The Movie Forums Top 100 of All-Time Refresh: Countdown

Again...

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Taxi Driver and Shawshank

Music to my ears.

Blade Runner

and

INCEP---

You know what? Never mind.








No, I don't. Inception!

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One of the more depressing of rotten tomato debates was those who defended spoilers, ala "if it's a good movie than it should still be good when spoiled". Those people who couldn't even watch a film until they'd dug out every online detail beforehand. I personally think these people are neurotic and too insecure to handle the in-the-moment suspense, which is literally the suspension of certainty, having no idea what will happen next. Just like jokes are funnier when you don't know the punchline, spoilers are narrative poison.

I've always loved The Thing. Haven't seen it in about 10 years though.

I think Vertigo is one of the better Hitch films but it's not a favorite.

I don't think this was the intention of the film. Yes, had it been intended to be a portrait of romantic love, then it failed miserably. I think it's quite the opposite, it's a portrait of a toxically artificial relationship. Novak is cold and distant in the first half, Stewart is pathetically desperate in the second. It's one of the most pessimistic depictions of romantic love on screen, the vertigo is from standing on the abyss of the unattainable ideal. The artificiality mirrors the cinema experience, the way Hitch moulded his actresses to his liking, the way audiences construct relationships with our idealized celebrities. The obsession to make it real.


And I don't know if it's just me, but I always thought Barbara del Geddes (the stand-in girl next door) was way more adorable than Kim Novak. *shrug*

Just wanted to take the chance to share one of my favourite lines from one of my favourite 21st century films, Rango.

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Yeah, or the notion that just because a film is "old", it's somehow OK to spoil it. As if everybody had the chance to be exposed to every film from every era.

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This.

Give me your keys

That's an interesting take, though Novak's coldness is one of her onscreen trademarks. The poor girl always looked so uncomfortable in front of the cameras. I've only seen Vertigo once so I will keep your take in mind if I watch it again. And I would like to see it again.


I like Barbara Bel Geddes too. Kim Novak is pretty in a cookie-cutter type way, but I've not really liked her as an actress in most films that I've seen her in. Yes she can act, but she was so terribly introverted in real life that her intense shyness comes through the screen. Sometimes that works to her advantage, but I have to think that Hitch knew what he was talking about when he felt Novak had been a wrong choice. Seeing how Hitch was fixated on blondes, it would've been great to see Vera Miles be cast in Vertigo.

I don't mean to compare their worth solely on look or talent, but in the context of the film, it's interesting how some of our romantic ideals can be a distraction to real relationship opportunities. Some might call it "lowering your standards", but I wouldn't because I find it to be a false standard to begin with. Bel Geddes is the warmer character in the film, I think by design.



I think she was! The story is that she got pregnant, and Novak was actually something of a last minute replacement.

The initial chemistry between Scottie and Midge is there. But then she veers into the same obsessive tendencies as Scottie, with the painting, etc. which when put next to Judy/Madeleine makes the triangle all the more tragic (Midge wants Scottie, Scottie wants Judy/Madeleine, Judy/Madeleine doesn't want him).

Pew pew pew...

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The Thing is a great movie that for some reason didn't score on its initial release. I can remember being in the theater on opening day with only two other guys in attendance. Aside from Halloween I don't think Carpenter has directed another film that was a huge hit, at least on its premiere. His movies thrived on home video and cable and seemed to have found their wide audience from those sources. Although I went to see a lot of his films when they were released, huge audiences didn't. I don't understand it other than maybe the theory that his films don't appeal to the usual movie audience. But when I say that, I sound like I'm a snob, putting down the movie-going public in general for not having my taste in movies. I'm really not. I just wonder why the initial distancing from Carpenter, only for scores to love him in the privacy of their homes? People like what they like, so maybe the majority of movie-going fans chose to see something else, knowing that they would get to watch Carpenter's new movie at a later date and be satisfied with that choice? I guess I'll end up driving myself crazy trying to figure out why crowds love this movie in general release but ignore that movie when it's released. There's no real answer, I think, but many theories.

Speaking of the The Thing (2011), I liked it quite a bit as a prequel and it's mainly due to Mary Elizabeth Winstead's performance and presence in general. I do love her so! It would have been a fine companion piece to the 1982 classic except for a screw-up with the saucer under the ice plot point. If I recall rightly, where the 1982 film showed the crew watching a bit of film where the original Norwegian scientists find the saucer and blow up the ice to reach it, the prequel has them building a tunnel to reach the ship under the ice. Otherwise they followed the 1982 version almost slavishly in plot points (example: the square-shape ice coffin that we see Kurt Russell stand next to---in the 2011 version, they show the same ice coffin with something inside it that eventually bursts out which was cool to see, IMHO). Other than that, I thought it was an good film. But nothing beats the 1982 film.

I love Vertigo and think it has one of James Stewart's greatest performances. He really goes dark and seedy in this one, with his unwillingness to let go of Madeleine where what he does with Judy is concerned. I thought this film, with its twists and revelations near the end gave a rare straight-up (via the twists) answer to the central mystery, which Hitchcock rarely cared about, instead introducing his " MacGuffin" in a film, then basically ignoring the resolution of it and going forth with the action. But this film didn't so much have a MacGuffin as much as it was a mystery that got solved for a change in a Hitchcock film. I loved that about this movie and the ending where . It's a pretty brilliant film but I already placed my favorite Hitchcock on the list. Neither of these great films made my list and I don't know what I was thinking by leaving them off, except that I was in a bit of a rush to complete 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

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The Big Lebowski and Blade Runner

It just crossed my mind, if you are right @Holden Pike about a "surprise" appearance for Parasite then it could fit with this clue. First paragraph could allude to the class differences and it taking place in the Park home. The second could allude to the leaking into the Kim's underground home and then the later flooding. The last verse could allude to the rain/flooding again and then the last two lines to the "discovery" at the Park home.

I need to stop thinking and go to sleep

Obviously, my previous post was a joke. The Thing is a bona fide horror classic and one that gets better with each viewing. So much, that it made my list. It's my favourite Carpenter flick and I love the music, practical effects and the fact that we still do not know when each person gets infected. I rented The Thing video game for the PS2 back in the day....that thing was hella hard.

Vertigo is fine, I'd put it behind Rear Window, Pyscho and Rope, but on par with North by Northwest. I still have a lot of Hitchcock to watch.

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