That was 60 years ago, and since then I've seen a few thousand movies. That's not an exaggeration. I've written over a thousand movie reviews on my blog's Movies page since 2008 alone.
Like anyone else, I've seen a lot of good films, bad ones, some real gems and the rare masterpiece. (I'm thinking about you, Elephant Man.)
But there are a few movies--a small number--I've watched and rewatched so many times, I've lost count. I'm not saying they're the best I've ever seen, but I will sit down and watch these in their entirety every chance I get. So in ascending order...
My Top Ten Movies I've Enjoyed Again & Again
10. For as long as I can remember, The Ten Commandments (1956) has played on network television around Easter and I think last year was the first time I missed it. (ABC aired it a week ahead of schedule because of basketball--basketball!) It's an all night, commercial laden affair and leaves me feeling like a certified Christian afterward. I'm not fooling around. It stirs something in me, every time.
9. Spencer Tracy calls Elizabeth Taylor Kitten, she calls him Pops and Joan Bennett is the very definition of a nonplussed wife & mother. It's Father of The Bride (1950) and this is post-WWII upper middle class America at it's finest. My gosh I love this movie so much. It's as laugh out loud funny as it is sweet, a real time capsule of an era we'll never see again.
8. Growing up in the 1970s, To Sir With Love (1967) seemed to air every other week on the Sunday Afternoon Movie. Never tired of watching it, I still don't. Sidney Poitier, fit and wise and elegant, instructing a class of unruly East London kids on the subject of adulthood. I loved Lulu before I knew who Lulu was. One of the best movie title songs, and one of the best movie endings--ever.
7. I love Bette Davis, love all her films. But Now, Voyager (1942) is my favorite and I've seen this one more than her other films combined. From her start as the lonely spinster Aunt Charlotte, to becoming the chic darling of Boston society, her love of Paul Henreid and all their delicious smoking... when Charlotte Vale says "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." I swear to God I swoon every time. It is that romantic.
6. Remember Flip Wilson's line, "The Devil made me do it"? Every couple years I'll see Rosemary's Baby (1968) pop up somewhere and something compels me to watch it in it's entirety. Casting Mia Farrow was a stroke of genius, and while many of Ruth Gordon's admirers say Harold & Maude is her finest work, I disagree. She is nothing short of brilliant here. This movie is a dark, dark masterpiece.
5. When Young Frankenstein (1974) opened at my local theater, my best friend Dan was supposed to meet me out front and didn't show. My mom had dropped me off and said she'd be back in 2 hours. I didn't want to go in alone, but it was late, cold and pouring down rain. The theater was packed and I had to sit beside a long haired college type. We laughed so hard together I thought I was going to have a stroke. Madeline Kahn and those lightning bolts in her hair... God how I miss her!
4. One late night in December '77, Mom and I were up watching tv when a trailer for The Goodbye Girl (1977) came on. We both thought it looked good, and Mom asked if I'd be too embarrassed to see it with my old mother. (I was 16, she was 37.) We did right after Christmas and both got a big kick out of it. I loved this pair so much, and every chance I get to see them again I'm taken back to that first watch with Mom, who is now my own Goodbye Girl.
3. In the summer of 1985, my 10 year old sister Courtney asked me and our sister Shawn to take her to see Back to the Future (1985). Shawn said sure, I said I didn't want to. Shawn asked why not. I said "Because I don't like that show 'Family Ties', and I don't like that kid who plays Alex Keaton. And I can't stand that trailer they keep playing where he learns his dad is a Peeping Tom. Shawn said "You're going, and you love Michael J. Fox and you want to be him!"
I later learned Michael J. Fox and I were the same age, only 3 months apart. So we went (along with my friend Brenda, who I invited to tag along) and as the movie played I knew right then it was destined to be a classic and in my Top Ten Favorites for Life List. And for the record, while I don't want to be Michael J Fox, I do love the guy.
2. In the fall of 1970, MGM re-released George Pal's The Time Machine (1960) and my older brother Duke and I went to see it at a Saturday matinee. Rod Taylor as the handsome, inquisitive time traveler--he was terrific. And I loved his co-star. No, not Yvette Mimieux--the time machine! I sat there utterly gobsmacked, and this has been a yearly watch for me ever since.
1. "You're psychotic!" "No, I'm employed..." I've seen and loved every movie with Dustin Hoffman. Tootsie (1982) is hands down my favorite. (The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy & Kramer vs Kramer are all tied for second place.) I love this film so much it's crazy; I've probably seen it 30 times. At the end of the picture, when Jessica Lange tells Dustin Hoffman "I miss Dorothy..." my God, I do too.
Love the cast, the story, the hopeful ending. I just watched it again 2 nights ago on YouTube.
PS. The list of movies I watch again & again was closer to 20, but I knew it was too much for one blog. So I hope you liked this, Part 2 may be coming soon.
