I haven't been online in a few days, so I'm just now catching up with the last eight entries.
When preparing for this countdown,
The Conformist and
Don't Look Now were two movies very high on my to-watch list. Now that the deadline has come and gone, they're
still on my to-watch list.
Don't Look Now looks like it'd be right up my alley, whereas
The Conformist looks like the kind of movie I'd admire and respect more than I'd actually enjoy. Roeg has one film on my list, but I'll be shocked if it makes an appearance.
Marathon Man is a very good thriller, but it always baffles me when I hear someone label it as one of the best movies of the decade. I'm in the boat that doesn't "get"
MASH; maybe a second viewing will cause something to click.
House was obnoxious and annoying, like an ADD kid high on cocaine and sugar (with a little bit of LSD mixed in).
All the President's Men, on the other hand, is an excellent movie that very nearly made my list.
Paper Moon was my #11, and the only thing that kept it from being even higher on my list is the sad fact that I've only seen it once. It's one of the most charming movies I've ever seen, and I can't imagine anyone disliking it. Tatum O'Neal gives one of the most impressive performances I've seen from a kid, and the amazing on-screen chemistry between she and her father has resulted in one of my favorite movie pairings. I'm annoyed that I don't already own it on DVD or Blu-Ray, since
Paper Moon has all the qualities of becoming my new go-to movie on a rainy day when I'm feeling down in the dumps and want to have my cold heart warmed. It's like chicken soup for the soul.
I'm also a huge fan of Bogdanovich's
The Last Picture Show (which I hope will be appearing much higher on the countdown). I don't understand how someone could make two films of such magnificence, then make nothing else of note for the rest of his career. (Although I've yet to see any of his other films, so maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't hear good things. He's often mentioned as a director who showed enormous promise, then never lived up to it.) I was a little bit worried that
Paper Moon wouldn't even make the countdown, so I'm extremely pleased to see it on here.
Mean Streets was my #24, Yeah, it's raw and a bit rough around the edges, but it's the burgeoning seed of everything Scorsese fans would come to love about his films--- the familiar themes, the aesthetic, the soundtrack, the seedy yet extraordinarily captivating cast, the first of many dynamite performances by Robert De Niro, the grit, the grime, the realistic, seldom seen peek into a world most of us will (thankfully) never see, etc., etc. Not only is
Mean Streets Scorsese's most personal film, I think it's also one of his most authentic. If De Niro and Keitel hadn't gone on to become cinematic heavyweights, I'd swear that Charlie and Johnny Boy were real people, not characters.
My List So Far:
#8)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
#10)
The Holy Mountain
#11)
Paper Moon
#22)
Straw Dogs
#24)
Mean Streets