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Ole Anderson
02-14-2017, 3:05 PM
Flipping channels while on the exercise bike I stumbled across the last 45 minutes of Titanic. Got hooked and watched it to the end. Dang that was a good movie. Probably my 4th time watching it. A&M is running it all day as a Valentine's Day movie.

Rod Sheridan
02-14-2017, 4:35 PM
It was a good movie however I would consider it maybe only in the best 25.

For me best would be Citizen Kane, followed by 2001 A Space Odyssey, Casablanca, Metropolis, Nosferatu, Dr. Zhivago, boy the list goes on.............Rod.

Regards, Rod.

Mel Fulks
02-14-2017, 5:12 PM
I never tire of Titanic stuff. So I am heroically staying on board rather than face the fate of thread hijacker. "Nearer to thee e....oops ..." made it back to reality!! I reccomend you also see the 1953 Titanic ,and the one the Natzis made as a propaganda film. Not a bad telling ,just inserts a German ship officer on board who is smarter than everybody else. Enjoy!

Malcolm Schweizer
02-14-2017, 5:24 PM
Fight Club ranks high with me- although I am not supposed to talk about it. Titanic- meh- it's okay.

Shawn Pixley
02-14-2017, 5:29 PM
Sorry, it is not in the top one thousand in my opinion.

Good Will Hunting was better that year.

Chris Padilla
02-14-2017, 6:13 PM
Highly subjective and difficult to pinpoint as there are many great movies.

Ole Anderson
02-14-2017, 6:20 PM
Certainly everyone's tastes run differently.

Bert Kemp
02-14-2017, 10:22 PM
Titanic Its OK Good Will Hunting oh yea, How Bout Saving Private Ryan, or the Da Vinci Code, theres just so many

Wayne Lomman
02-14-2017, 11:13 PM
Ah, no.... Cheers

Mark Blatter
02-14-2017, 11:52 PM
Titanic- meh- it's okay.

Not sure I would rate it even this high. Just don't care for DiCaprio. For me, Shawshank is one of the best movies ever, though as said earlier, it is tough to settle on just one best movie. The thread about Westerns got me going some and I am in the middle of watching Support Your Local Sheriff right now. I really enjoy James Garner and that movie is just funny.

Larry Frank
02-15-2017, 12:14 AM
Avatar is near the top of my list.

Matt Mattingley
02-15-2017, 12:27 AM
+ Shawshank redemption and here's a few others that top my list
The Patriot, Thin red line, good will hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Heat, Se7en, Goodfellas, 300, Lord of the rings, Gladiator, Braveheart, The green mile

Bill Jobe
02-15-2017, 12:47 AM
If you never see Casablanca you've missed the best.
Strangly, at least for me, it took seeing it twice to really click. There's much to be gained by knowing the end before seeing it in its entirety.
But, hey, that's just me. I've seen it literally hundreds of times.

For Casablanca fans out there, I recently read that Jack Benny made a cameo appearance somewhere in the film. Anyone know where?

Bill Jobe
02-15-2017, 12:51 AM
By the way, +1 on Shawshank.
Morgan Freeman rules.

Ole Anderson
02-15-2017, 8:49 AM
A lot of great movies mentioned. I guess my tastes run more to the spectacular with good acting and a good story line. And frankly judging great acting is so subjective, depending on tastes. I could never be a movie critic. Most anything with Morgan Freemen is going to be really good. AARP magazine this month has a article on him. Titanic hits me with the historically tragic story line as well as the effects, the first significant use of wireless on ships, steerage vs elite passengers, the tie in to actual submersible footage and Rose's character 80 years later. And the haunting music. I am not into old movies, but I guess I need to pull up Casablanca (after probably 30 years) and watch it again.

Kev Williams
02-16-2017, 2:39 AM
Call me weird but for pure entertainment value, I'll watch Sin City any time I can... And speaking of Morgan Freeman, a close second is The Dark Knight. There will never be a better Joker, or any Batman villain for that matter...

I DO like Titanic, but then someone who owns 4 boats should... ;)

Then there's the comedies, but that's for another day :D

Stan Calow
02-16-2017, 2:18 PM
Another vote for Shawshank Redemption. Watching it now, for the zillionth time.

Mel Fulks
02-16-2017, 2:54 PM
Well, true to my word I'm still on board,doing ok here at the bar!....not crowded! To anyone who doesn't remember the last real Titanic survivor I reccomend the Millvina Dean obit in the LA Times. She accepted invitations to gatherings of Titanic buffs but declined an invitation to watch the film with prince Charles. The write up did not mention the wording but I remember it was along the line of ...been there ,done that

Mel Fulks
02-16-2017, 3:11 PM
Bill, Casablanca is frequently shown on TV in the form that speeds up the film for more commercials while not changing sound pitch. Make sure you are watching ...and hearing the real thing. Seen a scene done side by side both ways ...quite different .

dennis davidson
02-16-2017, 8:17 PM
Casablanca, but "As Good as it Gets" is as good as it gets.

Bill Jobe
02-18-2017, 12:50 AM
Bill, Casablanca is frequently shown on TV in the form that speeds up the film for more commercials while not changing sound pitch. Make sure you are watching ...and hearing the real thing. Seen a scene done side by side both ways ...quite different .

I have the original colorized version when it aired for the first time in 1988.
I also bought it on dvd.
Plus, I've made about a bzillion copies of it in one form or another.
Many years ago I took my youngest daughter to see it at a local film club. I found it very annoying that the whole crowd laughed at certain scenes. To me there is no humor in Casablanca.
It also gets under my skin where so-called "critics" write such foolishness as 'Rick had grown tired of fighting the evil nazis. Ebert made such a comment once and
I have to wonder if he even watched the whole movie.

Stewie Simpson
02-18-2017, 5:31 AM
No Country For Old Men. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/videoplayer/vi145883417?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Rich Riddle
02-18-2017, 8:30 AM
No; not even close.

Paul McGaha
02-18-2017, 6:09 PM
I wouldn't rate Titanic very high. I'm watching Superman vs Batman right now. I'm liking Wonder Woman.

Mike Henderson
02-18-2017, 8:26 PM
To me, Titanic was not a very good movie. There are many good movies that have stood the test of time - some are not US made movies.

But of US made movies, Lawrence of Arabia was very good, as was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Lawrence had a good story, good acting, good music, good photography.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf had Burton and Taylor at the top of their careers, as well as George Segal and Sandy Dennis.

Many, many others that are better than Titanic.

Mike

Chris Padilla
02-20-2017, 6:20 PM
Well, I'll go ahead and bite...cannot resist! :D

I like Jack Nicholson quite a bit and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of my favorites with him in it.

Stewie Simpson
02-20-2017, 10:02 PM
I am a little surprised the 1959 movie of Ben Hur, starring Charlton Heston did not get a mention.

Bill Jobe
02-20-2017, 10:19 PM
I am a little surprised the 1959 movie of Ben Hur, starring Charlton Heston did not get a mention.

Good movie....just not best of show, IMHO.

Mel Fulks
02-20-2017, 10:29 PM
Agree with Stewie that Ben Hur was good. Big deal in its day with long media descriptions about production details. But the last time I saw it I found the religious related scenes to be overwrought and way too long ;too much from too many choirs. People accept ancient story lines much better than out of date production values!

Bill Jobe
02-20-2017, 11:13 PM
Bill, Casablanca is frequently shown on TV in the form that speeds up the film for more commercials while not changing sound pitch. Make sure you are watching ...and hearing the real thing. Seen a scene done side by side both ways ...quite different .

Mel, I also noticed that Ted Turner deleted a short piece of dialog. It's just after Rick leaves The Blue Parrot to talk to Ilsa and immediately preceeding her comment "No Rick, you see, Victor Lazlo is my husband, and was even when I knew you in Paris.

Mel Fulks
02-20-2017, 11:39 PM
Bill ,thanks. I have only seen it several times and don't remember ever hearing that. One reason I find that interesting is some years back I commented to my wife that I thought the whole adultery situation with good people in tough times was carefully calculated to take advantage of war time stress to tell a scandalous story in an acceptable light. Don't think the story would have gone over with her staying with Rick. Always find it interesting to try to understand art in original social context.

Bill Jobe
02-21-2017, 12:43 AM
Bill ,thanks. I have only seen it several times and don't remember ever hearing that. One reason I find that interesting is some years back I commented to my wife that I thought the whole adultery situation with good people in tough times was carefully calculated to take advantage of war time stress to tell a scandalous story in an acceptable light. Don't think the story would have gone over with her staying with Rick. Always find it interesting to try to understand art in original social context.

I agree wholeheartedly. Had he used the letters himself and taken Lazlo's wife with him the movie would have been a total flop.

By the way, since, as you wrote, you've seen it a number of times, I thought I'd mention a couple of my favorite scenes and see if you have some that are of particularl interest to you. Rarely have I run into hardcore fanatics.
Both scenes in Rick's office always appeal to me.....both the conversation between he and Rains' character and between he and Lazlo.
But I think perhaps the best scene (or one of them) is between Rick and the young married lady from Bulgaria who came to him for advice.
Bogart has such a command of being nonshalant and intense at the same time.
But, of course, the scene of him drunk and Sam entering the scene prior to Ilsa showing, but it disappoints me after she enters.

My apologies to OP. Didn't intend to derail your thread.

Joe Mioux
02-21-2017, 6:44 AM
Titanic, it ranks between Caddyshack and A French Lieutenant's Women (god that was a horrible movie).

Yonak Hawkins
02-21-2017, 10:18 AM
I'm surprised no one's mentioned The Godfather, the second best movie ever.

Ole Anderson
02-21-2017, 11:44 AM
OK, now that I have been thoroughly insulted due to my taste in movies and lack of due respect for the oldies (in all fairness I did ask), lets go a different direction: What makes a great movie, and how does that differ from what makes a wildly popular movie?

Looking at the IMDb's top 100 greatest movies, only 2 of the top 20 are less than 25 years old, Shawshank Redemption (1994) at #2 and Schindler's List (1993) at #3, while 12 of the top 20 are 50 years or older. I sense a theme here. By the way IBDb lists the Godfather as #1. http://www.imdb.com/list/ls055592025/ There are certainly other lists of the top 100 with differing results.

I believe popularity is best measured by top grossing box office receipts adjusted for inflation. Here #1 is Gone with the Wind (1939), at $3.76 billion, followed by Avatar (2009), Star Wars Episode IV (1977) and #4 Titanic (1997) with $2.75 billion in receipts. Keep in mind that #1 has had an additional 38-58 years to gather receipts. http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/feature/g24481/highest-grossing-films-all-time-adjusted-for-inflation-global/?slide=7

Now, Jaws (I have seen 3 times and I enjoyed it) is rated as the 50th greatest movie of all time. Other than a great dialogue by Robert Shaw (while he was literally 3 sheets to the wind I might add) I fail to see how that movie can be considered in the same category as any of those in the top 20. So I guess I must be missing the great movie gene.

Roger Feeley
03-20-2017, 1:59 PM
+1 on the Green Mile. Every time I see that film, I'm impressed with the great cast. There's just not a weak link in that movie. Even the minor characters worked for me. Another one that always works for me is 12 Angry Men.


+ Shawshank redemption and here's a few others that top my list
The Patriot, Thin red line, good will hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Heat, Se7en, Goodfellas, 300, Lord of the rings, Gladiator, Braveheart, The green mile

Mike Henderson
03-20-2017, 2:56 PM
Just to mention another excellent movie - "Miller's Crossing" by the Coen brothers.

Mike

Rich Engelhardt
03-21-2017, 3:22 PM
Best ever?

Wizard of Oz.

It holds nearly universal appeal for anyone of any age.

Jim Tobias
03-21-2017, 4:04 PM
+1 on "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest".....one of the best ever.
Also, I can get caught on " A Beautiful Mind" anytime I am flipping through channels and run across it.
I tend to like "stories" and not "sermons" in my movies

Jim

Bill Jobe
03-21-2017, 10:34 PM
Best ever?

Wizard of Oz.

It holds nearly universal appeal for anyone of any age.

Do you buy the Pink Floyd assertion ?

Rich Engelhardt
03-25-2017, 10:29 AM
Nah - I don't like to delve too far into the meanings people derive from movies.

Stan Calow
03-25-2017, 10:44 AM
Box office sales is no more an indicator of quality than record sales indicates quality of music. Its a Wonderful Life is considered a great classic movie, but failed miserably at the box office, only to be recognized as a great film through television. Besides, the population of the US has doubled since I was a kid, so comparing dollar sales then and now is pointless, IMO.

Ole Anderson
03-25-2017, 10:56 AM
Box office sales is no more an indicator of quality than record sales indicates quality of music. Its a Wonderful Life is considered a great classic movie, but failed miserably at the box office, only to be recognized as a great film through television. Besides, the population of the US has doubled since I was a kid, so comparing dollar sales then and now is pointless, IMO.

So to get back to my question (post #35): "What makes a great movie, and how does that differ from what makes a wildly popular movie?" Never said they were the same.

Mel Fulks
03-25-2017, 12:41 PM
Films ,like books, are great if you never fail to to see some new nuance or can believe that the mood or meaning of a scene is
a "little different this time". Visual metaphors can be used to make strong points in subtle ways. A great one in "Cinama Paradiso " for going back in time is a son's visit back home after years away. Mom is knitting in a chair when he knocks at the door. When she goes to the door the camera stays on the knitting unraveling from the thread end she takes with her.
Subtly in both mediums is what makes "a great YARN"....

Stan Calow
03-25-2017, 2:05 PM
So to get back to my question (post #35): "What makes a great movie, and how does that differ from what makes a wildly popular movie?" Never said they were the same.
When I was young, I thought it was great actors (like talented baseball players). Later, I thought it was great screenwriting. Then I decided it was great directing (coaching). Then realized it was the producers that make it happen (like general managers in baseball). I guess it takes the combination of all of those to make a great movie.
I think it is rare that you can make a complex and engaging screenplay into something that appeals to the masses. In the case of the Godfather, which is a great film and wildly popular, some people just took it as a violent gangster film, and that was enough. Others saw the complexity of the inter-personal relationships and the cultural commentary as the interesting part. So there was something for everyone.

Bill Jobe
03-25-2017, 2:47 PM
Nah - I don't like to delve too far into the meanings people derive from movies.

I'm referring to an all together different subject. It isn't a matter of interpreting the movie. Have you watched The Wizard of Oz while listening to Dark Side of the Moon? It appears to have been orchestrated to aline itself with the movie. In my opinion there are far too many coincidents to rule out the posibility...the posibility that it was intentional, though that has been denied.
Try it for yourself if you haven't.

Bruce Page
03-25-2017, 4:54 PM
Titanic, like most Cameron directed movies was 45 minutes too long.


Some of my picks.

Best edge of the seat: Silence of the Lambs.

Best Science Fiction: Alien (1979)

Best Western: Cat Ballou (Lee Marvin was great)

Best WWII: Saving Private Ryan

Pat Barry
03-25-2017, 7:06 PM
So to get back to my question (post #35): "What makes a great movie, and how does that differ from what makes a wildly popular movie?" Never said they were the same.
Movies are entertainment and the are made to make money. The more entertaining, the more money they make. The broader the appeal, the more money they make. The movies that make the most money are the greatest. Films on the other hand are pretentious. They are made to make a point or for artistic reasons. They don't care if they make money. They want critical approval. I like movies, not films.