Five classic movies I've never seen but would really like to someday. [My Blog! My Blog!]

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1. Citizen Kane.
2. It's a Wonderful Life.
3. The Lion in Winter (a costume drama about Eleanor of Aquitaine, starring Katharine Hepburn, two women I admire).
4. Some Like it Hot (I've heard so much about Marilyn Monroe, I'd like finally to see and judge one of her performances for myself, and this is easily the most infamous of her movies).
5. A Man For All Seasons (Not only is this one a historical drama, it's about Sir Thomas More, a figure for whom I feel a certain empathy).

Mood::

indescribable

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There are 20 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I've seen all but "The Lion in Winter", and "Some Like It Hot"...I enjoyed all the ones I saw.

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Got any other recommendations?

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You will be very surprised by "It's a Wonderful Life." Sure, George is a swell fella, and he has that big understanding of his place in the world, by the end of the movie, but he has many more layers. I once saw something about Jimmy Stewart, and it mentioned his gravitation toward dark characters. The example it immediately used was George Bailey. Yeah. He's dark. He's kind, but he's angry that he's got to be the solid, sensible one in the family, and every time he gets a chance to leave town and see the world, something comes along to stop him, and he's . . . disappointed.

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Actually, I won't be that surprised.

In one of my Continuing Legal Education courses (which I have to take to retain my license to practice) they illustrated various issues with clips from movies about lawyers and trials. One of the clips was from "Anatomy of A Murder", which starred Jimmy Stewart as a criminal defense attorney who was...a person of great moral flexibility, shall we say. The scene was impressive--even taken out of context.

In fact, it's my impression that Stewart tended to gravitate to roles involving apparently decent, ordinary American males of the period with--a hidden flaw, or hidden depths, or a dark secret. It's one reason I'm sorry that I haven't seen any of his movies to date.

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I haven't seen citizen kane either. It's a Wonderful Life and Harvey are both required viewing.

My family had Lion in Winter on videotape for a couple decades, and you have no IDEA how boring a costume drama about Elanor of Aquitane can be to a 7 year old.)

Haven't seen 4 and 5, either...

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I agree with you about "Wonderful Life". I read the screenplay for Harvey while I was in sixth or seventh grade and was turned off by it, but if you recommend it I should give it a try. (I do recall that that's another Jimmy Stewart picture, which is a good sign in my book).

Indeed, I wouldn't expect a 7-year-old male geek to have much interest in "The Lion in Winter". As a history junkie and a costume junkie, I of course must see it. :-)

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Ha. I have managed not to see any of those movies. Not sure how.

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In my case, it's because I simply haven't gotten around to watching many movies, and because I gave up on television for the most part after I moved out of my parents' home as a twenty-something.

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Ditto on all counts, but Mom is a classic-movie freak, so it surprised me that, of the ones on your list, I was never involuntarily exposed to any while living with her.

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That is interesting. Maybe you should go raid your Mom's collection. :-)

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You've managed to avoid seeing "It's a Wonderful Life?" How?

I'd like to see the others -- I should have seen SLiH when I was taking musicals out of the library weekly, though.

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You've managed to avoid seeing "It's a Wonderful Life?" How?

Beats me. :-)

But then, I hadn't seen "Casablanca" or any of the Humphrey Bogart classics until I made a point of renting them while doing research for the "Cafe Casablanca" LARP. "Casablanca" would be on the list instead of Man for All Seasons if I hadn't managed to see it. I'm also wondering if I should include some Hitchcock films on there. The only one of those I've seen is "Psycho".

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drcpunk is the serious Hitchcock buff of the two of us.

She recommended Vertigo, Rope, North by Northwest, Strangers on a Train ("the only movie that ever had me in the edge of my seat during a -tennis- match!"), Notorious, and added, if I wanted more than five, the Rear Window, the color version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Shadow of a Doubt are also quite good.

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North by Northwest nearly made my list of Five, but I am slightly more curious about A Man For All Seasons.

Thanks for the recommendations.

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Rear Window is my favorite Hitchcock. Hmmmm. Jimmy Stewart, again.

Come to think of it, I even liked the Christopher Reeve version.

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Yes, Stewart was the star in some of the best Hitchcocks. I believe he was in Vertigo, also.

I was going to say he was in North by Northwest, but that's wrong; Cary Grant was in that one. Since he's another actor whose work I've never seen, that's a good reason for seeing NBN right there.

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IMHO Jimmy Stewart is the very best of the old-time (B&W) actors.

I've seen "It's a Wonderful Life" a couple of times, and could be persuaded to see it again. I liked it, but it's very goody-goody and hence not credible to modern audiences--which probably says more about the times than it does about the film.

I have, but haven't yet watched, Citizen Kane. Like you, I am curious about Marilyn Monroe. As for Hitchcock, I've seen The Birds and, I think, one other, but I'm not sure. I have no interest in seeing "Psycho."

Since

pmat doesn't much care for watching movies, we should get together sometimes when circumstances are right, and improve our cultural deficiencies. (

pmat might be persuaded to watch the other two movies you mentioned.)

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As you say, movies are not often my first choice of entertainment, but the spate of film watching we did for Casablanca was lots of fun, and I could be persuaded to do a summer of movie-watching. Not more than once a week or so, I think. I'm interested in all five of these. Less so in IAWL because I've seen it, but willing. Hitchcock, n the other hand, I'll do without.

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That sounds fine. Got any plans for the first week of August?

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"I've seen "It's a Wonderful Life" a couple of times, and could be persuaded to see it again. I liked it, but it's very goody-goody and hence not credible to modern audiences--which probably says more about the times than it does about the film."

This goes to show how different we all are. My friend

tafkad thinks that "Wonderful Life," or at least the character Stewart plays in it, has a dark side. And judging by films such as "Chicken Run" and "Seabiscuit", goody-goody sometimes does well at the box office, if only because it provides contrast.

Eric will be out of town the first week of August. Maybe we can get together for film watching then. Since you have a copy of "Citizen Kane," it would make sense to start with that.

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My Blog! My Blog!

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