Best Movie Ever!

[D'Snowth]

I know. I seem to lurk around more than post now a days.

Well then, we need to remedy that, and stat!

 

[Winslow Leach]

Some more of my favorites:

Animal Crackers (1930)
*It's so hard to choose a favorite Marx Brothers movie, at least from the last four of the five they made for Paramount but, over the years, I keep coming back to this one. Although Groucho always said that A Day At the Races and A Night At the Opera were "by far" the best movies they made, he's wrong.. I'm not sure what it is about the Warner films, but something's missing (maybe Zeppo?). In any event, the wordplay in this film is unmatched. Zeppo, who only appeared in the first five movies, has his finest moment while copying down a letter. Chico makes fun of his own fake accent ("when did you become an Italian?" .. "whose confession is this anyway?"). Harpo gives his usual so-far-over-the-top-it's-wonderful performance, though perhaps he does spend a bit too much of the movie chasing women (if only we could all be so lucky!). And Groucho, with usual foil Margaret Dumont (though he said she never got any of the jokes) is at his best as an African explorer. The movie also includes one of the best songs, "Hello, I Must Be Going." I also think this movie has Chico's best piano playing. This was also the first movie to break down the fourth wall between the audience and the actors, as Groucho speaks directly to the audience a few times... sort of a mock tribute to Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize winning play Strange Interlude. And while I'm not certain, this movie seems to contain more ad-libs than most Marx Brothers movies, though they all are said to contain quite a few.

Horse Feathers (1932)
* Ok, I wasn't planning on making this all about the Marx Brothers, but here we go! This movie has the best music of any of the Marx Brothers movies with songs "I'm Against It / He Always Gets His Man" and "Everyone Says I Love You." I loved singing along to those songs growing up. Groucho as the president of a college.. does it get any better than that? Sure, Zeppo as his son and college student does look rather old, but he has been in college for 12 years, so at least they explain that away. Chico and Harpo give their most uncontrolable performances in this movie as two would-be football players turned kidnappers.. I love the scene where they try and kidnap the two guys from the other team, and Chico tells Harpo to "get tough" with them. One of the most hilarious scenes ever caught on film. Speaking of really funny scenes, growing up the funniest thing I'd ever seen on film was in Horse Feathers.. when a dishevled man in worn out clothes walks up to Harpo asking for change and says "can you help me out buddy, I'd like to get a cup of coffee?", Harpo reaches down into his pocket and pulls out a cup of coffee! And a steaming cup, at that!.. I thought I was going to die laughing every time I saw it.

Monkey Business (1931)
*Maybe the most underrated comedy in movie history. I never understood why this wasn't held up there with Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, and Animal Crackers.. Although, strangely, it made AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs list (at number 73), while Animal Crackers was - unforgivably - left off, so maybe it's starting to get some credit.. or maybe some voters confused it with 1952's much more famous Monkey Business staring Cary Grant. Anyway, just the idea of all four Marx Brothers as stowaways coming to America is great.. as always, the dialogue is second-to-none as the brothers get mixed up with the mob, try to stay away from the crew, and try to convince customs first that they are all Maurice Chevalier and second that they are three beared aviation experts and their agent... Harpo's speech to the public as one of the bearded men is cinematic genius!

Duck Soup (1933)
*A movie that is just as relevant today as it was in 1933.. pure insanity onscreen and the better for it! Groucho as the leader of a country? What could possibly go wrong? Chico and Harpo are great as spies who can't decide which side their on.. This is Margaret Dumont's best performance.. she even sings at the end! (Though whether that's a good thing, I'll leave to you).. The scenes with the sidecar never get old, and the songs are just wonderful... "Just Wait 'til I Get Through with It," "We're Going to War"... Also some great one-liners. The scene with Harpo, Chico, & the lemonade vendor is some of the funniest stuff.. the wordplay is second only to Animal Crackers.. and the often-copied mirror scene where everyone's dressed as Groucho.. a scene used on an episode of I Love Lucy with Lucy and Harpo on either side of the would-be mirror.. it's just wonderful!

Well, I intended to have more variety here, but now that I've done all the Marx Brothers best films, I'd hate to post anything else with them.. so I'll save the rest for later.

The Marx Brothers' movies for Paramount were by far better than anything they did at MGM, I think. They had more freedom. At MGM, they had a champion in producer Irving Thalberg, but he died midway through their second MGM film, A Day at the Races, and from there it was downhill (although both Opera and Races have classic moments...the contract scene in Opera, tutsi-fruitsi ice cream in Races).

I agree with you, Randall, Animal Crackers seems to have a lot more ad libs than a typical Marx Bros. film. "Excuse me while I have a strange interlude." "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen...which isn't saying much." "When you come to a song, let me know." I love Chico's explaination of "left-handed moths."

The Cocoanuts is interesting mostly from a technical standpoint. It was obviously shot on a soundstage (the painted backdrops fool no one), and if you notice, the newspapers are soaking wet. This is because early sound equipment was so sensitive, the rustling of a newspaper would disrupt a scene. But the film is memorable for Groucho and Chico's "viaduct" routine "Why a duck? Why-a no chicken?", and the classic auction sequence, in which Chico keeps bidding on land he can't possibly afford.

Horse Feathers is memorable for the classic classroom sequence, with new students Chico and Harpo disrupting the class, taken over by professor Groucho. Eventually Groucho gets fed up and addresses a female student. "Just for that, I want you to stay after school." "But professor, I didn't do anything." "I know, but it's no fun keeping them after school!" The rowboat ride with Thelma Todd, and Groucho's cynical version of "Everyone Says I Love You" is a classic, especially when Thelma starts talking baby talk to Groucho: "was that you or the duck?" and, when she continues, he threatens to hurt her.

Monkey Business has the great Maurice Chevalier imitations by all four brothers, and the puppet show sequence with Harpo. Randall, isn't the sequence where the Marxes imitate famous aviators from A Night at the Opera? Groucho, Harpo and Chico capture the real aviators, tie them up in their beds and shave off their beards. Then the brothers, along with the film's romantic lead, are disguised for the press conference. Harpo keeps pouring from a pitcher of water, until he soaks his beard.

Yeah, Margaret Dumont sings at the end of Duck Soup (and at the beginning, too), but at least the brothers pelt her with fruit and vegetables.

I already mentioned Duck Soup in an earlier post, so I'll leave it. It's my favorite Marx Brothers film.

Poor Zeppo. He gets such a bum rap. According to Groucho though, the youngest Marx brother was supposedly the funniest. In private life, Zeppo was apparently a cut-up, and could toss of jokes and one-liners with the best of them. There's even a story that Zeppo substituted for Groucho one night while the brothers were playing Animal Crackers on Broadway. Groucho couldn't make a performance for some reason, so Zeppo slapped on the grease-paint mustache and eyebrows and went out as Captain Spaulding. The audience supposedly believed they were watching Groucho, when it was actually his younger brother!

 

[anytimepally]

The Marx Brothers' movies for Paramount were by far better than anything they did at MGM, I think. They had more freedom. At MGM, they had a champion in producer Irving Thalberg, but he died midway through their second MGM film, A Day at the Races, and from there it was downhill (although both Opera and Races have classic moments...the contract scene in Opera, tutsi-fruitsi ice cream in Races).

I agree with you, Randall, Animal Crackers seems to have a lot more ad libs than a typical Marx Bros. film. "Excuse me while I have a strange interlude." "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen...which isn't saying much." "When you come to a song, let me know." I love Chico's explaination of "left-handed moths."

The Cocoanuts is interesting mostly from a technical standpoint. It was obviously shot on a soundstage (the painted backdrops fool no one), and if you notice, the newspapers are soaking wet. This is because early sound equipment was so sensitive, the rustling of a newspaper would disrupt a scene. But the film is memorable for Groucho and Chico's "viaduct" routine "Why a duck? Why-a no chicken?", and the classic auction sequence, in which Chico keeps bidding on land he can't possibly afford.

Horse Feathers is memorable for the classic classroom sequence, with new students Chico and Harpo disrupting the class, taken over by professor Groucho. Eventually Groucho gets fed up and addresses a female student. "Just for that, I want you to stay after school." "But professor, I didn't do anything." "I know, but it's no fun keeping them after school!" The rowboat ride with Thelma Todd, and Groucho's cynical version of "Everyone Says I Love You" is a classic, especially when Thelma starts talking baby talk to Groucho: "was that you or the duck?" and, when she continues, he threatens to hurt her.

Monkey Business has the great Maurice Chevalier imitations by all four brothers, and the puppet show sequence with Harpo. Randall, isn't the sequence where the Marxes imitate famous aviators from A Night at the Opera? Groucho, Harpo and Chico capture the real aviators, tie them up in their beds and shave off their beards. Then the brothers, along with the film's romantic lead, are disguised for the press conference. Harpo keeps pouring from a pitcher of water, until he soaks his beard.

Yeah, Margaret Dumont sings at the end of Duck Soup (and at the beginning, too), but at least the brothers pelt her with fruit and vegetables.

I already mentioned Duck Soup in an earlier post, so I'll leave it. It's my favorite Marx Brothers film.

Poor Zeppo. He gets such a bum rap. According to Groucho though, the youngest Marx brother was supposedly the funniest. In private life, Zeppo was apparently a cut-up, and could toss of jokes and one-liners with the best of them. There's even a story that Zeppo substituted for Groucho one night while the brothers were playing Animal Crackers on Broadway. Groucho couldn't make a performance for some reason, so Zeppo slapped on the grease-paint mustache and eyebrows and went out as Captain Spaulding. The audience supposedly believed they were watching Groucho, when it was actually his younger brother!

It was from a A Night at the Opera.. what a terrible mistake .. movies with boats are all the same, right? .... I've edited the original post... looks like I'm watching Monkey Business today...

I just love the scene in Animal Crackers where Zeppo leaves out the body of the letter.. "you said some things here I didn't think were important, so I just omitted them".. but he had the last laugh, in any event, because he went on to be a Hollywood agent and made as much money, if not more, than they did

 

[Winslow Leach]

After Hitchcock movies (which I'll get to at some point) and Marx Brothers movies, Bond movies are my favorite.. I'll be more consice than I was with the Marxes, though, because I need to do something today besides post in this thread

So here are my favorite Bond Films [I limited the list to 8]:

From Russia With Love (1963)
*This is the Bond movie that influnced my vocabulary the most.. when Ali Kerim Bey is enticed by his mistress to stop working and relax for a bit, he quips "back to the salt mines".. I use that phrase all the time! .. Also, some of the dialogue in this film was reworked for 2002's Die Another Day, because those hack writers who did DAD and The World is Not Enough have no ability to write dialogue.. in my opinion, that's why Brosnan's later efforts just weren't that good... and it is why they brought along Paul Haggis for Casino Royale and the currently-being-polished (read as "the dialogue is being rewritten") Bond 22.. Not only that, but it's the first movie with Desmond Llewelyn (who I've missed terribly in the last two movies)... and Robert Shaw as the villian, looking nothing like he would a decade later in The Sting, was perfect casting.. ok, that wasn't concise at all.. I'm working on it!

You Only Live Twice (1967)
*While it's certainly hard to say that any Sean Connery Bond movie is underrated, I do think this one is.. and we finally meet Blofeld!

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
*Legend has it that when Albert R. Broccoli wanted a section of the Vegas strip shut down for a week for the car chase scene, the city said no.. so he called up his old drinking buddy, Howard Hughes, who made a few phone calls and that was that.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
*Roger Moore's best performance, and by far the closest he ever got to the literary James Bond.. and Topol as Columbo?.. brilliant casting!

The Living Daylights (1987)
*The complaints from critics when this movie came out centered around Dalton's Bond being (1) too cruel and (2) not sleeping around enough.. but this was the closest Bond has ever been (and due to studio's obsession with Box Office success, probably as close as he ever will be) to the Bond of Ian Fleming's books.. I just wish Dalton had been available in 1983 when offered the role the second time (after 1968)

Licence to Kill (1989)
*The best ending to a Bond movie, in my opinion.. when, well, I don't want to give it away, but it's a funny moment for everyone except Robert Davi.. this was also Desmond Llewelyn's most featured role, which was a treat.. and Dalton is my favorite Bond

GoldenEye (1995)
*Brosnan's best film, not coincidentally, the only good script he had to work with.. Alec Trevelyan is a classic villain.. The only thing I didn't like as Joe Don Baker returning as a good guy (he played the villain in The Living Daylights).. Judi Dench is a rare treat as M

Casino Royale (2006)
*The more I watch it, the more things I don't like about it and the more things I do like about it.. I miss Q and Moneypenny, but Judi Dench is at her best since GoldenEye and Paul Haggis' dialogue is a HUGE improvement over Neal Purvis & Robert Wade's pathetic efforts on Brosnan's last 2 films.. sure, it's a little predictable but, having read the book, it was going to be anyway.. the first review I read said that Daniel Craig combined Sean Connery's swagger with Timothy Dalton's cruelty, and I thought to myself that if that were true, he was going to be the best Bond ever.. if the rest of his movies are this good (and John Cleese returns), he will be... Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre is a great villian, though it would've been nice for a little more backstory... and there were probably a few too many bad guys in this one.. hopefully, they'll flesh some of them out more in the next film.. Jeffrey Wright's understated performance as Felix Leiter is the best Felix Leiter yet.. and the always entertaining Giancarlo Giannini is just wonderful.. and there is something about Caterina Murino and her Italian accent that just does it for me ... all that and we get what I believe is the return of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.!

Bond 22 is said to be based in part on two short Bond stories by Ian Fleming that haven't been filmed yet.

I agree that GoldenEye is Brosnan's best. I never cared for the three that followed, although I liked Robbie Coltrane's character in this and The World is Not Enough.

Casino Royale is my favorite Fleming book, so I wasn't disappointed with the film. I think Daniel Craig will prove to be one of the best Bonds. The film is faithful to the novel (a lot of the dialogue is taken from the book verbatum), and the stuff that was added doesn't really affect the story in a negative way.

I wish Joe Don had a slightly larger role as Whittaker in The Living Daylights. He was a fascinating character, but kept off the screen for too long.

Yep, Hughes "gave" Vegas to the Bond team for Diamonds...in exchange for a print of the film for his own collection! The film is fun, but a lot of people criticize it for being too light and campy, especially after the downbeat ending of OHMSS. Perhaps if Lazenby had come back, Diamonds would have been a more serious film. It's too bad the filmmakers didn't shoot Fleming's "Blofeld Trilogy" in order. In the literary world, we are first introduced to Blofeld in Thunderball. He returns in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and exacts the ultimate revenge on Bond. The trilogy is completed with You Only Live Twice, with Bond faking his death so he could hunt down Blofeld undetected. When Bond confronts Blofeld in an ancient Japanese castle, he strangles him to death with his bare hands. In the film world, Thunderball WAS supposed to be followed by On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which would have opened in 1967. Some prints of Thunderball even have "James Bond Will Be Back On Her Majesty's Secret Service tacked on after the end credits. But for whatever reason, there was a minor shuffling, and Twice was made instead.

While I like the film version of YOLT, I think the book was much more powerful and emotional. It's Bond on a personal vendetta, and was the last complete 007 novel Fleming wrote. He was working on the follow-up, The Man with the Golden Gun when he died, and the book was published after his death.

Personally, my favorite Blofeld is Anthony Dawson, who played Professor Dent in Dr. No, and was the "faceless" Blofeld of From Russia with Love (the character doesn't appear in the novel) and Thunderball. Some say Joseph Wiseman (Dr. No himself) dubbed Dawson's voice in these two films, but I don't know why.

Back to Diamonds Are Forever. While a more personal confrontation with Blofeld would have been nice, it probably would have spoilt the majority of the film, which when you think about it, is sort of a blueprint for the Moore films to come. It's a light, entertaining comical film. The assassins, Wint and Kidd are terrific. Wint is played by Bruce Glover, who is the father of Crispin; Kidd is played by Putter Smith, who is a jazz bassist. Broccoli wanted Paul Williams for Kidd at one point, but it didn't work out. That would have been amusing!

 

[Winslow Leach]

It was from a A Night at the Opera.. what a terrible mistake .. movies with boats are all the same, right? .... I've edited the original post... looks like I'm watching Monkey Business today...

I just love the scene in Animal Crackers where Zeppo leaves out the body of the letter.. "you said some things here I didn't think were important, so I just omitted them".. but he had the last laugh, in any event, because he went on to be a Hollywood agent and made as much money, if not more, than they did

Yeah, why is that about movies that take place on ships? They kinda blend together

The letter scene is great! Hungerdunger, etc.

Groucho: You left out a Hungerdunger...the most important one!

(or something like that...)

 

[Xerus]

When I was a kid, l loved the original Freaky Friday. Mainly because I had a crush on the young Jodie Foster back then.

I also liked Gremlins. A very creative, funny, but a little scary movie.

Cannonball Run was a wild car race throughthe country with lots of funny racers.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a funny movie where Disney, WB, and Universal cartoons stars would come together.

James and the Giant Peach was a wonderful stop motion animated musical.

Disney's Atlantis was a movie with a great storyline and neat characters.

I loved every single Muppet movie.

And Cars was the best current movie I've seen.

I can't really say which one is the best movie ever, because I like these all equally.

 

[Winslow Leach]

Another thing about Diamonds Are Forever.

With Lazenby out, Broccoli and Saltzman hired John Gavin (Sam Loomis in Psycho and Julius Caesar in Spartacus). Gavin would have been the first American Bond. Due to the failure of OHMSS, the producers REALLY wanted Connery, though. Finally, at the last minute, Connery accepted on two conditions: that he would get a certain salary (I forget how much, but at the time Connery became the highest-paid actor in film), and he would get to do two films for United Artists, with the option of directing. Connery ended up donating his entire salary to a Scottish charity.

John Gavin was paid for NOT making the film.

 

[D'Snowth]

When I was a kid, l loved the original Freaky Friday. Mainly because I had a crush on the young Jodie Foster back then.

She was hot, wasn't she? I prefer the newest version with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis myself, but I heard there was yet another version with Drew Carey?

 

[SSLFan]

My movie list...

I like pretty much any Eddie Murphy movie! But, besides that:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Break-up

Hitch

All of the Muppet Movies

Both Sesame Street films

Men In Black

Nacho Libre

Rush Hour 2

Dreamgirls (with Eddie Murphy!).

Meet The Fockers (the name really got me into it ).

The Fantastic Four

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut ( a.k.a the movie)

Any Harry Potter movie

Also, any comedy movies or horror flicks. I have many more, but those are just a few! I'm a huge movie maniac!

 

[D'Snowth]

Meet The Fockers (the name really got me into it ).

Yeah, and if you're not careful, you might accidentally mispronounce the title, and then you've got a completely different movie on your hands!