I don’t often have the pleasure of meeting the people whose lists I post, but in this case I did. There were precious few passholders for The Wright Stuff, so we all stuck together. Meeting Mark was one of the highlights of the series for me. Quiet and unassuming, every now and then when the rest of us shut up he’d pop out this great film insight or history. At the end of The Wright Stuff I asked him if he’s be willing to provide me with any guest posts here at 10 Movies. He’s responded with a list and I hope it’s the first of many posts. You’ll like him, I promise. List after the jump.
1. Harold and Maude – “Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing…oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage.” If you’re lucky a film will come along in your life that will transform you to your very soul. Harold and Maude was that film for me. It never ceases to inspire me with the pure joy of just being alive!
2. Casablanca – This is the movie that made me fall in love with movies. I’ve seen it close to 40 times and each time is like falling in love all over again.
3. Somewhere in Time – Speaking of falling in love, no other film has ever captured the magic and passion of falling in love better than this film. Based on a novel by Richard Matheson this is another film that I’ve seen 30 to 40 times and I’m still in tears by the end every time.
4. The Godfather – What can I say about The Godfather that hasn’t already been said. What better way to spend an evening than watching Godfather I and II in front of a roaring fire in which Godfather III is slowing burning.
5. Shaun of the Dead – Pegg, Frost, Wright, and zombies…what’s not to love!!!
6. Detour – I could name a dozen films noir that could be in my top ten but Detour is film noir distilled down to its purest, darkest essence. “That’s life. Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.” A lesson for the kids.
7. Crumb – An endlessly fascinating portrait of human dysfunction. Who would have guessed that Robert Crumb was the most normal person in his family?
8. The Producers – Gordon Gecko was wrong. Greed isn’t good but it is insanely funny in the hands of Brooks, Mostel, and Wilder.
9. Sweeney Todd – Beautiful, brutal, funny, romantic…and that’s just Johnny Depp!
10. The Creature From The Black Lagoon – I love all the classic Universal Studios monsters but it’s The Creature that I’ve always felt the greatest affection for. The first eco-friendly monster, The Creature was the embodiment of both the beauty and the destructive power of nature and what happens when Man starts fucking with it. Go Green or go home (preferably just go home and leave that poor creature alone).
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