Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?

[malsperanza]

Another weekend wasted.



There aren't any very recent movies on this list--not because I don't like new movies, but because we seem to be in a period that avoids political and social critiques (aside from Michael Moore and D.A. Pennebacker, bless their hearts). The Usual Suspects was the closest I could come, and though I like it (many dishy actors), it didn't really fit.

Obviously, the weekend begins with The Manchurian Candidate. Not just a great movie: a movie for our time, a movie for the election season.

And I'd forgotten how bloody funny it is, too. The Garden Ladies! Angela Lansbury! Lawrence Harvey jumping in the lake in Central Park! The DVD has good commentary by John Frankenheimer and the screenwriter (though they don't explain why the word "No" is written on that door in chalk--one of my favorite meta moments in film). Deeply though I loath Frank Sinatra as a man and a musician, I am grateful to him for getting this movie made.

Now, a good weekend film festival has to define its terms with care. Otherwise, one has no justification for spending countless hours in passive, unproductive gaping. (Though I actually did a lot of work in the studio while watching some of these; and no, I did not watch them all. I also did the laundry, hah.)

So, no general wacky-scary-Stephen King-don't go-through-that-door stuff (Carrie). No mere someone-in-this-movie-is-schizophrenic-and-I-think-it's-the-cameraman gimmicks (Angel Heart). And no dumbo spy thrillers (Three Days of the Condo). Also, no warmed-over Roswell-X-Files crap. Because, folks, life's too short.

Z
Blow-Up
The Conversation
Dr. Strangelove
The Third Man
State of Siege
The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky)
The Vanishing (but see the original Dutch version, not the dorky remake)
The List of Adrian Messenger
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the original, of course)
The 39 Steps
Rosemary's Baby (yes, I do think this movie is a Great Big Metaphor for the Downfall of Society)
Gaslight
Suspicion
JFK (on the list reluctantly. This movie irritates the hell out of me. Read Don de Lillo's excellent novel Libra instead)

Obivously I could have added a dozen more Hitchcocks, but I don't like most of his movies that much (they have Clever Technique screaming from every gimmicky shot), so I limited myself to two.

Also, I left out Memento, Mulholland Drive, and Fight Club, three films that go nicely together, because they belong in the related Paranoid Schizophrenia Film Festival, along with Angel Heart, Persona, M, and Dr Caligari.


But, mes amis, why is it still so cold out? It is April. It is spring. Someone has bungled. I shall write a firm letter to the Times.

Comments

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

Why do you loathe Sinatra?

Sorry for useless comment, as have not seen any of these movies. But I can point out...the apostrophe of doom. to define it's terms with care. ;)

[malsperanza.livejournal.com]

Why do you loathe Sinatra?

Partly for his vile politics, the money he has spent in furthering them, his slimy Mafia connections, and his loutish behavior over many, many years. But mainly for his revolting interpretations, which can be summed up in one word: EGO. EgoEgoEgoEgo. He makes jazz safe for people with no taste and no class. Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan can sing him under any table you care to point to, and so can a whole lot of other talented musicians who never got half his acclaim.

I do like the way he sings "One More for My Baby." But that's it. If I were king, "My Way" would be a capital offense.
/rantmode

Sorry for useless comment, as have not seen any of these movies. But I can point out...the apostrophe of doom.

Ah, hahahahahaha! Especially since I am, by profession, an editor. Well done. Fixed in edit.

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, have not actually listened to Sinatra. Ella Fitzgerald a little bit, and she is fun. ;)

And I am always curious about the movies you talk about, but, you see, I suffer under the reign of really useless video rental stores.

PS

[malsperanza.livejournal.com]

The first 6 movies are required viewing. You haven't lived til you've seen Dr. Strangelove. Trust me.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good list of movies to have and watch. I haven't seen all of them, but the ones I have I agree. (Loved your description of Angel Heart--one of my favorite movies, I must say.) I love putting together movies that go together, especially with themes as basic as this. Somehow they always make each other even better when you watch them together.

[malsperanza.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Mickey Rourke. I will even watch him in Savage Orchid.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I found The Manchurian Candidate on DVD in a sale bin a while back and have yet to watch it. Your post is more incentive to get around to it.

Re Frank Sinatra - have you ever read American Tabloid, by James Ellroy? Sinatra shows up in cameo, owned by the mob and liking it. :P

And, this is awful. Of ALL of the movies you mention in your post, I have seen Dr. Strangelove and Angel Heart. Yeek.

[priceyeah.livejournal.com]

No Parallax View?

PS: I like your journal. I've added you as a friend, hope you don't mind.

[malsperanza.livejournal.com]

OMG how could I have forgotten Parallax View??

You are welcome, of course. You're the editor, yes? A tribe more endangered than Mohicans.

[priceyeah.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm the editor. They have me tagged and keep me safe in this preserve. They even let me run around sometimes.

I'd go for Blow Out over Blow-Up myself, but it's a fine list. God, I love The Third Man.