The 100 Greatest Movies - #39: Doctor Zhivago

I am in the process of watching all of the 100 Greatest movies according to AFI. The current film I just watched is Doctor Zhivago, which is #39. This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Romances list (#7).

Taking place during the Russian Revolution that overlaps with the first World War, the story follows General Yevgraf Zhivago, played by Alec Guinness, as he searches for his long lost niece, the daughter of his half-brother Doctor Yuri Zhivago, played by Omar Sharif. Although narrated in parts by Guinness, the movie moves along fairly consistently through the life of Yuri Zhivago as well as the person identified in the beginning as the mother to Yevgraf's niece, Lara, played by Julie Christie. Created in 1965, the movie does not present the life of Lara in the most favorable light. She is often the victim of abuse, rape, and a whole host of other problems that she seems unable, or unwilling, to stop or change. It is a tragic love story between these two star-crossed lovers who can't seem to make it work between themselves. The videography throughout the movie was simply gorgeous, often over emphasizing some small detail within the scenery, such as a candle melting the ice crystals on a window. The acting was great as well, even though Sharif's overly glassy eyes throughout the movie made it appear as he had tears in his eyes non-stop throughout the movie. But it is a long movie, and one that I don't think modern day audiences will overly enjoy. It took about half-way through the movie before I was fully invested, and by that time it had been a long movie and I was just looking for a break. Overall, not bad, but the story was clearly dated and could have been "four hours shorter" in the words of my wife (the movie is only 3 hours and 20 minutes). I am interested in reading the book however, which hopefully would shed more light on the many of the plot details that the movie seemed to skip over.

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 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 - #97 Bringing Up Baby

I am in the process of watching all of the 100 Greatest movies according to AFI. 

The current film I just watched is Bringing Up Baby, which is #97. 

This movie is also on the 10th Anniversary List (#88), the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#14), and the 100 Greatest Romances list (#51).

This movie caught my eye a while ago because it was about a paleontologist, and being a paleontologist myself I was curious. Since this is an older comedy though I was cautious. What people found to be funny at that time and current days standards are often very different, however this was on the 100 Greatest Movies list and seemed to be ranked highly among comedies so I gave it a shot. In regards to the movie itself, even though the paleontology was downright atrocious (if those dinosaur skeletons looked any faker I may have vomited) the movie was actually enjoyable. I even laughed out loud a couple of times, something I don't often say for these older movies even if I enjoy them. The plot is thin but the characters are fun for the most part. Hepburn's character could use a good punch in the face though. She plays a very spacey woman who seems to not understand what she is doing the majority of the time while in the process of "ruining" Grant's chances of obtaining a grant for his museum. Things work out in the end of course, because how often do they not? Overall, I'd say an enjoyable movie and well worth the cost of admission.

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 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 - #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.

100 Greatest Movies - #85 Duck Soup

The next movie on the watch list was Duck Soup staring the Marx brothers. This is on the 100 Greatest Movies list (#85), the 10th Anniversary List (#60), and the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#5).

Since this was ranked as the number 5 greatest comedy of all time, I was building myself up for a treat. The movie is only 67 minutes long, so I figured this would be a good evening movie as well. Turns out I was wrong on all accounts. I did find several of the situations funny and the interactions were humorous but the movie in general was nonsensical and the jokes got a bit tired. Many of the jokes were slapstick and others were plays on words where Groucho's shtick seems to be twisting conversations into making them insulting to the person he was conversing with. Although this could be funny, more often then not I found myself not really understanding what he was saying. The movie follows the plot where a small nation is strapped for cash and the only to get the money the leaders must appeal to the richest member of the country. She agrees but only if one of the local celebrities, Firefly, takes control (Groucho). What followed was almost a movie but it ended up being more of a series of short skits taped together. To sum this up i think my wife put it best when she said "that was awful".

100 Greatest Movies #74 - The Gold Rush

The next movie up is The Gold Rush which is #74 on the 100 Greatest Movies list and #58 on the 10th Anniversary Movie List.

This was my first silent movie and it actually wasn't that bad. I had these preconceived notions about silent movies, that they were often campy and not very well put together. And even though the movie was very choppy due to the editing it actually was pretty enjoyable. Would I put this on the list were it made today? Oh hell no. This is by far not the best movie ever made, but I can see where this was groundbreaking at the time. Would I watch this again? Not likely, but I am glad that I did watch it once. The movie is Charlie Chaplin acting like stereotypical Charlie Chaplin (which may only be stereotypical in hindsight) and trying to find gold in Alaska during the gold rush. Although most of the movie had nothing to do with the gold rush and more about Chaplin stumbling around from one misadventure to another. Overall, it was fun but it felt like several episodes of a slow TV show instead of a well edited movie.

100 Greatest Movies - #12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

This time we are looking at Sunset Boulevard (1950) on the 100 Greatest Movies List (#12), it is also #16 on the 10th Anniversary List.

     Often while watching these old movies you often feel like they are old movies. Movies made for their time but not really timeless. Sunset Boulevard breaks that pattern. This movie feels as if it could have been made today. The performances are superb, especially the lead, Gloria Swanson, who plays Norma Desmond, a washed up actress of the silent screen era. She is a bit off her rocker, but you don't realize by how much until the end of the movie. She plays the role perfectly. The best role though I think goes to the butler, Max. He plays this sympathetic, stone-faced character throughout, but it is not until almost the end that you find out how sympathetic he really was. Riveting throughout and a joy to watch, a must recommend.

100 Greatest Movies - Double Indemnity

This time we are looking at High Noon which is #38 on the 100 Greatest Movies List, it is also #29 on the 10th Anniversary List, #24 on the 100 Greatest Thrillers, and #84 on the 100 Greatest Romances movies list.

 The movie starts off with the killer admitting that he did it and then the movie progresses as the killer relates the details of the crime. The first part of the movie felt very dated but I soon got into it and I could see why this would be one of the greatest thrillers of all time. I didn't know what was going to happen next and I really liked it. Other than the general premise of the movie, which is why would the killer sit there and record everything instead of trying to get away, mostly everything seemed to fit nicely into place. A very good movie and one that stands the test of time, I believe.

100 Greatest Movies - High Noon

This time we are looking at High Noon which is #33 on the 100 Greatest Movies List, it is also #27 on the 10th Anniversary List, #20 on the 100 Greatest Thrillers, and #27 on the 100 Most Inspirational movies list.

High Noon is the type of movie that builds suspense over the entire length of the movie. The premise of the movie is that the marshal (Gary Cooper) of this western town is expecting a killer that he put away several years ago to come in on the noon train, which is roughly 1.5 hours away. He spends the majority of the movie trying to find recruits to fight against him with the climax of the movie being the expected battle. Overall, I felt the movie dragged on a bit but it was interesting watching him go through the town and dealing with the townspeople. Most of those he asks directly refuse to fight but all of those who insist on joining are all turned away. The one surprising aspect of the movie was the role of the marshal's wife (Grace Kelly). The ending of the story turned around for her and I wasn't expecting her to act the way she did. Overall I thought it was a good movie but I would not say great movie. I felt the frustration from the marshal and I believe that was what was driving the movie but overall I thought that the story was rather thin and probably could have been condensed down.

100 Greatest Movies - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

This time we are looking at The Treasure of the Sierra Madre which is #30 on the 100 Greatest Movies List, it is also #38 on the 10th Anniversary List, and #67 on the 100 Greatest Thrillers.

On the whole, this seemed like a loose string of adventures. Sure, some of them were fun to watch and others were pretty interesting but basically it felt very disjointed. I'm not entirely sure why this made the list. The acting was pretty good but I felt the story could have used a little improvement. Overall, I enjoyed it but didn't love it.