Keith Hernandez, SNY.tv | Twitter |
Since most of us are staying in and watching a lot movies during this coronavirus pandemic, I've decided to write about my favorite movies by category.
They are in no specific order, just movies that I've loved (and that maybe you'll love too). I'm sure I missed more than a few, but here we go.
WESTERN
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966): Clint Eastwood's third "man with no name" collaboration with Italian director, Sergio Leone. Co-stars were Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes) as the Bad; Eli Wallach (Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez or Tuco for short) as the Ugly. These Spaghetti Westerns propelled Clint to stardom. Filmed mostly in Spain, the performances of Van Cleef and Wallach are wonderful, especially Wallach.
Shane (1953): Alan Ladd as the hero gunslinger who helps out homesteader family (Van Heflin and Jean Arthur) against a ruthless rancher who is trying to run them off their land. Directed by George Stevens and an appearance by Jack Palance who gives a frightening performance as a hired killer. The little boy in the film is wonderful and who can forget that wonderful final scene when Ladd rides off into the West.
Little Big Man (1970): Adapted from the Thomas Berger novel of the same title (one of my favorite books), Arthur Penn directed one of the first films that depicted the West from the Native American perspective. Dustin Hoffman stars as Jack Crabb who is taken in and raised by the Cheyenne from childhood. Fantastic story of a life on the rugged prairie. Great performances from Chief Dan George (Old Lodge Skins), Crabb's appointed Cheyenne grandfather, Richard Mulligan (George Armstrong Custer), Faye Dunaway (Louise Pendrake aka Lulu Kane) as the preacher's lascivious wife-turned-prostitute, and Martin Balsam (Allardyce T. Merriweather) as a snake oil salesman.
Jeremiah Johnson (1972): Starring Robert Redford as Jeremiah, directed by Sydney Pollack. From greenhorn to fabled mountain man, Jeremiah has a personal feud with a local Native American tribe that sends out individually, one warrior at a time to kill Johnson. Great performance by Will Geer as the old mountain man who schools Redford on the art of survival.
Dances With Wolves (1990): Directed by and starring Kevin Costner, this film revived the Little Big Man genre. Unlike Little Big Man, which had its comical moments, this film was a serious drama.
SCI-FI
War of the Worlds (1953): Adapted from H.G. Wells novel of the same name, starring Gene Barry. Aliens attacking Earth. Narrated by Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
Blade Runner (Director's Cut, 1982): Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford as a sort of futuristic bounty hunter, sent to hunt down four escaped android replicants. The replicants turn out to be more human than the real ones. Very touching and dramatic ending. Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, and Rutger Hauer are the replicants of note. Hauer's performance is terrific.
The Thing (1982): Directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell. Remake of the 1951 classic about a group of scientists in the Antarctic who discover a frozen alien that is accidentally thawed out and comes to life. It murders and inhabits the bodies of its victims. Both films scared me to death. In the 1951 original, James Arness, the future Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, is unrecognizable as the creature.
Star Wars (1977): The original created and directed by George Lucas and starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Alec Guinness, with James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader. I don't have to tell you the storyline, you all know it, but I will say that the speed of the varied space craft and the dog fights were groundbreaking and breathtaking. We all take it for granted now. Back then, no one had seen anything like it.
Alien (1979): Another Ridley Scott film starring Sigourney Weaver. She is spectacular as the heroine fighting the alien on board her ship. The beauty of this film was that you only got a few glimpses of the creature. Enough to whet your appetite for a sequel. Aliens was good, but the others were awful.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): Remake of the 1956 film, starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy (Spock). Another alien form that inhabits humans in their form. I like anything Sutherland is in.
ROMANCE
How to Steal a Million (1966): Directed by William Wyler, starring Peter O'Toole, Audrey Hepburn, and Eli Wallach. Delightful story of the daughter (Hepburn) of an art forger, splendidly portrayed by Hugh Griffith, and an insurance investigator (O'Toole) put on the case to bring the father to justice. Love blooms. Filmed in Paris. Wonderful.
The Fountainhead (1949): Directed by King Vidor, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. Adapted by Ayn Rand from her best-selling novel of the same name. Architect (Cooper) does it his own way to success, wealthy socialite (Neal) comes into his life, they resist, fight, but in the end they fall in love.
Gone with the Wind (1939): It's amazing that they could make such a classic as this in 1939.
Casablanca (1942): Another classic starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains. Nothing more said. No one like Bogie.
Ghost (1990): Starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I cried at the end.
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COMEDY
How to Murder Your Wife (1965): Starring Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, and Terry-Thomas. Foresworn bachelor for life (Lemmon) and his same foresworn butler (Thomas) meet an Italian bombshell at a bachelor's dinner party at the club. She comes out of a cake on the dining table. He wakes up in the morning with her and realizes he married her and she speaks not a word of English. Hilarious farce of a movie. Lemmon stated that it was one of his favorites.
What's New Pussycat (1965): Starring Peter O'Toole as a dashing man who women cannot resist. He sees perverted psychiatrist, Peter Sellers, for help. Co-stars are Ursula Andress, Woody Allen, Capuchine, Paula Prentiss, and Romy Schneider. Written by Allen, music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics to the title song by Hal David. Romping farce. Sellers is terrific.
A Shot in the Dark (1964): Directed by Blake Edwards, starring Peter Sellers, Elke Sommers and Herbert Lom (Inspector Dreyfus). The sequel to The Pink Panther where Sellers stole the show in his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau. By popular demand, they made another with Sellers as the bumbling star. Music by Henry Mancini. I had a huge 10-year-old crush on Elke.
Night at the Opera (1935): The Marx Brothers at their best. Groucho as Otis B. Driftwood. Love it.
S.O.B. (1981): Directed by Blake Edwards, with an all-star cast that includes, Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, William Holden, Robert Vaughn, Larry Hagman, Richard Mulligan, Shelley Winters, and Robert Webber. Satirical comedy of Hollywood. Loved it. Andrews exposed her breasts for the first and only time in this movie. Shocking!
DRAMA
The Misfits (1961): Written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston. Starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallach, and Montgomery Clift. Filmed in Nevada outside of Reno. Cowboys (Gable, Cliff and Wallach) catching wild mustangs, an East Coast girl looking to get away from her past (Monroe). Monroe's greatest performance. It was to be the last film for both Gable and Monroe. Clark died of a heart attack 10 days after filming, a little over a year later, Marilyn would commit suicide.
Baby Doll (1956): Adapted from a one act play by Tennessee Williams, directed by Elia Kazan. Set in the Deep South and full of racial overtones. Karl Malden with a tour de force (as you've never seen him before). The beautiful Carroll Baker as the 19-year-old promised to Karl. Eli Wallach, the Italian immigrant who buys out the town's cotton mill much to the chagrin of the locals. Serious film, serious performances. Highly controversial back in that day.
On the Waterfront (1954): Classic film. Directed by Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint (her film debut), Lee J. Cobb and Rod Steiger. Crooked longshoreman union man, Johnny Friendly (Cobb) vs. the ex-boxer, Terry Malloy (Brando). The love affair that sparks between Brando and Saint is tender. You feel for the two of them. What a movie.
The Third Man (1949): Screenplay by Orson Welles and Graham Greene. Set in post-war Vienna and filmed there. You won't believe the destruction and rubble still present in the city from WWII. Harry Lime (Welles) dealing in medical black market. Starring Welles, Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, and Alida Valli. Black and white. Fabulous.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Directed by David Lean, starring Peter O'Toole (as Lawrence), Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, and Anthony Quinn. WWI Middle East campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Based on the true story of T.E. Lawrence. Cinematography wins one of many Oscars. Classic.
Dr. Strangelove (1964): Directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden. Tour de force by Sellers as he plays three different characters in the film: President Merkin Muffley, Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake, and of course, Dr. Strangelove. Dark satirical comedy at the height of the Cold War.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Network, The Player, The Maltese Falcon, Charade, Chinatown, The Terminator, Murder By Decree, The Thomas Crown Affair (Original), Body Heat, The Reivers, Don't Look Now
I hope you are all soaking in movies to pass the time. I'm done with this one. Took longer than I thought. So many good movies. I could go on for hours. BE SAFE!
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