? Or were they recommendations from friends?
Sean
Actually, the items from my list come from a large variety of sources. It started on paper in around 1998 from a couple dozen movie suggestions that a friend of mine who had gone to film school. From there, I added from sources such as Top __ movies of all time, Academy Award nominees and winners (some, not all of them!), suggestions from friends, movie trailers that have interested me, movies by certain directors/writers or starring certain actors, etc.
Also, there's a wonderful book titled "Seen That, Now What?". Basically, it lists great movies and puts them in categories with other similar movies. For instance, if you really enjoyed Pulp Fiction (and you did), you could look it up in the index and find the page that it's located on. I believe in that book, you'd end up turning to a "Post-Modernism" section for that particular movie. It would suggest other like movies, I wouldn't be surprised if there were other Tarantino films there, and some others. Sometimes, you get very similar movies, sometimes not. That's how this type of book goes, y'know? The fun ones to look up are movies like The Usual Suspects, to see what's similar.
Seen That Now What is a terrific book that has provided me tons of fun. It is a shame that with each passing year, any hope of an update grows fainter and fainter. When was it published? 1995?
*I* would certainly grab up a new edition!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs (who has entirely too many book, film, and music guides on his bookshelf...)
I added all of the Hitchcock films I haven't seen to date. I realize that, when I first created this list, that lbangs suggested I skip Topaz. Well, it's back on the list, as my goal is to someday watch all of Hitchcock's films. But, then again, my goal is to someday watch *all* the films on this list, though I doubt that will happen...there are a dozen or so that are fairly impossible to find, unless you can find a film reel with the movie on it. Oh well...
Of your latest additions, I have seen Bringing Up Baby, The General, The Gold Rush, The Great Dictator, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, A Night at the Opera, On the Waterfront, The Philadelphia Story, Silver Streak, Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and all 4 W.C. Fields movies. I would recommend all, but make your top priorities "Bringing Up Baby" and "Some Like It Hot" for comedy, "Sunset Boulevard" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" for drama.
Some notes:
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is not a REAL Hitchcock movie. OK, well it is technically. But there is no suspense or murder or anything in it - it's a screwball comedy. That said, it's worth a rent; there's one scene in it that induced some big belly laughs (the "big" would be referring to the laughs, not the belly), when someone is explaining why he doesn't drink, and there are some laughs at other points too.
If you're brushing up on W.C. Fields, you should also add "The Bank Dick" and "International House", unless you've already seen them. The former is considered to be his best work in some circles (including Roger Ebert), and the latter is a hysterical ensemble comedy that Fields is a part of.
I'll give you the same "Night at the Opera" lecture that I gave dgeiser13, since I don't think anyone read it anyway:
As you may know, "Duck Soup" was a flop at the box office, and Paramount didn't renew the Marx Brothers' contracts. They got picked up by MGM, who seriously cramped the Marxes' style: they wouldn't let them perform their bits onstage to see audience reactions, they forced the films to concentrate more on a romance plot with plenty of musical numbers, and the Marx Brothers lost their mischievous edge and became just clownish. A little history lesson for the uninformed.
In my opinion, all the Paramount films are superior to all of the MGM films, with the possible exception of "The Cocoanuts", their first film, although that wasn't that bad. "A Night at the Opera" is by far their best MGM film; however, it's nothing compared to their Paramount pictures.
I read everything on this site, so don't feel your comments (like your "Night at the Opera" lecture) are complete audienceless. :-)
I've always loved W.C. Fields, but never took the opportunity to watch any of his films. My local library had copies of The Bank Dick (on DVD, nonetheless) as well as the collection of six short films. There are, however, more than four W.C. Fields movies listed here. I pulled a bunch off of IMDB. I'll add International House as well.
Thank you for the details on the Marx Brothers. This explains exactly why I loathed "A Day at the Races"...this movie alone turned me off to the Marx Brothers, and I only reluctantly added Duck Soup.
Cool. If you like "Duck Soup", I'd also recommend some of their other Paramount films, "Animal Crackers", "Monkey Business", and "Horse Feathers." "The Cocoanuts" is also decent - but it was made only a couple years after the invention of the talkie, so the sound quality is very bad. The picture quality also leaves a lot to be desired. As far as content, there are some big laughs, but there are too many pointless scenes in between the funny ones - it's kinda like their MGM films in that respect.
I'm going out on a limb here because I haven't seen it, but I'm willing to bet that you can skip "Treasure Planet." I mean, there's a reason why AAA gave it 25:1 odds...
It's going to stay on my list until I see it...not because it seems like a great movie, but the clips of the animation that I have seen look simply amazing.
Ooooh, I really, really liked The Cranes are Flying. Terrific film!
I hope to read your thoughts on it if you see it.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs