Next to Sean Connery, Daniel Craig is my favourite Bond. In fact I’m going to rate them all in order here and now:
Another day, another list. In the spirit of the blog, why don’t we do a meme? Let me know your favourite films too. I love films, and I haven’t seen enough of them.
I’ve tried not to spend too long in coming up with a list of my ten favourites. In fact I’ve limited myself to an hour to think of them all and put this post together. There’s no particular order here, just the sequence they came into my head.
It’s a Gift (1934)
People, quite rightly, still rave about Laurel and Hardy and The Marx Brothers, but who raves about WC Fields? I think that It’s a Gift is one of the funniest films ever made. It features the now un-pc but still hilarious Mr Muckle (the blind man), Carl LeFong (Big L, small e, Big F, small o, small n, small g – LeFong!) and Mr Fitchmueller, who utters the immortal catchphrase “where are my kumquats?”
2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
My Kubrick inclusion. I first saw this when I was ten or eleven. Sci fi was huge at the end of the 1970s – Star Wars, Close Encounters, Superman etc – so 2001 was re-released during this period to try to cash in on some of this success I suppose. I remember the friend I went to see it with was bored because it was so different to the films we were used to seeing but this was why I loved it. And still do. I’m not sure what the monolith or the baby at the end means, but that’s why I keep watching. If you watch for one thing only, see the prehistoric ape throwing the bone into the air, which glides gracefully into the next shot of an interplanetary spacecraft. Yeah, Stanley really had it.
Get Carter (1971)
For the record, Michael Caine says to Brian Mosley “you’re a big man, but you’re out of shape. With me it’s a full time job, now behave yourself.” Also, when Ian Hendry says “you’ve still got your sense of humour Jack” he answers “yes, I have retained that.”
Brutal, bleak, adult, compelling.
The Ladykillers (1955)
Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, an Ealing comedy. I get to kill three birds with one stone here. This film has a fantastic plot, on which the excellent jokes are skillfully hung. Charmimg, clever, timeless, hilarious.
“And who, may I ask, is Mrs Lopsided?”
Young and Innocent (1937)
My Hitchcock inclusion. An obscure choice, but I love this film. It’s one of his British films from the period and very 39 Steps-ish with it’s ‘man on the run’ theme. Worth seeing for the pure genius of its ‘drumming man’ sequence alone.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Thought I’d better try to include a recent film. I haven’t watched this for a while, so it might not stand up to repeated viewing. I always sell this film by saying it’s a sort of It’s a Wonderful Life in reverse. Young man realises that the world will in fact be a better place if he stays dead. Odd. Funny. Moving. Incredible. Great soundtrack.
Note: avoid the recent Director’s Cut.
Dance of the Vampires (1967)
Also known as The Fearless Vampire Killers (and sometimes Pardon Me, Your Teeth are in my Neck!). My Roman Polanski inclusion. This was my introduction to the master, and even though he’s probably made more accomplished films (Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant) I still watch it fairly regularly. I love Polanski’s very strange sense of humour, such as the Jewish vampire who isn’t repelled by the sign of the cross, or the scene where Alfred (played by Polanski) runs away from a homosexual vampire, round and round a balcony only to run right into his arms. Worth seeing if only you watch ‘the dance’ itself at the end of the film. Spectacular.
Frankenstein (1931)
Quality horror. James Whale. Boris Karloff. Exceptional.
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
My Jack Nicholson inclusion. Has the very famous restaurant scene, but also one of the most moving endings I’ve seen in a film. Lots of great moments throughout, like when the Jack character suddenly gets up onto the back of a truck with a piano and starts playing it. You think “oh, how come he can play the piano..?” and you start to piece this person together. Also worth seeing for the scene between Jack and his father. File along with The Last Detail and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for early 70s unsurpassable Jack.
That’s nine and I’m stuck. I want more horror. A bit more comedy. Most of all, I want some early sixties black and white British movies. So I’m going to cheat. Choose my number ten yourself and choose between:
Billy Liar! (1963)
Watch this if only to compare endings with Five Easy Pieces and Donnie Darko. Please do, and then get back to me.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Compare ending with the above.
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Albert Finney up North and excellent.
“I do enjoy life, just because I’m not like you don’t think I don’t.”
Billy Budd (1962)
Terence Stamp, from down South, and fantastic in his debut film. Such an outstanding first film for an actor that his career subsequently suffered in my opinion because he could never better it. Rarely shown now. Directed by Peter Ustinov. A seafaring tale for those still mourning the passing of Speak Like a Pirate Day. Wonderful. You’ll cry.
“The sea is calm you said. Peaceful. Calm above, but below a world of gliding monsters preying on their fellows. Murderers, all of them. Only the strongest teeth survive. And who’s to tell me it’s any different here on board, or yonder on dry land?”
Well, I did it in under an hour.
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