The 100 Greatest Movies - #6: The Wizard of Oz

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Fantasy movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://www.dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#Fantasy).

The current film I just watched is The Wizard of Oz, which is #1. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Movies list (#6), the 10th Anniversary List (#10), the 100 Greatest Thrillers list (#43), the 100 Most Inspirational Movies (#26), and the 25 Greatest Musicals (#3).

It has been a very long time since I have seen The Wizard of Oz, so we ended up watching it in preparation for my daughter to go see Wicked for the first time. And as a child I did not get the overt symbolism used throughout the movie. How the characters at the beginning of the movie were reincarnated as the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion, not to mention the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the West. The acting was also just so over the top. Nobody seemed to be holding anything back and just letting it all out there. However, that is what makes this movie so charming. It could have faded into the dustbins of history but the overacting by the four main leads are what draws us into the movie and keeps us there. I couldn't keep my eyes off the Scarecrow's walking behavior throughout the movie and the Cowardly Lion's eating up of the scenery. It was absolutely hilarious. I think what really got me was when the Wizard, playing the doorman, starts crying and it obvious he is just having water pour over his face. It's terrific. Judy Garland's Dorothy is equally over the top and without her acting so dramatic it wouldn't have worked with the other three. She was the glue to hold it all together. On top of all that, the colorization design of the movie was spot on, especially given the early days of color in which the movie was made. The color work was loud and glaring in many spots making the colors really pop out at you. It was beautiful. This movie earned it's place in history as one of the greatest ever made and will likely remain there for decades to come. 

The 100 Greatest Comedies - #35: Harvey

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Fantasy movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#Fantasy).

The current film I just watched is Harvey, which is #7. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#35).

In high school I had helped work on a production of Harvey, so I had a bit of an idea what the general premise of the movie was, although it's been a rather long time so I did not remember all of the particulars. I will try to not give any of the big secrets away because they are worth experiencing them for yourself. The general premise of Harvey is about a man, Elwood P Dowd (played by Jimmy Stewart), who is friends with an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit. One of the keys to this movie is that it is on the Top 10 Fantasy Films list. This tells you that not everything is as it seems at the beginning of the movie. The main thing that jumped right out at me during the opening third of this movie is how abysmally people with mental disorders (or perceived mental disorders) are treated. The bulk of the movie takes place in and around a mental sanatorium where the main "enforcer" brutally treats the patients with aggression and force. Definitely not my favorite part of the movie. However, Jimmy Stewart is beyond excellent in this role. I swear, if he isn't high during the filming of this, he sure plays high very well. He is the personification of the "nice guy" who nobody can feel mad or irritated at. If you can get passed the mental treatment issues though, the movie is very funny and a joy to watch. I laughed a good deal through the movie, not something I often do on the Comedies list and was generally intrigued about how the movie was going progress. The entire movie is well acted. The way that characters routinely cut off Stewart's character is perfect because each time the audience kind of holds its collective breath, knowing that if he was allowed to finish, the movie would go much differently. Overall, even though this movie has some issues, I still greatly enjoyed it and would recommend it to most people as a light hearted comedy.

The 100 Greatest Movies - #15: Star Wars

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Science Fiction movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://www.dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#SciFi).

The current film I just watched is Star Wars, which is #2. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Movies list (#15), the 10th Anniversary List (#13), the 100 Greatest Thrillers list (#27), and the 100 Most Inspirational Movies (#39).

I had recently rewatched the original Star Wars (now subtitled A New Hope) in order to provide a better review than I had initially done when first setting up my movie and book reviews. Star Wars is a movie I grew up watching with my sister as movie marathons on New Year's Eve, so it is difficult to piece out that history from the movie that I know so well. The version I watched recently was the current Blu-ray release, with all the changes that have accompanied it as well as any previous adjustments to the movie that happened along the way. The first thing that struck me about the movie though was how slow it is. When compared to modern day "blockbusters", Star Wars moves at a snail's pace. I watched the movie with my six year old daughter and I frequently was checking to see if she was even still paying attention (she was). But even with the slow pace, the story, the visuals, and the dialogue all still hold up. The visuals are even more stunning now as emphasized on blu-ray and exploded onto a 4k tv. The amount of work done on the movies to bring them up to modern standards still holds, however the CGI done on it throughout the intervening years does not hold up as well. I still laughed at the funny parts, the random bits of witticism sprinkled throughout the movie. I am still enthralled by Alec Guinness' performance. And Darth Vader still provides a looming presence throughout the movie, that only gets heightened by the Prequels, not diminished as some people towt. So, even in a day when huge blockbuster movies are being rolled out on a monthly, if not weekly, basis, it's good to know that one of the original blockbusters still holds the charm and visual appeal that made so many people fall in love with it in the first place.

The 100 Greatest Movies - #22: 2001: A Space Odyssey

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Science Fiction movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://www.dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#SciFi).

The current film I just watched is 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is #1. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Movies list (#22), the 10th Anniversary List (#15), the 100 Greatest Thrillers list (#40), and the 100 Most Inspirational Movies (#47).

Having never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey before, I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting myself into. I had known only a few scant details of the plot and/or images of the movie but in reality I knew nothing. I'll probably spoil the plot going over the details, so if you wish to go in spoiler free, I wouldn't read any further. We start off in the distant past, when hominids first started tool use. These hominids are "visited (?)" by a monolith (one of the few things I knew about the movie was the presence of these monoliths). The monolith appears to have jump started mankind into tool use. We flash forward to the distant future (2000 or 2001) where a scientist is heading out to a dig site on the moon. Within a pit on the moon another monolith has been uncovered (I have no idea what happened to the first one on Earth). The moon monolith transmits a signal to Jupiter upon being discovered but other than that is silent. This prompts an expedition to Jupiter 18 months later (maybe this is 2001?) with one of the most well known sci-fi computers in history, HAL, leading the way (I love his unsettling design and voice). Upon arrival at Jupiter we find another monolith and all hell breaks loose because I don't have a clue as to what is going on. There's a baby and...the end. 

For the most part this movie is visually breathtaking, but ploddingly slow. My wife would look up at the screen every couple of minutes to see if anything new had happened. It didn't. The visuals could almost make up for it, but I feel that Kubrick purposely drug out the scenes to emphasize the slowness (much to the detriment of the modern audience I am sure). The entire movie is rather slow up until the end, when everything kicks into psychedelic. Truthfully, I was rather interested in the movie, wondering from the get go if would we get a reason for the monoliths. My feelings wavered throughout the movie, sometimes thinking we were going to get no answers at all and sometimes thinking we would get answers to everything. However, at the end of everything, I have no clue what we got, besides a WTF. The ending definitely felt like something pulled straight from Contact (or I guess vice versa based on creation dates). But no, I don't think we got an answer. This is the type of movie that film schools thrive on I'm sure, trying to piece out the meaning behind everything. I prefer an answer though. Overall my thoughts on the movie were that, besides the slowness, I was in for most of it. The monolith music was suitably unsettling, and everything about the movie from the sound design to the visuals had me. But my big problem with the movie was that I wanted to know what was going on. I needed to know. Unfortunately, I never found out. I feel like I should watch this movie again to possibly discover an answer hidden in it, however I don't think I can do it.

The Top 10 Science Fiction Movies - #10 Back to the Future

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Science Fiction movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://www.dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#SciFi).

The current film I just watched is Back to the Future. 

Having grown up on Back to the Future, it is rather difficult to look at the movie objectively. However, sitting down to watch it again on the actual date in Back to the Future Part II (October 21, 2015), I find that I am as enthralled with the movie as I ever have been. I love everything about it, from the actors, to the settings, and nothing can beat the music. The script is so tight that some things are almost impossible to catch unless you are either paying very close attention or having someone point them out to you (for instance the change of Twin Pines Mall to Lone Pine Mall, or Huey Louis being the one to say that Marty's music was too loud). I still get the goosebumps when George McFly takes out Biff at the end of the movie (I even get them just thinking about it), and no matter how cheesy it is, I love Marty's guitar solo at the end. All in all, I can not over state how perfect a movie I feel this is. 

The Top 10 Animated Movies #4 - Fantasia

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The final film in this list is Fantasia. You can also find this on the 100 Greatest Movies List.

   Fantasia is Disney's third animated theatrical release (after Snow White and Pinocchio, both on this list as well). I think it is telling, that of Disney's first five animated movies, four are on the top 10 animated movies of all time list. Nothing encapsulates that drive to create unique animated features more than Fantasia. This movie shows how Walt Disney was willing to break with normal traditions and go as far out there as he could think. This movie could in essence be considered the first music video, where eight different pieces of classical music are given animations that match the music. The themes of the animations range from nonsensical shapes and colors, through Greek Mythology, to scientific theories, to religion, and ballet. Each of the pieces has a unique style to it, but they all appear to have that "rough" animation style that was so prevalent on Pinocchio. I actually tend to prefer that style of animation, which gives the movie a more artistic feeling. And this movie definitely has an artistic feeling. At over two hours in length, it is one of the longest Disney animated movie ever made but it is broken up by a live action conductor and narrator, who introduces each of the segments to the audience. This movie also has one of the first interactions between a cartoon and a live actor, almost 50 years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Overall, I would say that this is an enjoyable movie, with interesting animated sequences, but it is very very long, and I definitely felt it dragging the latter half of the movie.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #2 Pinocchio

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Pinocchio. You can also find this on the 100 Most Inspirational Movies List.

Pinocchio is the second movie to be made by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, three years after Snow White. Having watched this movie immediately after Cinderella, I am amazed by the level of detail in the animation. True, the animation looks "rough", but it is immensely detailed, the humans actually have features, and the roughness actually gives it a personal feel. I would say that this movie may be even better animated than the majority of movies that have come before or after it. That being said, there is the story. Geppetto is the worst father figure imaginable, at least at the beginning of the movie. "Yay I have a son, 5 hours later you must leave to go to school though. Bye!". Jiminy Cricket is a horrible conscious, having quit the job 2 or 3 times over the length of the movie. And we haven't even gotten into the questionable content of the movie. To emphasize the bad behavior of the kids, I feel that Disney went places that no movie would go within a 100 miles of today, especially a kids animated movie. Young kids drinking and smoking? Kidnapping kids and sending them to a place called "Pleasure Island"? And the action sequences can be downright scary at times, like when the whale is chasing Geppetto and Pinocchio. And the story bounces all over the place, feeling more random than anything else. I mean really, all of the sudden Geppetto is swallowed by a whale, out of nowhere?  The songs are tolerable. The principle song, "When you wish upon a star" is one of the signature Disney songs now, so more than likely most kids would have at least heard that song without seeing the movie. Overall, this probably has some of the best animation in a movie of all time, the story line though has quite a bit to be desired.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #9 Cinderella

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Cinderella. 

Unlike the other movies on this list, I have had extensive watching of this movie due to my child's adoration of the film, but I had not sat down and watched it from the beginning in I don't know how long. Even with my daughter's repeated viewings, there were still segments of the movie which I do not recall ever watching. It is possible I had not seen them since she always focuses on a few scenes and wants to watch them over and over again. In general about the movie, I am surprised that a story that is so well known actually focuses a good amount of time on the animals in the story. Perhaps half of the movie is just about the animals and their interactions with each other. This comes into play throughout the movie of course since Cinderella relies upon the animals to help her accomplish her goal of meeting the prince and then escaping from her room after her step-mother locks her in. However, the principle plot of the movie only encompasses a fairly short amount of time in the film itself. The songs are well done, much more in a musical theater type of way. However the animation appears to have stalled out by this point. Walt Disney had made may movies by 1950, and I was actually surprised to see how many when looking at the animation of the movie. I had thought it was earlier. The animals look well animated but human faces are all rather detail-less. They all have few distinguishing marks about them and their noses are pretty much just one or two lines. Some of the scenery scenes though, are absolutely picturesque, although I don't know if that is due to blu-ray remastering or if that was how the original looked. Overall, I'm not sure if it is because I know the movie so well at this point but I found myself pretty bored watching through it again for this review. Personally, I probably wouldn't include it on this list, and especially not ahead of Finding Nemo. 

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #8 Shrek

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Shrek. 

   If I had to peg Shrek down to one word, it would be "clever". Shrek manages to mock and satirize most of the fairy tales and Disney movies throughout the movie, yet none of it feels stale. The jokes are fresh and funny. I found myself laughing through most of the movie, which is a big deal on this list, since no other animated movie is really a straight up comedy. Toy Story being the only other movie close to a straight up comedy. Shrek is also the only non-Disney property on all of the Top 10 Animated Movies list (although Toy Story was not strictly a Disney production, it is generally considered a Disney movie), which may be a reason it is on the list at all. The graphics throughout Shrek are fantastic, as one would expect. With it really noticeable in the landscapes and the flowers. I found those, more than anything, really captured the level of quality that the movie was capable of. The real question is, is this worthy of being in the Top 10 Animated Movies of all time list? As one of the first Dreamworks movies, and the first of their movies to launch a multi-hundred million dollar franchise, it is very good. Perhaps at a level Dreamworks never achieved again. The problem with the Shrek franchise is that I felt the following movies sullied the Shrek name, of which I don't think I ever even got past the third one. But, as a standalone film, I think Shrek could be associated with these best of the best animated movies. It definitely is one of the best non-Disney movies ever made, however I think there are some other Pixar movies that would surpass this in my opinion. Overall, I think it is very funny and quite on point with it's satirizing of Disney movies, but I don't feel very strongly about it's placement on this list. It was likely added just so the list wasn't 100% Disney.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #7 Beauty and the Beast

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Beauty and the Beast. You can also find this on the 100 Greatest Romances and 25 Greatest Musicals of all time lists.

Beauty and the Beast is the second movie that Disney released after they revitalized their animated movies with The Little Mermaid. When I watch Beauty and the Beast I feel the musical genera, like Phantom of the Opera, spills out of the TV screen. This movie was also one of the first movies to use computer generated scenes with traditional animation overlaid on top of it. Being one of the first movies to do this, one would expect it to be choppy and not well done, however the background is almost flawless, if not obviously computer generated, during the big dancing scene towards the end of the movie. In regards to the story, I have often heard people decry the movie as showing a weak central female character hoping the brutish man would change for her. Instead, while I watch it, I see a very strong female protagonist who stands toe-to-toe with every man in the movie, never once backing down. If anything this is almost a female empowerment movie, showing women that they don't have to take what is given to them and that they can take what they want for their lives. On top of everything is the music. The music composed for this movie is one of those that gets stuck in my head for days and I'm not all that perturbed by it. I love the music for this and Angela Lansbury has a surprising nice singing voice to boot. Overall, a highly enjoyable movie which is not a misogynistic as I think people claim it to be.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #10 Finding Nemo

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Finding Nemo. 

     When I sat down to rewatch this movie after many years of not seeing it I was highly doubtful that Finding Nemo deserved it's place among the Top 10 Best Animated Movies of All Time. I mean, could it really be better than the multitude of movies that didn't make the list. Well, upon rewatching it, I have to say, Yes. Yes it does. Based on my memory, I had assumed that this was a shallow movie about a father fish trying to find his son. However, I found that it is about a group of fish trying to overcome their personal difficulties. Having a daughter with cerebral palsy, it hit very close to home as we (her parents) have been known to say almost the same things that Nemo's father says when he is being over protective of his kid. Nemo has a fin that is very much smaller than his other fin, causing him great difficulty with swimming. His father cautions him to be careful to the point of over-protection, not allowing Nemo to do anything. This sets off the chain of events where Nemo is captured and Marlin (Nemo's father) has to swim across the ocean to find him. And by the end Marlin, Nemo, and Dory all are able to get passed their own difficulties by believing in others and in believing in themselves. Not only was the animation on this movie outstanding, but the moral messages abound throughout the movie. My only qualm with it being on this list is I would have put it higher.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #4 The Lion King

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is The Lion King. 

Although The Lion King is not the first of the revamped Disney animated lineup, which started with The Little Mermaid, it is often considered the best animated Disney movie ever made. Looking back on this movie it is easy to see why. The basis of the movie is another timeless story, Hamlet, which is also considered one of Shakespeare's best. So it is no wonder that The Lion King stands the test of time so well. But it isn't just the story that provides the movie with staying power. The animation throughout the movie is fantastic and often looks like an artist's interpretation of a Disney movie. The songs are some of the best to ever come out of a Disney musical, and I think it says something that although they were created by Elton John and Tim Rice, Elton John doesn't perform any of the music himself (within the main movie). This is likely a fault that is found in later Disney movies, where there is music just for music's sake and none of it progresses the story along. Overall, The Lion King is a beautifully crafted story from the animation, to the music and the story. A perfect movie if there ever was one.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #3 Bambi

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Bambi. 

Bambi is the 5th Disney animated motion picture and when you compare it to the first one (Snow White) it seems light years ahead. The animation feels much smoother, with the background and the characters integrating almost seemlessly. It has been a very long time since I had last seen this movie, to the point that I remember nothing about it. I was under the assumption that Bambi's mother died very quickly within the movie, but she makes it to the second half of the movie before the hunter gets her. And there is no portrayal of any humans in the entire movie. The hunter, along with any other humans who might be there, are all off screen and we only hear the guns or see evidence of their camp, nothing else. I wonder if this is because animals are much quicker and easier to animate than humans are, hence the reason Pixar didn't use many humans in their original cartoons. The story seems rather aimless at times and is just basically Bambi's life, from birth to the birth of his own children. A simple tale, but enjoyable non-the-less.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #1 Snow White and Seven Dwarfs

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You can also find this on the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time and the 10th Anniversary 100 Greatest Movies of all time lists.

Snow White is mostly touted because it is the first feature length animated movie ever made. And although that is a worthy accomplishment in itself, is it a good movie? First off the animation is actually pretty good. It is amazing to watch how many things are moving across the screen during many parts of the movie, especially when forest animals enter the movie and are all moving around at the same time. Often, movies would skimp out on scenes like this in order to decrease production costs, but Disney seemed to go in the opposite direction, by adding in even more animals. Just trying to imagine how many man hours it would take to make such a thing is daunting. However, the story itself is severely lacking. Snow White is scared off into the woods because the Evil Queen wants to kill her. Why? Because Snow White is the fairest in the land, not the Evil Queen. I guess vanity is a good reason for the Queen's downfall, but it's a pretty weak reason. The pacing of the movie is also all over the place. Several parts of the story seem very rushed (Snow White immediately leaves with the Prince upon being woken up?), with many parts seeming to drag on forever (i.e. the celebration/party before bedtime). Overall, I would say this is an OK movie, but not one I enjoy sitting and watching multiple times.

The Top 10 Animated Movies - #6 Toy Story

I have been going back through and re-watching the Top 10 Animated Movies (as according to AFI) and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html).

The current film I am re-watching is Toy Story. You can also find this on the 10th Anniversary 100 Greatest Movies of all time list.

  Toy Story is the first of the Pixar movies, with the second (A Bug's Life) taking 3 more years to come out. Pixar has developed a reputation where you can only really judge each of their movies by comparing them to other Pixar movies because often times they far surpass any other animated features. At the time of its release, the animation for Toy Story was groundbreaking, however the animation alone isn't going to cement this in history as one of the best animated movies ever. The story is pure heart and perfect. Just watching this again recently I am amazed at how many times I laughed at the jokes and how many of them are still spot on, even after all these years. It's funny watching this though, knowing that Pixar had troubles creating human characters in the beginning. That is why many of the shots of the groups of children never show any of their faces. There are only a select few people (four I believe) who get their faces shown and they are all distorted to one degree or another. No one is normal looking. This clearly gets fixed in future Pixar movies but it's funny to watch it now, knowing the reason behind their choices. Overall this movie still holds up 20 years after it was first released and I'm sure it will hold up for another 20 years.

The 10 Top 10 Genre Films

On my site I have added a new page:

The 10 Top 10 Genre Films

 

This includes the Top 10 Animation, Fantasy, Gangster, Science Fiction, Western, Sports, Mystery, Romantic Comedy, Courtroom Drama, and Epic Movie Lists. I have linked these with each of the other lists (100 Greatest, 100 Romances, etc.) and have cleaned up the pages so that they are a bit more accurate than they were before.

 

I have also added PDF Checklists of each of the movie lists on each of the pages for your downloading interest.