[afx237vi]

Originally Posted by Johnny Clay

It reads like personal favourites mixed among chosen to impress filler.

Given this is your very first post, we can assume making an impression was very much the idea.

No qualms with the list overall, btw, but there are quite a few sling-outs, including:

Badlands - Pretty pictures, TM, but some content would be nice.
The Bridge on the River Kwai - William Holden's boorish US agent holds it up for way too long. A film that manages not to tell the story it's telling, with Lean's overblown tendencies showing through.
Zodiac - A flat and rather pedestrian affair. Much ado about nothing.

Re Badlands: Isn't that the whole point? The lack of reason or motivation for the characters' actions reflects the aimlessness of their lives. I saw it for the first time a few months ago and thought it was amazing (much better than the Thin Red Line, which is the only other Malick film I've seen until now).

[RichmondBlue]

I find it almost impossible to believe that some posters have only seen one or two movies from that list !...at least half of the are "must see" films. There Will Be Blood certainly wouldn't make into my top 50 ever made, let alone number 1. It's a good movie, but not THAT good.
As for Ken Russell's "The Devils"..bloody awful film, just made to shock..in my opinion.
But a lot of them are great, among my favourites as well.

[spiney2]

bizarre. videodrome is underrated. but no 3 ?

[Takae]

Originally Posted by RichmondBlue

I find it almost impossible to believe that some posters have only seen one or two movies from that list !...at least half of the are "must see" films.

I don't find it impossible, but I do admit I hate seeing their kind of comments because it makes me feel crap for having seen all but one (Costa Gavras' Z) on the list. Made me feel I have no life.

There Will Be Blood certainly wouldn't make into my top 50 ever made, let alone number 1. It's a good movie, but not THAT good.
As for Ken Russell's "The Devils"..bloody awful film, just made to shock..in my opinion.
But a lot of them are great, among my favourites as well.

Well, all films on the list are actually good. Just seems weird that the list contains nothing but the best. Seems clinical. And perhaps a cliché.

[RichmondBlue]

Originally Posted by Takae

Well, all films on the list are actually good. Just seems weird that the list contains nothing but the best. Seems clinical. And perhaps a cliché.

Yes, I know what you mean..there are no "guilty pleasures" on the list. But I'd probably do the same to be honest, reject a more obscure movie that was just a personal favourite, and pick something more likely to impress.

[lil lexie]

Originally Posted by RichmondBlue

Yes, I know what you mean..there are no "guilty pleasures" on the list. But I'd probably do the same to be honest, reject a more obscure movie that was just a personal favourite, and pick something more likely to impress.

yes, it could with a bit of trash in there to make it a bit more rounded - a bit of Jess Franco or Doris Wishman wouldn't have gone a miss.

[Johnny Clay]

Originally Posted by afx237vi

Re Badlands: Isn't that the whole point? The lack of reason or motivation for the characters' actions reflects the aimlessness of their lives. I saw it for the first time a few months ago and thought it was amazing (much better than the Thin Red Line, which is the only other Malick film I've seen until now).

True, in some ways it is the point, and Malick's leisurely handling reflects this, but for me it just wasn't enough to keep me that interested or intrigued. An over-ponderous film with not enough to ponder about, perhaps.

Originally Posted by RichmondBlue

Yes, I know what you mean..there are no "guilty pleasures" on the list. But I'd probably do the same to be honest, reject a more obscure movie that was just a personal favourite, and pick something more likely to impress.

I, and doubtless many others, would be far more interested in the former than the latter, and maybe more impressed too.

Originally Posted by lil lexie

yes, it could with a bit of trash in there to make it a bit more rounded - a bit of Jess Franco or Doris Wishman wouldn't have gone a miss.

Steady on!

[JCR]

Originally Posted by lil lexie

yes, it could with a bit of trash in there to make it a bit more rounded - a bit of Jess Franco or Doris Wishman wouldn't have gone a miss.

You know what it really needed....

The R O O M.