I prefer Universal over Hammer personally. My mileage.
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Chariots Of Fire is on Turner Classic Movies, and my goodness, this continually makes me âHow the hell did THIS win Best Picture? In a year with Raiders?!?â
Itâs long, pretentious, and has a score that, despite the film taking place in 1924, sounds like John Tesh playing a rave in Soho. Also, for a film that won Best Original Screenplay, itâs not original at all! This is all based on real people!
No one casually talks about Chariots Of Fire, whereas Raiders Of The Lost Ark has inspired countless people for decades.
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Disagree; that film is a classic and was deemed culturally significant enough to be among the first films ever added to the National Film Registry. Moreover, the story of how the film was created is what truly makes it a classic film, just one that was released way too far before its time. The full story is a bit too long to get into here, but I can tell you the truncated version: Tod Browning grew up in the circus and was friends with many of the sideshow performers as a result, so when the success (although itâs debatable how much of that success was due to Browning, as by all accounts he spent the majority of filming passed out drunk in the directors chair, which led his cinematographer, Karl Freund, to be the person who actually shot much of the footage) of Dracula gave him a blank check to make whatever he wanted, he decided he wanted to make a film featuring those outcasts and set up a melodrama with them. So he scoured the country to hire as many of them as he could find, but then proceeded to make them the most âhumanâ aspect of the film; in contrast to most films of the time (and even to this day), the horrific, ugly, and malformed were the good guys of the film. Browning deliberately showed that the âfreaksâ were just like regular people, falling in love, having children and families, dancing, singing, laughing, while in contrast the bad guys were a beautiful trapeze artist and her strongman lover, who by most Hollywood tropes would have been the ones you thought you were supposed to root for until they showed just how ugly their intentions were. To me, itâs a fascinating look at how for once the trope of evil being ugly and good being beautiful could be turned on its head, and I canât think of another example where it was done nearly as effectively since. And of course, after being cut up by MGM and with a âhappyâ ending tacked on the end that sort of ruins the message the film was meant to convey; that ânormalcyâ and âconformityâ are entirely relative to an individualâs personal experience and should not be what we base life on; the film was utterly crucified upon release, was banned in several markets for more than thirty years, effectively ended Tod Browningâs directorial career, and even had people suing MGM claiming various injuries from the film (one woman claimed it had caused her to have a miscarriage, for instance). It wasnât until the late 60s that people remembered the film that had turned the general publicâs view of how things were in real life upside down, and it started being played to a more sympathetic audience, leading to the aforementioned inclusion in the National Film Registry. I will forever and always defend this film, despite the ludicrous happy ending, as a true classic because of how far ahead of its time it was; even to this day I canât think of another item of media that makes an argument more effectively for the idea that just because people look/are different, it doesnât mean theyâre âbadâ.
The overall story of not only King Kong, but its director, Merian Cooper, is utterly fascinating as well. I would consider Merian Cooper one of the last great explorers, whose name should be mentioned prominently alongside the likes of Marco Polo, Magellan, Sir Walter Raleigh, and to put in a few names who are closer to being his contemporaries, Neil Armstrong or Sir Edmund Hillary. His exploits while serving in the military were astonishing, and his later travels allowed him to get some absolutely stunning films of things no one in the world had ever seen before (Look up Grass and Chang when you get a chance, although itâs pretty clear that back then directors didnât have to worry about little things like actor safety or animal cruelty). But he is rightfully known primarily for King Kong, a film which I myself had not seen until a few years ago (I had seen the 2005 remake and was too grossed out by the giant bug scene to really appreciate the rest of the film, but a blog post by a coworker ignited my interest and I found it on Amazon Prime; it still holds up surprisingly well despite being over ninety years old at this point). The story of how he got it from concept to film was so interesting to read, and the film itself becomes all the more fascinating when you realize that two of the main characters are basically Cooper himself and his long-time camera operator, Ernest Schoedsack, just fictionalized (that being Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll, respectively). The filmâs effects, despite being dated these days, were also stunningly well done thanks to Willis OâBrien, who later mentored none other than Ray Harryhausen in the intricacies of stop-motion animation.
An interesting fact about the film and one that I personally think should have been applied to the 2005 Peter Jackson remake was that Cooper did originally have a scene where the men on the island, while escaping from Kong, fell into a ravine and were attacked and devoured by giant bugs and spiders, but Cooper took it out because when he did a test screening all anyone could talk about was the giant bug scene, and he wanted the focus to be on Kong himself. Truthfully all I really remember (aside from the silliness that was the Kong on ice scene) from the 2005 remake is that scene as well, so I personally think Cooper had the right idea. Interestingly that film sequence from 1933 is still considered one of the great âlostâ bits of film from early filmmaking days; the only thing that survived of it was the storyboards and a few production stills which were later sold to collectors. Jackson was able to use those to essentially re-create the scene in his remake, but the original clip has never been found.
Cooper even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (although his first name is misspelled as âMeriamâ, which youâd think theyâd have corrected by now). Ultimately Iâd love to see a biopic of him; he really should be better known than he is.
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Honestly, the only thing people even remember about that flick is its score; the opening theme to be precise.
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@BruceLeePullen is Yojimbo on your list of greatest movies? Sorry for the slightly off topic post.
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And even then, if you played that music for someone, I doubt that theyâd be able to identify itâs even from a movie, let alone which one.
Meanwhile, Raiders has made glad the hearts of many for over forty years.
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If I gave the wrong impression, I apologize, I do consider Freaks to be a very good film. I was simply making reference to the fact that since its release itâs always been the subject of controversy one way or another. That continues to this day, motivating what I said. But yeah, in my book? Itâs good stuff and definitely as worthy of a watch as anything else from that era.
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Oh no; Iâm sorry, I didnât mean to give the impression that I didnât think you thought it was a good film! I was just disagreeing with the idea that itâs not a classic film; I think by anyoneâs metrics, being included in the National Film Registry should grant a film âclassicâ status automatically. I could tell you liked the film though from what you said. 
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Dances With Wolves
Best picture of the year? Hmmm. Random, pointless scenes, elevation of the main character to near deity, making sure his romance while living with the Native Americans is with a âwhiteâ captive . . .
In other words, I didnât like it.
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Wait til you see the remake, James Cameronâs Avatar.
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Jackson&co also re-shot the scene with stop-motion, itâs documented and included as an extra in the OG KK dvd box set that was issued around 2005, and itâs a ton of fun if you dig that stuff. The box set includes Kong, Son of Kong, and Mighty Joe Young.
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More power to you. I on the other hand loved it. Itâs an old-style movie and very much when it was made. Did you see the 3 or 4 hour version? The 4 hour is practically a miniseies and excessive in inclusions and the only one available on home video till very recently. The 3 hour is the one that won the Oscar for Best Picture and in my mind deserves it. Messaging is a curious thing. Itâs even worse today then it was then. I rate anything on what it aspires to be and whether it achieves it and how well. If anything gets in the way and limits the possibilities, I note that but in Dances case it is Western Myth doled out per its source and the traditions it emulates. Your reservations arenât mine. I have no problem with it. Itâs #65 on my Best Ever List and one of the best period dramas ever made. It may not be for everyone but it is popular for a reason and deserves its reputation I think. âTastes varyâ as they say.
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To answer you, not yet. Iâm at present up to #440 and it may land soon. I was always impressed with it and of course it inspired so many imitations. Fistful of Dollars (1964), Last Man Standing (1996). There are echoes everywhere. Yojimbo (1961) is upper Kurosawa and masterful. I need to include more Kurosawa. Selection is entirely feel and intuition. I sometimes deliberate a month before adding anything. Then suddenly they emerge.
Yojimbo is among three Kurosawas sniffing to get in. Individuality is an important factor. Does the film stand out as its own thing? Some world classics blur with others. This has delayed including some. Yojimbo is singular and distinct. Replay, aging, excellence of elements, transcendence. A film has to run a gauntlet and become an institution and further be accessible to a wider audience. Youâve proven thereâs always a skeptic. Is whatever it is a piece of movie history or an accomplishment most canât deny? Or if itâs misunderstood have I cracked the code to why itâs essential? At least for me.
Thereâs over a dozen factors I look at and they all have to come together. The film has to play and sing in many ways. This is my measure and itâs a high one. Yojimbo meets most of these. So itâs a matter of placement and my mind saying âYES!!!â when I fill the next gap. Quality, flow, covering every genre. The list goes wherever the movies tell you. Every selection is like Cinderella and the glass slipper. Does it fit? And if it doesnât, I move on until it does. Iâm intending on going to 650 at least. Possibly 700. If thereâs enough near perfect movies between then and there. Yojimbo? Itâs on the radar. Iâll let you know when it does. Anything else?
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It won Best Picture in a year not known for great movies. That year, Dances lead the Oscars with 12 nominations. Tied at 2nd place with 7 each were⌠Dick Tracy and The Godfather Part III, neither one of which is highly regarded now.
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1990 a bad year for movies?
Just look at the 1991 nominees and winners:
Goodfellas
Ghost
The Grifters
Misery
Postcards from the Edge
Home Alone
Flatliners
Total Recall
The Hunt for Red October
Those are all good movies, IMHO. Also, please remember that this was 30+ years ago, and the nominations and winners were still quite entrenched.
ETA: Knowing Hollywood history and elites will tell you why Dick Tracy and Godfather III dominated nominations, itâs changed but not a whole lot.
Should âDancesâ have won best picture? Maybe not, but the same year was a great year for movies.
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I donât know, a lot of not highly regarded movies deserve to win production awards. Other than the Al Pacino nomination for not having won an Oscar yet, it did deserve to compete for Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Original Song and Sound. (As for Cinematography, well, back in 1990 you didnât hire Vittorio Storaro to make your movie look okay.)
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Dick Tracy did NOT deserve Best Song over Blaze Of Glory.
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It certainly is a different style of song, but it was written by Sondheim, so the academy, which was even more full of old fogies at the time, voted for Madonnaâs torch song for a comic character.
ETA: Couple that with this being the only Oscar Sondheim won, it seems more like a nod from Holllywood to Broadway.
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Iâm with you Spotty. 1990 was a great year for movies. It may not be films some consider great. But the names live on. A number of them appear on my list.
#65 - Dances with Wolves (1990) [Theatrical Cut] [The Western Lawrence of Arabia]
#67 - Goodfellas (1990) [Scorseseâs beloved crime saga]
#106 - Back to the Future Part III (1990) [A wonderful conclusion]
#117 - The Hunt for Red October (1990) [Such mystique]
#240 - Home Alone (1990) [Christmas classic]
#245 - Days of Thunder (1990) [Top Gun on Land]
#309 - Total Recall (1990) [Sci-Fi Standard]
#414 - Reversal of Fortune (1990) [Captivating uncertainty]
#417 - Kindegarten Cop (1990) [Unconventional classic]
Ghost (1990), Misery (1990), The Grifters (1990). All three are likely as well. As Frank would sing, âA very good yearâŚâ
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