Taking up No Good Boyo's challenge, here are some motion pictures I consider worth watching. As I have indicated before, I often can't remember films minutes after I've watched them, so I'm going to struggle to come up with twelve, but here's my first four:
HUD - Martin Ritt, 1963
I challenge any thirty-something man to watch this film and not feel an urge to get into shape and start swaggering around in a white vest, as Newman's towering performance as the cynical, womanising drunkard, Hud, bewitches us all. One of his lesser-known roles, the blue-eyed wonder dominates every scene, as he battles with his idealistic father for his share of the family cattle farm. Apart from a few dodgy moments of acting drunk, his rasping, bullish performance is surely one of his best.
Favourite line: How many honest men you know? You take the sinners away from the saints, you're lucky to end up with Abraham Lincoln!
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS - Woody Allen, 1986
My father-in-law holds that all Woody Allen films are the same, but to me, that's only a problem if you don't like them. Being a huge fan, it's difficult to choose only one, but Hannah and Her Sisters has everything, a spot-on cast, great comic moments, pleasant music, family drama and Allen's own performance as a hypocondriac in the midst of a existential crisis seeking the meaning of life through trying out different religions.
Favourite line: I read Socrates. This guy knocked off little Greek boys. What the Hell's he got to teach me?
THE STRAIGHT STORY - David Lynch, 1999
The strangest thing about this film is the fact that David Lynch directed it. The slow-moving, touching, and true, story of an elderly man, Alvin Straight, who travels across three states on a motorised lawnmower to visit his estranged brother Lyle, who has recently suffered a stroke, it's a mediation on old age, forgiveness and quiet determination. The music's great, the ending moving and the little subplots along the way are a delight.
Favourite line: I'd give each one (his children) of 'em a stick and, one for each one of 'em, then I'd say, 'You break that.' Course they could real easy. Then I'd say, 'Tie them sticks in a bundle and try to break that.' Course they couldn't. Then I'd say, "That bundle... that's family."
SMOKE - Wayne Wang, 1995
Written by Paul Auster, one of my favourite writers, this is a film about a tobacconist's in Brooklyn, New York, where people congregate, sit around and chat. The characters are compelling, such as Harvey Keitel's Augie, who owns the store and photographs the same scene at the same time every morning with his camera and tripod. The interlude "Augie Wren's Christmas Story" is also touching. Probably doesn't sound great, but I liked it.
Favourite line: It's my corner, after all. I mean, it's just one little part of the world, but things take place there too, just like everywhere else. It's a record of my little spot.
HUD - Martin Ritt, 1963
I challenge any thirty-something man to watch this film and not feel an urge to get into shape and start swaggering around in a white vest, as Newman's towering performance as the cynical, womanising drunkard, Hud, bewitches us all. One of his lesser-known roles, the blue-eyed wonder dominates every scene, as he battles with his idealistic father for his share of the family cattle farm. Apart from a few dodgy moments of acting drunk, his rasping, bullish performance is surely one of his best.
Favourite line: How many honest men you know? You take the sinners away from the saints, you're lucky to end up with Abraham Lincoln!
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS - Woody Allen, 1986
My father-in-law holds that all Woody Allen films are the same, but to me, that's only a problem if you don't like them. Being a huge fan, it's difficult to choose only one, but Hannah and Her Sisters has everything, a spot-on cast, great comic moments, pleasant music, family drama and Allen's own performance as a hypocondriac in the midst of a existential crisis seeking the meaning of life through trying out different religions.
Favourite line: I read Socrates. This guy knocked off little Greek boys. What the Hell's he got to teach me?
THE STRAIGHT STORY - David Lynch, 1999
The strangest thing about this film is the fact that David Lynch directed it. The slow-moving, touching, and true, story of an elderly man, Alvin Straight, who travels across three states on a motorised lawnmower to visit his estranged brother Lyle, who has recently suffered a stroke, it's a mediation on old age, forgiveness and quiet determination. The music's great, the ending moving and the little subplots along the way are a delight.
Favourite line: I'd give each one (his children) of 'em a stick and, one for each one of 'em, then I'd say, 'You break that.' Course they could real easy. Then I'd say, 'Tie them sticks in a bundle and try to break that.' Course they couldn't. Then I'd say, "That bundle... that's family."
SMOKE - Wayne Wang, 1995
Written by Paul Auster, one of my favourite writers, this is a film about a tobacconist's in Brooklyn, New York, where people congregate, sit around and chat. The characters are compelling, such as Harvey Keitel's Augie, who owns the store and photographs the same scene at the same time every morning with his camera and tripod. The interlude "Augie Wren's Christmas Story" is also touching. Probably doesn't sound great, but I liked it.
Favourite line: It's my corner, after all. I mean, it's just one little part of the world, but things take place there too, just like everywhere else. It's a record of my little spot.
Comments
Am I right in thinking a second film (not so much a sequel as just another film with the same characters and location) was made?
Guess the old timer just wanted to tell it in his own way...