The subject today is movies. Odd movies you like that no one else does. I'll list a few, then you do the same.
1. Two Lane Blacktop. Most have never heard of it. The characters have no names, and there are only a few of them. We got James Taylor as the Driver, Dennis Wilson as the Mechanic, Warren Oates as GTO, Laurie Piper as the Girl, but the real scene stealer is a '55 Chevy. The movie has no discernible plot line, and simply ends by the film catching on fire.
2. What's New Pussycat. It has not aged well, made in '65. Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, and the first movie Woody Allen was in, along with several actors and actresses from that period. I saw it at least 5 times in 1965. A friend of mine and I rented it, she'd heard me say what a good movie it was. She snickered all the way through, and not in a good way.
3. Once Upon a Time in the West. How many times have you seen Henry Fonda as a really evil bad guy? And Jason Roberts has a great role. Charles Bronson plays pretty much himself.
4. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. It's directed by David Lynch, says it all. Get a damn good cup of coffee and watch it.
5. The President's Analyst. Released in 1967, James Coburn as a shrink to the president of the US. First movie I ever saw that forecast the privacy concerns of our era, with the phone company as the bad guy.
Ok, you're turn.
My favorites: "Cool Hand Luke" and "Inherit The Wind" (the Spencer Tracy one)
ReplyDeleteLots of great quotes in both!
Hey Joe...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like both too. But, the category is 'odd movies that nobody else likes'. Who wouldn't like either of these? Both great movies.
Other than that...."What we got here, is a.............."
I hated all of those !
ReplyDeleteAnd that takes some doing
Mine?
Give me a few days and I will see
John....ok, I have to say I find it on the edge of probability that you've even seen one of these. Ok, I'll grant maybe Pussycat and Twin Peaks. But 2 lane blacktop?? It stretches imagination to think you've seen it.
ReplyDeleteJust remember, I'm the guy behind the counter at the nurses station, with the pt. chart, you come up telling me there's a code in 512. I look at my watch, say "take care of it, let me know...". "Let me know if you decide to intubate."
(aren't blogs fun, I can say all those things....)
Mike
ReplyDeleteYou won't know this but in 2002 I completed a part time film studies degree
American road movies was a subject in my second year
It was likened to french new wave cinema
My apologies, sir. What other films did they place in that category? I might find it a stretch to compare it to anything Godard did.
DeleteI see that I'm way behind here. I'll be catching up soon!
ReplyDeleteI liked Two Lane Blacktop. For some crazy reason, I also really liked Sergio Leone movies like Once Upon a Time in the West. Here are five that come to mind for me.
DOA
I LOVED this stinker. Edmund O'Brien was great and Neville Brand was crazy. "Don't get cute Bigelow. I'm just itchin' to work you over."
The Big Lebowski
These days it's considered a cult classic, but not back in the day. The Dude abides...
Reefer Madness
Sickeningly contrived, but so funny. Maybe that was because I had been, well, smoking reefer...
Blair Witch Project
Okay, this one isn't all that old, but it scared the crap out of me. I just thought of another one.
Jaws
Nobody I knew liked it, but I did. To me, it was worth watching if for no other reason than to hear "Quint" (Robert Shaw) do his long diatribe about being in the water after his ship, the Indianapolis was sunk. He ended it with this. "So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb." It was super long and done in one take. I get the chills just thinking about.
Hey Pat.
DeleteYou get high points, pal. But who couldn't identify with John Goodman in that role??
I'm always startled that anyone has seen two lane blacktop.
The Blair Witch thing....I saw it with my youngest, about a quarter of the way through she said loudly "Just follow the fucking creek, it'll take you out. Jesus! I'd kill these people if I found them in the wood!!"
People around turned and stared. I shrugged.
I really liked Jaws too. Mostly Scheider and Dreyfuss. Ever read the book? In it Dreyfuss's character screws Scheider's wife.....
Saw "Pussycat" as a teen and remember enjoying it very much. Got very busy and missed "Blacktop", but glad to hear about it here. Surprising cast! Can't recall the excellent character actor who played the '55 Chevy but he must have been quite convincing.
ReplyDeleteThere's a fair amount out there about the car...it was one of three built for the movie, one just for the interior shots. The same car was used in "American Graffiti" for the scenes with the '55 Chevy.
DeleteIt had a 454, aluminum heads, two 4bbl webers, and was apparently clocked at just under 11 seconds in the quarter.
There's one movie I'd never even known existed until very recently - Spencer Tracy as Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde with Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner as co-stars.
ReplyDeleteWe often watch films that are very good, but never gained much popularity. Does that count? Last year we saw 'My Talks With Dean Spanley' and a while before that I fell in love with a movie called 'Departures'. You can look them up to see if they might interest you.
The only one I've heard of is Departures, I'll look up the rest. Thanks very much, always on the lookout for new things.
DeleteThe whole Twin Peaks series and the movie are available on either Amazon Prime or Hulu+. I can't remember which but will find out if you are interested. This was my favorite series ever and led to be watching David Lynch's other movies, which were also pretty weird.. Watching the series all the way through a second time was great-I caught a lot of things I didn't get the first time through. Who was your favorite character? I would have a hard time choosing. Other than that, I'm not much of a movie buff. Jaws was my favorite movie ever if that tells you anything. Wait...did you ever see Angel Heart with Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke? That one didn't get a lot of rave reviews but I really liked it.
ReplyDeleteI loathe Woody Allen. Can't watch anything he's in.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a top 5. But here are a few I've loved:
Once
The Band's Visit
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
Mao's Last Dancer
Sweet Land
Kinky Boots
Billy Elliot
Last Word
Mostly Martha
Lars and the Real Girl
Dear Frankie
The Big Night
The World's Fastest Indian