And the best Black and White movie ever is:

[GuitarGeek]

I guess I'm joining this thread kinda late. Looking at the first two pages (I don't think I'm gonna read all 88), I see most of my favorites already being mentioned, e.g. Metropolis, Psycho, Strangers On A Train, etc.

But I gotta throw a few comedies in:

To Be Or Not To Be (Jack Benny at his finest)
Way Out West (the Laurel & Hardy picture)
Monkey Business
Horse Feathers
Duck Soup
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
Room Service
At the Circus
Go West
Topper
Topper Takes A Trip
Topper Returns

And I'm sure they've been mentioned, but I'll throw in further votes for:
Nosferatu
The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari
Dr Mabuse, The Gambler
The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse

[ronmac]

^^ Great list.

[ronmac]

Anyone here ever see John Barrymore in "Svengali" (1931)? I used to have that on an 8-track and watched it all the time. I bet it's been 20 years (at least) since I've seen it.

Marian Marsh is an absolute sweetie in it. Barrymore is over the top.

I think I'll have to watch it on Youtube.

[Hal...]

I took a course in high school called "Fiction Into Film" and we watched it. I remember liking it but that's all.

BTW, I noticed once as I was watching Drew Barrymore on a talk show that her profile is so much like her grandfather's it's uncanny.

[ronmac]

I took a course in high school called "Fiction Into Film" and we watched it. I remember liking it but that's all.

BTW, I noticed once as I was watching Drew Barrymore on a talk show that her profile is so much like her grandfather's it's uncanny.

Yeah, I wouldn't call it a four-star movie, but Barrymore is worth watching.

[GuitarGeek]

Talking about aspect ratios, I remember a couple different stories (and I'll try to make these as brief as possible, please bare with me here):

1. Steve Spielberg talking about his first film, Duel. This was originally a made-for-TV movie, which most of you will know was quite popular in reruns on late night TV well into the 90's. Well, someone had this "brilliant" idea to release the picture theatrically in Europe.* So they changed the aspect ratio, I forget what Spielberg said they changed it to, but he said that in some bits, you could see him hiding, theoretically out of view, in Dennis Weaver's car, giving him direction. So they had to pull the picture from the theaters and reformat it so you wouldn't be able to see Spielberg.

2. Siskel & Ebert did a piece on letterboxing and such. I guess back when they first started doing that on TV in the 90's, it was controversial. A lot of people somehow felt they were "getting less" because the image didn't fill the entire screen (though I suppose the image was smaller, so if you have eye problems, it might be harder to see).

Anyway, they showed clips from several classic movies, to show how they were mangled on TV. One was a Spencer Tracey movie, a scene where he's on one side of the screen, while two other people are having a conversation, and he's making all these pained and annoyed faces in reaction to the conversation. But typically, at the time, when the movie was shown on TV, you saw just the two people talking, and totally missed on Tracey pulling faces. Another was a scene in a movie where there's two people sitting in a table in a restaurant, on either side of the screen, with one of those candle thingies they put in the middle of the table in some places, and the version that was shown on TV, you mainly saw that candle, and just barely saw either actor, who were "off screen" in that format.

I also remember noticing stuff like that in movies like Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and Jaws 2.

* Apparently, showing American made TV movies in theaters on the international market was a common thing. Would you believe Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park was shown in this fashion in Europe and Japan?! Damn, talk about "I want my money back!".

re: Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages, if I remember correctly, Jean-Luc Ponty performed the score that's usually shown with that (obviously not the original, but something that was recorded in the 60's or 70's for a re-release, I believe)

And as for Blair Witch Project, I never did see the original movie, but I did see the sequel, largely because I heard David Torn played on the soundtrack. Strange movie. Maybe not the greatest picture ever, but it did have some weird twists.

[Hal...]

2. Siskel & Ebert did a piece on letterboxing and such. I guess back when they first started doing that on TV in the 90's, it was controversial. A lot of people somehow felt they were "getting less" because the image didn't fill the entire screen...

I never had a problem with it because I realized that if they zoomed in on the image, a lot of what was in the original frame would be cut off. One of the attempted fixes was pan & scan, which didn't help much, imo, altho it was somewhat of an improvement. Later, Martin Scorsese used to have a demonstration on letterboxing they'd show on TCM, with the most egregious example being How the West Was Won, which was shot in three-strip Cinerama. I had to tell my dad to watch the demonstration because he didn't like letterboxing either. Once he saw Scorsese's explanation, he kinda backed off his criticism of it. But, to play devil's advocate, Lawrence of Arabia was kind of horrible in letterbox format. Of course, it was absolutely atrocious in pan & scan. Wide screen TVs have helped a lot with the wider, letterboxed movies.

[ronmac]

The Westerner is on TCM tonight. I don't think I've ever seen it, but Maltin gives it 3-1/2 stars and it has quite a cast.

Might just have to check it out before West Coast baseball.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27848/Westerner-The/

[ronmac]

Hmmm, "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) (Hitchcock) is on TCM on Thursday night at 10PM. I don't think I've ever seen that one, either.

4 stars

[Hal...]

Hmmm, "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) (Hitchcock) is on TCM on Thursday night at 10PM. I don't think I've ever seen that one, either.
4 stars

4 stars? Well, it's been a lonnnnng time since I've seen it. I also can't believe you've never seen it.

I guess today is Paul Lukas day. Tonight at 8 is Watch on the Rhine (1943). It stars Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald (nominated for an Oscar for Wuthering Heights and, as I just discovered, was the mother of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who I remember as the director of Let it Be), and Beulah Bondi (better known as Jimmy Stewart's mother in It's a Wonderful Life). Here's the description:

Fine filmization of Lillian Hellman's timely WW2 play of German Lukas and wife Davis pursued and harried by Nazi agents in Washington. Lukas gives the performance of his career, which won him an Oscar; Bette somewhat overshadowed. Script by Dashiell Hammett.

Being authored by Lillian Hellman and scripted by Dashiell Hammett is what caught my eye.

I guess maybe I should have a double feature night. I suspect, tho, the gf is going to be bored.

Last night I watched Smart Woman with Mary Astor. Maltin gave it 3 stars. I'd give it 2½.

[Staun]

Hmmm, "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) (Hitchcock) is on TCM on Thursday night at 10PM. I don't think I've ever seen that one, either.

4 stars

Ron, I have to believe it's one you've seen but just don't remember or it just didn't make an impression. It's shown quite often. I was like that about another film, Harry In Your Pocket. Couldn't remember the name of the movie but when someone started to explain the plot, then it clicked. It's a James Colburn film where he teaches people how to pick pocket. Kind of fun.

[Staun]

4 stars? Well, it's been a lonnnnng time since I've seen it. I also can't believe you've never seen it.

I guess today is Paul Lukas day. Tonight at 8 is Watch on the Rhine (1943). It stars Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald (nominated for an Oscar for Wuthering Heights and, as I just discovered, was the mother of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who I remember as the director of Let it Be), and Beulah Bondi (better known as Jimmy Stewart's mother in It's a Wonderful Life). Here's the description:

Fine filmization of Lillian Hellman's timely WW2 play of German Lukas and wife Davis pursued and harried by Nazi agents in Washington. Lukas gives the performance of his career, which won him an Oscar; Bette somewhat overshadowed. Script by Dashiell Hammett.

Being authored by Lillian Hellman and scripted by Dashiell Hammett is what caught my eye.

I guess maybe I should have a double feature night. I suspect, tho, the gf is going to be bored.

Last night I watched Smart Woman with Mary Astor. Maltin gave it 3 stars. I'd give it 2½.

The black bird thingy movie was on the other night. Mary didn't look to bad but I think she started to spend a little extra time at the table later on.

[Hal...]

The "black bird thingy"?

As for Mary Astor, by the time Black Bird Statuette was made, she'd had two kids. That can do it, especially back then when people were more blasé about a mother's figure.

[ronmac]

Ron, I have to believe it's one you've seen but just don't remember or it just didn't make an impression. It's shown quite often.

I'm not quite sure. If I decide to watch it tonight, I'll know right away, I'm guessing.

[Staun]

The "black bird thingy"?

As for Mary Astor, by the time Black Bird Statuette was made, she'd had two kids. That can do it, especially back then when people were more blasé about a mother's figure.

It is funny and your right. Just from watching these films you can see that women were heavier or maybe more full figured is a better way to put it. I was watching Audrey Hepburn the other day and she was skin and bone. I think the only thing she ever ate was air. It's just not a healthy look. But for the women back in those days, well, there is a lot to be said for the way they looked. I even adore the clothing from that time.

[Staun]

I'm not quite sure. If I decide to watch it tonight, I'll know right away, I'm guessing.

Might be a good topic. What are the great films we have not seen or, what are the great films that we just hate.

[Hal...]

Might be a good topic. What are the great films we have not seen or, what are the great films that we just hate.

Oh, you did it now.

Well, I don't know that I've ever hated a "great movie" but I've sure disliked a few and some I thought were just meh. Also, without a specific definition of what a great movie is, I'm going with movies generally regarded as significant, regardless of era. I also used this as a guide: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

All Quiet on the Western Front (meh)
Amadeus (meh)
Ben Hur (meh)
Ingmar Bergman movies - about 10 of them (meh to boring)
Blade Runner (dislike)
Citizen Kane (meh)
8½ (meh)
Fantasia (meh)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (meh) (I came to this opinion after re-reading the novels and then re-watching the trilogy; imo, Peter Jackson fucked it up)
Midnight Cowboy (dislike)
Rebel Without a Cause (meh)
The Searchers (meh)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's kinda meh)
Some Like it Hot (meh)
Stagecoach (meh)
Sunset Blvd (meh; I will concede, tho, it's been decades since I've seen it)
Vertigo (dislike)
West Side Story (dislike)
The Wild Bunch (dislike)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (meh). Sorry Ron. Don't hate me. Does it matter I feel bad for listing it?

I also have disliked almost every musical I've ever seen. The only ones I would ever watch again are:

Singin' in the Rain (this is just a great movie!)
Paint Your Wagon
Sound of Music (but only if I was with family during the holidays)

Here are some I like but think are overrated:

Chinatown
The Godfather 1
Pinocchio
Pulp Fiction (very overrated)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's overrated)

And one I can't make up my mind about:

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

From that AFI list, here are the ones I haven't seen or can't remember seeing:

All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Apartment
Birth of a Nation
City Lights
Doctor Zhivago
Duck Soup (I think)
Giant
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Hud
In the Heat of the Night (can't remember)
The Jazz Singer
Modern Times
My Fair Lady
On the Waterfront
A Place in the Sun
A Streetcar Named Desire
Yankee Doodle Dandy

To end on a high note, of all the movies I think are underrated, this is my favorite:

Lady and the Tramp

[NogbadTheBad]

Bladerunner! Heresy! Burn the witch!

[nycsteve]

Oh, you did it now.

Well, I don't know that I've ever hated a "great movie" but I've sure disliked a few and some I thought were just meh. Also, without a specific definition of what a great movie is, I'm going with movies generally regarded as significant, regardless of era. I also used this as a guide: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

All Quiet on the Western Front (meh)
Amadeus (meh)
Ben Hur (meh)
Ingmar Bergman movies - about 10 of them (meh to boring)
Blade Runner (dislike)
Citizen Kane (meh)
8½ (meh)
Fantasia (meh)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (meh) (I came to this opinion after re-reading the novels and then re-watching the trilogy; imo, Peter Jackson fucked it up)
Midnight Cowboy (dislike)
Rebel Without a Cause (meh)
The Searchers (meh)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's kinda meh)
Some Like it Hot (meh)
Stagecoach (meh)
Sunset Blvd (meh; I will concede, tho, it's been decades since I've seen it)
Vertigo (dislike)
West Side Story (dislike)
The Wild Bunch (dislike)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (meh). Sorry Ron. Don't hate me. Does it matter I feel bad for listing it?

I also have disliked almost every musical I've ever seen. The only ones I would ever watch again are:

Singin' in the Rain (this is just a great movie!)
Paint Your Wagon
Sound of Music (but only if I was with family during the holidays)

Here are some I like but think are overrated:

Chinatown
The Godfather 1
Pinocchio
Pulp Fiction (very overrated)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's overrated)

And one I can't make up my mind about:

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

From that AFI list, here are the ones I haven't seen or can't remember seeing:

All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Apartment
Birth of a Nation
City Lights
Doctor Zhivago
Duck Soup (I think)
Giant
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Hud
In the Heat of the Night (can't remember)
The Jazz Singer
Modern Times
My Fair Lady
On the Waterfront
A Place in the Sun
A Streetcar Named Desire
Yankee Doodle Dandy

To end on a high note, of all the movies I think are underrated, this is my favorite:

Lady and the Tramp

Hmm, a lot of your mehs and dislikes I could call favorites. Most actually.

[Staun]

There ain't no more movies besides the ones you named Hal, damn.

[Staun]

Bladerunner! Heresy! Burn the witch!

I agree. We haven't had a good heretic BBQ in a long time.

[Staun]

For me it's, Gone With The Wind. How it made it to my shelf, I don't know. Going to feed it to the cats and let them push it around some. Put it back into the player and see if I like it better. Casablanca injures me.

[ronmac]

Oh, you did it now.

Well, I don't know that I've ever hated a "great movie" but I've sure disliked a few and some I thought were just meh. Also, without a specific definition of what a great movie is, I'm going with movies generally regarded as significant, regardless of era. I also used this as a guide: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

All Quiet on the Western Front (meh)
Amadeus (meh)
Ben Hur (meh)
Ingmar Bergman movies - about 10 of them (meh to boring)
Blade Runner (dislike)
Citizen Kane (meh)
8½ (meh)
Fantasia (meh)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (meh) (I came to this opinion after re-reading the novels and then re-watching the trilogy; imo, Peter Jackson fucked it up)
Midnight Cowboy (dislike)
Rebel Without a Cause (meh)
The Searchers (meh)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's kinda meh)
Some Like it Hot (meh)
Stagecoach (meh)
Sunset Blvd (meh; I will concede, tho, it's been decades since I've seen it)
Vertigo (dislike)
West Side Story (dislike)
The Wild Bunch (dislike)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (meh). Sorry Ron. Don't hate me. Does it matter I feel bad for listing it?

I also have disliked almost every musical I've ever seen. The only ones I would ever watch again are:

Singin' in the Rain (this is just a great movie!)
Paint Your Wagon
Sound of Music (but only if I was with family during the holidays)

Here are some I like but think are overrated:

Chinatown
The Godfather 1
Pinocchio
Pulp Fiction (very overrated)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (yeah, it was ground breaking but I also think it's overrated)

And one I can't make up my mind about:

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

From that AFI list, here are the ones I haven't seen or can't remember seeing:

All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Apartment
Birth of a Nation
City Lights
Doctor Zhivago
Duck Soup (I think)
Giant
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Hud
In the Heat of the Night (can't remember)
The Jazz Singer
Modern Times
My Fair Lady
On the Waterfront
A Place in the Sun
A Streetcar Named Desire
Yankee Doodle Dandy

To end on a high note, of all the movies I think are underrated, this is my favorite:

Lady and the Tramp

Well, there's far too much wrong with this post to even reply.



Seriously, though, surprised to see some on your "meh" list, though. "Amadeus" is a personal favorite. I can see how Tom Hulce's portrayal might wear on people (not to me, though). And the girl who plays his wife is horrible. But, F. Murray Abraham is so so incredible. And, the grandiosity of the music...

I am also not a fan of musicals, unless, of course, it's the Marx Brothers.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (meh). Sorry Ron. Don't hate me. Does it matter I feel bad for listing it?[/INDENT]

To quote another thread:

"kinda dickish"

(Sorry, you-know-who. )

It may be my favorite, but I don't think it's the best movie ever.

For me it's, Gone With The Wind. How it made it to my shelf, I don't know. Going to feed it to the cats and let them push it around some. Put it back into the player and see if I like it better. Casablanca injures me.

I've never sat through the whole movie.

[ronmac]

Speaking of "meh," and I know it may be sacrilege on PE to some degree, but I hate everything "Star Wars."

[Jerjo]

I never laughed once during Some Like It Hot