The answer to this question can tell you quite a lot about a
person.
Usually the first two choices come easily but the third, that
is the tough one; when you realize it’s your last choice — then it’s a struggle.
My number one has stayed the same for as many years as I’ve
asked the question.
There is no competition:
The Best Years of Our Lives.
who was poised to marry Wilma-the-girl-next-door; and Fred (center), the working-class-poor guy from the wrong side of the tracks who met and married a blonde bombshell in basic training just before he shipped off for years. It is beautifully shot, beautifully scored (Hugo Friedhofer won the Oscar for it) and tremendously acted by everyone in it, including Harold Russell, a real-life veteran who lost both hands in the war and whose role portrays how Homer’s life and future is forever changed.
Choice number two: Reds,
an epic story that takes us through the rollercoaster love affair of American bohemians
Louise Bryant and journalist Jack Reed.
Their passion for one another is at odds with the causes that entangle
them in “isms” and world events from Manhattan to Moscow. Diane Keaton and Warren
Beatty play the pair that are caught in the extraordinary events that became
the Russian Revolution of 1919 (and the material for his book, Ten Days That Shook the World). Interspersed
with their story (and the poignancy
of their struggle against middle class norms of love and marriage that draw
them together), are real-life characters Eugene O’Neill, Emma Goldman, and
Trotsky. Warren Beatty pulled an
Orson-Welles by writing, producing, directing, and starring in the film. I know, for this kind of film, I suppose most
people would pick Dr Zhivago, but for me, it’s Reds.
And now to the tough one, the last I’ll get, movie number
three. For ever so long it was Splendor in the Grass (ironically
Warren Beatty again, in his first film) for so many reasons. It was William Inge, a sensitive writer. It
was a story of tortured first love. It was
hauntingly and beautifully scored by David Amram. And it was Natalie Wood, my favorite. [For my sister, it was Elizabeth Taylor. For
my sister-in-law, it’s Audrey Hepburn. For me, it’s Natalie Wood — forever.]
But recently when I watched it for the umpteenth time, and sad to say, it
felt a bit dated and a bit forced and remember — this a film you’d have to
watch over and over and over again. SO reluctantly I have abandoned my teenage angst for another. But which?
There are some movies that no matter when, where, or how many
times I have seen them, if I see them on TV, I am drawn to watching them.
It surprises me to say this but, Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly and Matthew
Macfadyen (of MI-5 fame). In spite of the fact that these roles have been played over and over by so many others, they each do such a touching job that they make the story feel new. And the musical score by Dario Marianelli is enchanting.
Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as star-crossed protagonists with Jeremy
Piven and Molly Shannon as their quirky best friends who are along for the ride. This charming film keeps them (and us) tripping past each other until years later they finally end up together — another one of those happily-ever-afters.
If I were cheating, I'd pick The Godfather: Part I and Part II, but perhaps I’d better pick a comedy — something that will make me
laugh and laugh and that could be Tootsie or The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.
So, as predicted, I'm struggling over my final choice. Get me off the hook here — if you only had three, what’re your three movies?
I'm with you on the Best Years of Our Lives, one of my all time fav's, it just never gets "old"....
ReplyDeletehey Bob! NO surprise there!
ReplyDeleteHow long are we on this island? Like you, Denise, there are some movies that capture me whenever they turn up (the Bourne and Diehard franchises. 'Unfaithful' with Diane Lane, Tootsie . . . ) But if we're talking forever, I would need more philosphical heft: The Seven Samurai and 'M' for sure.
ReplyDelete"Pride and Prejudice" is rising on my list as well. The music and cinematography are outstanding. But the reason I think I like it so much is that the main characters seem to know themselves and their relationship so well and then they are completely surprised. My daughter says she doesn't enjoy it because she can't relate to the social norms of the setting but I notice she can't leave the room when it is on.
ReplyDeleteAnother movie rising on my list, but not yet on top, is "Forrest Gump". Watching it with the family is such a shared experience. At this stage we don't have a lot of those movies that we can all enjoy and recount over and over.
Also in that vein is "Castaway". It is outstanding even when watched over and over again. But not on a deserted island. That would be a little much.
Well I have to say, Castaway is pretty incredible but alas, would be TOO ironic and in that situation, probably psychologically damaging to watch over & over again. I will give Forrest Gump its due.
Delete