Movies..the ten best

Movies

OK, Nigel has thrown down the gauntlet by picking his ten fav films

http://en-cee.blogspot.com/

so here are mine....the list changes like the weather close on the heels of the below films would be,Mrs Miniver, Aliens, I Remember Mama, The Colour Purple, The Chorus, Schindler's list,The Station Agent,The Big Country,Independence Day, Magnificent Seven, All about my mother,OH and Pride and Prejudice and so many more.............................


Little Women (1994)

Well in discussions with my good friend John Highfield, this always gets into the top ten favs, as it is a chick flick, with a cast to die for and a wonderfull peformance by Claire Danes as sickly Beth. Oh steady John H, remember the sobbing when she was given that piano?




King Kong (1933)

The first and best of the monster films, much loved by big boys all over the world. Much copied, this prehistoric drama ( in more ways than one) truely terrifies. My other favourites such as Aliens, Jurassic park all owe their roots to this daddy. I have to mention Jessica Lange in the 1976 remake and Naomi Watts in the all-too-much 2006 version, they were alot better than Faye Wray!!

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Stella Stevens "Just Panties, what else do I need?"
Shelley Winters "He's swimming up and down stairwells.....I 'm the only one here TRAINED to do things like that!"
Carol Lynley " Did you like his music?'

Beloved by gay men all over the world, just sit back and enjoy a selection of scene chewing old thespians fighting the elements.


The Towering Inferno (1974)

I was thirteen when I first saw the best of all disaster films and it has been in my top ten best movies for thirty years! I was such a inferno geek I even rode in the scenic elevator of the Hyett Regency Hotel on a holiday to San Fransisco. Camp, classy,and truely impressive Towering Inferno was an old fashioned epic which worked on physical effects rather than false visual matte effects.
Oh and when Jennifer Jones ( see pic) fell to her death......I was beside myself.

Rear Window (1954)

Well, we have to have at least one Hitchcock film on my list, and Rear Window is typical of his genius. On the surface it is a tense little thriller, but when you scratch the surface of this Hollywood drama , there lurks all manner of dark human motivations and psychological babble, which makes you think. It also has Grace Kelly as an early Sarah Jessica Parker and the waspish Thelma Ritter.


My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Another funny little comedy film with hidden depths, which works on so many levels; romantic comedy, drama, and secret musical. Julia Roberts ( with a smile like a split melon) wants to marry her best friend, but he is engaged to be married and she is the bridesmaid..... yep a typical farse, but it works, with some lovely moving scenes (when Roberts cant bring herself to reveal her true feelings --see pic). Rupert Everett is wonderfull as Roberts' other best friend= a gay character who is more balanced than the rest of the cast put together.

oh, I have to mention one wonderfull scene, which still makes me roar with laughter. Its the scene set in a resterant where the groom's family sing "save a little prayer", complete with waiters dressed as lobsters waving their claws in time to the music......



All About Eve (1950)

One of the best movies about the theatre. Joseph L Mankiewcz directs a dream cast, Bette Davies as aging but not-going-quietly Broadway star Margo Channing dominates stars at the apex of their talent and careers,
Anne Baxter, Celeste Holme and of course George Sanders as the poisionous Addison de Witt. A clever, witty and classic Hollywood comedy/drama...................class



Central Station 1998

My next choice is from Brazil. I saw this film with Nigel and howled like a baby at the end. Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, looks all her age and more in this soft little story of love, loneliness and redemption, and with a face at times like a bag of spanners, she cuts an unlikely heroine, but boy do you root for her as she turns from hard con artist to a matriarchial force who saves a orphaned street boy. The parting between boy and middle aged woman is heartbreaking.




Amelie (2001)


A strange fantasy film, with a heart of gold. The lovely Audrey Tautou shines as Amilie, a young woman who gains pleasure from giving others a little kindness. This is my only French film in my top ten, and I dare anyone not to cry when she meets her prince charming at the end ( the sexy Mathieu Kassovitz).

The Nun's Story ( 1959)

I remember seeing this film when I was around eleven years old one Sunday night, and was profoundly moved by the story of Sister Luke's journey into and ultimetely out of a strict Belgium convent (Audrey Hepburn at her most beautifull). Fred Zinnermann directed, a particulary strong female cast.