Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Top Ten Movies - My List

Not in any particular order. My Tony DiNozzo approved list.

Ben-Hur (long epic adventure about the life of Christ but focuses on the trials of Judah Ben-Hur as he enters into bondage under the Roman Empire and finds salvation through his 2 encounters with Christ).

Lawrence of Arabia (another long epic adventure based on the life of TE Lawrence. It is the beginning of the problems in the Middle East as we know them today, great performances by Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharrif and Anthony Quinn)

Dr. Zhivago (Omar Sharrif again along with with a stunning Julie Christie, another epic about the fall and rise of Russia during and after WWI.

North by Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock classic featuring Cary Grant and Mount Rushmore!

Vertigo - Featuring Jimmy Stewart in a riveting performance set in 1940's San Franscisco, worth it for the scenery alone but a gripping tale that you keep you guessing until the very, very end.

Picnic - 1955 classic featuring William Holden and Kim Novack. 50's hot stuff. Very riskee for the time.

East of Eden - a James Dean classic. A tale told by John Steinbeck and based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. A tale of two brothers who are raised by a single father. You think the mother is dead but it turns out she is alive and well in the next town over, with a dark, dark secret and hideous past.

West Side Story - Romeo and Juliet set in 1950's Brooklyn - a musical

Giant - Rock Hudson and a magnificent Elizabeth Taylor - another epic tale of life, love and honor centering around a Texas land baron, his sophisticated but caring and intelligent wife who helps her husband grow as a person an d the lives they touch along the way. Featuring James Dean in one of his last performances.

Frankenstein - the original featuring Boris Karloff. They talk about zombies and the undead in movies today. None of them even comes close to this classic horror story. Boris Karloff does not udder one word in the entire film and I promise it will scare the crap out of you.

Honorable mentions -

Bye-bye Birdie - a fun tribute to Elvis Pressley. Just pure fluff and why not?

Breaking Away - a classic forgotten movie from 1979 featuring a young Dennis Quaid in his first on-screen performance.

Farhenheight 451 - A Ray Bradbury classic on what the future can hold in a socieity that bans reading books.

Forbidden Planet - Perhaps one of the best early science fiction movies ever made. Features the film debut of Robbie the Robot. Star Wars and Star Trek before they were even a screen test