A friend of mine tagged me on Facebook to play this game & it proved to be pretty fun/interesting so I thought I'd import my list over here to Sherdog & see what others have to say about it as well as see what films they choose to represent themselves.
So, my list is as follows:
1) BLACK SUNDAY - Mario Bava's 1960 chiller is the first film that I can ever remember watching when I was five years old. It sparked the flame for my lifelong love of genre fare.
2) KING CREOLE - I grew up on a steady diet of monster movies, horror films & Elvis musicals. With this 1958 opus being my favorite of the latter bunch. Other favs included JAILHOUSE ROCK, FLAMING STAR & KID GALAHAD but KING CREOLE was the best IMO.
3) ENTER THE DRAGON - I've written extensively about my experience with this film before so I'll try to condense it as much as possible. After seeing it at the drive-in as a wee lad in 1974 it inspired me into a lifelong study of the martial arts & my participation in combat sports. It led to black belts in kickboxing & Kajukenbo Kempo as well as a professional boxing career. Plus a single pro kickboxing bout.
4) FAT CITY - This is my all-time favorite boxing film. It's an all too often overlooked classic from 1972.
5) ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 - This 1976 action-suspense film is representative of one of my favorite filmmakers John Carpenter. I could just as easily chosen HALLOWEEN, THE THING or PRINCE OF DARKNESS.
6) AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON - This 1981 film is right up there among my top two or three genre films.
7) BLACK CHRISTMAS - Bob Clark's 1974 chiller is at the top of my genre fav films list.
8) REQUIEM FOR A DREAM - this 2000 Jared Leto film is a masterpiece IMHO & a film that I can watch over & over again & never tire of.
9) I SAW THE DEVIL - 2010's best movie IMO & one of the best of that decade.
10) MANDY/ BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99/ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Yeah, I cheated by declaring that I couldn't choose between these three favorites for the final spot.
So, now you can comment on my list and/or create your own.
Wow I have only seen number 6 out of all these films. I loved it though. I will see if I can find some free links to the rest of these. Interesting choices. I wish I had cool choices of films from back in the day. Most of my movies are pretty popular box office movies.
My 10 would be
1) Patton. I gave the speech at the start of this movie, in a uniform in elementary school, and I am Canadian. It was crazy. I still remember every word of that speech. Love the film as well.
I think it is a perfect example of a propaganda film. And propaganda is what cinema really was created for in the first place. If you look into the history, Cinema exploded once Woodrow Wilson realized it could be used to rile isolationist Americans up to fight against Germany. Cinema is still the primary vehicle for effective propaganda, to this day that hasn't changed (in spite of the best efforts of many great artists) yet still nothing beats Patton. It's an incredible achievement and a great movie.
2) Raging Bull - I love boxing, I love history, I love Joe and Robert when they get together. It's a story of a suffering human who, in spite of everything he is and does, can't get past his own weirdness to find a balanced, happy life. That's me.
3) Ghostbusters 1 - This is a story about schluby scientists and their hilarious ambitions. Working class, middle class people who are also academics but are very strange and committed to their business. It's awesome and perfect and funny and I love it. If you laugh at the jokes in GB1 we should be able to have a pint and enjoy our time together imo
4) Super Troopers - It's the comedy-in-daylight scenes in this movie that really get to me. The atmosphere and setting of fun hi-jinx is perfect. The characters and quoteablity, the place ST had in that early 2000s culture, all of it sit very well with me and my sense of humor. I dig it bigtime.
5) Django - I'm comfortable with violence and racially charged language, or really any language, I'm also interested in politics and I'm a bit of a radical. I'd go back and hang every slave owner who survived the civil war if I could. This movie is as close as it gets. Plus I just love the performances etc. The way the soundtrack glides you through scenes. How funny Sam Jackson is. Kerry Washington, so gorgeous. This movie just has it all.
6) Zorro, 1998. For my money this is a perfect adventure movie. It's the kind of movie you show your kid if you're not afraid of that kid growing up to be the coolest person you ever met
7) Goldfinger - It's from 1964 but imo it still holds up very very strong. I love James Bond, I've seen all of them many times over, but this one I keep going back too. I watched it over and over as a kid and made my grandparents watch it with me. It's the style in this movie that I love so much. The old school outfits, mixed with what they thought was futuristic at the time, and all the practical effects/Bond's little facial reactions when his gimmicks mess up his enemies. Love it.
8) Aliens (2) - This movie I would like to sit down and watch with every person who directs action movies today. I'd make them watch it, clockwork orange style, until they promise to stop making CGI shitfest trash and go back to the perfect kind of action we saw here. I love this movie, I love watching it with younger people who haven't seen it, I love thinking about it when I walk down the street. I love how the character who gives biggest cowardly line in cinema (GAME OVER MAN) is still, in the end, a solider, and dies like a hero. While the calm businessman gets fucked over and dies like a coward. Plus I love science fiction/the idea of a future where humans are travelling the stars.
9) Slapshot. I love hockey. I love gimmicks, slapstick, and in particular the point this movie makes about how ridiculous sports and society can be. How wild and crazy a society can make people behave and how people get rewarded for it, and buy into it and play or don't play. It's just fun. It's a ride.
10) Planes, trains and automobiles. I have more in common with both main characters than I'd care to detail. I love the heart in this movie, and the gags. There's nothing "big" about it but it never feels dull or mundane.
