palabravampiress
Bidet of Evil
How very difficult to list 10 of my favorite movies! I don't think I'll be able to rank them, but I think I'll be able to come up with 10 awesome movies. Be forewarned: I love black and white movies. My mom can't stand it. When I was a kid, my dad and I would always hole up and watch "old" movies together, but my mom never joined us. In hindsight, I think my love of black-and-white movies has to do with the fact that I'm color blind. Black and white is just so crisp and clear.
Anyway, I love Federico Fellini. La Strada is definitely in there. So is La Dolce Vita. Marcello and Anita dancing in the fountain... so beautiful! Strangely enough, even though I think of it every time I hear circus music, I don't like 8 and 1/2. Go figure.
Anyway, so I've got two. Let's see? What else? Umm... I just bought my friend Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc. If you've never seen this movie, then you are missing out! It's a silent film from 1928, but the camera-work and acting is so modern that you won't even notice.
Oooh - and while we're still on black-and-white, let's add Sunset Boulevard, Citizen Kane, and High Noon to the list. High noon is my favorite Western, with Once Upon a Time in the West coming up as a close second. Best use of music in a movie. Ever.
How many is that? Seven? I'll add some more contemporary movies to the list. I love Baz Lutherman to pieces, so both Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge make the list. Color is okay if it is vibrant and intense. 🙂 Interview with the Vampire is also up there. Kirsten Dunst's performance totally blew me away. So did Natalie Portman's performance in Leon the Professional, which also has to go on my list. I've got to make room for Ang Lee's beautiful 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, as well. The scene in the end, when the reserved Eleanor finally breaks down into tears, gets me every time!
Polanski's The Pianist and Rosemary's Baby are up there for me, as are Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (my most emotional response to any movie ever), Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels, Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, Steven Spielberg's Jaws (so much better than the novel) and, of course, Gone with the Wind (and not just cuz I love me some sexy Rhett Butler).
I think that's way more than 10, but I've got to add two mini-series to the list: the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and Lonesome Dove. I'm not sure if you want to count mini-series as "movies," but these are both excellent and very true to the spirit of the books.
Hmm... I'm noticing a theme, here. I tend to gravitate toward tragic anti-heroes with more or less overt connections to the idea of Christ-like sacrifice. Not every movie on my list has that vibe, but many do. Strangely enough, I didn't like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Hmm. Not very strangely, I am fascinated with Joss Whedon's Spike character. 🙂
Anyway, I love Federico Fellini. La Strada is definitely in there. So is La Dolce Vita. Marcello and Anita dancing in the fountain... so beautiful! Strangely enough, even though I think of it every time I hear circus music, I don't like 8 and 1/2. Go figure.
Anyway, so I've got two. Let's see? What else? Umm... I just bought my friend Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc. If you've never seen this movie, then you are missing out! It's a silent film from 1928, but the camera-work and acting is so modern that you won't even notice.
Oooh - and while we're still on black-and-white, let's add Sunset Boulevard, Citizen Kane, and High Noon to the list. High noon is my favorite Western, with Once Upon a Time in the West coming up as a close second. Best use of music in a movie. Ever.
How many is that? Seven? I'll add some more contemporary movies to the list. I love Baz Lutherman to pieces, so both Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge make the list. Color is okay if it is vibrant and intense. 🙂 Interview with the Vampire is also up there. Kirsten Dunst's performance totally blew me away. So did Natalie Portman's performance in Leon the Professional, which also has to go on my list. I've got to make room for Ang Lee's beautiful 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, as well. The scene in the end, when the reserved Eleanor finally breaks down into tears, gets me every time!
Polanski's The Pianist and Rosemary's Baby are up there for me, as are Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (my most emotional response to any movie ever), Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels, Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, Steven Spielberg's Jaws (so much better than the novel) and, of course, Gone with the Wind (and not just cuz I love me some sexy Rhett Butler).
I think that's way more than 10, but I've got to add two mini-series to the list: the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and Lonesome Dove. I'm not sure if you want to count mini-series as "movies," but these are both excellent and very true to the spirit of the books.
Hmm... I'm noticing a theme, here. I tend to gravitate toward tragic anti-heroes with more or less overt connections to the idea of Christ-like sacrifice. Not every movie on my list has that vibe, but many do. Strangely enough, I didn't like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Hmm. Not very strangely, I am fascinated with Joss Whedon's Spike character. 🙂
