My Favourite Films

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... as for romantic comedies, Barefoot in the Park ranks high on my list and Charles Boyer as Victor Velasco almost steals the show from Robert Redford and Jane Fonda

"If you don't hear from us in a week, we'll be in the National Hotel in Mexico City... room 703"

I am not a massive fan of Tom Cruise but he is excellent in The Last Samurai,which is is a gorgeous feast of cinematography, matched equally by it's heart-rending tale of honour and tragic loss of tradition and, what's more,  it is made only more emotional by Hans Zimmer's wonderful musical score
"The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life. [With his dying breath] Perfect... They are all... perfect..."

 

I was raised on old RAF films, like The Dambusters and Reach for the Sky but A Matter of Life and Death is an intriguing mixture of a war story, a love story and and indeed life and death, Heaven and Earth

Cinema Paradiso is almost universally hailed as one of the greatest World Cinema films of all time and I would certainly agree - it is beautiful

It is a film for film buffs and humanists, as it shows a young boy's love of the cinema and his passion for the role of the projectionist and also reflects life and coming of age with great sentimantality - this along with the superb musical score by Ennio Morriconne, make for a wonderful experience

Now, in a more light hearted vein, here are some comedy and action movies that make my all time top list

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and Peter Sellers performance in several parts borders on genius comedy

First Blood is probably my 2nd favourite film. It was actually filmed in Hope, British Columbia, Canada


















The Long Good Friday is without doubt the best British Gangster film and it's got to be in my top three films

There are some unforgetable quotes from Bob Hoskins, including "�Shut up, you long streak of paralysed piss � What I�m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than a �ot dog, know what I mean?", along with "The Mafia? I've shit 'em!" and "I'll have his carcass dripping blood by midnight"

There's also the incredible final scene, oft quoted as the longest shot with no dialogue, in which Bob Hoskins goes through a whole mixture of emotions about his impending demise, including anger, fear, dismissal, ironic amusement and finally, acceptance 
























... and now for a Steve McQueen double bill

The Thomas Crown Affair was an unusal role for Steve but may well be his best - it's another heist/love story, like The Walking Stick (I seem to be drawn to these...) - the ending is truly memorable and the enigmatic words "samba, sugarloaf, jungle, piranha" describing a getaway in Brazil always fascinate me

The final scene is memorable - Faye Dunaway's Vicki is the only one who outwit McQueen's Thomas Crown but, after all, they are only human...





Le Mans is criticised by some but never by motorsport fans and for good reason - For me it's a fabulous insight into the physical world and the mind of the racing driver - and the racing footage is irresistable and unmissable

























I love Bedazzled, the comedy story of an every day man's Faustian pact with the Devil, both the 2000 remake and the 1967 original - Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil is a great counterpoint to Brendan Fraser, as the geeky Elliot Richards who is great in every scenario but the drug lord discovering he can speak fluent spanish is just perfect "No gracias soy alérgica a los crustáceos" (No thank you, I am allergic to shellfish)
























Just having the other name of George Spiggot, makes Peter Cook's devil the winner though and all of the exploits of  Dudley Moore as Stanley Moon are wonderful (well maybe not the flying nuns at the end) - his encounteres will Spiggot's of 7 Deadly Sins are all winners but Lust notably played by Raquel Welch might come out top 





























Gay Purr-ee isn't a gay movie at all, it's a cartoon cat movie and one that I've loved since I was little - I also was always drawn to this kind of romantic vision of Paris but back then I never knew who Judy Garland was, or that she was the voice of Mewsette, the female lead cat but it was more the character of Jaune Tom that captivated me, with his whiskers burning down like a fuse when he was mousing






This fascination with Paris and romantic themes persists and, even though it is clealry filmed on a set, Irma La Douce is another favourite - of course Irma is part of the "oldest profession" and the plot is a little silly here and there but I love it





























This theme of mine with fun time ladies continues with The Owl and the Pussycat, starring Babra Streisand and another of my favourite cities, New York - She sure is a sassy broad in this and many are surpised at her screen presence in her younger days - It's an unusual plot, I guess, but ultimately, it's a love story








and my favourite modern(ish) comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy...

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