A good story is worth telling over and over again. I made my list based on how often I rewatch these movies, not on their enduring value as cinematic documents.
See if yours is on the list.
1. Defending Your Life. An ordinary guy (Albert Brooks, who also directed) dies and goes to Judgment City, a holding tank for the Universe where souls defend their just-lived lives. The more you let fear rule your life, the more likely you'll be sent back to Earth as someone else. Meryl Streep devours her role as Brooks' love interest like the corn dog she buys at the "Past Lives Pavilion." Rip Torn is an eleven out of ten as Brooks' attorney. Beautiful jokes, beautiful observations on life. This one never, ever fails to pull me out of whatever pit I've dug myself. Read Euripides' Alcestis after you watch it.
2. When Harry Met Sally. Is he a sucker for romantic comedies? Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan take ten years to get together, all the while arguing over whether women and men can be "just friends." I love Crystal, Ryan, Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner, and the city of New York. Everyone has said everything about this film. I am down to appreciating the cultural differences between South Orange and Haddonfield, New Jersey.
3. The Natural. Extremely romantic version of baseball in which you know the outcome and are just fine with it. I did read the book by Bernard Malamud and prefer the movie. Barry Levinson, the director, sets out to create a mythological movie, and succeeds. Robert Redford doesn't particularly look like a ballplayer, but the atmosphere of pre-Jackie Robinson major league ball and the underdog plot line seduce me completely.
4. Rear Window. Alfred Hitchcock's neglected and restored classic about a convalescing photographer (James Stewart) and his fashionista girlfriend (Grace Kelly) who try to solve a murder Stewart has "seen" while spying out the rear window of his Manhattan apartment. In my book, Grace Kelly is number one all time of beautiful women: classy, ultra-feminine, and a shorts-melter all in one. The set, story and supporting characters are all well-observed, but the chemistry between Kelly and Stewart makes this one I come back to over and over. To think of Stewart telling Kelly to "simmer down"!
5. Rain Man. Another Barry Levinson winner. Tom Cruise in his best role going through a spiritual journey, with Dustin Hoffman burying himself in his autistic savant role. I love road pictures. They always remind me of the Odyssey, and the film hits a homer with the device of sending Cruise and Hoffman onto back roads where the real America lies. Everyone who now hates Tom Cruise should watch this to remember that he plays himself very well. Definitely.
6. Vertigo. This is one by Hitchcock that is guaranteed to hook and baffle you all the way through. James Stewart again, as the Oedipus-like detective who is caught in a web of his own making. The love interest is Kim Novak, a beautiful chameleon; also a very nice role for Barbara Bel Geddes, whom I knew before only as the mom in Dallas.
7. Thelma and Louise. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon as spontaneous feminists who find their power in making life happen rather than letting it happen to them. Another fantastic road picture. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors. Some people think the ending of this made no sense. I find it to be one of the most perfect ancient Greek endings of any American film.
8. Bull Durham: Touted as the most authentic baseball picture of all time, it is really a romantic comedy with Susan Sarandon (who gives Grace Kelly more than a run for her money), Kevin Costner, and Tim Robbins having a fantastic time under the direction of former minor-leaguer Ron Shelton. If you want authentic baseball, try Bang the Drum Slowly, with the book by Mark Harris.
9. O Brother, Where Art Thou: Holly Hunter, George Clooney and music by Ralph Stanley? You can hardly go wrong-- but the beautiful sepia-toned recreation of Depression-era Mississippi steals the show. It isn't flattering to the South, and I have Southern friends who don't like it. It's also supposed to be "based" on the Odyssey, and it's about as like the Odyssey as Troy is like the Iliad. The movie asks you to cut loose and be absurd for a while. And it does so triumphantly.
10. Star Wars (1977, the original): This used to be my favorite movie of all time. I will always remember the lines around the corner at the Coronet Theater on Geary Street in San Francisco. Over the years, one's tastes change. But it's still the best of all of the SW six, in not taking itself too seriously, and yet pushing emotional buttons effectively, and having pretty fantastic special effects for the time.
And the bonus, The Pink Panther movies starring Peter Sellers. A Shot in the Dark is my favorite; The Pink Panther Strikes Again was my boyhood favorite.
Honorable Mention: The Princess Bride: A lot to like in this one, from unforgettable lines to Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner again. My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding: A guilty pleasure, somewhat, but very sociologically informative as well as LOL funny. Tootsie : Dustin Hoffman again, this time as a cross-dresser, with Bill Murray and the underrated Teri Garr. I'll take her any day over Jessica Lange. Very, very funny movie. Lost in Translation: A perfect screenplay, and Bill Murray is brilliant. Blade Runner: Harrison Ford directed by Ridley Scott, and excellent special effects. For its time, a mind-blowing creation of a future world. Gladiator : Another by Ridley Scott. Yes, it's inauthentic historically, but the attitude towards religion is refreshingly dark. The English Patient: Deeply affecting, and gorgeously shot.
In the Internet Movie Database, the highest rated of all the movies in my list is Star Wars, at 8.8. Big Fat is lowest at 6.9.
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