fxreyman

Well, if I was one of them, I know what they would write! They'd say, "sit down, shut up and watch the movie"!

Any pre 1960 western or war movie that adhered to the Hays code still could be said to have contained many on screen deaths.

I did not miss your point. What I was attempting to say was that Nicoley13's list was for that year, 1977. And Nicoley13 wrote that both Crosby and Presley were two of the most influential musical people of the twentieth century to die in that year. Maybe you are right and pointing out that Sinatra was an even bigger presence in the music world was warranted. But the title of the thread was The Big Five for five years in a row. My list added to the big five for five years in a row. Nicoley13's list included what she thought was five important people in their respected fields that had died in 1977. And as I pointed out Sinatra died in 1998. Maybe she should have written that Crosby and Presley were two out of the top five 20th century musicians that died in 1977???? And a secondary note. One thing IMHO is that Crosby was a great crooner and was a very good actor. Much better than Sinatra.

You don't have to be mean to Mr. Grimes!

That is a valid point. But you make it sound like you have only so much free time, and a lot of that free time is made up of watching films. Nothing wrong with that. I work 45 to 50 hours per week. Unfortunately my wife and I have no children. So that in of itself opens up a lot of free after work time for me to indulge in things I like to do. And one of those things is to write stuff here on the message board. And to work on lists when I can. Hey, I did not sit down and spend every waking hour of free time working on my list (s). It took a while. And I had a lot of doubt as to whether I could come up with a list. But I did, and now I can move on. I just happen to believe that if someone asks for your opinion, and is willing to give their opinion, then the lest anyone else can do is to do the same.

Sinatra did not die in 1977. Nicoley13's list was for 1977. Sinatra past away in 1998. I should know. I saw him perform on stage in Chicago in the mid eighties.

You know, there are a lot of good thoughts that have been written about this wonderful thread started up by Our Gang Fanatic. And many good lists. Although from my perspective there are too many of you out there (ten to be exact) who have chosen to comment only on other persons' lists or in some cases some of you have chosen to offer up a few (usually under ten) top films of your choosing. Why is that? I am just curious, and I am not trying to point a finger at those for not contributing to the list making, but can you all not come up with at least 100 of what you all consider to be your top 100 films? I know it is tough to do this, but it is rather fun as well. Plus it sort of puts you down officially as having chosen a top 100 list. Its all rather subjective, and most lists change from time to time. Including mine. It took me awhile to figure the list out. And there are many other films that I would have liked to have included on what for me became two top 100 film lists. But that is the beauty of list making. There are literally hundreds of variables involved. So how 'bout it you ten? Can you come up with 100? Its not that hard. You all can do it. Everyone here writes so eloquently about their favorite movies. You can almost assuredly come up with a list of 100, couldn't you? And if you can't that is okay too. Its just a little exercise for the brain. Message edited by fxreyman

Update! I just received a pretty good DVD sale offer from Columbia house for my just past birthday. So I made another purchase. Vertigo, 1958; Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948; Stalag 17, 1953; Sahara, 1943; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939; It Happened One Night, 1934; South pacific, 1958; Rebel Without a Cause, 1955; Rear Window, 1954; and Oklahoma!, 1955. So my list from a few pages back has now changed. Not in overall numbers, just in DVD vs. VHS numbers. It is now 422 DVDs and 146 VHS films in my library. Decades in order: 1990's totals: 96 61 dvd 35 vhs *1940's totals: 89* *69 dvd* *20 vhs* 1960's totals: 82 72 dvd 10 vhs 1970's totals: 73 53 dvd 20 vhs *1950's totals: 69* *48 dvd* *21 vhs* 1980's totals: 65 41 dvd 24 vhs *1930's totals: 52* *38 dvd* *14 vhs* 2000's totals: 42 40 dvd 2 vhs 1910's totals: 0 1920's totals: 0 DVD totals: 422 VHS totals: 146 Total: 568 VHS top years: 1990's: 35 1980's: 24 1950's: 21 1940's: 20 1970's: 20 1930's: 14 1960's: 10 2000's: 2 DVD's Top Years: 1960's: 72 1940's: 69 1990's: 61 1970's: 53 1950's: 48 1980's: 41 2000's: 40 1930's: 38

I met Helen Mirren in 1985. My friend at the time was a film student at a local college in downtown Chicago. He wrote a weekly column for the college's newspaper and was able to secure two tickets for a screening of White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Geraldine Page, Isabella Rossellini, John Glover and Helen Mirren. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford, who later became Mirren's boyfriend (they are now married). Both of them were present for the screening in Chicago which if memory serves was at The Art Institute. We watched the film, and afterwards I told my friend that i believed that the film would not be nominated for any Oscars. It was a modest film but it did have it's moments. When it came time for Hackford and Mirren to speak, that was very interesting for me. Up to that time the most famous people I had met in my life were Harry Carey (the Cubs broadcaster and James Doohan, Scotty of Star Trek). After the two of them spoke there were some refreshments and Mirren was just milling about. At this point I decided to just walk up to her, introduce myself and ask her a couple of questions. To my disbelief, she was very cordial and very friendly, and very beautiful. One of the questions I had for her was how did she handle the task of learning to speak Russian, for not only this film but for 2010 which was released a year earlier. She thought about it for a brief moment and said that she had worked with a dialect coach who taught her how to manipulate her voice and how to use her voice to replicate an accent. She said she spent many hours preparing for both roles and that she said the process, though demanding was very satisfying for her to undertake. As an actor, she said that she is always looking for roles that will help her expand her acting resume and allow her to become a part of something different. Many actors she said get involved with acting just so that they can earn a paycheck. She said she likes to invest as much of a part of herself into each role. Each role then becomes a permanent, independent investment of her time and efforts. That was very interesting. A also asked her how she like Chicago. She said that they were only there for two days, but that she had toured the Art Institute and also said the city was vibrant, a city that was equal to many European cities. And now look at her. Still beautiful, and such a great actress. Message edited by fxreyman

I met Helen Mirren in 1985. My friend at the time was a film student at a local college in downtown Chicago. He wrote a weekly column for the college's newspaper and was able to secure two tickets for a screening of White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Geraldine Page, Isabella Rossellini, John Glover and Helen Mirren. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford, who later became Mirren's boyfriend (they are now married). Both of them were present for the screening in Chicago which if memory serves was at The Art Institute. We watched the film, and afterwards I told my friend that i believed that the film would not be nominated for any Oscars. It was a modest film but it did have it's moments. When it came time for Hackford and Mirren to speak, that was very interesting for me. Up to that time the most famous people I had met in my life were Harry Carey (the Cubs broadcaster and James Doohan, Scotty of Star Trek). After the two of them spoke there were some refreshments and Mirren was just milling about. At this point I decided to just walk up to her, introduce myself and ask her a couple of questions. To my disbelief, she was very cordial and very friendly, and very beautiful. One of the questions I had for her was how did she handle the task of learning to speak Russian, for not only this film but for 2010 which was released a year earlier. She thought about it for a brief moment and said that she had worked with a dialect coach who taught her how to manipulate her voice and how to use her voice to replicate an accent. She said she spent many hours preparing for both roles and that she said the process, though demanding was very satisfying for her to undertake. As an actor, she said that she is always looking for roles that will help her expand her acting resume and allow her to become a part of something different. Many actors she said get involved with acting just so that they can earn a paycheck. She said she likes to invest as much of a part of herself into each role. Each role then becomes a permanent, independent investment of her time and efforts. That was very interesting. A also asked her how she like Chicago. She said that they were only there for two days, but that she had toured the Art Institute and also said the city was vibrant, a city that was equal to many European cities. And now look at her. Still beautiful, and such a great actress. Message edited by fxreyman

I met Helen Mirren in 1985. My friend at the time was a film student at a local college in downtown Chicago. He wrote a weekly column for the college's newspaper and was able to secure two tickets for a screening of White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Geraldine Page, Isabella Rossellini, John Glover and Helen Mirren. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford, who later became Mirren's boyfriend (they are now married). Both of them were present for the screening in Chicago which if memory serves was at The Art Institute. We watched the film, and afterwards I told my friend that i believed that the film would not be nominated for any Oscars. It was a modest film but it did have it's moments. When it came time for Hackford and Mirren to speak, that was very interesting for me. Up to that time the most famous people I had met in my life were Harry Carey (the Cubs broadcaster and James Doohan, Scotty of Star Trek). After the two of them spoke there were some refreshments and Mirren was just milling about. At this point I decided to just walk up to her, introduce myself and ask her a couple of questions. To my disbelief, she was very cordial and very friendly, and very beautiful. One of the questions I had for her was how did she handle the task of learning to speak Russian, for not only this film but for 2010 which was released a year earlier. She thought about it for a brief moment and said that she had worked with a dialect coach who taught her how to manipulate her voice and how to use her voice to replicate an accent. She said she spent many hours preparing for both roles and that she said the process, though demanding was very satisfying for her to undertake. As an actor, she said that she is always looking for roles that will help her expand her acting resume and allow her to become a part of something different. Many actors she said get involved with acting just so that they can earn a paycheck. She said she likes to invest as much of a part of herself into each role. Each role then becomes a permanent, independent investment of her time and efforts. That was very interesting. A also asked her how she like Chicago. She said that they were only there for two days, but that she had toured the Art Institute and also said the city was vibrant, a city that was equal to many European cities. And now look at her. Still beautiful, and such a great actress. Message edited by fxreyman

Dear MovieProfessor, Your list is pretty good. But if you were to take a list and broaden it somewhat to include even more actors and or performers, then I think you would find the list even more interesting. For instance, I have located lists for the following five years and have included some very big names on it. Some of the names are BIG, other not so big, but nonetheless interesting. 2000 *Hedy Lamarr* - January 19 Roger Vadim - February 11 *Claire Trevor* - April 8 Douglas Fairbanks Jr. - May 7 *Sir John Gielgud* - May 21 *Walter Matthau* - July 1 *Sir Alec Guinness* - August 5 *Loretta Young* - August 12 Richard Farnsworth - October 6 Gwen Verdon - October 19 *Jason Robards* - December 26 2001 Burt Kennedy - February 15 *Howard W. Koch* - February 16 *Stanley Kramer* - February 19 Ann Sothern - March 15 Beatrice Straight - April 7 Michael Ritchie - April 16 *Perry Como* - May 12 *Anthony Quinn* - June 3 Carroll O'Connor - June 21 *Jack Lemmon* - June 27 2002 *Milton Berle* - March 27 Dudley Moore - March 27 Rosemary Clooney - June 29 *Rod Steiger* - July 9 Richard Harris October 25 *James Coburn* - November 18 George Roy Hill - December 27 2003 Richard Crenna - January 17 Wendy Hiller - May 14 Robert Stack - May 15 *Gregory Peck* - June 11 Hume Cronyn - June 15 *Katharine Hepburn* - June 29 Buddy Ebsen - July 6 *Bob Hope* - July 27 *Charles Bronson* - August 30 Donald O'Connor - September 27 *Elia Kazan* - September 28 Jack Elam - October 20 Art Carney - November 9 Jeanne Crain - December 14 Hope Lange - December 19 Alan Bates - December 27 2004 Ann Miller - January 22 Mercedes McCambridge - March 2 Paul Winfield - March 7 *Sir Peter Ustinov* - March 28 Tony Randall - May 17 *President Ronald Reagan* - June 5 *Marlon Brando* - July 1 *Jerry Goldsmith* - July 21 Fay Wray - August 8 *Elmer Bernstein* - August 18 *Janet Leigh* - October 3 Christopher Reeve - October 10 Howard Keel - November 7 Jerry Orbach - December 28, 2004 This just goes to show you that you can pick any year or group of years and you will find very interesting and in many cases very important people that made major contributions to the film industry. Message edited by fxreyman

I don't know if I am committing some for of internet hara kiri here but I just do not understand what the big deal is about Mogambo. I mean it is basically the same movie as Red Dust with a few different actresses playing the lead roles. And of course you have Mr. Gable reprising his earlier role. I would prefer a movie that is also shot in Africa, with excellent photography, great stunt work, a wonderful music score and great action with funny anecdotes thrown in for good measure. And that film, ladies and germs is..... Howard hawks great 1962 *Hatari!*.

Anthony Hopkins in 27 minutes or so in The Silence of the Lambs. Woody Strode in Sergeant Rutledge. Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People. Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Maybe a little break from the early to mid twentieth century is in order for you!

*I never tire of making lists. It would be a limited thread, to be sure, but that's all right. Making lists pushes me to think. We could come up with some fun lists. It doesn't have to be the obvious ones.* Well then here is another list: So, after I compiled my two 101 lists the other day, I found it compelling to create yet another list. Can you imagine? This list will show just how many movies I now own broken down into decades and type. Enjoy! Decades in order: 1990's totals: 96 61 dvd 35 vhs 1940's totals: 89 67 dvd 22 vhs 1960's totals: 82 72 dvd 10 vhs 1970's totals: 73 53 dvd 20 vhs 1950's totals: 69 42 dvd 27 vhs 1980's totals: 65 41 dvd 24 vhs 1930's totals: 52 36 dvd 16 vhs 2000's totals: 42 40 dvd 2 vhs 1910's totals: 0 1920's totals: 0 DVD totals: 412 _VHS totals: 156_ Total: 568 VHS top years: 1990's: 35 1950's: 27 1980's: 24 1940's: 22 1970's: 20 1930's: 16 1960's: 10 2000's: 2 DVD's Top Years: 1960's: 72 1940's: 67 1990's: 61 1970's: 53 1950's: 42 1980's: 41 2000's: 40 1930's: 36 Conclusion: Out of a total of 156 VHS movies, 37 of those are taped from another medium, specifically off of cable, most likely a majority from TCM. Next step would be to purchase those that have been taped as new dvds. And of that total of 37, 16 are from the 1950's; 7 from the 1940's and 1930's; 4 are from the 1970's; and 3 are from the 1960's. And another course of action would be to purchase additional films from the 1950's, 1940's and 1930's to pump up those decade's numbers.

We live in Colorado Springs which is about 70 miles south of Denver. Denver sits at 5,280 feet above sea level, hence the mile high city name. Downtown Colorado Springs sits at an elevation of just under 6,100 feet. Where my wife Annie and I live on the far eastern side of the city, the elevation is about 6,600 feet. The "Springs" has a population of just under 400,000. And it is home to five military installations, including Cheyenne Mountain and the Air Force Academy. For sci-fi buffs, Cheyenne Mountain is where the fictional Star Gate SG1 had its headquarters. Pikes Peak, often called America's mountain, is 14,110 feet tall and anchors the far western edges of the city. Most of the year the mountain is snow capped. As it is now. Unfortunately for people looking to have snow on the ground during the entire winter, they are going to be disappointed. Because of the city's elevation, and more importantly where the city is located, not much snow gets here or when it does the snow does not stay long. Our winters are mild and more or less snow-free. Last year we did not get any snow from mid November, 2008 until March of 2009. But they get most of their snow in March and April. The locals call it their own brand of monsoonal moisture. Last year we received three major snow storms during mid to late march going into April. The top of Pikes Peak received almost seven feet of snow during those three storms. But, the rest of the state is having a banner year, snow wise. Down in the far southwest corner of the state near the towns of Durango and Pagosa Springs, they have recieved a lot of snow. When Annie and I traveled to Pagosa Springs on New Years Eve, we had to travel over Wolf Creek pass to get to Pagosa. We stopped and I got out of the car. At one area the snow was over five feet deep. Most of the ski resorts are having good seasons so far. But most of the worst weather never gets past the Front Range, (the first mountain range one encounters when heading west), so most of the snow stays to our west. And we also have to deal with Albuquerque lows and highs. These are the weather patterns that decide whether or not we get snow. Crested Butte is about five hours west of here. I don't know how much snow they get annually, but I do know that Wolf Creek Pass down near Pagosa Springs averages 465" per year. Just a little info about our new area we live in now. Oh, one more thing....Colorado Springs is the lightning capital of the world.

So, let me get this straight...... All of your favorites are from before 1970? Your kidding right? No favorites made after 1970? You could do what I did and have two lists, one starting with pre 1970 and the other with post 1970 films. Of course based on what you wrote about not seeing that many films, you might have trouble selecting more than 100 for the post 1970 list. I know that you must have some favorites from after 1970? Right? Unless you feel so attached to what every one else around here has .... an overwhelming desire to say that you are a big fan of the old-style movie studio era. But, the problem with that statement is that some of your films on your list are from after the studio era.

Too bad..... Out here in Colorado, we are basking under beautiful blue skies with temps in the high 20s. Not much snow on the ground, heck it really has not snowed that much at all this winter. You east coast folks are getting hammered this winter. So much for the global warming people.....

Very funny Fred!

What I really do not understand about this whole thing is this: Tora is available on regular dvd. If you have a blu-ray player that upconverts, then what is the problem? Do you really think that owning a Japanese region video that is high def is going to be that much different than upconverting a standard dvd to 720 or 1080?? If you are worried that upconverting will not give you the very best video transfer to hi def, then you might as well throw out all of those standard dvds you all own and start saving up big time to purchase every brand spanking new blu-ray disc to replace all of the older std. dvds. This is something I will not do. And, it does not really matter. I placed my standard dvd of North By Northwest into my new upconvertible blu-ray player and guess what? The picture was incredible. So all of this talk about having to inquire the latest technology just because it is blu-ray is quite unbelievable. As I stated earlier, all you really need is an upconverting blu-ray player that costs around $200 or less. A lot more economical than having to replace a lot of your older standard dvds. Oh, and another thing.....Not all of your standard dvds will ever become available on blu-ray.

*You know we share our love of lists. The only difference between the two of us is that I rank them in order of preference. I make the next step in commitment.* That is a very valid point! And I agree with you. I think it is time to separate the boys from the men as far as lists are concerned. Numerical has to be the only way to really go. I have only been putting off for years how I really feel about these films. Can't be that hard right? *The reason why I love lists, especially on a message board, such as this one, is because they are the quickest of ways to learn more about a person. A list of ten can you tell quite a bit about a person. You can usually tell if they lean toward an era or genre and are colder with others. You can tell their depth of knowledge by the kind of films they like.* *But lists are commitments. Commitments to thought and energy. I know most are uninterested in taking part in such an exercise. It's much easier and more fun to pick apart the lists of others.* You and I have written about this before. And I think we both agree on this. Unfortunately there are some here on the boards that will never, ever publish a list because I think that they are afraid of making that commitment. It takes time to formulate lists. And trying to be as accurate as possible also takes time. Its more like writing a book and performing a reference check, making sure you have all the facts correct. That's what I do. But as I said, there are those who like to comment on lists and take them apart, but are either unwilling to divulge what their list would look like or just will not publish at all because they may fear that others will disagree with them or pick apart their lists. There is one such poster, and I know you know who I am talking about (the one who posts about 48 times every day). *And if you ever wanted to start the "Rey's List" thread, I'll definitely show. Oh, wait! So that's why you don't want to start it!* Yes, now that would be nice. But I am afraid that only a few of us would actually write anything, and after a while most would tire of the proceedings and move on to other things. NOT ME! *All of these films I am listing are English-speaking films.* *And that's one of your areas of weakness. Mine, as well.* Well you are right there. But lets face it, my major problem with foreign language films are the sub-titles. I know that sounds like such a ridiculous statement, but when I am shelling out $10 or more to see a foreign film, or watch one on IFC, I would like to think that I can watch the action on the screen without taking my eyes down to the bottom of the screen to see what they are saying. That is very distracting to me. Almost as distracting as silent films are with their use of those place cards showing the dialogue. It is removing me away from the action or drama on the screen so I can see what they are saying. Life is Beautiful is a perfect example. Because that was an Italian film, the dialogue was being spoken very fast and I had to shut the movie down after just 15 minutes because I could not keep up with the movie because the dialogue I had to read thru the use of sub-titles was ridiculous. The other thing is this: I may not include foreign films on any of my lists, but I do agree that there are many fine foreign films made over the years. The fact that I do not include any on my lists just means that I prefer English-speaking films. And if that causes a scarlet letter to be placed over my name or an asterisk next to my name, well so be it. Listen, if Roger Maris had to cope with that for all of those years, then so can I. Well, I'd better get on down to the mine and start digging through the rest of the 1399 titles I need to go through in order to come up with those 303 other titles. But, just in case I will still monitor the boards this afternoon. Later my friend.

I am sure you told me sometime ago.....did you have knee surgery this past week? If you did, just take it easy. I should know, Annie had her right knee totally replaced last May. She is walking oh so much better now. Not quite ready for the Biatholon being shown at the Olympics right now, but not as much pain. Feel better. Oh and for some real excitement, go over to the Favorites Forum and check out my two 101 greatest lists I posted the other day. I am sure you will get a kick out of it. Rey

*Henry Fonda sounds like Tom Joad, or a Nebraska farmer.* What did you expect? He was born in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Hey!!!!!! We Aquarians have to stay together! Happy Birthday Wendy!!!