The mafo's MoFo 100 List

Well, Your Rilingness, I'm not shunning Dumbo, I actually like it. A lot.

I finally saw this today with my friend, and it was good! Gerard Depardieu is excellent as Cyrano. Thanks for the recommendation, Mark.

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Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)


Does Ofelia seem dressed like Alice in Wonderland?

This film begs the question, "How does one differentiate between a fairy tale and a historical tragedy?" Are fairy tales just tragic historical stories which have been passed down through the ages to serve as warnings/object lessons for the young? Or do historical tragedies just lend themselves to becoming "fairy tales"? This film has fairies, history and tragedy, yet it's also uplifting, depending on your perspective and what you believe to be real. I think one of the great things about this film is your interpretation of whether you believe that evil can actually accomplish a good thing or if a child's innocence can see true evil and still interpret it as something which can be overcome, even through tragedy.



Set during the Spanish Civil War, the film tells the story of a terrifically scary and violent Captain (Sergi López) who brings his pregnant wife (Ariadna Gil) and stepdaughter Ofelia (the beguiling Ivana Barquero) to his remote war compound where he and his men try to quash the nearby rebels. One of the Captain's servants, Maribel (Maribel Verdú) becomes a surrogate mother to Ofelia as her real mother approaches childbirth.

Ofelia loves to read and is even reading a fairy tale at the beginning of the film which seems to tell and foretell her own life's story. Actually, this scene occurs just after the actual beginning of the film, which, coincidentally, is also the ending of the movie. Afterwards, Ofelia immediately becomes involved with fairies, a mystical faun, a labyrinth, and a series of quests she must accomplish to be able to reunite with her King and Queen parents and take her rightful place as a Princess loved by all.



The girl's inner life (or is it?) is contrasted with the Captain's world where torture, violence and oppression rule. I may be making this film sound deadly serious and oppressive, but actually it's full of life. The cinematography and editing are VERY alive and place you right in the middle of the story. I can appreciate the Wow! logistics and results of the photography of the wonderful Children of Men the same year, but even though it cost me a point in my annual Oscar voting contest, the cinematography of Pan's Labyrinth seems borderline 3-D and is truly spectacular, especially seen on a BIG screen.



Ultimately, it's up to each viewer to decide whether this film is realistic, a fairy tale, or a combination. It's also up to you to decide if the ending is sad or happy. Additionally, you have to decide if this film comments truthfully on the subject of the Spanish Civil War or does it actually "whitewash" it in the name of a kid's movie. I'm not really sure how anyone could watch this violent film and think it's a kid's movie, but, as I say, the film is open to intrepretation. I interpret it to be an enthralling work of art, both heartbreaking and life-affirming, but that's why I'm posting it here, in my personal list.

I really love Labyrinth of the Faun (which is what it should have been called) and I imagine it won't really surprise you mark that I don't think she died at the end. Did you also enjoy Espinazo del diablo, El? I thought it was one of the better ghost stories that I'd seen in quite awhile. Great review as always.

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

You are right, not a child's movie I loved it

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Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 1950)



Brilliant film from Billy Wilder focusing on struggling Hollywood screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) who accidentally falls into the "tarantula arms" of faded silent screen star Norma Desmond (silent screen goddess Gloria Swanson) when he tries to elude the guys who want to repossess his car. (I'm deliberately omitting one of the greatest beginnings of any film, where Gillis narrates his story from a most-unusual place and the flashbacks to what happened kick in.) Gillis has a flat tire and needs to lie low for awhile, and he sees a chance to make some money working on Norma's self-written script for her return to films. The downside is that her Sunset Blvd. mansion is full of ghosts from the past, including the wily butler Max (Erich von Stroheim).



Joe still has some ties to "real life" in the form of his assistant director buddy Artie (Jack Webb) and Artie's girlfriend Betty (Nancy Olsen), a studio reader who earlier had rejected one of Joe's screen treatments but has her own dreams of becoming a screenwriter. Joe eventually finds himself torn between Norma's clinging, self-destructive tendencies and his desire for both people his own age and his friend's woman. Mixed into this situation is that Cecil B. DeMille's production people keep calling Norma about something, and she occasionally has her friends, "The Waxworks" (Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson and H.B. Warner) over to play bridge.



The thing which makes Sunset Blvd. great and will continue to appeal to new audiences is that it tells its story smartly and satirically with basically no sentimentality. It's an acid-tongued dark comedy/film noir/quasi-horror flick masquerading as a tragedy, plus it's all about the movies. The dialogue is some of the sharpest that Wilder and his co-screenwriters ever concocted. The way the film uses Hollywood of the late 1940s is immensely enjoyable, from the scene at Schwaub's Drugstore to the visit of DeMille's set while he's filming Samson and Delilah. The acting is really quite extraordinary. Gloria Swanson has the showy part, turning her screen persona into something pathetic, and she plays it with no holds barred. Similarly, Erich von Stroheim plays a character similar to his own life (at least during the silent era) and presents a few of the best surprises in the film. However, William Holden gives the best performance, and I find it his very best ever. He has to play a believable character who straddles reality and the fantasy rabbit-hole world he fell into. He also has to say some of the wittiest lines and make it sound like he's conceived them for a script he's writing. All in all, it's tough to find a film which is anywhere remotely similar to Sunset Blvd., and if you can, it's a pale imitation.

I tend to like most of del Toro's films. I did like The Devil's Backbone, and I know people who think it's better than Pan's Labyrinth, but I'm not one of them. I also like Hellboy, Blade II (my fave Blade movie), Mimic, and Cronos. Maybe I can come back in a bit, but my daughter just told me there is an old "Simpsons" episode on which I may have never seen!

Additionally, there are many legit interpretations to what happens in Pan's Labyrinth, and I haven't checked the site to see what's been discussed so far.

Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)



This reimagining of Peter Shaffer's play is surprisingly cast, but every single role seems to pay off. Tom Hulce is a leftover from Animal House as Mozart, yet he seems right and fully inhabits the character. F. Murray Abraham, who never had a role anywhere close before or since, deservedly won his Best Actor Oscar because he was just so delightfully envious and evil. Jeffrey Jones is a laugh riot as Emperor Joseph II who cannot grasp "too many notes", and Elizabeth Berridge shakes off her teen movie image to care about her beloved husband Wolfie.



Milos Forman went back to his homeland of the Czech Republic to film this story set in Vienna. The art direction, sets, costumes, wigs and makeup are all top-of-the-line. The musical passages show the genius of Mozart, even if one of the points of the film is that Genius is not always bestowed upon the most worthy or the most holy. In fact, one of the film's greatest scenes is when the religious Salieri throws a crucifix into a fire and basically tells Christ that he will attempt to block him wherever he can because he chose to lavish his Godly attributes on a boorish child who enjoys fart jokes.

If Amadeus is considered a musical, I'd probably call it the best musical from now back until Cabaret. It depicts a historical period, it takes some historical license to try to ratchet up the drama and the satire, it presents pieces of music in huge chunks and as historically-accurate as possible, and it's chief concern is where does music come from and who can appreciate it? Mozart's great works were often appreciated by the unwashed masses before the upper class due to political reasons.



Forman has always found himself allied with the outsider against society. Just look at his American films: Taking Off, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Hair, Ragtime, Valmont, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man in the Moon, and this one. He is attracted to characters, who, rightly or wrongly, are outside the mainstream, so I assume that's the way that Forman sees himself. He is a very impressive, personal filmmaker, and I have to applaud him for that, as well as his filmography's excellence.

My wife is one of those, she hated the ending of Labyrinth. Whatareyougonnado? She also speaks Spanish fluently and I think its kind of fun for her to watch those flicks and not have to read the sub-titles. I haven't checked out any thread on the movie either, I'm not sure I want to. I like my interpretation (if that's what it is) and I'm not sure I need or want to compare it to other's.

I haven't seen Cronos, I thought I had seen all of his movies...

I love Amadeus it is my kind of quirky movie

The Assignment (Christian Duguay, 1997)



I never saw this thriller advertised in the newspaper when it was originally released, so I had never even heard of it before I rented it on a whim a few years later and fell in love with it. There are plenty of things to love about this flick. The opening scene is a long, albeit digitally-enhanced, take which immediately grabs you and announces that you're going to be watching a film with some real skill and intelligence behind it. Then, it cuts to a scene which is even more dynamic. The film is a fictional account of how the U.S. and the Israelis join forces to try to capture or kill infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Although both sides have had no real luck at all, they stumble onto a United States Navy Lt. Commander named Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn, in his best performance) who bears a striking resemblance to Carlos. Due to this similarity, he is picked up after his ship docks in Israel by local anti-terrorist agents led by Amos (Ben Kingsley).



Eventually, Annibal's situation comes to the attention of CIA operative Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) who attempts to convince the naval officer to work for him to get to Carlos. Although reluctant, Annibal eventually agrees and undergoes intensive training by Amos and Jack who try to make him act and think like Carlos does. However, Annibal doesn't share his new assignment's specifics with his wife and young son. One particular form of training is that he's supposed to learn how Carlos acts in bed and treats his women from one of the terrorist's ex-lovers. When Annibal balks at this, the Mephistopholean Jack tells him, "Don't think of it as cheating on your wife. Think of it as f**king for your flag."

Trailer which doesn't give away too much:


Although the film contains plenty of action and suspense, it's really the script's smart character development and the creative, clever visuals from director Duguay which make The Assignment a first-rate thriller. The three lead actors all bring conviction and wit to their performances. As I said earlier, Quinn is a standout having to play two characters, and as the film twists and turns up to the finale, it does leave you guessing and hoping that your guesses turn out to be true. I could go on for a bit more, but the best thing for me to say is that if you're interested in the subject matter and/or the cast, seek it out and watch it. I'm pushing it now, but remember, I didn't expect much of anything when I first saw it. Today, after having seen it several times, I'm half-surprised that it still delivers the goods, but it always does.

A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton/John Cleese, 1988)



I'm glad I keep adding more movies to my Top 100. When I get to an appropriate number, I'll rename my thread, but for now, it's OK. This is probably my choice for the funniest film in the last 20 years and probably also the best film involving Python members. I realize that may be sacrilege, but it's really damn good. It has a cohesive structure which Python never really cared about, but it's just as funny, and then to top it off, the darn thing is sexy AND romantic to boot. The credit for this has to go to scripter/"true" director John Cleese. A funny footnote to this film is that Cleese always intended to direct the flick, but the studio wouldn't sign off on the insurance in case he screwed up in his first directorial effort, so Cleese enlisted 77-year-old veteran Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob) to "officially" direct his first feature in over 20 years. Crichton received a best director nomination for this film, although all he did was basically sit around and ask Cleese, "Why do you need me here, again?"



A Fish Called Wanda involves a heist which works out for the thieves but eventually goes wrong. It also involves an animal lover (Michael Palin) who is forced to try to murder a witness to the crime, but unfortunately, all he can seem to do is kill sweet, innocent pets. Two other members of the heist team are a fake brother and sister (Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious Kevin Kline) who are actually lovers, plus Otto (Kline) thinks he understands Nietzsche, but he's really just an underarm-sniffing idiot ("Don't call me stupid!"). When Wanda (Curtis) starts to fall for barrister Archie Leach (Cleese), who is involved in the case of another member of the gang, that's when the movie transforms from a laughfest to one of the more romantic films ever made.



I don't really want to go into the details of this hilarious film, but I can still remember showing it to my wife's 70-ish parents. There are a few F-words strewn about, and Otto has a few odd sexual proclivities, but to my delight, they smiled and laughed during the entire film... and they're from Bakersfield. I honestly believe that if you like Judd Apatow comedies, you'll love this. I also believe that a few of our members who don't especially like Apatow will also love this. It's a lovable film; true, it can be a bit cruel to animals, but remember this: NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM. My wife loves dogs, but I have never heard her laugh louder than what happens to some innocent dogs in this movie.

I haven't seen Wanda in a long time... I should watch more movies.

Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)



Arthur Penn's second consecutive homage to the French New Wave hits paydirt in a spectacular character study/black comedy/social satire utilizing Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as a commentary on not only what they represented in the 1930s, but more importantly, what film and hero worship represented in the 1960s. Penn reunites with Beatty, the protagonist of his artsy-fartsy existential gangster flick, Mickey One, and turns that film's abstractions and pretentiousness into commercial gold. Relative newcomer Faye Dunaway proves to be a perfect foil for Beatty, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bonnie and Clyde is one of those essential films which arrived at the right place and at the right time. It signaled, along with Mike Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate, a new frankness in American films which could never be "fully" contained by a Code and could never turn back to the Old Days. Bonnie and Clyde was certainly the most violent mainstream film made before The Wild Bunch, and while the latter was rated R, the former was originally released with no rating whatsoever.



Not only did the film turn Faye Dunaway into an immediate star, it reignited Warren Beatty's career which was actually on a downslide. Add in the fact that Estelle Parsons won an Oscar for her second role, Gene Hackman and Michael J. Pollard were rightfully nominated for two of their earliest roles, and Gene Wilder was a laugh riot in his first feature, and it's easy to see how significant Bonnie and Clyde was at its time of release and how important the effects of its success continue on to this day.

If nothing else matters, just listen to and watch "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".

I have never heard of this I will add it to my movie list thanks Marky

Is it me, or do you not have Blade Runner on your list?

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

You're correct; no Blade Runner.

Which leads me to... Warning: the following post contains heretical statements all over the place. Please proceed with caution.... my favorite Philip K. Dick movie adaptation:

Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)



Let's see here... why do I like Total Recall? It's fast, furious, funny, full of creativity and wit, features Ronny Cox as one of the greatest villains in film history, allows Arnold to try to be sexy and say the word "hetero", puts Sharon Stone and Rachel Ticotin into direct competition over Arnold's body AND soul, has a labyrinthine script which is one of the best Chinese Box-style plots I've ever enjoyed and mulled over, etc.



Total Recall is a non-stop blast of cinematic fun. I love the scenes which seem to be ad-libbed (they aren't), I love the scenes which seem to be poorly acted (sorry, it's all there for a damn fine purpose), I even love the Oscar-winning F/X which are much weaker than the Chinese Puzzle Box script. In fact, my former employer told me that this movie had no reason for being besides its F/X, and it was just about at that moment that I realized that our compatability on being a perfect barometer for each other's film opinions was kaput. I enjoy the F/X, especially that scanning for people with weapons, but the film's reason for being has more to do with its story than its visuals, although I admit I greatly admire both.



So let's recap for me: this is my fave Dick flick, my fave Verhoeven, fave Schwarzenegger, favorite Mars flick, fave Cox performance, vote for one of the fastest movies ever, a film which seems to be neverending in its visual wit, crypticness and general crowd-pleasing nature. Look, I never expected to love this movie when I first saw it in the theatre in 1990, but ever since I have, I have had absolutely no reason not to try to defend it against any naysayers. (To tell you the truth, it's hard for me to believe there are any naysayers unless they're just quoting the company line and watch the flick on auto-pilot.)

Watch this wonderful movie ASAP.

Total Recall? You never fail to surprise me, Mark. Good work.