TheGirlWhoHadAllTheLuck_'s Top 100

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Just need to jiggle about with the list but hopefully they'll be up soon.

It's a mixture of classics and mainstream films I just like. If I think a film is of particular merit, that will push it up so it may be #51 instead of #59, but my favourite films will always come higher. For example, though Casablanca is in there, it's not near the top (shocking, I know).

The point of my list is not to determine which is the more worthy film, but to give a selection of what I think are good films. A lot of the films are underrated by critics.

Coming soon to a thread near you...
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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)



Given that your quote is from The Red Shoes, I'm eagerly awaiting this list.
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"I want a film I watch to express either the joy of making cinema or the anguish of making cinema" -Francois Truffaut



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That's what I like to hear! A mixture of classics and modern favorites is always an exciting list to keep an eye on. I'll be looking forward to this one.



Okay, here we go. This list'll be liable to be revised in a few months time- hoping to watch a lotta movies. Anyway:


100- The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (1961)



"When the time comes when nobody desires me for myself I'd rather not be desired at all."

This is adapted from a Tennessee Williams novella- not a play, as you might think. It may be slow paced but that brand of Southern Gothic/Tennessee Williams aging nympho and fit young man is addictive. The ending is suitable creepy.

99- Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)




"Is that what love is? Using people? And maybe that's what hate is - not being able to use people."

Probably Tennessee Williams' creepiest play. How they got it past the censors, I don't know. Basically a young woman called Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor) is about to be lobotomised because of her wild claims about her cousin. But could the horrific incident be true? Slowly evidence mounts and it becomes more and more disturbing. Katherine Hepburn does a very good job as the mother who's a bit too attached to her son. If you like a film that shocks you, this is a good bet.


98- East of Eden (1955)



"But you must give him some sign, Mr. Trask, some sign that you love him... or he'll never be a man. All his life he'll feel guilty and alone unless you release him."

Adapted from the Steinbeck novel, this is based on the biblical story of Cane and Abel. Cal, played by James Dean, is the rebellious son; Aron is the good son. They fall in love with the same girl. Sounds pretty average but the film makes the conflict epic- and believable. I really like the presumed-dead mother, who's not a nice lady.



97- The Fugitive Kind (1960)



"Wild things leave their skins behind them so the fugitive kind can follow their kind"

Based on a Tennessee Williams play called 'Orpheus Descending', this is a perfect example of the Southern Gothic style. Brando stars as the drifter Val who strikes up a relationship with his Italian boss, Lady, who's married to a nasty terminally ill husband, with a horrible secret. Filled with Greek mythological tones, tragedy, and surrealism, plus some hothouse Tennessee Williams melodrama...I love the play and Brando is particularly good as the sensitive stud.

96- Bride and Prejudice (2004)




"You know what they say. No life without wife."

Released only about a year before the dreadful Hollywood adaptation, this is a cute funny twist on Pride and Prejudice. Setting it in modern day India works because you still have the arranged marriages, and Mr Kholi (the Indian version of Mr Collins) is very funny. The songs are quite fun- it's not really a musical but it wouldn't be Bollywood without songs- although yet again we have an evil Brit and a nice American Darcy.


95- The Quiet American (2002)




"They say you come to Vietnam and understand a lot in a few minutes. The rest has got to be lived."

Set in Vietnam 1952, two men- one an older English journalist (Michael Caine), the second a young American (Brendan Fraser)- fall in love with a Vietnamese girl and become entangled in the country's political turmoil.
I'm generally not that interested in political films or war films but the film has a strong story, thanks to Graham Greene (it's based on his novel), and a brilliant script. It did inspire me to read the book but I got sidetracked.



94- Bonjour Tristesse (1958)




"It's getting out of control. I just wish I were a lot older or a lot younger"

This is based on a novel by Francois Sagan, who was seventeen when she wrote it. Cecile is a spoilt seventeen year old, chilling and partying on the French Riviera with her widowed father, who's a bit of a ladies' man. When Anne, one of his old friends, comes into the mix, Cecile vows to get rid of her- with tragic results.
The scenes on the French Riviera are in colour, with occasional flashfowards to Paris, shot in black and white to show her tristesse (it translates as sadness).

Although no one is really French here (Jean Seberg is the daughter and David Niven is the father- funny how they have different accents but that's not a problem), this is a great film about a teenager who longs to be an adult and then suddenly wishes she wasn't.

93- Anne of The Thousand Days (1969)



"I think nothing but you. Of you and me playing dog and bitch, of you and me playing horse and mare. Of you and me in every way. I want to fill you up night after night! I want to fill you up with sons!"

History film about Henry VII and his poor wife Anne Boleyn, nominated for 10 Oscars. The Oscar it won was for Costume Design and you can see why- everything is so lavish. Richard Burton is perfect as red-blooded Henry VII and Genevieve Bujold makes a feisty Anne, instead of the insipid portrayals of royal wives that seem to be favoured in dramas. And there are some funny lines.


92- Out of Africa (1985)




"I had a farm in Africa..."

This film makes me so sad at the end. Back when Kenya was an English colony, Karen (Meryl Streep) is moved to South Africa by her husband who wants to run a coffee farm there. She falls in love with Denis, a hunter who I believe is supposed to be English but Robert Redford was told to play it without an English accent by the director. Their affair encounters problems when they start feeling bound to each other. Streep's accent isn't that bad- it's consistant, at least- and Africa looks stunning.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
There was a 1950s version of The Quiet American starring Audie Murphy and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
It was a little muddled but it was professionally-competent. Of course, it didn't have hindsight to be a "revisionist" version, but I suppose that's a plus because it is pretty accurate in its thoughts on what could happen in Vietnam. Until I see it again, I'd probably give it
, but I'm a tough rater.



91- Ghostbusters (1984)



"The purpose of science is to serve mankind. You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable!"

Fun comedy about er...ghostbusters. People who bust ghosts. Even if you haven't seen the film, you have certainly heard the theme tune. My favourite monster is Mr Stay-Puft

90- Pan's Labyrinth (2006)



"A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning..."

I generally don't go for fantasy films but this one is stunning- much better than all those blockbusters about dragons and goblins and whatnot (Harry Potter being the exception). It's got a clear political slant- it's set in fascist Spain in the 1940's- which sets it apart from light entertainment. It may have a twelve year old protagonist but this is no kiddie film.
Gripping, creepy and inventive, it's well worth seeing- particularly for the creepy monster with eyes in his hands.



89- Les Miserables (1935)



"Right or wrong, the law is the law and it must be obeyed to the letter."

I love Frederic March and he makes a great Jean Valjean- a criminal who redeems himself and becomes a hero but who is persued over years and years by a fanatical policeman who believes in the law above everything else. It may not be 100% faithful (the novel's a brick so it's kind of expected) but characters like Eponine are kept in (the 1998 film cut her, which is kind of silly) and March is the perfect hero.

88- Pretty in Pink (1986)



"If you give off signals that you don't want to belong, people will make sure that you don't."
My favourite of all the brat pack films because these characters are more sympathetic. Although the song that inspired the film sings of a girl called Caroline, the protagonist of the film is Andie, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls in love with Blaine, a rich boy. Their romance is fraught with problems created by the cliquey attitudes of high school. It perfectly captures teenage anxieties about not being good enough and whilst Breakfast Club and St Elmo's Fire are a little dated, this manages to be very eighties but also very now. Plus it has a great soundtrack.



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I am starting to think that I won't have seen a single film on this list. I'm sure I've seen Ghostbusters, but not enough to remember it.