The 100 Chapter 12: 76 & 75

 

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

Planet of the Apes (1968) 

Starring: Charlton Heston, Maurice Evans, Roddy McDowell

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

"Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"

As I mentioned in my comments about 2001, I saw Planet of the Apes for the first time in 1968 at the Tropicana Drive-In; not the ideal setting for a gorgeously shot science fiction flick, but I was six years old and not yet the cinephile I am now. I don't remember it making much of an impact on me; that would come with repeat viewings and, of course, through the sequels. It's an amazingly complex yet simple flick with an insanely good script by Rod Serling. I would say it was Escape from the Planet of the Apes that reeled me in (I had not seen Beneath at the theater) and made me the Apes-nut I became. I had the puzzles, the lunch box, the Marvel comics; I had it all.

There are just so many classic moments and bits of quotable dialogue in POTA and, arguably, the most iconic "reveal" in cinema history. Call it crude, but the makeup is still effective, allowing the actors to emote despite being covered in layers of greasepaint and horsehair (take a bow, Mr. Chambers). Conservatively, I saw this (and the four sequels) a dozen times at the Almaden Twin when Fox re-released all five for the "Go Ape" marathons. It never gets old.—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

Jack: Can't argue with this one! It didn't make my list but it's a fun movie. I'm right there with you on the makeup—I love it!

John: Good pick, but it's not quite time for me to Go Ape.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Starring: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten

Directed by Robert Fuest

"Nine killed her, nine shall die!"

A series of strange murders of doctors in London in 1925 leads police to suspect Dr. Anton Phibes, a famous concert organist who was thought to have died in a car crash several years before. It turns out Phibes is alive but horribly scarred and he's killing off all of the doctors whom he blames for his wife's death on the operating table. He's using the biblical plagues of the pharaohs as his model for the murders. Can the police find Phibes and stop him before he carries out his plan?

Boy, does Dr. Phibes hold up to this day! The movie is campy fun from start to finish and Vincent Price is wonderful in the title role. The murders are surprisingly not gory, leaving most of the nasty bits to the viewer's imagination, though the scene where rats attack the pilot of a biplane is pretty nasty and the shot of the nurse's skull after it's been picked clean by locusts is a highlight. Everyone in the movie is clearly having a ball and even Joseph Cotten manages to show some life. When Phibes finally removes his mask to reveal his grinning skull, the makeup is unforgettable. Even Caroline Munro joins in the fun and I was suddenly struck, when I saw Phibes's telephone with her face in the center of the dial, that this is just what we need for the bare•bones office! —Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: A fabulous pick, Jack! This one came right at the beginning, for me, of American-International's dominance at the San Jose theaters. Phibes, Yorga, Frogs, Blacula, all fun times. Anything with Vincent Price was a guaranteed ticket sale for me. 

John: This one is great fun, as is the sequel (though not nearly as much fun as the original). And Caroline Munro deserves recognition for playing the best looking dead woman in horror film history! This one (and Blacula) are not far off my list but unfortunately fell outside the top 100. (And we'll be sure to get you one of the Munro-branded bare•bones phones, Jack, with apologies for the oversight!)

Near Dark (1987) 

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Adrian Pasdar

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

"Finger lickin' good!"

1987 was a good year for vampires on film, including Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys (shot in our back yard at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk) and Kathryn Bigelow's nomadic vampire classic, Near Dark. While the former is fun, it leans more into humor to offset the horror, whereas the latter offers a darkly humorous, more interesting, and original take on vampires. 

The nomadic vampire clan is brilliantly cast, led by Henriksen and Jeanette Goldstein, who were coming off of James Cameron's Aliens, along with Joshua Miller, Jenny Wright, and, in arguably his finest role, Bill Paxton. Pasdar plays the reluctant vampire victim of Wright, whom he falls for despite her predilection for drinking blood. It's easy to root for him to turn his back on his father and sister and take off with the nomadic crew he begins to bond with. The bar scene, set to John Parr's "Naughty Naughty," is a classic, and gives Paxton a real opportunity to shine. The film also has a cool Tangerine Dream score.—John

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: I didn't like Near Dark but I didn't hate it like I hated Lost Boys. Both were products of the 1980s "let's reinvent the wheel" generation, for the most part pretentious and poser. "Let's make a vampire flick and never use the word 'vampire.' Critics will love us." There are very few horror flicks from that era I could stomach watching again. Too much fake mood, neon lights, and worst of all, that drum synth soundtrack. If Enya and The Thompson Twins had procreated...

Jack: My knowledge of horror films after the early '80s is minimal, so I never saw this and don't have an opinion.

The Verdict (1982) 

Starring: Paul Newman, Jack Warden, James Mason

Directed by Sidney Lumet

"That that poor girl put her trust into the--into the hands of two men who took her life. She's in a coma. Her life is gone. She has no home, no family. She's tied to a machine. She has no friends. And the people who should care for her; her doctors--and you and me; have been bought off to look the other way. We've been paid to look the other way. I came here to take your money. I brought snapshots to show you so I could get your money. I can't do it; I can't take it. 'Cause if I take the money I'm lost. I'll just be a--rich ambulance chaser. I can't do it. I can't take it."

In 1987, the Academy finally handed Paul Newman his long deserved Best Actor Oscar for The Color of Money, but make no bones about it, he really won for The Verdict. In particular, for that riveting "closing statement" scene, but Newman is enthralling in every frame he occupies. His Frank Galvin, a screwup of monumental proportions, sees his new client, a comatose young woman, as his redemption. After all his years of ambulance chasing, he intends to do the right thing. But no one else sees it that way. 

This is a deep, dark flick and though the jury finds (SPOILERS!) in Deborah Ann Kaye's favor, there is no happy ending. Deborah Ann ain't going to spend any of that dough. Newman's not on his own here; he's got a strong supporting cast. Jack Warden, coming off a string of comedies, is Frank's right hand man, his fix-it guy, his conscience. Why Mickey would stick with the legal profession's equivalent of the Titanic for so long is one of life's great mysteries. Charlotte Rampling is the mystery girl, a stunning beauty Frank meets in a bar and immediately falls for, who has a whopper of a secret she's hiding. And then there's James Mason as Galvin's courtroom nemesis (the "prince of fucking darkness" as Mickey calls him), who goes toe to toe with Newman for charisma and acting chops and darn near wins the prize.—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

Jack: I forgot about this one! It's a great movie. It has extra resonance for me due to the career I've found myself in for the last 35+ years. Hint: I'm one of the bad guys.

John: I'm aware of this one, but I haven't seen it since it was on broadcast TV or on VHS, so I have very little memory of it. I'll have to keep an eye out for it and imagine your spoiler won't completely ruin the experience. 

La Dolce Vita (1960) 

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni

Directed by Federico Fellini

Paparazzo: What do you think you like most in life?
Sylvia: I like lots of things. But there are three things I like most. Love, love and love.

Fifteen years after the end of WWII, Rome is booming. Marcello, a journalist, makes his way through the new and old neighborhoods, meeting celebrities, bored rich folk, and many, many photographers, all of whom are anxious to capture the latest events. But when tragedy strikes, how will people deal with it and how will Marcello respond?

I love Fellini and have probably seen all (or nearly all) of his films, some more than once. La Dolce Vita marks a turning point in his career, the moment when he left behind the neo-realism of his earlier classics like La Strada and I Vitelloni and forged a new path into a mix of magical realism, social commentary, and ironic observation. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous and Anita Ekberg, who splashes around in the Trevi Fountain in the film's most famous scene, is hard to forget. But the star is Marcello Mastroianni, whom I could watch in just about anything. The portrait of people is unforgiving but there is a ray of hope at the end, though Marcello seems cut off from it.—Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Yet another of those obscure foreign flicks that I have yet to get to (hey, I did see The 400 Blows and Jules and Jim lately so give me a little credit while shaking your head) and probably never will. 

John: This is another on my list of have it but haven't watched it yet.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) 

Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Jim Siedow

Directed by Tobe Hooper

"That's the last goddamn hitchhiker I ever pick up."

I recall hearing wild stories about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for years before I had a chance to finally rent the film on VHS. Descriptions of how it was the goriest film ever made... how it showed a woman sawed in half with a chainsaw... and on and on. So you can imagine my surprise when I finally saw it. Was it lessened by the absence of those things? Absolutely not. It was wonderfully unsettling. 

From the opening narration by a very recognizable John Larroquette, to the strange score and creepy sound of camera flashes highlighting recognizable bits of disinterred corpses, the tone is set right out of the gate. The set decoration also deserves recognition, particularly in the farmhouse (which contains what I've come to refer to as "bones and feathers and stuff").

We follow an interesting mix of teenagers, some far more likable than others (!), who dwindle as we're slowly introduced to the bizarre members that make up the family they've unfortunately stumbled across. Each character is unique and fascinating—despite what the unfamiliar might think, it's not just about Leatherface, who became the face of the franchise. I think Ed Neal's hitchhiker, Jim Siedow's cook, and even John Dugan's Grandpa, are actually far more interesting and developed characters (which is not to say Gunnar Hansen doesn't do a great job embodying the childlike, skin-masked brother).

I wrestled with the question of whether this film or its first sequel would be the one to make my top 100, I ultimately decided that the original held the top spot. That said, I do recommend Hooper's follow-up, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, which doesn't make any effort to replicate the look or feel of the original. It spins off into bizarre directions of its own and has a very '80s sensibility.—John

 

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Though it doesn't make my list, this is one of the scariest flicks I've ever seen. My first encounter with it was in 1974 (I would have been twelve). While my mom and her best friend watched (something) on one screen at the Capital drive-in, my buddy and I went to the swings in the center of the complex and watched Chainsaw with no sound on another screen. Doesn't really need sound, does it? Fast forward about seven years when Chainsaw was rereleased and I caught it at the Pruneyard. When Leatherface opens a door and clubs Kirk with a hammer and Kirk goes down with a sickening thud, a guy in front of us stood up, shouted "Fuck!!!" and left, never to return. 

Jack: I recall "enjoying" this when I saw it a time or two back in the day, but I haven't watched it in 40+ years and can't see any reason to change that. I'm surprised it wasn't higher on your list!