British Comedy Guide

500 Greatest Films Page 7

Quote: zooo @ September 30 2008, 2:52 PM BST

Master and Commander, with Russell Crowe?

and lots of hunky matelots. Right up your street.

Quote: chipolata @ September 30 2008, 2:44 PM BST

Great list. I'd forgotten all about The Man Who Would Be King. That was brilliant. And very funny too. Didn't John Huston want to make it for years, and his original choices for the lead were Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable?

Yes, I recall hearing that. I am glad e waited as Connery and Caine were perfect.

And talking of Humphrey Bogart, I'd also like to mention The Treasure of the Sierre Madre. A great film about greed and madness.

Good shout.

I like Maltese Falcon, Bogart wise.

Quote: zooo @ September 30 2008, 3:06 PM BST

I seem to like the Coen's older films better.

Most do. Although with No Country For Old Men and this new film starring Brad Pitt/George Cloony, they seem to be having a return to form.

And on the subject of Russel Crowe, my favouritre of his films is The Insider. Where he plays a whistleblower in the tabacco industry. IMO, his best performance.

I only really liked him in LA Confidential.

Quote: zooo @ September 30 2008, 3:23 PM BST

I only really liked him in LA Confidential.

Yeah, great film and great performance. Pity he's got a bit shit since he's become mega succesfull. I also liked Romper Stomper, where he played a skinhead Nazi.

Oh yes. I forgot that one.

He seems like two different people!

Ace then, shite now.

Quote: chipolata @ September 30 2008, 3:20 PM BST

And on the subject of Russel Crowe, my favouritre of his films is The Insider. Where he plays a whistleblower in the tabacco industry. IMO, his best performance.

Sadly, a film ruined by Pacino's 'pop your collar' exit.

Talking of Pacino, I'm sure this has been mentioned earlier in the thread but I'd have to put Glengarry Glen Ross in my Top 10.

Some other Griff favourites (and I'm shite at doing lists of favourites because I always forget loads of films I really love until someone reminds me about them)...

- Glengarry Glen Ross,Groundhog Day, Goodfellas, Angel Heart (about to be remade...!), Pulp Fiction,- Withnail And I, Carry On Screaming, Monty Python's Life Of Brian, Sideways, Borat, Bedazzled (original), Royal Flash, Chinatown, One From The Heart, Riff Raff, Starship Troopers, Four Weddings And A Funeral, The Princess Bride, The Lives Of Others, Le Bossu, L'Appartement, Goodbye Lenin, The Wizard Of Oz, The Empire Strikes Back, The Prestige,A Night At The Opera, Planet Of The Apes (original), Cabaret,The Thing,Alien,Silence Of The Lambs,Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring,American Beauty,Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,Casablanca, North By Northwest,School For Scoundrels (original),The Rebel,The Long Good Friday,both Vanilla Sky and the original Open Your Eyes,Office Space,Life Is Sweet, Topsy Turvy, Farewell My Lovely, A Fish Called Wanda, Unforgiven, The Wicker Man, Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD ... and plenty more.

(I wanted to put a Bond film in the list but couldn't pick one.)

Quote: chipolata @ September 30 2008, 3:20 PM BST

Most do. Although with No Country For Old Men and this new film starring Brad Pitt/George Cloony, they seem to be having a return to form.

No Country For Old Men is a film that could creep into my Top 10. The book's a great read too - but it's one of a very few examples where I think the film has been better than the book version.

Quote: Griff @ October 2 2008, 9:43 AM BST

- Glengarry Glen Ross,Groundhog Day, Goodfellas, Angel Heart (about to be remade...!), Pulp Fiction,- Withnail And I, Carry On Screaming, Monty Python's Life Of Brian, Sideways, Borat, Bedazzled (original), Royal Flash, Chinatown, One From The Heart, Riff Raff, Starship Troopers, Four Weddings And A Funeral, The Princess Bride, The Lives Of Others, Le Bossu, L'Appartement, Goodbye Lenin, The Wizard Of Oz, The Empire Strikes Back, The Prestige,A Night At The Opera, Planet Of The Apes (original), Cabaret,The Thing,Alien,Silence Of The Lambs,Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring,American Beauty,Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,Casablanca, North By Northwest,School For Scoundrels (original),The Rebel,The Long Good Friday,both Vanilla Sky and the original Open Your Eyes,Office Space,Life Is Sweet, Topsy Turvy, Farewell My Lovely, A Fish Called Wanda, Unforgiven, The Wicker Man, Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD ... and plenty more.

Good to Goodbye Lenin on the list. That's a cracking film. I love the music too. A few iothers I neglected to mention the other day would be: Collateral, Strange Days, Near Dark and the original Funny Games.

I can endorse:

Quote: Griff @ October 2 2008, 9:43 AM BST

- Groundhog Day, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Carry On Screaming, Monty Python's Life Of Brian, Bedazzled (original), Royal Flash, Chinatown, The Princess Bride, The Lives Of Others, L'Appartement, Goodbye Lenin, Planet Of The Apes (original), Cabaret,The Thing,Alien, School For Scoundrels (original),The Rebel, The Long Good Friday, Office Space, [ A Fish Called Wanda, Unforgiven, The Wicker Man, Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD ...

(I wanted to put a Bond film in the list but couldn't pick one.)

Goldfinger - I can't stand Bond and even I like that one.

I liked Le Bossu right up until the ending, which creeped me out.

On the subject of French film Le Hussard sur le Toit is a gem.

I love French films. I know that's the stereotype of a pretentious twat, but I really do. I've almost never seen a French film I didn't like. (Probably because only the best ones get released internationally). Although Petites Coupures tested my patience a bit. I only watched it because Kristin Scott-Thomas was in it (plus Daniel Auteil), and it was really dull.

Which reminds me, The English Patient has to go on my list of all-time favourites.

Haven't seen The Horseman On The Roof, I must rectify that.

They hardly ever seem to show foreign films on TV anymore, at least not on any of the Freeview channels. BBC2 and FilmFour used to be good for this, but not now apparently.

I like Goldfinger but Honor Blackman really annoys me. If I'd picked a Bond I'd have probably gone for From Russia With Love, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Living Daylights or even Die Another Day. (I seem to like the Bond films everyone else hates.)

There's a very poor sequel about a man addicted to tranquilisers, who starts tkaing heroin.

I believe it's called "the roofy-man on the horse,"

Oh I forgot Chinese films. Love Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Farewell My Concubine, and I know it wasn't really a Chinese film but I liked Memoirs Of A Geisha.

And Italian films too. I've just remembered I forgot Life Is Beautiful and Cinema Paradiso, so am going off to shoot myself.

But not Welsh films. I don't think I've seen a good film set in Wales yet. Running through the list of suggested Welsh films on Wikipedia, when the best they can come up with is

Image

you know you're in trouble.

Which reminds me of a story from school. I went into school one morning and struck up the conversational gambit "Did anyone see 10,000 Years BC on TV last night?". Surely this would be a hit, with Racquel Welch and dinosaurs in the same film. No, said someone dismissively, "it was all in Welsh".

A Bronx Tale
Hell Drivers
Heat
Once Upon A Time In America
Raising Arizona
Miller's Crossing
Goodfellas
Serpico
The Taking Of Pelham 123
Das Boot
Full Metal Jacket
The Shining
Twelve Angry Men
The Warriors
Pulp Fiction

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