Ivo Welch
2007
Some Great Movies
Many classical movies were so great in their time, that they have been
imitated many times. Unfortunately, many of these classics have been
outdone by their imitations by now IMHO, so they are no longer on my A1-list
of films to watch. Many Black-White movies fall into this category, for
example the terrific Citizen Kane or The Manchurian Candidate,
but also films like All About Eve and many Hitchcock classics (e.g.,
Psycho). Clearly, the followup movies were not as innovative or
important, but my list is for movies that I would recommend to friends for
watching today, not to a film-critic or a film-historian. Of course,
the originals are still very good films and worth watching!
To change ordering, click on table header.
- A1-List:
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- A2-List:
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- Close to or Almost A2-list:
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- A-List, Science-Fiction:
- I love science fiction, so I
have grouped science fiction movies separately. Unfortunately, most Sci-fi
movies are dread awful. Here is my selection of better choices:
- A-List, Comedy:
- Interestingly, it appears that while
most people can relatively easily agree on what is a good drama, tastes
diverge greatly when it comes to comedy. I personally like the British
sense of humor, but it is definitely not to everyone's tastes.
* if you are <15, you might like the Rocky Horrow Picture Show. If you can laugh, read the Rocky Horror Review, a Christian Analysis of the movie.
- To see or resee:
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- Some Star Ratings
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- Year by Year Distribution of all above Movies
| (1931): 1 | (1958): 3 | (1972): 5 | (1986): 12 | (2000): 8 |
| (1939): 1 | (1959): 3 | (1973): 6 | (1987): 8 | (2001): 9 |
| (1940): 2 | (1960): 3 | (1974): 9 | (1988): 17 | (2002): 10 |
| (1941): 1 | (1961): 3 | (1975): 4 | (1989): 8 | (2003): 16 |
| (1946): 2 | (1962): 5 | (1976): 5 | (1990): 15 | (2004): 3 |
| (1949): 1 | (1963): 1 | (1977): 6 | (1991): 15 | (2006): 3 |
| (1950): 1 | (1964): 4 | (1978): 5 | (1992): 17 | (2007): 1 |
| (1951): 4 | (1965): 4 | (1979): 10 | (1993): 12 |
| (1952): 2 | (1966): 1 | (1980): 6 | (1994): 10 |
| (1953): 2 | (1967): 6 | (1981): 8 | (1995): 13 |
| (1954): 2 | (1968): 6 | (1982): 8 | (1996): 12 |
| (1955): 3 | (1969): 6 | (1983): 5 | (1997): 17 |
| (1956): 3 | (1970): 1 | (1984): 11 | (1998): 12 |
| (1957): 3 | (1971): 5 | (1985): 14 | (1999): 11 |
Unorganized
- Episodic TV
- Of course, some episodes better than others,
usually early ones. By far the best series ever (though hard to believe):
Battlestar Galactica (the new version, not ancient one, which was awful).
Then, The Wire, The Sopranos, Homicide, Law and Order, Star Trek TNG,
Hillstreet Blues, Cheers, Mash. We could add many early Saturday Night Live
episodes, many skits from Monthy Python, and a few Taxi episodes. OK, here I am
strange: I actually like a few Married With Children episodes, a few Beavis
and Butthead episodes, and a few South Park episodes.
- Books:
- J.B. Bury, The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians
- A great
history book on the fall of the Roman Empire. Easy to read and
informative.
- Matt Ridley
- Genome
- SciFi Books
- Greg Bear: The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, Eon,
Eternity, and Blood Music, are among my favorite sci-fi readings. I do not
like his later work as much. Gibson's Neuromancer is also terrific (but not
the followups). Other great authors: Orson Scott Card, Vernor Vinge, and
Jack Vance.
Among Sci-Fi Shorts: A.E. van Vogt's The Battle of
Forever (1971?), is an absolute sci-fi classic, and unfortunately
largely forgotten (as seems to be van Vogt). George R.R. Martin's
Sandkings (1981) is easily among the five best scifi shorts ever
written.
- Wear Sunscreen
- Interesting lyrics,
funny urban legend.