(no subject)

[skygiants]

So yesterday while doing my bookstore volunteering, I spent quite a lot of time sorting through old VHS tapes that people had donated, with the perhaps predictable result that I now have an overwhelming urge to organize a giant Classic Film marathon party, complete with popcorn and fancy cocktails and a makeshift red curtain constructed out of old sheets around the tv, and maybe a costume requirement for good measure.

Sadly, I do not think I know enough people in the New York area who love old movies like I do to organize such a party in reality. Also I suspect I will not even have enough time to indulge myself in such a marathon for a while. (For my satisfaction, it has to be a marathon with time and foodstuffs properly set aside for marathoning; it is nowhere near as much fun otherwise.)

Instead, I will indulge my cravings by asking you guys to talk to me about old movies that you love, perhaps regardless of actual quality! I exercise my power as Owner of the Journal and disallow anything that came out more recently than the 1980's. (With the random exception of Ladyhawke, because that was one of the cassettes I sorted yesterday and now I have a craving to rewatch that too. That was 1980's, right?) Black-and-white is best!

Comments

[villainny.livejournal.com]

I think that An Affair To Remember has the best first kiss of all time, and you can only see the bottom half of both of them. HOW DOES THAT WORK? Also, you should do this when I inevitably come and visit you. I WILL WEAR A TUX.

[skygiants]

Sometimes the bottom half can be super sexy!

....uh. Not in that way, that is not what I meant! ANYWAYS. You have talked to me about An Affair to Remember before, yes? I seem to remember this and putting it on my mental to-watch list and not getting around to it!

Also, YES. <3 I will dig up a Glamorous Gown and possibly a fedora! It will be AWESOME.

[wakeupnew]

I was going to say An Affair to Remember, too; it's one of my favorite movies, old or not.

Also, Becca, Sabrina and Roman Holiday. ♥♥♥

[ryanitenebrae.livejournal.com]

^^; One of my favorites is Breakfast at Tiffany's. Except for Mickey Rooney, that just wasn't cool. But other than that, it's a magnificent film.

Ladyhawke is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one I am very nostalgic for. ^_^ It also contains an awesome cast.

[skygiants]

Oh Breakfast at Tiffany's! Absolutely - I don't even like the plot of the film all that much, but I love Audrey Hepburn so much I don't even care. (But I have to just bury my head in my hands and pretend I am somewhere else every time Mickey Rooney is onscreen, yes.) My favorite Audrey Hepburn film is probably Charade, though. The best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never wrote!

I last saw Ladyhawke when I was awfully small and pretty much going 'ha ha Ferris Bueller!' so I am very curious to see it as a more grown-up person.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I know very little about old movies. But are you aware that Kage Baker is blogging about classic movies (http://www.tor.com/index.php?blogger=Kage_Baker) on tor.com?

[skygiants]

...*SHINY EYES* NO I DID NOT.

(You probably have already guessed that my mental image of the ideal Silent Film Party is heavily drawn from the Intolerance screening in Mendoza in Hollywood, yes? Uh, without the bit where everyone goes off to the hills to have crazy screaming time at the end.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

Ohgod. Alright, I must be focused.

Among the things that I consider it part of my mission in life to expose people to are:
Casablanca (I have problems choosing a favorite movie, so I just say it's this one, because it's that awesome.)
His Girl Friday (I do believe it's the funniest movie I know of.)
Trouble in Paradise (Okay, this is the other funniest movie I know of!)
The Third Man (see the end of this post (http://elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com/39594.html#cutid1))
Ninotchka (More Lubitsch for the win.)
The Haunting (1963. THERE IS NO REMAKE.)

I'm cutting myself off now.

[jezrana.livejournal.com]

The Haunting remake does not exist to me, either! \o/ Seriously, why would you remake that movie?

[jezrana.livejournal.com]

I would marathon old movies with you if a trip to New York in the near future were anywhere in the cards! Alas, it is not.

But anyway, my first response to "talk about old movies you love" is ANYTHING WITH GREGORY PECK. OR KATHERINE HEPBURN. OR PETER O'TOOLE. OR BETTE DAVIS. OR LON CHANEY, and so on, ad naseum.

So to name an actual movie, the other day I was randomly thinking about Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058213/) and how I really want to watch it again.

[skygiants]

*makes sadfaces at you* I was almost going to be in New Orleans in a couple weeks, too, for work! And then my company ran out of money and instead of getting a trip to New Orleans, I, uh, got fired. BUT ANYWAYS. You should totally come to NY at some point in the far future, at least, to get kidnapped for old movies FULL of Gregory Peck and Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole and Betty Davis and Lon Chaney AND EVERYONE. Although probably not all at once, since that might be tricky.

Ooh, I do not know that movie! *investigates*

[areyoumymemmy.livejournal.com]

I remain hopelessly addicted to the following Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant films: Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, and the Philadelphia Story.

For some reason, Holiday in particular is one of my comfort movies. Rich people snared by the expectations of their society and the lure of money! Backflips! Sadly alcoholic brothers! A toy giraffe! More acrobatics! Eccentric professors and puppet shows!

It is amazing.

[skygiants]

Holiday is the only one of those I have not seen or even heard of and clearly I MUST! Because the other two I have seen, and adore to a ridiculous degree. CARY GRANT BEING A DORK. KATHARINE HEPBURN AND BABY TIGERS. <33333

[ceitfianna]

I would be there with bells on!! Somewhere in storage I have Flying Down to Rio because I love Astaire and Rogers so much.

[skygiants]

Well hey, maybe next time you are up in New York I will stock up on some old movies then! :D

Oh Flying Down to Rio - it is such a strangely bizarre movie, but awfully fun! I actually got to see it in the old movie theater near my college campus, which does in fact have red curtains and an ORGAN IN THE FLOOR (which is something that never fails to fill me with joy) and as an experience that was pretty fabulous.

[sdelmonte]

Casablanca, of course. Not the greatest film ever made, but probably the one that epitomizes what Hollywood could be.

Bridge on the River Kwai, despite being color, IS the greatest film ever made. Or so I thought when I saw it may years ago. I need to rewatch it and confirm that Guinness and Holden and the rest were as good as I recall and the film was as harsh and as affirming as I recall.

The Philadelphia Story is utterly charming and a bit cynical and has Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart in the same film!

Bad Day at Black Rock - again, from the 1950s and thus color - is a spare, brightly light, unrelentlessly harsh melodrama that shows Spencer Tracy at his best.

So do any film with him and Hepburn, especially Pat and Mike.

While Hitchcock had a few clunkers, it's really hard to go wrong with his collected works, especially Vertigo, Psycho, and Rear Window.

Interesting, by the way, that there is a lot of Jimmy Stewart here, as well as Tracy and Hepburn. I would like to have more Cary Grant and Clark Gable, but I their performances often were better than their films (Gone With the Wind is a mildly racist, overblown melodrama, but Gable is great in it.)

[skygiants]

Of course - and man, I totally need a Casablanca icon, since it is, after all, the classic!

Bridge on the River Kwai I have never seen! But I have seen The Great Escape, which is another one of my all-time favorites (yes, the two are linked together in my head, don't ask me why. Uh. Prisoner-of-war movies?)

DREAM TEAM, NOTHING BEATS THAT.

But I have not seen enough Spencer Tracy - I've seen him in Jekyll and Hyde, but I don't think I've actually seen any of the Hepburn/Tracy films, which kind of shocks me now that I think about it! I have, however, seen all those Hitchcocks that you mention, and I adore them all - Vertigo and Rear Window especially. (I think Vertigo was my first, and it still has a special place in my heart for Hitchcock Twists. Jimmy Stewart, you are such a FREAK in that movie.)

I . . . have to admit, I am fond of Clark Gable, but he sort of reminds me of a monkey. It's the ears! I do love Cary Grant, though, especially in Charade.

[gramarye1971]

Guilty love for classic action/adventure serials here -- the kind where every other part ends on a terrific cliffhanger where Our Intrepid Hero is hanging by his toes from a biplane and using an elephant gun to shoot the vicious man-eating tiger that has been chasing the Fair Love Interest through the jungle for the past two episodes (as her dress becomes more and more artfully torn), and the Sinister But Uncomfortably Racially Stereotyped Villain cackles gleefully from atop his super secret mountain fortress where he is watching the whole thing through some ancient scrying mirror/pool/television....yeah. ^_^

[skygiants]

PERILS OF PAULINE.

. . . I have never actually seen any of this, admittedly, but the concept fills me with HILARITY all the same.

[dramaturgca.livejournal.com]

The Philadelphia Story (Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant) is on my top 5 movies of all time list. It's so witty and sparkling. (Tracy Lord is one of the approximately 4 characters that I would break my VAVIA DOES NOT GO ONSTAGE rule for.)

The Court Jester with Danny Kaye is, I think, one of the funniest movies ever.

I have a secret and horrifying love of Beach Blanket Bingo, but I really don't expect anyone else to share it.

Singin' in the Rain, obviously. No one can resist the Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. They are win. (Also, in the classic musicals category, My Fair Lady, Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Gigi, Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Mary Martin's Peter Pan is an acid trip, Royal Wedding, Gay Divorcee...)

I deeply love Holiday Inn and White Christmas, though I would understand if you wanted to avoid holiday movies.

The Muppet Movie is delightful in every way, except if you cry at the end because Jim Henson is dead.

The West Point Story, which I can't find anywhere, is rather silly and fun, and Cagney musicals are delightful.

Alice in Wonderland is eye-candy crack, but fabulous anyway.

I admit to loving Gone with the Wind. I have the four disc collector's edition and I used to watch it every year while my dad watched the Super Bowl in his room.

The Great Race is utterly brilliant and hilarious. I still rofl when I see it. Jack Lemmon is such a comic genius and Tony Curtis plays an excellent hero who pushes perfection to the point of pain.

Support Your Local Sheriff and Blazing Saddles is the category of 'only westerns I will watch'. (Also, The Producers and Young Frankenstein for Mel Brooks)

Operation Petticoat and Father Goose, because WWII movies with Cary Grant are AWESOME, and everyone needs a movie with a pink nuclear submarine.

Um... That's all that comes to mind at the moment...

[ceitfianna]

Yes, Danny Kaye is one of the best things ever, The Inspector General and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty are also awesome and A Song is Born is weird but has great music as all these swing and jazz greats of that era are just hanging out and jamming.

Can you tell that I'm a bit of a Danny Kaye fan too? I really do need to find a Danny Kaye icon since the man made the best faces, Jim Carrey has nothing on him and never will.

[schiarire.livejournal.com]

DESIGN FOR LIVING
BALL OF FIRE

If you have not seen them I will explain why but otherwise I do not wish to waste worrrds.

[skygiants]

I HAVE SEEN NEITHER.

- wait unless Ball of Fire is the one about the running? If so I have seen it! But I think that one may be Chariot of Fire. Or something else of fire. TOO MUCH FIRE.

[jothra]

The Marx Brothers. Especially Animal Crackers, Duck Soup and Night at the Opera.

I also agree on Casablanca and Bringing Up Baby. Ooh, and The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn.

[skygiants]

My family owns the complete collection but Duck Soup is the only one I have seen! Clearly this should be remedied.

Errol Flynn's Robin Hood! Someday I want to do a double-billing of Errol Flynn's Robin Hood with Men in Tights just to get the full awesomeness effect.

[muji]

1. That MST3K movie with Santa Claus and the aliens. Don't ask.
2. Go watch The Maltese Falcon or Double Indemnity right now.

[skygiants]

. . . but . . . but . . . I HAVE TO ASK.

See above as re: my answer to Jo, and being at work! :O (I am making a trip to the library tonight, though . . . . *schemes*)

[i-open-doors.livejournal.com]

Wow I love this post and I wish I were closer to you so that I could participate in something like this. Ok, I LOVE old movies, but some of my favs are:

Roman Holiday
Houseboat
Father Goose
Some Like It Hot
Anchors Aweigh!
Road to Morocco (Bing and Bob, yay!)

And of course the classics like Casablanca and An Affair to Remember.

Mom also showed a lot of the classic Vincent Price movies. She loved Pit and the Pendulum, but I was always partial to...shit...the one where he's the Shakespearean actor mimicking Shakespeare death scenes to murder his critics.

I just taped Sergeant York from TV -- fun little film if you ever get a chance to see it. Still haven't seen The Philadelphia Story, but I want to.

OMG I could go on and on!!! <3 you!

[skygiants]

I WISH THIS ALSO. But we can have a wacky old movie party in spirit, at least! <3

Some Like It Hot is one of my all-time favorites. It's SO RIDICULOUS. And the ending is insane, and awesome.

You are like the third or fourth person who has mentioned An Affair to Remember, so clearly I have to see it!

. . . . . I do not know what this Shakespeare film is either, but it sounds AWESOME AND I MUST HUNT IT DOWN OH MAN. Mimicking Shakespeare death scenes!

[campkilkare]

Casablanca is the best movie ever. If it was the last movie they ever made and then they rolled up the carpets, it would've been worth it.

[skygiants]

TRUTH.

Someday, I will visit Casablanca, just so I can tell anyone who asks that I came there for the waters. And it will be worth it.

[obopolsk.livejournal.com]

I am not well-versed in old movies, but I love His Girl Friday. And does the original Miracle on 34th Street count? That's one of my favorite movies for reasons I have never really figured out.

[skygiants]

His Girl Friday is ridiculously amazing!

Also, Miracle on 34th Street totally counts - it's not one of the ones that's lodged particularly in my brain, but that doesn't make it any less awesome!

[mask-and-mirror.livejournal.com]

This is really awfully cliche, but anything starring Laurence Olivier is high on my list of favorite old movies.

Wuthering Heights-- just barely like the novel, but a gorgeous movie on its own. Also, Laurence Olivier designed his own makeup and general appearance as Heathcliff (!)

Rebecca-- one of the greatest Hitchcock movies, and I *think* it actually won Best Picture. I was told it was a romance, watched it at the impressionable age of 14, and was terrified of marriage because of the horrible husband he portrays. Considering I love him, I think that says something about his acting abilities. Also, I usually count Wuthering Heights as the greatest love story of all time, so who knows if I should really be evaluating romances at all. Nevertheless, whenever I watch it now, I still get chills when he says, "It's gone forever. That funny, young, lost look won't ever come back. I killed that when I told you about Rebecca..."

Richard III-- I think this is one of the most watchable film portrayals of a Shakespeare play. Also, Olivier apparently changed the way people approach Richard's role now because he brought out the dubious "sex appeal." Eh, I'm not sure how historically accurate that is, but it's still good fun to watch him grab Anne and then kick the door in to his bedroom.

[vivien]

"Last night I dreamed I went to Manderlay again" - one of the best opening lines EVER.

I concur; Laurence Olivier was pretty damn amazing.

[vivien]

Hee, I appreciate Casablanca, but I can't say I love it as much as you guys. To Have and Have Not, on the other hand - wheee!

In high school, my glamorous best friend and I pretty much mainlined videos of old movies. My favorite is probably Gone with the Wind, problematic issues and all. I mean, I don't call myself Vivien for nothin'.

But oh, we adored Sunset Boulevard, too. That is actually one I should get on DVD because wow. "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. deMille." Oh, Gloria. And a movie from the same year, All About Eve. Hee, we watched a lot of Bette Davis.

We also watched all the Marilyn Monroe films we could get our hands on, but I can't really recall the plots of them, so they didn't leave much of an impression.

I used to watch the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road to..." movies with my granddad; I still like those. Oh, and Public Enemy with Jimmy Cagney? Oh, yeah. That was another good one.

So. Yeah. I'd totally watch old movies with you.

[skygiants]

To Have and Have Not is also BRILLIANT. I must reiterate my eternal and adoring love of Lauren Bacall. Even though she sounds like a frog when she sings. Or maybe especially because she sounds like a frog when she sings, because even though she can't sing at all she still pulls that role off and makes you fall 100% in love with her. As I said above, every time I see her on screen I think I lose some of my heterosexuality!

I actually have never seen Sunset Boulevard, only um listened to the Andrew Lloyd Webber soundtrack shut up I went through a ginormous Webber phase. But I totally have to see the original.

Someday we will do this, Viv! (Come back to New York! :D)

[oneechan19.livejournal.com]

Going backwards in time:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) is one of my favorite movies, although it doesn't feel like an "old" movie to me, or at least not a Classic (as opposed to a classic, which it totally is). There's just something about catapulting cows, and men turning into newts but getting better, and moose subtitles that you can't deny loving.

West Side Story (1961) is a good movie, but I think I love the music of it more than the actual movie. The dance scenes are my favorite parts to watch in the movie. Embarrassing fact: we have the record (actual vinyl!) and I used to dance around the living room to it when I was younger. In later years, I got the CD, so now I can dance around without having to worry about scratching the record. :D

My absolute favorite Classic movie is Rear Window (1954). James Stewart and Grace Kelly are fabulous in it. I love the parts where there isn't any dialogue and you see the lives of the people in the other apartments. And they're all connected in small little ways. There's just so much I love about that movie.

Okay, done rambling now.

[skygiants]

Man, who doesn't love Monty Python? . . . okay, some people, it is true. CRAZY PEOPLE?

I also love the dance sequences in West Side Story sort of embarrassingly. And I secretly believe that ALL fight sequences should be choreographed with snaps. OH YEAH BRING IT.

REAR WINDOW. <3 Yes, it is an amazing film. And I love how surprisingly badass Grace Kelly is in it! And now James Stewart spends the whole movie basically stuck in his wheelchair. It's just such a great concept for a movie, too.

[magwana.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, Clark Gable when he is being funny! It Happened One Night! There is a madcap heiress! I love madcap heiresses.

And My Man Godfrey, or almost anything with William Powell in it. I second The Thin Man movies!

OH! Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House! Like The Money Pit, but first, and with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy.

Plus, Judy Holliday movies. Born Yesterday and It Should Happen To You. She is the wife on trial in Adam's Rib, a great Tracy/Hepburn film.

[skygiants]

Oh, I love It Happened One Night so much! The bickering! I am so tragically susceptible to nonstop bickering.

I have not seen enough things with Myrna Loy in, I feel! Except The Thin Man, of course. But she is fabulous enough to deserve more than that.