The 100 Chapter 9: 84 & 83

 Who doesn't love a list?

I devour the BFI Best Films of All Time list whenever they deem it necessary to revise and (invariably) disagree with most of the findings, but I still get a kick out of browsing. Same with Rolling Stone's inane Best 100 Albums (how does Sgt. Pepper drop from #1 to #24 in the latest incarnation?); the anger I feel subsides when I see they've put a couple of Aerosmith albums on the list! We all disagree with that number one but we keep right on scrolling through each choice.

This project, which has been percolating for quite a while, originated from the constant back and forth "good natured bickering" between John Scoleri and myself. John invariably loves everything and I hate it all (for more of the discourse, I advise one and all to pick up a copy of bare•bones print magazine and read our debates about streaming and movie theaters to get a taste). I began to think it would be fun to compose a Favorite (as opposed to Best) 100 and compare our selections. Making it even more tantalizing, I managed to talk the third head of Ghidorah, Jack Seabrook, into participating. This could be interesting, since John's never seen a movie the two Georges (Romero and Lucas) didn't have a hand in, and Jack usually favors the flicks that have words at the bottom of the screen (dis-moi que j'ai tort, Jack!). I, on the other hand, can't wait to educate these two gentlemen as to what constitutes good cinema.

Every Thursday, we'll count down our picks two at a time. We're hoping this will generate discourse outside of our trio. Let us know just how crazy we are. This is going to be fun!—Peter

Gladiator (2000) 

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen

Directed by Ridley Scott

"Are you not entertained?"

You bet I was! Here's a novelty: a bonafide box office blockbuster (second highest-grossing of 2000, losing out to the hideous Mission Impossible 2), critical darling, and epic that stands up to repeated viewings over 25 years later. Not many of those around. Ridley is top of his game, Crowe is great, Phoenix is pretty darn good (even as he smiles and winks at the camera, twirling the mustache that should be there), and even Oliver Reed (three sheets to the wind and one foot in the grave) stages a comeback. Warning: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WATCH THE SEQUEL.—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

John: Copycat. This begs the question—how much overlap will there be on our lists? We may have to do a post-mortem next July. Kudos for pointing out Oliver Reed—this was a great swan song for him. Though he obviously had both feet in the grave, followed by the rest of him shortly thereafter. 

Jack: This was darn close to making my list, but it won't be the first to appear on all three of our lists.

Odd Man Out (1947)

Starring: James Mason

Directed by Carol Reed

"I'm not for you. I'm not against you. But I can't afford to get mixed up in this."

Six months after escaping from prison, IRA chief Johnny McQueen is ordered to lead a robbery at a mill. As he and his men try to flee following the heist, Johnny tussles with a security guard and accidentally shoots and kills the man. Johnny is also shot in the struggle and, after hanging on to the side of the getaway car, he falls off in the street and is left to avoid the police and try to survive on his own. Both sides are looking for him and everyone in Belfast is afraid. Can Johnny manage to survive and get to safety?

I first saw Odd Man Out on Noir Alley about eight months ago, and I knew right away that it had to go on my list of Top 100 Films. Watching it again this week, I think I probably should have put it higher. Director Carol Reed uses shadows and sound to show the fear that grips the people of Belfast, and the actors are wonderful. The question of how to behave ethically when confronted with a dying man who is wanted by the police is handled skillfully, and the film includes scene after scene of tension.

I was reminded of the famous painting, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, where people go about their daily lives, unaware of the tragedy that is unfolding in their midst. Johnny's transcendent speech near the end, in which he quotes St. Paul's lines about charity, demonstrate that the only solution to a quandary like the one presented in this film is love. If you haven't seen Odd Man Out, I highly recommend watching it.—Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Based on your recommendation, I picked this up on Criterion Blu. It's a really good flick, definitely noir, with great performances by James Mason and Kathleen Ryan (Mason seems to be blind in that he can't see that this "friend" is in love with him). The heist scene is simple but tense. I'll still take The Third Man over this one but Odd Man Out is definitely one I'll pay a return visit to.

John: I think this is the first film that I not only haven't seen but haven't heard of prior to this mention. This does highlight a pet peeve of mine, which is when online videos are described as "trailers" when they are merely clips from the film. I've been persuaded to check out films based on clips (Spider Baby comes to mind—thanks to Zacherle's Horrible Horror compilation tape), but if I'm looking for a trailer, chances are I'm not going to be satisfied with just a clip.

Braveheart (1995) 

Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan

Directed by Mel Gibson

"Every man dies, not every man really lives."

I'm a sucker for a good historical epic, and Mel Gibson really delivers with this one. The film also features one of James Horner's finest scores, so it's easy for me to sit back and take it in on a purely musical level.

I love the fact that Gibson brought The Prisoner—Patrick McGoohan, himself—on board. Sophie Marceau is lovely as always, but Murron MacClannough deserves special kudos as William Wallace's wife, whose fate sets things in motion. I enjoy the bond between Wallace's men, and the final sequence, set to Horner's score, is extremely powerful. (It should come as no surprise that there would be a lot of overlap between my 100 favorite films and my 100 favorite film soundtracks list.)

—John

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Liked it when it came out, less so on a second viewing. It reminds me a lot of Dances With Wolves, not just because it was a hot actor doing the director thing for the first time and hitting it big, but also because it could have been more effective with a good trim. But McGoohan is still aces.

Jack: My wife thinks we saw this but I'm not so sure. Man, that hair! Mel Gibson's hairstyles of the '80s and '90s could inspire a blog post all on their own.

Marty (1955) 

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti

Directed by Delbert Mann

"Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it. I chased after enough girls in my life, I went to enough dances. I got hurt enough; I don't wanna get hurt no more."

Director Delbert Mann had some gargantuan cojones when he asked Ernest Borgnine to take on the role of sweetheart pug Marty Piletti for the film version of Paddy Chayefsky's TV play, Marty. Rod Steiger (who played the lead role in the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse original) had refused to reprise his role and the producers (one of whom was Burt Lancaster) were left high and dry. Mann reportedly called up Borgnine to offer him the role despite the fact that Ernie was Hollywood's Number One Villain for killing Sinatra in From Here to Eternity. Would audiences feel sympathy for this guy?

And then some. Marty is sentimental but not maudlin, charming but not eye-rolling, deep but not pretentious. There's not one performance I'd point to as lacking. Borgnine deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar for this one (it also won Best Picture), but if I have to point to one aspect of the flick that always makes me smile, it's whenever Esther Minciotti (Marty's Ma) and Augusta Ciolli (Aunt Catherine) share screen time. Their dialogue never fails to make me laugh out loud ("Someday you gonna smile, we have a big holiday.") while also tugging at your heart strings. If you no lika Marty, you no have a heart!—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

Jack: Great flick. I think I saw this and the TV original many years ago. Both were terrific.

John: I've never seen this one, though I do like Borgnine. His film 'Cabbie' is much higher on my list. 

The Godfather (1972) 

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

It's 1945 and Vito Corleone, mob boss, is getting up in years. After a rival gang shoots and nearly kills him, it's up to his son Michael to take over the family business.

I first saw The Godfather a few years after it came out, when I secretly watched a Betamax (!) video cassette at my cousins' house one summer. I've seen it a few times since and just rewatched it. It's an entertaining movie that doesn't seem as long as its three-hour running time. Brando is great as Vito Corleone, showing a man who has come up from an immigrant family and made himself rich and powerful. Yet there are lines he won't cross. Al Pacino is pretty good as Michael and Robert Duvall is smooth as the family lawyer, Tom Hagen.

The only problems I had with the film were the lack of clear transitions to define the time that events were happening, the sudden changes in Michael's personality, and the hairstyles, especially on Diane Keaton and James Caan, which look out of place. For having such a big hit, Coppola didn't have many more good movies in him (Apocalypse Now being the obvious exception), so I don't know if he directed the actors really well or if they were so good that it didn't matter who directed them.—Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Oh boy. #83 seems fairly low. Now I can't wait to see your Number One, Jack! Without spoiling anything, I'll talk about this at length later on.

John: As will I. For those keeping score, that makes this our second hat trick!

Tombstone (1993) 

Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn

Directed by George P. Cosmatos

"From now on I see a red sash, I kill the man wearing it. So run, you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me, you hear! Hell's coming with me!"

We'll be seeing more of Kurt Russell on my list before we're through, but this film is certainly a high point in his career. An incredible cast up and down the line, with a standout performance by Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. Michael Biehn is also at the top of his game as Johnny Ringo, but there are so many fine smaller performances throughout (Chuck Heston!) you just have to sink into it and enjoy the wide variety of colorful and sleazy characters on both sides of the law.

Despite whatever problems may have plagued the production, and swirling questions about who ultimately directed it, the end result is what you need to measure, and I think it's a classic western. For my money, it's the best telling of the story of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. 

I also love the Bruce Broughton score and the brilliant way the film starts, featuring a voiceover by Robert Mitchum and footage from the silent classic The Great Train Robbery.—John

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Best Wyatt Earp? No way. That's coming up later on my list. As for Tombstone, I think of it as a flick of its time. Big cast and a script containing all those big cliches we loved in 1990s movies (in some commentary on some DVD, Michael Bay must have admitted he stole everything he knows from George Cosmo). It's better than Costner's plodding and pretentious Wyatt Earp, I'll give ya that, and it's got that dazzling Kilmer performance ("Ah'll be yer huckleberry!") but I don't think I could ever watch this one again. 

Jack: Pretty sure I never saw this. In 1993, we had a three year old and a one year old, so there weren't as many trips to the movie theater as I'd have liked.