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Beth’s Faves

I love movies. I studied them in college, and can still perfectly remember the dark auditorium where we’d go to for class and watch movies with the old projectors and reels. Doing film critiques was one of my first exercises in writing.

It was brutal to shorten my list to ten favorites. My criterion wasn’t only entertainment and artistic value. I had to add another one while narrowing down my choices. I thought of what movies I’d plunk down and watch even if I was busy and I walked into the room and my husband was watching it. :) That helped me…sort of.

1. Casablanca
To me, Casablanca is one of the most perfect movies ever filmed. It does everything a movie should, blending art and entertainment seamlessly. It’s almost impossible to choose the “˜best’ aspect of this movie. The answer is pretty much everything, but since I named this number one, I’ll have a go at a few elements. (Don’t worry, I won’t do this for 2-10).

The Setting—Casablanca, last chance where someone might get an embarkation visa to the Americas. They wait in German unoccupied Casalanca…and wait, and wait. Life is cheap in Casablanca and corruption rules.

Rick Blaine, the owner of the Cafe Americana and this hero is one of the most riveting alpha males ever done. At the opening of the movie, he’s cold and deadpan in his speech. We are sure he’s mercenary, and could care less about concepts like freedom and fairness. Rick doesn’t care who patronizes his nightclub–thieves, Nazi officers or gorgeous disgruntled girlfriends. If you pay, you’re welcome at Rick’s.

Rick never smiles. He exists.

The reason a man who was once a freedom fighter in Spain and Ethiopia is now a cold mercenary? She enters Rick’s café one night on the arm of her husband, Victor Laszlo. Ingrid Bergman plays Ilsa, the one vulnerable spot in Rick’s thick armor…and the single reason he’s become so heartless. She’s the indescribably beautiful European girl next door. Rick and Ilsa fell in love the days before Paris fell to the Germans, and their wartime romance was not only passionate, but deep and pure. They loved the hell out of each other. Unfortunately, Ilsa abandons Rick when she realizes her husband Laszlo (picture a handsome, smooth Ghandi-type—this man means something to the world) has not been killed in the concentration camps as she had been informed.

The Dialogue: You could slice out a minute of dialogue almost anywhere in Casablanca and you would find brilliance. It’s that good. Rather than go on about it, I’ve included a few of my favorites. If you love Casablanca, I’m sure you’ll have your favorites, as well.

Woman: What makes saloonkeepers so snobbish?
Banker: Perhaps if you told him I ran the second largest banking house in Amsterdam.
Carl: Second largest? That wouldn’t impress Rick. The leading banker in Amsterdam is now the pastry chef in our kitchen.
Banker: We have something to look forward to.

****

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake.
Sam: [lying] I don’t know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.
Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.”
Sam: [lying] Oh, I can’t remember it, Miss Ilsa. I’m a little rusty on it.
Ilsa: I’ll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum…
[Sam begins playing]
Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.
Sam: [singing] You must remember this / A kiss is still a kiss / A sigh is just a sigh / The fundamental things apply / As time goes by. / And when two lovers woo, / They still say, “I love you” / On that you can rely / No matter what the future brings-…
Rick: [rushing up] Sam, I thought I told you never to play-…
[Sees Ilsa. Sam closes the piano and rolls it away]
****

Ilsa: I wasn’t sure you were the same. Let’s see, the last time we met…
Rick: Was La Belle Aurore.
Ilsa: How nice, you remembered. But of course, that was the day the Germans marched into Paris.
Rick: Not an easy day to forget.
Ilsa: No.
Rick: I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.

Major Strasser: Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris?
Rick: It’s not particularly my beloved Paris.
Heinz: Can you imagine us in London?
Rick: When you get there, ask me.
Captain Renault: Hmmh! Diplomatist!
Major Strasser: How about New York?
Rick: Well there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn’t advise you to try to invade.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

How can you convey to a child the ugliness and complexities of the adult world without marring her precious innocence?

I adore this book, so my standards for the movie were very high. The movie exceeded my expectations. To this day, just the sound of the opening notes and the child humming while she plays brings tears to my eyes. It’s beautifully filmed by Richard Mulligan, who understood the themes to this wonderful book well enough to bring to them to life on the screen, even if he had to forsake a good deal of content. I would have awarded Greg Peck an academy for best actor, if I had my say, for his portrayal of the humble, strong and honorable Atticus Finch.

A couple Scout lines beautiful in their disarming simplicity:
“Hey Mr. Cunningham.”
And then, with child-like wonder as the mysteries of the adult world unfold…
“Hey, Boo.”

3. Pride and Prejudice, BBC version
Many people are turned off by Austen because of the ponderousness of her prose. This version of P and P absolutely brims with life and movement and charm. Do Lizzy’s “˜fine eyes’ really sparkle? They do in this movie. How could Darcy not fall in love with such a vibrant young woman who is so ready to laugh not only at others, but at herself. I recommend this film to anyone who hasn’t been “˜sold’ by trying to read Austen. It’s irresistible. (The scene of Mr. Collins proposing to Lizzy still brings tears to my eyes it’s so hysterical, and it’s done almost word for word from Austen).

4. The Right Stuff

Sigh. What can I say. This movie, while not perfect in its screenplay and direction, still has some of the most amazing alpha male performances in history. The history of the move from the era of fighter pilots to the space program is riveting when you see it told through the action of these uber-males. They’re jerks, they’re hilarious, they’re about as masculine as they get. I consider The Right Stuff as a sort of parallel to the men who conquered the Wild West. I mean…it takes some serious cohunes to not just walk, but strut out into the great unknown. Two of my ultimate all time favorite film performances by Sam Shepard (Chuck Yeager) and Ed Harris (John Glenn).


5. On the Waterfront
One word: Marlon Brando. He changed the entire rulebook for acting with his realistic performance. The “I could have been a contender” scene is powerful beyond belief, and not because of its bigness or dramatics. Jut the opposite. Its two brothers sitting in the backseat of a car talking. To this day, I don’t think anyone could have pulled off that scene like Brando did. The sadness in his eyes at his brother’s betrayal is just a killer. Never seen the scene? See it here.

6. Rebecca

Hitchcock. I think he’s brilliant. I chose to put this film on my list because it’s Hitch plus DuMaurier, two of my all time favorites.

7. Harry Potter (All—cheating, preference Episodes 3. 4 or 6) Sorry. I adore these movies. I’m a total sucker for them.

8. Avatar
I sobbed….sobbed at this movie. I thought James Cameron captured the idea of the flimsiness of the material body and the strength and enduring quality of the soul so perfectly in this. What is it that we fall in love with? What is it that matters? We all have easy answers for that, but to make a movie that actually portrays that reality firsthand? Amazing. One of the most romantic movies I’ve ever seen, in addition to being a kick-ass drama.

9. Laura

I’m a film noir lover, and this Otto Preminger movie is a classic. Everything from the haunting score to the quirkiness of Waldo Lydecker (Waldo had to be gay, so I guess it’s true that anyone could become obsessed with beauty outside of sexuality), to Gene Tierney’s presence on the screen. To this day, I think Tierney was the most beautiful woman ever filmed. On a purely aesthetic level, this is just a gorgeous movie.

10. The Fugitive
There’s something about this movie that rivets me every time. Is it Harrison’s Ford’s face—it’s like a rock, and yet it manages to show every hint of emotion? I love the dichotomy of Harrison and Tommy Lee, and how even with their friction and polarization, they are both “˜good’ guys. Not easy to pull off. I also am not just a “Chicago” girl, but an “Illinois” girl. I’ve been to Chester and the damn, etc. Not once in this movie did I catch them flubbing on the details…rural routes, “L” lines, Chicago streets…all perfect. Plus, I did part of my training at Cook County Hospital, so this movie is just a Wrigley field grand slam for me.

Just quickly (because I’m a cheat) I wanted to name some films that just missed my list: Jaws, E.T. (I think Spielberg is brilliant, and felt bad I couldn’t get one of his films on the list), Some Like it Hot and Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back. :)

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