Top 10 required movies. - Page 4

Nick the Pilot · 05-30-2009, 08:05 PM

The original The Day the Earth Stood Still, I think it was in 1952.

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

The original The Day the Earth Stood Still, I think it was in 1952.

Two BIG thumbs up!

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dream

Its a Wonderful Life

That reminds me:

Scrooge, or alternately A Christmas Carol - the 1951 version with Alastair Sim (no other version comes close)

I, Brian · 05-30-2009, 08:28 PM

The Muppets Christmas Carol - I watch it every Christmas.

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Never seen ET.

I only recently watched for the first time...and I think I could have gotten along just fine if that viewing had been postponed indefinitely. Heresy, I know, but ET didn't do anything for me, even if it did feature a very young Drew Barrymore.

Speaking of which, Firestarter

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I, Brian

The Muppets Christmas Carol - I watch it every Christmas.

Ah, the Muppets!

The Muppet Movie was perhaps the best.

As a long time fan of Sweetums, the Frog Prince is another Muppet Fave, if a bit obscure and hard to find.

Nick the Pilot · 05-30-2009, 08:59 PM

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

By the way, since this is a religious forum, there is one fascinating religious aspect of the movie. The main character (Klatu, the alien who poses as an earthling) was intentionally portrayed as being Jesus-like, but most people did not spot this. (The sensors did.) The alien's name was Mr. Carpenter, like Jesus. Also, in the original cut, he was able to raise the dead (himself in the movie.) The censors objected, so the character was forced to change the line and say he was only able to raise the dead temporarily. It is suprising that the general public never picked up on this intentional Jesus-like side of Mr. Carpenter.

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

It is suprising that the general public never picked up on this intentional Jesus-like side of Mr. Carpenter.

A couple of months back I found a DVD copy of the original movie, and it told about this aspect in the extended interviews with the film makers. Also how the robot costume was so huge even the tallest man they could find still couldn't see out of it, so they had special slots so he could see and the robot was filmed from an angle so they wouldn't show. Interesting, when the robot stands guard beside the ramp, it is a full scale model, with non-adjusting feet, so it couldn't stand *on* the ramp. When the robot is on the ramp, it is the actor inside the costume.

About the *Jesus* aspect, using a Jesus / martyr character is a long-standing literary tradition, so it really isn't all that surprising. Heck, the kid that gets offed in the Lord of the Flies is a "Jesus figure," literarily (sp?) speaking. But most people don't get quite so scholarly when they watch a movie...at least not until 2001:A Space Odyssey. A whole lot of people walked out of the theater scratching their heads over that one. Most still do scratch their heads about Koyaanisqatsi.

Nick the Pilot · 05-30-2009, 10:00 PM

123,

The story of the difficulties with the robot costume are wonderful. If I remember correctly, they had two costumes, one that buttoned up the back, and another that buttoned up the front, for frontal and rear shots. By the way, there is one scene where they goofed, and you can see a split-second shot of the buttons in the back (the scene where the girl is cornered, faints, and the robot bends down and picks her up).

Nick the Pilot · 05-30-2009, 10:03 PM

Add to the list:

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

What a movie! It was the first movie where the soundtrack was just as important as the story. Also (since I am studying to become a marriage counselor), the movie shows several excellent examples of causes of divorce, which many people would never think of as being causes of divorce.

Can you spell "polyester suit"?

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

The story of the difficulties with the robot costume are wonderful. If I remember correctly, they had two costumes, one that buttoned up the back, and another that buttoned up the front, for frontal and rear shots. By the way, there is one scene where they goofed, and you can see a split-second shot of the buttons in the back (the scene where the girl is cornered, faints, and the robot bends down and picks her up).

Yes!

I also found it interesting what happened to the robot prop model. All 8 foot tall of it. Anybody who's spent any time around any of the studios knows that props can get recycled before eventually being retired and coming into the hands of collectors, but in the case of the robot model I was surprised. It seems that this 8 foot high "tin man" was redecorated into Bozo the Clown as an advertising piece back in the '60's. As a kid I watched a lot of Bozo the Clown, so there was even more personal association I could relate to. Apparently it eventually made its way into the hands of a sci-fi collector who restored it to its former glory.

Apparently this was the first sci-fi flick to use an obscure musical instrument the name of which I don't recall, but that style of music became almost mandatory for b-rate sci-fi flicks for many years after. That "oooo-weeee-oooooo" kind of music.

The Day the Earth Stood Still was groundbreaking on so many levels in its day. It might seem a tad hokey now, but the underlying political message is still there and is still valid. I haven't seen the new one, but if previous examples are any indication, I'm in no hurry. King Kong, in the '70's was a waste of effort, the recent one was OK but was predictable in its use of green screen and computer generated effects. The original was ground-breaking with stop action animation. War of the Worlds in the '30's radio program was ground-breaking, and actually caused panic in the streets. The '50's version didn't have nearly the same impact, but it was notable for the sci-fi genre at a time when most sci-fi was rather ludicrous. The new version with Tom Cruise was a complete disappointment.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a monumental and classic example of the genre of sci-fi, right up there with the best the genre has to offer. Others I always think of in this context are the Crack in the World, and When Worlds Collide. There's an old Neil Young song that always makes me think of When Worlds Collide...I believe it is called "After the Gold Rush."

I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst through the skies
There was a fanfare playing in my head
And I felt like getting high...

Sorry for the tangent...I just love them old sci-fi flicks.

juantoo3 · 05-30-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

Can you spell "polyester suit"?

No, but I can spell Farah Fawcett. I can also spell 8-track tape deck.

Bell bottoms, anyone?

Best of wishes with the marriage councellor training stuff!

Dream · 05-30-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

Add to the list:

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

What a movie! It was the first movie where the soundtrack was just as important as the story. Also (since I am studying to become a marriage counselor), the movie shows several excellent examples of causes of divorce, which many people would never think of as being causes of divorce.

Can you spell "polyester suit"?

I don't suppose it would count as the first music video?

shawn · 05-31-2009, 01:46 AM

I am not a big fan of horror films but I saw a movie decades ago called "House":
X-Entertainment - HOUSE - Horror Movie Review
which actually has a great message built into its cheesy framework, which is, "the only thing to fear is fear itself".
So in spite of its genre, I would add that film to a top 10 list.

Nick the Pilot · 05-31-2009, 02:31 AM

"I don't suppose it would count as the first music video?"

Not even close. As a matter of fact, there is a controversy as to who did the first music video. The Beatles claim to have done the first one (and to have invented MTV in the process), but I don't think so. Believe it or not, the first music video, in my humble opinon, was done by Rick Nelson, on the old Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet TV show. He released some mini movies of his songs, which were true music videos. I think the first was Travelin' Man.

http://www.mp3lyrics.org/r/rick-nelson/travelin/

If I remember correctly, this was back in the early 1960's, way before the Beatles started doing films.