Farm Accident Digest

January 17th, 2004

To kill time as I wait for lunch to be ready, I think I'll do this IMDB Top 100 thing. If nothing else to enjoy how few of these movies I've seen. Bold means I've seen it. Underlined means I own it. For those I've seen, I'll even treat you with a brief bit of what I thought of it.

1. Godfather, The (1972) -- Didn't see it until a year ago. Surprised that it beat the hype.
2. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
3. Godfather: Part II, The (1974) -- Ditto to above
4. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) -- Very enjoyable. Will probably go up in estimation after the extended DVD release.
5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) -- Same as above and it did with the extended version.
6. Casablanca (1942) -- Actually managed to punch through all its cliches. One of my favorites.
7. Schindler's List (1993) -- Very moving, if long.
8. Shichinin no samurai (1954) [Seven Samurai]
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) -- Same as with the other ones of the movie.
10. Citizen Kane (1941)
11. Star Wars (1977) -- Duh. It's Star Wars!
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
13. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) -- Very good. Reason I use the word "prevert" to this day.
14. Rear Window (1954) -- It's been 15 years, but I remember really being into this one.
15. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) -- Same was with Star Wars.
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) -- Like I have to say anything.
17. Memento (2000) -- What a movie this is. A friend made me watch it, and I definitely don't regret that.
18. Usual Suspects, The (1995) -- Only seen it once and I was drunk. I remember thinking it was cool.
19. Pulp Fiction (1994) -- First time I saw it was on a rugby field in 40 degree weather.
20. North by Northwest (1959) -- I make sure all my kidnap victims are nice and rummed up before I let them go.

Read the rest!

21. Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le (2001) [Amelie]
22. Psycho (1960) -- Less than 4 months to Mother's Day
23. 12 Angry Men (1957)
24. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
25. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) -- Without this movie I wouldn't have the phrase, "I'd like to put the lotion in her basket."
26. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]
27. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
28. Goodfellas (1990) -- I will not be a schnook.
29. American Beauty (1999) -- While funny at time, what a ridiculous and heavy handed movie.
30. Vertigo (1958)
31. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. Pianist, The (2002)
33. Matrix, The (1999) -- I believe it was briefly federal law to buy this movie when you bought a DVD player.
34. Apocalypse Now (1979) -- Seeing this made that one Animaniacs bit even more brilliant.
35. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) -- One of my top 3 movies made of one of my top 3 books.
36. Some Like It Hot (1959)
37. Taxi Driver (1976) -- Saw this the same night I watched "Babe Pig In The City".
38. Paths of Glory (1957) -- Wonderful movie. Truly one I need to buy soon.
39. Third Man, The (1949)
40. C'era una volta il West (1968)[Once Upon a Time in the West]
41. Fight Club (1999) -- What a stupid fucking movie. Yeah, it was entertaining, but geez. Stupid in its attempts at great statements and pretentious twaddle. (This is usually where some lover of this movie attempts to inform me I "didn't get it". Yeah, I got it and thought it was stupid.)
42. Boot, Das (1981)
43. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) (Spirited Away)
44. Double Indemnity (1944)
45. L.A. Confidential (1997) -- One of my all time favorites, minus the overly long gunfight at the end. Thank God for DVD.
46. Chinatown (1974) -- Just saw this. I miss unhappy endings that aren't dedicated to making some grand annoying point.
47. Singin' in the Rain (1952) -- I'm ashamed at how much I like this movie.
48. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
49. Maltese Falcon, The (1941) -- Crooked dames and guys with strict, if warped morality. Dig it.
50. M (1931) -- Great film. Puts a whole new spin a Peer Gynt.
51. All About Eve (1950)
52. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
53. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)* -- Again requires no comment.
54. Se7en (1995)* -- Fun movie. I figured out what was in the box too early though.
55. Saving Private Ryan (1998) -- War is hell.
56. Cidade de Deus (2002) [City of God]
57. Raging Bull (1980)
58. Wizard of Oz, The (1939) -- Yet I've never heard "Dark Side of the Moon"
59. Rashmon (1950)
60. Sting, The (1973) -- I was 10 or so. I really don't remember it.
61. American History X (1998)
62. Alien (1979) -- Feeds the paranoia.
63. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
64. Leon (The Professional) (1994)
65. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) -- So? That's what I see whenever I close my eyes.
66. Vita bella, La (1997) (Life Is Beautiful)
67. Touch of Evil (1958)
68. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) -- A little melodramatic at times, but still an amazing movie. One of my mom's favorites.
69. Wo hu cang long (2000) (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) -- My appreciation for this one waxes and wanes.
70. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
71. Great Escape, The (1963)
72. Clockwork Orange, A (1971) -- The movie is better without the last chapter. The book is better with it.
73. Reservoir Dogs (1992) * -- Ears are for wimps.
74. Annie Hall (1977)
75. Amadeus (1984) -- I first saw this movie with a hallucinating fever. The patron of the Requiem Mass freaked me out as much as it did for Wolfie.
76. Jaws (1975) -- Glad I can't swim.
77. Ran (1985)
78. On the Waterfront (1954)
79. Modern Times (1936)
80. High Noon (1952)
81. Braveheart (1995) -- Not bad, but too goddamn long and way too heavyhanded.
82. Apartment, The (1960)
83. Sixth Sense, The (1999) -- I managed to see this without it being spoiled.
84. Fargo (1996) -- Yes, some of them do talk like that.
85. Aliens (1986) -- Paul Reiser?
86. Shining, The (1980) -- Like your hallways aren't flooded with blood.
87. Blade Runner (1982) -- It's impressive how the Joanna Cassidy replicant transforms into a bulky man before crashing through that window.
88. Strangers on a Train (1951)
89. Duck Soup (1933)
90. Metropolis (1927)
91. Finding Nemo (2003)
92. Donnie Darko (2001)
93. Toy Story 2 (1999) -- The Toy Story I was not drunk for.
94. Princess Bride, The (1987) -- Take too long to even sum up.
95. General, The (1927)
96. City Lights (1931)
97. Lola rennt (1998) (Run Lola Run)
98. Full Metal Jacket (1987) -- Well, I've only seen the training part.
99. Notorious (1946)
100. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957) [The Seventh Seal]

If I may offer some suggestions on prioritizing your DVD rentals for the movies you haven't seen:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Jack Nicholdson is much better at pretending to pretend to be crazy than pretending to be crazy (as in The Shining). The cast is stellar. Michael Douglas produced it, made a fortune, and this success launched him in Hollywood, FWIW.

Raging Bull: Yes, Robert DeNiro is one hell of an actor, and you can see Joe Pesci as something other than a gangster. I think DeNiro was the first to put on 60 lbs and take it back off while filming.

Rashomon: Kurosawa's simple, yet revealing tale. Should be mandatory viewing for high school kids to give them an appreciation for eye-witness accounts of anything.

On the Waterfront: So you can fully appreciate what self-serving jerks so many in Hollywood are for snubbing Elia Kazan. These stevedores are much, much worse than the guys in The Wire.

The Seventh Seal: The ultimate "deep meaning" movie. Some of the theories about what Ingmar Bergman was alluding too are legendary.

And here are some movies I have on DVD or VHS that I can loan you if you are interested:

Lawrence of Arabia: Explore the roots of anglophile arabism.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Not really a great film, but highly entertaining and loaded with so many quotable lines.

It's a Wonderful Life: If you don't like Jimmy Stewart, we have issues.

Ran: Kurosawa's free adaption of King Lear. It is amazing how fast the three hours go by every time I watch this. Be wary of any woman who will lick blood off your neck.

Posted By charles austin on Jan 17th, 2004 at 2:35pm

If memory serves, it was YOUR idea to watch Memento...

Posted By A Friend on Jan 18th, 2004 at 2:00pm

At that time it was. Because I'd seen it once due to another friend and wanted to see it again.

Posted By rodya on Jan 18th, 2004 at 2:01pm

Memento is the one film of the last two years (3? 4? I've been drinking) that truly stands out for me. I even bought the DVD. It's warped beyond belief. I even bothered to go to the fan sites and read what they thought, so that should tell you something. Great stuff.

Posted By Scott Chaffin on Jan 18th, 2004 at 10:31pm

PS Chuckles isn't far off the mark on Recommended Great Movies, either. Cuckoo's Nest is sheer & utter brilliance, and I always cry at the end, much more so than Old Yeller. I don't know much about those foreign films, because I truly detest subtitles -- I only get to see one-eighth of the movie, since I don't speak Japanese or Swedish.

Jimmy Stewart, though -- can't dig it at all. Liberty Valance was good, but everything else I've seen makes me want to take a nap.

Posted By Scott Chaffin on Jan 18th, 2004 at 10:39pm