Dr. Strangelove (my #7) was made at the height of the Cold War, and it turned the ultra-seriousness of something like
Fail-Safe into a black comedy. Even so, I know a few people, who while watching this hilarious film, want me to "point out the funny parts". The thing about this film is that, even if you don't get a single joke, it's so damned suspenseful, and occasionally, realistic, that you would have to think it's almost a documentary. The characters' names should be a dead giveaway that you're dealing with a comedy, but I guess some people don't have a sense of humor, or maybe it's limited to fart jokes. The characters' roll call: Dr. Strangelove, Buck Turgidson, Jack D. Ripper, King Kong, Bat Guano, Premier Kissoff, Lothar Zogg, etc.
True,
Dr. Strangelove is full of humor, jokes and utter ridiculousness; even enough to rival a Monty Python film, but some people can't get through Kubrick's realism to see the humor. This film contains some truly great action/suspense scenes. The Army has to attack Burpleson Air Force Base to try to stop General Ripper, and that scene is almost like watching documentary Viet Nam war footage. The realism gets to you. Even better, when the Soviet missile hones in on Major Kong's bomber, trying to blow it out of the sky, the scene is played out in real time and is nail-bitingly suspenseful. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the only film which can compare to this dark comedy crossed with extreme suspense is
The Manchurian Candidate.
Ultimately, this film leaves one thinking about the end of the world. It could very well happen in the blink of an eye, caused by a madman, even if he's NOT an American. This should give everyone pause to consider
Dr. Strangelove as a clarion call (yes, even to this day) because it really doesn't take that much for the check and double check system to collapse. It won't go down as hilariously as it does here (if it does), but it will go down just as easily, or perhaps even easier if nobody even understands what this film is about or why it's so flippin' awesome.
I loved the intro to
LotR of
The Fellowship of the Ring. Ian McKellen probably gives his greatest performance, and the sets, locations, cast and F/X are set up for the entire trilogy. Another film it's hard to add something new about. I guess I can say that I've been to New Zealand and seen many of the beautiful locations, mostly from afar.
My List 4.
Star Wars 7.
Dr. Strangelove 9.
Cabaret 11.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 12.
Schindler's List 16.
Back to the Future 20.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Although I didn't put
Dr. Strangelove on my list, I do love it, and it's very close to me, personally, in that Burpleson that mark mentioned above is the very town that I live in, if you take away the "p"---I know this because Terry Southern, co-author of the script was from my hometown of Alvarado, Texas and "Burpleson" is just north of Alvarado. I believe Alvarado is mentioned in the script also but it's been a few years since I've seen the movie so I definitely need to revisit it. And yes, @
Jinnistan, the late, great Terry Southern was very smart with the names, particularly Merkin Muffely. You are the only one I know who's ever called attention to the meaning behind that name, which I suspected for years but could not get confirmation on. Thanks! My two favorite characters are Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) who is worried about the Commies stealing his "precious bodily fluids" and Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) who is his companion throughout the siege.
It's very interesting that Southern was part of the writing team on the movie. Set in the time of the Cold War, his (and my) hometown had a Nike Missile base set in the country outside of town. I can remember as a kid going for a Sunday drive in the country with my family and my Dad pointing out to me at least one Nike missile sitting above ground on its elevated platform. He never talked about it, as he was rather laid-back to us kids about such things, but I'm sure it bothered him (and most of the town) to have those missiles so close, even though this article about its history would seem to contradict that feeling:
https://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/...d089bbbca.html I just can't help but wonder, if Southern still had family in town at the time, if he knew about the base and if it informed his dialogue like the town names did.
And a last little connection. Years later, when I was in my mid-20s, I worked at a government warehouse and my boss there (who also lived in my hometown) had been stationed at that same Nike base. Funny how movies can touch your lives in real ways other than just being touched by their greatness.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is my favorite of the three films, although as @
HollowMan said, I also love the other two nearly as much. It was the first representation of the book by J.R.R. Tolkien that was and is my favorite fiction book of all time. The jazzed feeling of seeing it big and beautiful on a large movie screen is still with me to this day. Watching Sauron lay waste to hordes of soldiers in the prologue just sent a thrill through me, and my favorite sequence in the whole book, the journey through Moria and Gandalf's battle with the Balrog was represented so much better than my feeble mind could have imagined (and it was so much better than Ralph Bakshi's "teddy bear/lion Balrog" in his animated first half of the book that was never finished). The introduction to all the heroes of the book are indelible to me. I knew after seeing it that the remaining two would turn out better than expected. This one was #11 on my list.
19. The Searchers #97
1. To Kill a Mockingbird #85
25. Die Hard #63
14. Rear Window #40
8. It's a Wonderful Life #38
2. Aliens #37
13. The Wizard of Oz #36
9. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back #30
3. Lawrence of Arabia #15
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring #11 (same as the list proper)
Have seen 75 of the films so far.
Reply to Topic
Check out my podcast: