A few weeks back, Dan North over at Spectacular Attractions invited me and other readers of his blog to come up with an A-Z list of favourite films. My initial thought was – great, some easy content to fill up this week’s entry as I’m feeling particularly lazy in the final throes of post-production for “Teddy”.
It actually turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would, mostly because I’ve discovered that a lot of films I like seem to share the same first letter. So, I haven’t been able to follow Dan’s example and do a double list – one with works of art and one with special memories attached – I’ve put together a single list, a mixture of favourites, guilty pleasures (a misnomer, as I feel no guilt whatsoever about liking “The Towering Inferno”) and curios that have stuck with me.
And because I’m feeling especially lazy, I’m going to split this over two weeks. So here goes…
*
Abre los ojos (1997) / Dir: Alejandro Amenábar
Awfully remade as “Vanilla Sky” by Cameron Crowe. A wonderfully twisty thriller with nods to “Vertigo”. Beware of any reviews or web links which describe the plot (including the above), the less you know the better this is.
Beautiful Thing (1996) / Dir: Hettie MacDonald
The best coming-out film ever made. Great performances, great plot, great soundtrack. Could probably do more to halt gay teen suicides than a million helplines put together.
Clue (1985) / Dir: Jonathan Lynn
I’ve talked about this before. A childhood favourite that still stands the test of time.
The Devil At Your Heels (1981) / Dir: Robert Fortier
An obscure but brilliant documentary about a delusional stuntman’s five-year efforts to execute a mile-long jump in a rocket-powered car across the US/Canadian border. You would have to make it up if it weren’t true.
Equus (1977) / Dir: Sidney Lumet
Playwright Peter Shaffer apparently hated this film version of his play, and critics disliked the translation of theatre devices to film (characters addressing camera et al), a quibble which I’ve always found rather pathetic. A haunting and bizarre story about (amongst other things) the connection between worship and eroticism.
Friday the 13th (1980) / Dir: Sean S. Cunningham
Often written off as the poor man’s Halloween and followed by a string of sequels with bigger budgets and diminishing entertainment value, this cheap horror film still delivers on scares and atmosphere precisely because it was made cheaply (something that seems to have escaped the realisation of those involved in recent big-budget remakes of both this and other horror classics such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The lurid colours, the limited lighting, the unrelenting sense of dread, and best of all, Betsy Palmer as Mrs Voorhees. As soon as that woman gets out of the jeep, you know the nightmare is just beginning.
The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) / Dir: John Ford
A relentlessly downbeat tale that fought against the odds to (a) get made and (b) be rapturously received by audiences. If only Orson Welles had had a champion like Daryl Zanuck, then “The Magnificent Ambersons” (see below) may well have survived the cutting room.
His Girl Friday (1940) / Dir: Howard Hawks
The speed, wit and sparkle of this is unmatchable. Many have tried and failed in the attempt to capture the essence of this screwball classic. A remake of “The Front Page” (1931), the gender switch of Hildy Johnson resulted in something rare and unique for the time – a female character working in a man’s world and being treated just like ‘one of the boys’, without losing her femininity.
Interiors (1978) / Dir: Woody Allen
Allen’s first attempt at a purely dramatic story is heavy-handed at times, but for the most part evokes a wonderful atmosphere. Much has been said about the class conflict at the heart of the story, but “Interiors” is as much about a family dealing with the effects of mental illness. A poignant and troubling film.
Jeffrey (1995) / Dir: Christopher Ashley
A romantic comedy about AIDS? Yes, and it’s very good. Manages to encapsulate the feelings of paranoia and uncertainty in male/male romantic relationships as the treatments era of HIV began to be ushered in. And it has Patrick Stewart in it, playing a very human take on a very old stereotype – the interior designer.
Kinsey (2004) / Dir: Bill Condon
When I originally reviewed this film positively for GayNZ.com in 2005 it started off something of a war of words with one of New Zealand’s best-known conspiracy theorists and fundamentalist Christians, the latter group of which have been smearing Kinsey’s name for decades. This engaging biopic gives an episodic glimpse into the life and times of a man who almost single-handedly kickstarted the sexual revolution.
The Lost Weekend (1945) / Dir: Billy Wilder
This surreal masterpiece has become quite subversive in modern times, making drinking seem somewhat attractive (see my post on naïve camp). The creepy Theremin score, the fantasy/nightmare sequences, the world’s dullest brother and the universe’s most irritating girlfriend…it may not be a harsh depiction of alcoholic reality, but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) / Dir: Orson Welles
The opening sequence alone should have won an Academy Award. Welles paints such a romantic picture of times gone by, and we can only watch as it disappears in a cloud of exhaust fumes over the next 88 minutes…at least we could have, if various forces hadn’t altered film history for the worse. The fragments that remain of Welles’ dark vision are still dynamic and indelible – see Aunt Fanny’s breakdown scene at the boiler.
*
The rest next week…comments welcome, as ever. Or do your own.
9 Comments
December 16, 2008 at 9:43 am
Wow! Interesting list… though I have yet to watch quite a few from this list. It’s interesting to note that Allen’s ‘Interiors’ cut your list..I also liked ‘Interiors’, but I would still prefer Allen juxtaposing humor with serious philosophy ( Annie Hall, Manhattan, Purple Rose of Cairo, Bullets over Boradway and Crimes and Misdemeanors etc) as his best works rather than pure comedy (his pre-love and death ones and few later) or pure serious drama ( Interiors, September etc).
So, am I tagged?
December 16, 2008 at 9:55 am
In general I agree with you, but there’s something really beautiful about “Interiors”, I’m always drawn back to it. “Another Woman” also, but I didn’t want to have too many Woody films on the list.
December 16, 2008 at 10:26 am
Ok..cool. Oh, I assumed that you know what tagged means..it means other bloggers are also asked to write their own list etc..
December 16, 2008 at 10:34 am
Yeah, please, I think it makes interesting reading, especially if you put a sentence of explanation after each.
December 18, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I have come to like Interiors. Of course, Allen is trying to be Bergman, but it is good to see him working without the mask of comedy for once.
December 18, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I know what you mean, he’s heavily influenced by Bergman, and happily admits to it. Yet somehow even his dead serious films still come out Allenesque.
December 18, 2008 at 5:46 pm
[...] A to Z of Films Meme (Part 1) I got this interesting film meme from Chris. What’s interesting about this meme is that rather than choosing your top 10, 20, 50 etc [...]
December 18, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Great work, Chris – you’ve even taken the trouble to explain your choices, which makes it more interesting than everyone else’s lists of titles. It’s always fun to see the variety of favourites that people have, so I like to know where those idiosyncratic choices (e.g. Clue) come from. My childhood faves are pretty orthodox, mostly involving stop-motion dinosaurs.
December 18, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Interiors is a great selection and an underrated film. “Yet somehow even his dead serious films still come out Allenesque.”… It’s an interesting and true point. I guess it’s the flow and content of the dialogue, you know you’re watching an Woody Allen picture as soon as someone opens their mouth!
It’s good to see a documentary in there Chris, everyone should try to include at least one. I’ve not seen THE DEVIL AT YOUR HEELS but will be seeking it out.