10 crucial movies meme
From vaysh who says she got it from traintracks: "Everyone post their ten most CRUCIAL CRUCIAL CRUCIAL-ASS movies, like the movies that explain everything about yourselves in your current incarnations (not necessarily your ten favorite movies but the ten movies that you, as a person existing currently, feel would help people get to know you) (they can change later on obviously)." These might not be THE 10, but they are 10 memorable ones that run the gamut (well, one is a trilogy, so actually it's a dozen - and it's not LOTR, because that's one where I love the books more). In no particular order, but numbered for reference:
1) Grand Illusion (dir. Jean Renoir, 1937) Great anti-war movie about WWI, made on the brink of WWII.
2) The Apu Trilogy (dir. Satyajit Ray, 1955 - 58) Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu. Beautiful story of a boy from rural India growing up, leaving home and finding his way. Anything by this director is HIGHLY recommended.
3) Princess Mononoke (animated, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) Gorgeous and thought-provoking, like all his work.
4) Peking Opera Blues (dir. Tsui Hark, with Brigitte Lin as a fabulously dykey heroine, 1986) SO MUCH FUN! Spectacular romp from Hong Kong mixing early 20th century Chinese history with the wild colors and acrobatics of Peking Opera, comedy, action, and three great heroines.
5) Singin' In the Rain (with Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor, 1952) Great comedy about early movie industry moving to "talkies", great song and dance numbers.
6) Holiday (with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, 1938) - or any of many other screwball comedies - I love the genre.
7) The Sound of Music (with Julie Andrews, Alps, and a lot of songs, 1965) Formative film of my childhood.
8) A Comedy in Six Unnatural Acts (dir. Jan Oxenberg, 1975, in the brave and unassimilated heyday of lesbian feminism) Short spoofs of old stereotypes about lesbians, shot in different film genre styles.
9) Cherry Blossoms (dir. Doris Dorrie, 2008) Mortality, relationships, grief, journeys, art, cherry blossoms. (Hey, something from this century!)
10) Brother From Another Planet (dir. John Sayles, 1984) Anything by John Sayles is worth watching, and his movies are extremely varied. This is a very early (and quirky) one. The scenes in the Harlem bar are priceless.
If I had room for more… The Station Agent (first time I saw Peter Dinklage); The King of Masks (lovely Chinese film about old man passing his craft on to an adopted boy who turns out to be a girl); Kanal (riveting drama of Warsaw Resistance fighters; if Kanal is too claustrophobic, you could watch The Pianist with Adrien Brody and his lovely eyebrows); something by Yasuhiro Ozu (The Only Son or Late Spring, maybe - quiet family stories from the 1930's and '40's); Romeo and Juliet (dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1968, gorgeous poetry in a visually gorgeous movie)….
How about you?
1) Grand Illusion (dir. Jean Renoir, 1937) Great anti-war movie about WWI, made on the brink of WWII.
2) The Apu Trilogy (dir. Satyajit Ray, 1955 - 58) Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu. Beautiful story of a boy from rural India growing up, leaving home and finding his way. Anything by this director is HIGHLY recommended.
3) Princess Mononoke (animated, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) Gorgeous and thought-provoking, like all his work.
4) Peking Opera Blues (dir. Tsui Hark, with Brigitte Lin as a fabulously dykey heroine, 1986) SO MUCH FUN! Spectacular romp from Hong Kong mixing early 20th century Chinese history with the wild colors and acrobatics of Peking Opera, comedy, action, and three great heroines.
5) Singin' In the Rain (with Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor, 1952) Great comedy about early movie industry moving to "talkies", great song and dance numbers.
6) Holiday (with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, 1938) - or any of many other screwball comedies - I love the genre.
7) The Sound of Music (with Julie Andrews, Alps, and a lot of songs, 1965) Formative film of my childhood.
8) A Comedy in Six Unnatural Acts (dir. Jan Oxenberg, 1975, in the brave and unassimilated heyday of lesbian feminism) Short spoofs of old stereotypes about lesbians, shot in different film genre styles.
9) Cherry Blossoms (dir. Doris Dorrie, 2008) Mortality, relationships, grief, journeys, art, cherry blossoms. (Hey, something from this century!)
10) Brother From Another Planet (dir. John Sayles, 1984) Anything by John Sayles is worth watching, and his movies are extremely varied. This is a very early (and quirky) one. The scenes in the Harlem bar are priceless.
If I had room for more… The Station Agent (first time I saw Peter Dinklage); The King of Masks (lovely Chinese film about old man passing his craft on to an adopted boy who turns out to be a girl); Kanal (riveting drama of Warsaw Resistance fighters; if Kanal is too claustrophobic, you could watch The Pianist with Adrien Brody and his lovely eyebrows); something by Yasuhiro Ozu (The Only Son or Late Spring, maybe - quiet family stories from the 1930's and '40's); Romeo and Juliet (dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1968, gorgeous poetry in a visually gorgeous movie)….
How about you?