Lawrence of Arabia

The American Film Institute extols Lawrence of Arabia as one of the greatest films, EVER. Since I had never seen it, I figured I'd better. Especially after I read somewhere that it was compared to Reds, which is one of my favorite films, EVER. It took me three nights to get through Lawrence, it is after all nearly 4 hours long. And while I liked all the cool desert visuals, and thought Peter O'Toole was super cute in it. I didn't really get its greatness. Actually, I didn't 100% get it, at all. There were a lot of battles that had to do with Arab tribes, Turks, stuffy British dudes, grunting camels etc. And it is one of the AFI's number one of ten top epic movies.
AFI Top 10 Epic Films
1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Ben-Hur
3. Schindler's List
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Spartacus
6. Titanic
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Reds
10. The Ten Commandments

Reds

Reds (1981) is a one of those movies that I have such nostalgically fond memories of that I feared it would not stand up to my seasoned adult standards. Happily, I find that it does stand up and is even better than I remembered. I didn’t remember it providing so much food for thought about communism, the Bolshevik Revolution, the individual’s power to make a difference, the United States political system, journalism and so on… I didn’t really quite get the movie back when I first saw in the theater, I guess. And besides it being really about something important, it is also very entertaining. I could barely do a crossword and watch this movie (that means I REALLY liked it). This early 20th Century love story of John Reed, journalist and American Communist, and writer Louise Bryant, is so fun to watch develop. The lovers are played by Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton. Beatty is much cuter and more charming than I remembered and Keaton, after reflecting on her recent light-weight roles, is a much better actress than I remembered. The two challenge each other intellectually with witty and smart banter. It is indeed a feat to make a movie that is a sweeping 3 hour saga that doesn’t get bogged down by stray storylines or indulgent scenes by the actor/director/producer Beatty. The structure of the film is anchored by Reed and Bryant leaving each other and finding one another in unexpected and suspenseful ways: at a party, in a New York apartment, on a train heading toward Russia, and finally and most memorably when they reunite, again in Russia, in a train station. It’s one of the great scenes of filmdom! So, if you’ve never seen Reds, you must, and if you have vague fond memories, seeing it again is very enjoyable.

By the way, it is also fun to watch the DVD extras where Warren Beatty reflects in 2006, 15 years later about the making of the film. The extras on this DVD are actually interesting.

Favorite Movies

I wanted this blog to be lists and then I try to make these definitive lists of my favorite movies, and I become stymied. Some movies I love some movies so much for about two months or so and then two years later I can’t remember why I liked it. I think a favorite movie needs to last in your mind and stay meaningful to you. So they are not only meaningful to you at the time, they hang on and insist you see them again and again. Some movies that I feel that way to me are listed below. More will come to me later, by the way.
Gigi 1958 (I don’t know why)
Broadcast News 1987
Ordinary People 1980
Reds 1981
The Princess Bride, 1987
Pride and Prejudice (A&E version) 1996
You Can Count on Me 2000

What is one of your favorite movies?