The Sheila Variations

I've only seen 29 of the 100 you have listed. I'm so sad.

Oh damn, girl, and Love Actually isn't on there ... Do you forgive me?

I have to say: there are many movies i LOVE which didn't make the list.

Like - Notting Hill. Words can't express how much I love that movie. But I just wouldn't qualify it as an all-time great.

That's a fairly comprehensive list already.. but Brazil.. yup, Holy Grail.. yup yup.. and I'll throw in Cyrano de Bergerac [with Depardieu], and I'd have to put a Kurosawa film in there.. probably Yojimbo as Time did, although Seven Samurai would be an equally, if not more, valid choice.. The Elephant Man too. I'm sure there's more.. and I'm not going to point to the ones I'd drop.

BTW Did Time give any indication of the criteria they used? That list is just "All-Time 100 Movies".. which is pretty non-descript.

When AFI did their Top 100 list, my boss and his wife realized they hadn't seen as many of them as they thought they had, so they went to the video store once a week or so and watched all 100 of them, starting at the bottom.

I need to do something like that this summer, while EvilTV is on hiatus and can't suck me into its web.

I couldn't find any criteria, peteb. So I'm not sure ...

I just don't think The Fly is one of the best all-time movies - which is a matter of opinion, obviously - but ... huh? The Fly??

Oh well. I realize that many people will consider my list invalid on its face because Titanic is included.

Lisa - I did that with Ebert's Great Movies. Funny - even though I didn't love all of them, it was cool to see these kind of landmarks in film-making (according to Ebert). It's a fun thing to do.

Including The Fly on that list just about rules it out as being an all-time greatest movie list.. and that's not an opinion.. that's a fact.

I think Ann Althouse has it right, though, they tried to represent different countries and genres on the list.

And I wasn't going to mention the T-word.

heh heh

I maintain my staunch position about that film. And believe me: I have been berated about it. :)

Sigh. I'm thinking The Magnificent Ambersons needs to be on there. Also Blue Angel.

grrrrr.

Cashel loves Seven Samurai, too. My list doesn't seem right, somehow, without that one on there ...

Ah well, I will let it stand.

Actually, just thought of another movie which - for whatever reason - strikes me as pretty much PERFECT - and that is "A Bug's Life".

I've seen it, maybe, 20 times? Because Cashel loved it when he was 3, 4 ... but it never fails to please me, and amuse me, and move me.

"Harry! Harry! Don't look at the light!"
"I can't help it ... it's so beautiful ..."

"I said NO SALT!"

And so on and so forth. Great movie. Maybe my favorite of the Pixar movies, although I know that that is a controversial statement ... :)

What about Baxter? *Sniff*

Half the fun of those lists is thinking of the ones you've missed afterwards..

Which reminds me.. Patton, Zulu, The Ladykillers, The Million Pound Note.. might all make it onto my list... but, again, I'd find it difficult to find room for them.

Ha!! Yes, and A Bug's Life too.

"If it weren't for Hitler, it would have made a great love story."

hahahahaha

See, Emily? I can't keep all the movies in my head at any one moment in time. I loved every second of that movie.

Did you ever get it back, by the way?

I'm delighted that Gaslight made your list. And I thought I was the only person in the world who loved that movie!

I saw that movie on television, I believe ... when I was ... 15? It terrified me. I wanted to reach right in and whisk Ingrid Bergman away and tell her: NO - YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!!!

Great great film.

Actually - what I just wrote about Bergman strikes me:

I'm a woman, obviously - but I wonder if that is one of Bergman's appeals, in terms of the male response. Yes, she is a stunning woman - so men probably respond to that as well, they love looking at her ... but also there's something so exquisitely awful about her suffering. You just want to save her. You want her to be happy.

She has huge appeal, in that particluar context, I think.

Sadly, no I did not.

Hmmmm. I think the last I heard Michele C. had it.

Where is Baxter???

I don't care. If the last person that had it liked it so much they wanted to keep it, great. I can get another copy.

Should we be movie snobs and make fun of Sheila over Titanic?

Hmmm. I've taken this test and only scored a 95. I haven't seen Nashville, Woman of the Year, Five Easy Pieces, Night of the Hunter, or Titanic.

However, Titanic is there because I swore to my gf at the time I'd remain the only person on earth who didn't go to see it - a vow I've steadfastly kept.

We need to start up some sort of grassroots movement for a Baxter DVD!

I think somewhere between 20 and 40 of these would end up making my top 100, but the important thing is there are no obvious absurdities in Red's list, unlike Time's. She exhibits exquisite taste, as always...

Bill--We should comprise our "100 Best Movies That Are Not On Sheila's List, Yet Are Better Than Titanic List." I can think of about 99 off the top of my head.

Reminds me of a funny conversation at work.

Working third shift about a year ago, we decided that work wasn't the first thing on the agenda, and we started naming off what we thought were the best movies made in our lifetime.

We were all in the 25-35 range, so we all had similar frames of reference.

One of the guys starts jotting down his list. I I take a look at it later. He's big on war and horror type movies. He's got 40-50 things on there. Your Saving Private Ryans and Platoons, and your Halloween's and The Shining type movies.

And stuck in the middle of these 40-50 things is The Muppet Movie.

I looked at it, and asked him about, because it just seems so incongruous for his list.

He replied: "I can sing every song in that movie. I know all the words by heart. And you being the same age as me, you probably do, too."

I considered his answer for a minute, and promptly added The Muppet Movie to my list of best movies of my lifetime.

Let me repeat myself, Titanic-bashers:

Get the FECK over it.

Make your own lists then, where you don't have to suffer such a serious disconnect.

Where the hell is Pat when I need him? The man who became ANGRY when people bashed Titanic!! Who SHOUTED at people about how stupid they were for not loving that movie. My kindred spirit in all things.

Tommy - absolutely. It is a classic movie - I know it by heart - it's an amazing accomplishment. Muppets Take Manhattan is pretty damn awesome as well. I am also partial to the Christmas Carol one. What can I say. Muppets rock.

I love Steve Martin as the completely annoyed waiter in the restaurant. And I love all the songs.

"Ya can't live with 'em
Ya can't live without 'em
There's something irresistibl-ish about 'em
We grin and bear it 'cause the nights are long
I hope that something better comes along..."

GREAT song.

Still, it's fun when they're fetching,
And agree to see an etching
That you keep at your lily pad.
There is no solution, it's part of evolution,
The pitter-patter of soles,
The little feet of tadpoles!

The soundtrack to The Muppet Movie was the first Christmas present my big brother ever gave me. He didn't even have to be prompted by my mom.

I think I still have that WELL-worn cassette tape somewhere.

What's the song that Fozzie sings in the empty restaurant when Kermit first meets him??

Is that "I hope that something better ..." or ...

"Aurora Borealis
Shinin' down on Dallas
Can you picture that?"

I can't stop:

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news
With good friends you can't lose
This could become a habit
Opportunity just knocked, let's reach out and grab it
Together we'll nab it
Yeah! We'll hitchhike, bus, or yellow-cab it

-- Cab it?

Movin' right along, foot-loose and fancy-free
Gettin' there is half the fun, come share it with me
Movin' right along, we'll learn to share the load
We don't need a map to keep this show on the road

And now - for my favorite verse of all:

Movin' right along we found a life on the highway
And your way is my way
So trust my navigation
California here we come, that pie-in-the sky-land
Palm trees and warm sand
Though sadly we just left Rhode Island
-- We did what? Just forget it...

Movin' right along, hey L. A., where've you gone
Send someone to fetch us, we're in Saskatchewan
Movin' right along, you take it - you know best
Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the West

Movin' right along, we're truly birds of a feather
We're in this together
And we know where we're goin'
Movie stars with flashy cars and life with the top down
We're storming the big town
-- Yeah, storm is right - should it be snowin'?

Movin' right along, do I see signs of men
Yeah, "Welcome" on the same post that says "Come back again!"
Movin' right along, foot loose and fancy free
You're ready for the big time, is it ready for me

I'll stand with ya on Titanic, Red. It probably wouldn't be on my Top 100 list, but it is a very good film. If the very same movie had been an indie release that only made $20 million, most of the vitriol would never have been hurled...

Okay, I am going to come clean. I am a complete sucker for giving someone a bunch of grief about something if I know it will get a good-natured rise out of them, and amuse me at the same time. However, I am occasionally prone to go too far. So, in the name of full disclosure, I do hereby admit that I have never actually seen Titanic. All of my negative judgements are based solely on my own genetic prejudices fed by the marketing campaign built around the original release of the movie. That, and that insufferable song by Celine Dion. Well, and the opinions of most of the people I really trust when it comes to movies. I admit this with the hope you will have the good grace not to hold it against me, or allow it to incite you to do me bodily harm.

Of course, the fact that you don't have Shane on your list fed my mania. I lashed out in frustration. This all reminds me that I am glad you don't know where I live.

DBW: You haven't even seen it?? hahahahah Oh God, you really are coming clean! You're a brave soul.

And yes - there were many movies which I considered putting on and then, for various and sundry reasons, left off. Shane was one of them. And I thought of you when I made the difficult choice ... knowing it would hurt you ... but knowing I had to stick to my guns.

Great film. Please. Don't get me wrong. But it's no Titanic. DOH! that's not what I meant to say...

Some day I will write a long-ass and passionate defense of Titanic and I will most definitely leave the comments closed!!