fxreyman

Welcome to the boards and happy Holidays! Excellent research there! One thing you should know..... It does not really matter if only a few dozen modern films are shown compared to 2009. There is a large group of people here who fervently believe that TCM should ONLY show movies from the golden era of film-making. That is their right and I respect their opinion. But I think TCM, especially around the 31 days of Oscar likes to showcase all films from every decade. They do not think that any film after 1960 should be shown on here. Not exactly the same type of message TCM tries to get out when showing all types of Oscar-nominated films from every decade. Message edited by fxreyman

It is a wonderful classic holiday movie! Unfortunately, many of us do not have every movie on high def blu-ray dvds. I am having a hard enough time trying to figure out how some people on this message board have all the time in the world to watch all of these movies on dvd, or go to all of the new releases at the theater. I mean, doesn't everyone here have a job to go to? Bills to pay? Presents to buy? Places to go? If you are retired or are on some type of medical disability please forgive me. But I really find it hard to believe that some people just watch movies all the time and then STILL have time to write copious amounts of posts here on this message board. Especially those here who write on average 45 posts per day. Hard to believe. Oh, and by the way, Happy Holidays to everyone. Message edited by Fxreyman

Hey Chris! Totally agree. Not much happening on Encore's western channel lately. And don't even get me started about The Fox Movie Channel. HollyGoNuts talks about that channel incessantly. She's willing to point out on a daily basis what the channel is showing. It would not be such a bad idea, but FMC keeps showing the same basic 20 westerns over and over again. That is why I usually watch my dvd westerns on my computer. I did that the other night with Support Your Local Sheriff! and Open Range last Sunday. Well, I could get into a lot of trouble if I continue. Have a wonderful Christmas! Rey

Okay, I will pick my top five movies for each year, then select the top film for each year. Here we go......Oh, and have yourself a merry little Christmas! 2000 Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe Erin Brockovich, Steven Soderbergh Gladiator, Ridley Scott Return to Me, Bonnie Hunt Thirteen Days, Roger Donaldson 2001 Heist, David Mamet In the Bedroom, Todd Field Kissing Jessica Stein, Charles Herman Wurmfeld The Shipping News, Lasse Hallstr?m Shrek, Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson 2002 About Schmidt, Alexander Payne Minority Report, Steven Spielberg Roger Dodger, Dylan Kidd Spider-Man, Sam Raimi Tadpole, Gary Winick 2003 American Splendor, Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini Love Actually, Richard Curtis Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Peter Weir Open Range, Kevin Costner The Station Agent, Tom McCarthy 2004 The Aviator, Martin Scorsese Hotel Rwanda, Terry George Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood Sideways, Alexander Payne Silver City, John Sayles 2005 Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan Capote, Bennett Miller Walk the Line, James Mangold War of the Worlds, Steven Spielberg The World's Fastest Indian, Roger Donaldson 2006 Children of Men, Alfonso Cuar?n The Departed, Martin Scorsese Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathon Dayton, Valerie Faris Stranger Than Fiction, Marc Foster We Are Marshall, McG 2007 The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass In the Valley of Elah, Paul Haggis Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Coen You Kill Me, John Dahl 2008 Appaloosa, Ed Harris Ghost Town, David Koepp Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood Iron Man, Jon Favreau Last Chance Harvey, Joel Hopkins 2009 (so far) The Blind Side, John Lee Hancock The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow The Informant!, Steven Soderbergh Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino Star Trek, J.J. Abrams And the top movie for each year: 2000 Thirteen Days 2001 Heist 2002 Tadpole 2003 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2004 Sideways 2005 Walk the Line 2006 Children of Men 2007 You Kill Me 2008 Appaloosa 2009 Star Trek Message edited by Fxreyman

I just watched (last night) one of the funnier western spoofs..... My newest for Christmas addition 2009, Support Your Local Sheriff! with James Garner, Joan Hackett, Jack Elam and Walter Brennan. This past Sunday I watched 2003's Open Range with Kevein Costner, the great Robert Duvall and Annette Bening. A great western in the classical sense. Plus it has one of the great shoot outs ever filmed. MHO of course. Oh, check out my long opinion over on General Discussion under The (Unwritten) Oscar Rules. I think y'all might find it interesting. Have a great Christmas.

I would suggest that winning the Best Actress Oscar really damages your career. Obviously this is an overstatement, but did Elizabeth Taylor really make a first class movie after "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"? Other examples: Jackson (after second oscar), Dunaway, Spacek, Matlin, Bates, Thompson, Hunter, Lange, McDormand, Hunt, Paltrow, Berry, Swank (winning two oscars in five years is quite a trick, but has she made anything else?) *"I would suggest that winning the Best Actress Oscar really damages your career. Obviously this is an overstatement"* Obviously yours was an overstatement. While I would agree to some extent, the vast majority of Oscar-winning actresses continue to make good films. Sometimes they are a victim of poor scripts while other times and in many cases this is even more true, the producers in Hollywood seem to have an affinity for younger film actresses. That is why you find so many older film actresses turning to cable tv for good quality roles now. The actresses you have listed are all really fine actresses. Many on this list have had careers starting in the 1970s and more recently. So there careers are not as full as someone like Taylor's, or say many of the actresses from the golden era of movie-making. So I will attempt to look at these actresses careers and make some sense out of those careers. *Elizabeth Taylor* won the Best Actress Oscar twice. She first won it for her role in Butterfield 8 (1960) and then again for her role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). She was ONLY 26 when she won her first Oscar. Hard to believe. She was also nominated for Best Actress for Raintree County (1957), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). She was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993. Taylor is a little different than the rest of the actresses you have mentioned. For one thing she started acting in the early 1940's. So she had been acting for quite some time before receiving her first nomination in 1958. If you look at her output it is pretty darned impressive. Now, I agree. Her output after her Oscar win in 1967 is rather poor with only a handful of good film roles. And, like Dunaway (below) she has done some tv. But I think her lack of good quality roles had less to do with her talent and more to do with what was happening in her personal life. The poor woman has had the equivalent of the whole world falling on her head. *Over-achievers:* *Faye Dunaway* won the Best Actress Oscar for her work in Network (1976). She was 35 at the time. She had been previously nominated for Best Actress in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Chinatown (1975). Before Network, she was in Hurry Sundown, The Happening, Bonnie and Clyde, The Arrangement, Little Big Man, Doc, Oklahoma Crude, The Three Musketeers, Chinatown, The Four Musketeers, The Towering Inferno, and Three days of the Condor. After Network she appeared in the following movies: Voyage of the Damned, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Champ, The First Deadly Sin, The Wicked Lady, Supergirl, Barfly, Midnight Crossing, and made a lot of tv movies, and tv series. To say her career failed after the Oscar win, I would say that hers has flourished. She may not have had the quality of films she was making before Network, but she is one heck of a busy actress. And from what I have learned, most actors would rather be busy than just sit by their phone waiting for a call from their agent. *Kathy Bates* has been nominated three times for an Oscar. She has twice been nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for Primary Colors (1998) and for About Schmidt (2003). She won for her leading role in Misery (1990) opposite James Caan. She was 43 when she won the Oscar. Bates has had an interesting career as well. First starting to act in the early 1970's, she was in a ton of supporting roles until she had the good fortune of being in Misery. After Misery she started appearing in better, more high profile films. One could even say that of the actresses listed here, her career seems to have gotten better after her Oscar win. Some of the films she has appeared in after Misery include: At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Fried Green Tomatoes, Prelude to a Kiss, North, Dolores Claiborne, Titanic, Primary Colors, A Civil Action, About Schmidt, Rumor Has It, Solace, P.S. I Love You, Revolutionary War, The Blind Side. *Sissy Spacek* is a wonderful actress. She has been nominated six times! She was nominated for Best Actress in Carrie (1976), for Missing (1982), for The River (1984), for Crimes of the Heart (1986) and lastly for In the Bedroom (2001). She won the best Actress Award for her performance in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She was 32 win she won her only Oscar. Now she has had an interesting career. Much like Dunaway, although unlike Dunaway most of her better films were made after Carrie. She one major notable film before Carrie was in Badlands (1973). After Carrie she has a very good run with some very good, quality films. 3 Women, Coal Miner's Daugther, Raggedy Man, Missing, The River, Marie, Crimes of the Heart, JFK, The Grass Harp, Affliction, The Straight Story, In the Bedroom. So she has also done some television work, probably on a par with the number that Dunaway has done. Again she has kept busy, along with Dunaway. She may not have been in the best productions, but her resume is filled with many, many fine performances. *Emma Thompson* listed here is an unusual choice. To say that her career has been lacking after her Oscar win would also be unfair. Sure, she has not done as many films after the win, but she was also busy off screen. She was divorced, then remarried and started to have a family, which for many actresses is just as important as having a career. Thompson has been nominated five times. And not all five nominations were for acting. She is the only actress to have won an Oscar for acting and also won for writing. Never has this happened before. That is quite the accomplishment. She was 33 when she won her Best Actress Oscar for the excellent Howards End (1992). In 1994 she was nominated twice. One nomination was for Best Supporting Actress for the film In the Name of the Father (1993) starring Daniel Day-Lewis. She was also nominated that same year for Best Actress in The Remains of the Day (1993) In 1996 she was nominated for two awards: For Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and for Best Actress in the superb Sense and Sensibility (1995). She did not win Best Actress, but she did win the Screenplay award. Before Howards End she was in four films, including the excellent Henry V, directed and starring her then husband Kenneth Branagh. After her Oscar win she appeared in several high profile films: Much Ado About Nothing, The Remains of the Day, In the Name of the Father, Junior, Carrington, Sense and Sensibility, The Winter Guest, Primary Colors, Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, Stranger Than Fiction, Brideshead Revisited, and Last Chance Harvey. She also had supporting roles in two of the Harry Potter films. So I would say in addition to Dunaway, and Bates she does not belong on this list. *Jessica Lange* has been nominated six times for an Oscar. She was nominated twice in 1983. She won for her Best Supporting role in Tootsie (1982). She was also nominated for Best Actress in Frances (1982). She was nominated again for Best Actress for Country (1982), and for Sweet Dreams (1985), and Music Box (1989). She finally won the big prize for Best Actress in 1995 for Blue Sky (1994). She was 35 when she won for Tootsie and 47 when she won in 1995. She had appeared in just four films before she won for Tootsie. The most famous of these four was the terrible remake of The Postman Alwys Rings Twice as well as the other famous remake of King Kong. After Tootsie, she was in some pretty good films including: Country, Sweet Dreams, Crimes of the Heart, Far North, Everybody's All-American, Music Box, Men Don't Leave, Night and the City. Then she won again for Blue Sky and after that appeared in Losing Isaiah, Rob Roy, A Thousand Acres, Titus, Big Fish, Bonneville. So I would have to say that she also does not belong on this list. *Frances McDormand* was 39 when she won the Best Actress Oscar for Fargo (1996). She has been in some really well made films of the past 20 plus years. Plus she is married to director Joel Coen. She has been nominated four times. The first nomination was for Supporting Actress in Mississippi Burning (1988), then she won for Best Actress in Fargo, then was nominated again for Supporting roles in Almost Famous (2001) and North Country (2006). Before winning for Fargo, she was in quite a few outstanding films including: Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Mississippi Burning, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Short Cuts, then came Fargo. After Fargo she appeared in Primal Fear, Lone Star, Wonder Boys, Almost Famous, The Man Who Wasn't There, Laurel Canyon, Something's Gotta Give, North Country, and Burn After Reading. For one of our great current leading actresses, she has had quite the career. She has also been on television. In quite a few series. But nothing substantial *Gwyneth Paltrow's* only Oscar nomination and win so far has been for her Best Actress role in Shakespeare in Love (1998). In my opinion one of our better younger actresses working today. Although, she could do a better job at naming her children. She has been in quite a few films for someone under the age of 40. She won the Oscar at 26. Before the Oscar she was in some of the following films: Hook, Malice, Flesh and Bone, Mrs parker and the Vicious Circle, Jefferson in Paris, Se7en, Emma, Sliding Doors, Great Expectations, A Perfect Murder. Then came Shakespeare in Love. After Shakespeare and her Oscar came more good films: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Bounce, The Royal Tenenbaums, View From the Top, Sylvia, Proof, Infamous, Running With Scissors, and Iron Man. So she so far does not belong on this list. *Underachievers:* *Holly Hunter* has been nominated four times winning once for Best Actress. She was nominated for Best Actress in Broadcast News (1987), Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for The Firm and Best Actress again for Thirteen in 2004. She won the Best Actress Oscar for The Piano (1993). She was 35 at the time. Before winning the Best Actress Oscar, she had appeared in ten films. Raising Arizona, Broadcast News, Always and Once Around. After The Piano, her output wasn't as strong as before. She was in Copycat, Home for the Holidays, A Life Less Ordinary, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Thirteen. She has been on televison as much as she has been in the movies. Her major claim to fame these days is her role on TNT's Saving Grace. So she should be included in this list of underachievers after her Oscar win. *Marlee Matlin* is interesting. Being the only deaf actress in this group has it disadvantages. For one thing she will be limited to the types of roles other actresses would take for granted. She has been nominated only once for her performance in Children of a Lesser God (1986) and she won that Oscar. She was only 21 at the time of her Oscar win. What is interesting about that win, was the fact that Children of a Lesser God was her first role ever! Five years after winning the Oscar she costarred on the tv series Reasonable Doubts. She has definitely been more active on tv. She has only acted in 13 movies. Now one could say that due to her being deaf, that alone has caused her not to act in more films, but in her case more tv series and movies have been available to her. I do not know the answer to that, but it is plausible. *Hilary Swank* has been nominated twice for a Best Actress award and has won twice. The first role she won for was for Boys Don't Cry (1999). She also won for Million Dollar baby (2004). She was 26 when she won for Boys. The five films she did before Boys Don't Cry were supporting roles. Most of her roles have been sort of a let down. Other than Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, the only other films she has done which I would even consider to be that good are: The Core, The Black Dahlia, and P.S. I Love You. She does not do anything for me. Her 1999 Oscar should have gone to either Annette Bening in American Beauty or Janet McTeer in Tumbleweeds. She deserved her Oscar for Million Dollar Baby. *Helen Hunt* was nominated for Best Actress in As Good As It Gets (1997) opposite Jack Nicholson and Greg Kinnear. It has been her only nomination up to now. She was 35 when she won that award. *I am not a very big fan of hers.* She has been in a lot of episodic tv, including the very well made Mad About You (1992-1999) with Paul Reiser. She has an impressive amount of tv and film work, while most of her film roles have been as a supporting character. She has been in some good films, but for the most part the films she has selected to star in were not very well done. Her Oscar should have gone to either Julie Christie in Afterglow or Helena Bonham Carter in The Wings of the Dove. *Halle Berry* is another underachieving actress. Before being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball (which she won at the age of 36) she had been in several not so good films. The best of which IMHO was Jungle Fever, Bulworth, and X-Men. After her Oscar win, she really has not taken advantage of any of the film roles she has accepted. In fact except for her role in the X-Men movies, she really has not made many memorable films. Her Oscar should have gone to either Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom or for Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! Have a Merry Christmas! Edited by Fxreyman

Number one: Anne Savage died in 2008. Number two: M. Jackson was not an actor nor was he a movie producer in the traditional sense. So yes I would have included Fawcett over him in a tribute. At least she had a long acting career including over ten films. Number three: Some have suggested in the past when Jackson had died that somehow he was worthy of some inclusion in a rememberance of sorts based on his acting experience. At the time I made the argument between Jackson and James Dean. Dean was in "only" three films, but man oh man, they were doozies, three important films from the 50's. Dean studied to become an actor. He had stage training, and had he not died tragically, may have gone on to a very rewarding career. So why not Jackson? He was NOT an actor in the traditional sense. He was an entertainer, but he was far from being an actor, especially when compared to someone like James Dean.

I don't think we are talking many years here. A movie that was released in 2003 is one I would call a classic. And that movie is Master and Commander. A film that harkens back to the Errol Flynn swashbucklers, yet was made with so much technical bravado, that it becomes a classic almost instantly. Some have commented that a movie like Master and Commander was really a "throwback" to an earlier era. When films were thoughtful and introspective. Where story and characterization carried the day, not slam bang action sequences and cgi effects (although this movie has those as well). But there are many other films IMHO that are from the 1990s that could be called classics. As there are many throughout the past ninety years.

We have these discussions all the time here on the message boards. What constitutes a "classic"? This is a fair question. And there are many ways one could describe a classic film. There are these descriptions from the dictionary: adjective Of the first or highest quality, class, or rank: a classic piece of work. Serving as a standard, model, or guide: the classic method of teaching arithmetic. Of or pertaining to Greek and Roman antiquity, esp. with reference to literature and art. Basic; fundamental: the classic rules of warfare. Of enduring interest, quality, or style: a classic design; classic clothes. Of literary or historical renown: the classic haunts of famous writers. Traditional or typical: a classic comedy routine. Definitive: the classic reference work on ornithology. noun An author or a literary work of the first rank, esp. one of demonstrably enduring quality. An author or literary work of ancient Greece or Rome. Classics, the literature and languages of ancient Greece and Rome (often prec. by the). An artist or artistic production considered a standard. A work that is honored as definitive in its field: His handbook on mushrooms is a classic. Something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering: His reply was a classic. An article, as of clothing, unchanging in style: Her suit was a simple classic. A typical or traditional event, esp. one that is considered to be highly prestigious or the most important of its kind: The World Series is the fall classic of baseball. Now many of the above descriptions may seem to be so-called "book" meanings, but I think you get the point. LZCutter's description is a very valid one. Also, I think the word classic can envelope a much larger group of films. The film does not have to be from a certain reference point in time. I think it also means something that has withstood the test of time and can be from any era. This is important to note. If TCM wanted to show only older films and have a certain cut off year (as many here have suggested) like 1960, then your viewing choices would remain rather static. And the viewership would start to tail off. Somehow, someway TCM MUST continue to show films from all eras. That will be the only way to showcase all types of films from all years to enable the viewer to make up his or her own mind what constitutes a classic film. That is why TCM shows such a divergent selection of films (like yesterday). Personally, I think TCM could show a film from every decade each day. That way they could cover all of the bases. Ten to eleven films per day. It could be done. Except when there is a special day devoted to a recently deceased film star or one of the other special programming days. So I wouldn't get all worked up because all you have to do is watch TCM all day today. If you think that the programming on TCM is falling a little short you do not have to look any further than what is on the schedule today. I think even you would agree that most if not all of these films would be considered classic. Out of the Past (1947) Short Film: Seeing Spain (1953) Spanish Main, The (1945) Short Film: Stars On Horseback (1943) Story Of Seabiscuit, The (1949) Short Film: Day At Santa Anita, A (1937) Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (2009) Short Film: World Famous Musical Hits (2000) Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) Short Film: Movies Are Adventure (1949) Scaramouche (1952) Man Who Came To Dinner, The (1942) George Washington Slept Here (1942) Short Film: Song Of A Nation, The (1947) Bride Came C.O.D., The (1941) No Time For Comedy (1940) Brother Rat (1938) Big Hearted Herbert (1934) Message Edited by FxReyman

The Virginian, the first 90-minute tv western was shot in glorious color from the beginning in 1962.

I don't know what the heck is so important about this thread. Isn't this message board about TCM? I mean every movie that is shown on the Fox Movie Channel is from their own library. And they repeat every one of these movies it seems almost every month. So who cares what is on FMC? I don't. And I would think a great many other posters here do not care either.

Reagan was a better President than an actor. Especially when compared with our current president.

*Did anyone notice what they did to the movie tonight on NBC? They just couldn't leave perfection alone! Those morons chopped off the end cast list, then after a few minutes of commercials, came back and ran the names (but not the original cast list footage or with the original music playing) squeezed under something else (I didn't even notice what it was, trying to read the names at the bottom).* *Shame on NBC! That movie is a national treasure, and should not be tampered with that way.* *May the person who made that decision have Mr. Gower fill all his prescriptions!* What did you expect???? Every network channel does that now. It is the only way that they can promote the next program even more than they usually do. Especially bankrupt NBC. No wonder Comcast was able to put a deal together to purchase them from GE. What gets me about people is that they are going to spend an entire three hour block of time watching a wonderful movie that runs 129 minutes like that when all they have to do is watch a video of the movie on thier dvd or vhs machine.

finally - a subject worth replying to! i'd just like to broaden the scope a little: say, a list of the 10 worst actors. notably those who somehow or other eked out a career. anyone can be wretched in one or two flics - it's an impressive feat to be consistently dreadful and get your contract picked up (singers turned actor - like bing crosby, elvis, sinatra - don't count; nor do comics). also, with special emphasis on those actors who - on some base biological level - rankle and offend the senses. i submit the following partial list for your consideration: john wayne dick powell robert ryan charles boyer james garner clint eastwood van johnson adolphe menjou john barrymore micky rooney pat o'brien ok - a partial list, so many more, but a start. Okay, I can see where you are going here, but I think you are confusing some really bad actors with some really fine ones. Now lets be clear about this. I agree that many actors are not worth their salt and high pay, but to include the above group is not really doing justice to a list of the worst actors. Which I am NOT going to list here. Instead I am going to take the list you made above and list some of these actor's best roles. Dick Powell Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet (1945) Billy Lawler in 42nd Street (1933) Brad Roberts in Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) Scott 'Scotty' Blair in Footlight Parade (1933) Jimmy Higgins in Dames (1934) Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) Jimmy MacDonald in Christmas in July (1940) John Forbes in Pitfall (1948) James Lee Bartlow in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) John Wayne Ethan Edwards in The Searchers (1956) The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach (1939) Lt. J.G. "Rusty" Ryan in They Were Expendable (1945) Capt. Kirby York in Fort Apache (1948) Tom Dunson in Red River (1948) Sgt. John M. Stryker in The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke in Rio Grande (1950) Sean Thornton in The Quiet Man (1952) Frank W. (Spig) Wead in The Wings of Eagles (1957) John T. Chance in Rio Bravo (1959) Lieut. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort in The Longest Day (1962) Tom Doniphon in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Sean Mercer in Hatari! (1962) Cole Thornton in El Dorado (1967) Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn in True Grit (1969) John S. Chisum in Chisum (1970) Wil Anderson in The Cowboys (1972) John Bernard Books in The Shootist (1976) Robert Ryan Jim Wilson in On Dangerous Ground (1951) Monty Montgomery in Crossfire (1947) Dr. Evans in The Boy With Green Hair (1948) Smith Ohlrig in Caught (1949) Bill 'Stoker' Thompson in The Set-Up (1949) Earl Pfeiffer in Clash By Night (1952) Ben Vandergroat in The Naked Spur (1953) Reno Smith in Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) Nathan Stark in The Tall Men (1955) Master-at-Arms John Claggart in Billy Budd (1962) Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin in The Longest Day (1962) Gen. Grey in Battle of the Bulge (1965) Hans Enrengard in The Professionals (1966) Col. Everett Dasher-Breed in The Dirty Dozen (1967) Deke Thornton in The Wild Bunch (1969) Charles Boyer Pepe Le Moko in Algiers (1938) Archduke Rudolph of Austria in Mayerling (1936) Napoleon in Conquest (1937) Paul Durmond in History Is Made At Night (1937) Michael Marnet in Love Affair (1939) Theo, Duc de Praslin in All This, And Heaven Too (1940) Walter Saxel in Back Street (1941) Georges Iscovescu in Hold Back the Dawn (1941) Gregory Anton in Gaslight (1944) Adam Belinski in Cluny Brown (1946) Cesar in Fanny (1961) Victor Velasco in Barefoot in the Park (1967) James Garner Jason McCullough in Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
 Cash McCall in Cash McCall (1959) Doctor Joe Cardin in The Children's Hour (1961) Flt. Lieut. Bob Anthony Hendley in The Great Escape (1963) Nicholas Arden in Move Over, Darling (1963) Dr. Gerald Boyer in The Thrill of It All (1963) Henry Tyroon in The Wheeler Dealers (1963) Lieut. Comm. Charles E. Madison in The Americanization of Emily (1964) Pete Aron in Grand Prix (1966) Wyatt Earp in Hour of the Gun (1967) King Marchand in Victor/Victoria (1982) Zack in Tank (1984) Murphy Jones in Murphy's Romance (1985) Zane Cooper in Maverick (1994) Tank Sullivan in Space Cowboys (2000) Shep Walker in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) Duke in The Notebook (2004) Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" Callahan in: Dirty Harry (1971) Magnum Force (1973) The Enforcer (1975) Sudden Impact (1983) "Spaghetti" Western films of Italian director Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars (1964) For a Few Dollars More (1965) The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Jed Cooper in Hang 'Em High (1967)
 Deputy Sheriff Walt Coogan in Coogan's Bluff (1968)
 Lieut. Morris Pimpennel Schaffer in Where Eagles Dare (1969)
 Pvt. Kelly in Kelly's Heroes (1970)
 Corporal John McBurney in The Beguiled (1971)
 Dave Garland in Play Misty for Me (1971)
 The Stranger in High Plains Drifter (1972)
 Josey Wales in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
 Frank Morris in Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
 Bronco Billy McCoy in Bronco Billy (1980)
 The Preacher in Pale Rider (1985)
 William Munny in Unforgiven (1992)
 Frank Horrigan in In the Line of Fire (1993)
 Red Garnett in A Perfect World (1993)
 Dr. Francis D. 'Frank' Corvin in Space Cowboys (2000)
 Frankie Dunn in Million Dollar Baby (2004)
 Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino (2008) Van Johnson Ted Randall in A Guy Named Joe (1943) Marcus Macauley in The Human Comedy (1943) Lieut. Ted Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) Major Thomas Milvaine in Thrill of a Romance (1945) Capt. James Hollis in Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) Tech. Sgt. Immanuel T. Evans in Command Decision (1948) 'Spike' McManus in State of the Union (1948) Pvt. Holley in Battleground (1949) Andrew Derby Larkin in In the Good Old Summertime (1949) Eric Wainwright in Too Young to Kiss (1951) Joseph T. Gresham in Washington Story (1952) Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon (1954) Lieut. Steve Maryk in The Caine Mutiny (1954) Charles Wills in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) Maurice Bendrix in The End of the Affair (1955) Phillip Hannon in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) Pvt. Arthur Hugenon in Miracle in the Rain (1956) Adophe Menjou La Bessiere in Morocco (1930) Walter Burns in The Front Page (1931) Major Rinaldi in A Farewell to Arms (1932) Lewis Easton in Morning Glory (1933) Anthony Powell in Stage Door (1937) Oliver Niles in A Star is Born (1937) Jim Conover in State of the Union (1948) General Broulard in Paths of Glory (1957) John Barrymore A.J. Raffles in Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman (1917) Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Gordon Bryon "Beau" Brummel in Beau Brummel (1924) Don Juan in Don Juan (1926) Francois Villon in The Beloved Rogue (1927) Maestro Svengali in Svengali (1931) Baron Felix von Gaigern in Grand Hotel (1932) Hillary Fairfield in A Bill of Divorcement (1932) Larry Renault in Dinner at Eight (1933) Prince Paul Chegodieff in Rasputin and the Empress (1933) Prof. Auguste A. Topaze in Topaze (1933) Oscar Jaffe in Twentieth Century (1934) (tie) Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (1936) Col. Neilson in Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937) Nicolai Nazaroff in Maytime (1937) King Louis XV in Marie Antoinette (1938) Georges Flammarion in Midnight (1939) Mickey Rooney "Andy Hardy" series of films (from 1937-1947) Puck, or Robin Goodfellow in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) Dick Tipton in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) Dan Troop in Captains Courageous (1937) Andy Hardy in A Family Affair (1937) Whitey Marsh in Boys Town (1938)
 Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) Mickey Moran in Babes in Arms (1939) James 'Jimmy' Connors in Strike Up the Band (1940) Tommy Williams in Babes on Broadway (1941) Danny Churchill, Jr. in Girl Crazy (1943) Homer Macauley in The Human Comedy (1943) Mike Taylor in National Velvet (1944) Dooley in The Bold and the Brave (1956) Henry Dailey in The Black Stallion (1979) Pat O'Brien Hildy Johnson in The Front Page (1931) Jim Brogan in Bombshell (1933) Biff Martin in Here Comes the Navy (1934) Jake Lee in Ceiling Zero (1935) Jerry Connelly in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) Knute Rockne in Knute Rockne, All-American (1940) Father Duffy in The Fighting 69th (1940) Gramp in The Boy with Green Hair (1958) John Gorman in The Last Hurrah (1958) Mulligan in Some Like It Hot (1959) Delmas in Ragtime (1981) Message edited by Fxreyman

All very good thoughts on favorite western series. And even though "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", "The Rifleman", "Cimarron Strip", and "The High Chaparal" are some of my faves, I would have to say that the classic 1962-1971 90-minute western, "The Virginian" was my favorite western tv show. Of all of the aforementioned shows can attest to , many were written as social-commentaries on present day real life events and or real life type of situations. In "The Virginian", I think what helped set this series apart from the rest of the series was the fact that the producers were able to get top flight talent to appear as guest stars on the show. Not too many series can claim that they had Bette Davis, George C. Scott, and many other well known stars appear on their show. Must have been the writing. And that is where everything starts. It also helped that the laconic Virginian was played by the wonderful James Drury. His character, full of mystery was one of those unshakable characters through out western episodic tv. He was in command, knew how to get things done, but was never afraid to get his friends to help him when things would go south. From what I have read, "The Virginian" was at the time the most demanding tv show being produced. Not only was it the first color 90-minute series, but often they had four of their episodes being filmed at the same time. Lee J. Cobb (who played the Shilo Ranch's first owner) often cited the busy production schedule the main reason why he left the show in 1966. He wanted to work in the more leisurely paced film industry. So, I would have to say that "The Virginian" was my favorite tv western of all time. Now, I have to go and get ready for work. See you all later! Message edited by Fxreyman

All very good thoughts on favorite western series. And even though "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", "The Rifleman", "Cimarron Strip", and "The High Chaparal" are some of my faves, I would have to say that the classic 1962-1971 90-minute western, "The Virginian" was my favorite western tv show. Of all of the aforementioned shows can attest to , many were written as social-commentaries on present day real life events and or real life type of situations. In "The Virginian", I think what helped set this series apart from the rest of the series was the fact that the producers were able to get top flight talent to appear as guest stars on the show. Not too many series can claim that they had Bette Davis, George C. Scott, and many other well known stars appear on their show. Must have been the writing. And that is where everything starts. It also helped that the laconic Virginian was played by the wonderful James Drury. His character, full of mystery was one of those unshakable characters through out western episodic tv. He was in command, knew how to get things done, but was never afraid to get his friends to help him when things would go south. From what I have read, "The Virginian" was at the time the most demanding tv show being produced. Not only was it the first color 90-minute series, but often they had four of their episodes being filmed at the same time. Lee J. Cobb (who played the Shilo Ranch's first owner) often cited the busy production schedule the main reason why he left the show in 1966. He wanted to work in the more leisurely paced film industry. So, I would have to say that "The Virginian" was my favorite tv western of all time. Now, I have to go and get ready for work. See you all later! Message edited by Fxreyman

Up to your old tricks again, I see.

*The surprise here is that Precious did not make the Top Ten list, but Star Trek (2009) did.* *Com on NBOR ....Star Trek (2009) was a "REBOOT" ..."REMAKE" or whatever you may want to call it...but I still can't figure out or even understand why this is considered the "Best Film of 2009"!* So from your line of reasoning a film that is considered either a remake or a "reboot" should not be considered for top ten of any given year? You should look back in history to other "so-called" remakes that were selected for top tens from NBOR. And I am assuming you would include sequels in that line of reasoning as well? 1974: The Three Musketeers 1986: The Color of Money 1987: The Untouchables 1989: Henry V 1990: Hamlet 1993: Shadowlands 1998: The Thin Red Line 2002: The Quiet American 2008: The Dark Knight There are other examples of remakes and or sequels that were selected as top tens by the NBOR. I just chose to go back 35 years or so. I mean, there are quite a few remakes on their lists. No reason why Star Trek could not be on the list this year. One of the best movies to come out of Hollywood in many years, IMHO. There is nothing wrong with selecting Star Trek as one of the top ten movies of the year. If you look at the Rotten Tomatoes site the film did garner more than a 95% positive rating and many reviewers gave it an "A" or higher grade. Precious has received a 91% positive rating, so I would agree with their selection if their selection is based at all on what many critics have written about the various movies being selected. All-in-all, I have no problem with top ten lists including sequels, remakes or any other type of movie. This was a strong year for movies in general with many very fine releases being shown. Having a classic tv show remade into one of the better films in a franchise and then being selected by a prestigious national selecting committee I think is wonderful. Seeing how many of the Star Trek films have been maligned over the years only makes me feel better that a film that is considered by many to be one of the very best of the franchise, have the chance to be selected as a top ten film, makes me vary proud to be counted as one of it's fans. Message edited by Fxreyman

Sorry about that. I totally forgot to send you a reply. Yes I bought the HDMI cables at Best Buy. I bought the TV at a local place here in Colorado Springs called Tech For Less. They are sort of like a techie kind of warehouse that specializes in opened boxes and or refurbished units. They sell everything this way including dvd players, computers, phones, you name it electronically. Well anyway they had the TV I wanted, the 1080p 40" Sony Bravia for only $694.00. They said that it was an opened box unit which meant that it was probably looked at at the store from where it was kept, or it could have been used as a display model. Almost all of their tv's come from Costco or Sams Clubs. A friend of mine at work bought the same set at this store earlier in the year. he recommended the store to me. It made a lot of sense not having to spend almost $300 to $400 more at Best Buy or other retail stores. I bought a Panasonic HD Blu-Ray player from Best Buy for $199 based on many reviews I had read. I have the TV up and running, and of course, because I do not have satellite (I have Comcast digital cable) I only receive about 60 HD channels. No TCM HD yet. The picture is great on these channels, not so great on the normal channels. But that is okay, eventually more and more of the regular channels will become available. I can wait. I have watched my new Star Trek Blu-Ray on the new set, and it is eye poppingly gorgeous. So as far as buying more Blu-Ray discs, I will wait until I feel the need requires me to purchase more. Since this player upconverts, I am in no rush. Plus, the cost of a Blu-Ray disc is usually a lot more than I want to spend. I know, I know. There are all of theses sales right now. Well, they are just going to have to do without me for awhile. Rey

Not really.

Not in any specific order. but a good cross section of American film-making about America. 1. The Grapes of Wrath 2. The Last Picture Show 3. American Graffiti 4. The Wizard of Oz 5. It's a Wonderful Life 6. To Kill a Mockingbird 7. Gone With the Wind 8. Singin' in the Rain 9. The Talk of the Town 10. The Best Years of Our Lives

Well, been so busy posted and reading stuff I never got the chance to congratulate you on 6,000 posts! Knowing what a fan you are of one of the greatest gentlemen to ever grace the silver screen, I have included a piece from his Oscar-winning performance from The Last Picture Show. It was a great performance but it would have been even better had he won for a true western. Enjo and congrats again! Rey

Nice place to visit. You've done real good MissGoddess! I think I will come here often, especially "on holiday".

I agree with you. 1960 would be a very good year to seperate the "Classic Era" from the "Contemporary or Modern Era" of film-making. Here is an article from Wikipedia about the *Decline of the studio system* The studio system and the Golden Age of Hollywood succumbed to two forces in the late 1940s: - a federal antitrust action that separated the production of films from their exhibition; and - the advent of television. In 1938, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released during a run of lackluster films from the major studios, and quickly became the highest-grossing film released to that point. Embarrassingly for the studios, it was an independently-produced animated film that did not feature any studio-employed stars. This stoked already widespread frustration at the practice of block-booking, in which studios would only sell an entire year's schedule of films at a time to theaters and use the lock-in to cover for releases of mediocre quality. Assistant Attorney General Thurman Arnold?a noted "trust buster" of the Roosevelt administration ? took this opportunity to initiate proceedings against the eight largest Hollywood studios in July 1938 for violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The federal suit resulted in five of the eight studios (the "Big Five": Warner Bros., MGM, Fox, RKO and Paramount) reaching a compromise with Arnold in October 1940 and signing a consent decree agreeing to, within three years: - Eliminate the block-booking of short film subjects, in an arrangement known as "one shot", or "full force" block-booking. - Eliminate the block-booking of any more than five features in their theaters. - No longer engage in blind buying (or the buying of films by theater districts without seeing films beforehand) and instead have trade-showing, in which all 31 theater districts in US would see films every two weeks before showing movies in theaters. - Set up an administration board in each theater district to enforce these requirements. The "Little Three" (Universal Studios, United Artists, and Columbia Pictures), who did not own any theaters, refused to participate in the consent decree. A number of independent film producers were also unhappy with the compromise and formed a union known as the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers and sued Paramount for the monopoly they still had over the Detroit Theaters ? as Paramount was also gaining dominance through actors like Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, Betty Hutton, crooner Bing Crosby, Alan Ladd, and longtime actor for studio Gary Cooper too- by 1942. The Big Five studios didn't meet the requirements of the Consent of Decree during WWII, without major consequence, but after the war ended they joined Paramount as defendants in the Hollywood anti-trust case, as did the Little Three studios also. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that the major studios ownership of theaters and film distribution was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. As a result, the studios began to release actors and technical staff from their contracts with the studios. This changed the paradigm of film making by the major Hollywood studios, as each could have an entirely different cast and creative team. This resulted in the gradual loss of the characteristics which made MGM, Paramount, Universal, Columbia, RKO, and Fox films immediately identifiable. But certain movie people, such as Cecil B. DeMille, either remained contract artists till the end of their careers or used the same creative teams on their films, so that a DeMille film still looked like one whether it was made in 1932 or 1956. Also, the number of movies being produced annually dropped as the average budget soared, marking a major change in strategy for the industry. Studios now aimed to produce entertainment that could not be offered by television: spectacular, larger-than-life productions. Studios also began to sell portions of their theatrical film libraries to other companies to sell to television. By 1949, all major film studios had given up ownership of their theaters. Television was also instrumental in the decline of Hollywood's Golden Age as it broke the movie industry's hegemony in American entertainment. Despite this, the film industry was also able to gain some leverage for future films as longtime government censorship faded in the 1950s. After the Paramount anti-trust case ended, Hollywood movie studios no longer owned theaters, and thus made it so foreign films could be released in American theaters without censorship. This was complemented with the 1952 Miracle Decision in the Joseph Burstyn Inc. v Wilson case, in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed its earlier position, from 1915's Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio case, and stated that motion pictures were a form of art and were entitled to the protection of the First amendment; US laws could no longer censor films. By 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) had replaced the Hays Code-which was now greatly violated after the government threat of censorship that justified the origin of the code had ended- with the film rating system. I mean one could say that because of the elimination of the Hays Code in 1968, 1968 could be viewed as the first true year for "modern film-making. But I still think many of the so-called modern, non-studio contract films really began in earnest in 1960. A certain realism started to exist in many films in 1960. Sure, there were many films still being produced the "old-fashioned" way, but many other films started to have a certain futuristic look to them. It was not 1939 or even 1949 anymore. As far as being called a "classic" the following are some examples from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright ? 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company. adjective - of the first or highest quality, class, or rank. - basic; fundamental. - of enduring interest, quality, or style: a classic design. - definitive. ?noun - an author or a literary work of the first rank, esp. one of demonstrably enduring quality. - an artist or artistic production considered a standard. - something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering So IMHO, a film made in the early to late 1960's can be called a classic, as well as a film made during the early to late 2000's. For example, 1996's Fargo with Frances McDormand IMHO is a classic. The film was made with a firm nod I believe to many of the noir films of the late 40's to mid 50's. It also has a certain level of humor in it as well. Message edited by Fxreyman

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.......