What movies have stuck with you? Here’s some of mine (clockwise from upper left: the WOPR supercomputer; Khan; Gable, Hepburn and Stewart; Horace Vandergelder, Dolly Levi; a Wicked Witch; horse, doctor and parrot; an ROUS).
Junkie1 suggested this activity: List 15 movies you’ve seen that will always stick with you — the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Mine are in no particular order.
- Sound of Music. I have the entire movie memorized. Not just the songs. The. Entire. Movie.
- Doctor Dolittle. The old skool Doc, not that Eddie Murphy travesty. Why is the Rex Harrison version better? Not just songs — Giant. Pink. Sea snail.
- Hello, Dolly!. Barbra Streisand. ‘Nuff said.
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. After the lackluster performance of the first movie, this less-is-more outing literally saved the franchise.
- The Philadelphia Story. Suck it, b&w movie-haters. This movie sets the standard for banter-cum-sexual chemistry for all movie history.
- Up in the Air. Maybe it’s because I just saw it a few days ago, but I’m about the same age as George Clooney so I take comfort in the poignant revelation that middle age shouldn’t keep you from being master of your own density. Yes, I said density. Extra points if you get the movie reference.
- The Empire Strikes Back. The best of the Star Wars movies because it endured the least involvement by George Lucas in the story. Also, personally memorable because I watched it at the theater the day I graduated high school.
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I not only have the entire movie committed to memory, I also have the Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film™ committed to memory as well. And the differences between African and European swallows are permanently etched in my brain.
- WarGames. Notable not only for launching Matthew Broderick’s career (yes, I know he appeared first in “Max Dugan Returns” but this movie really got him noticed), but also for launching an entire generation of people robotically exclaiming, “Shall-we-play-a-game?”
- Empire of the Sun. Christian Bale’s debut. Epic. Steven Spielberg got shafted by the Academy, those bitches.
- Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was studying sign language when I went to see this at the theater. I pretended I was deaf for the whole two hours I stood in line and for the movie itself. Plus, it was a great film.
- Raising Arizona. How can you NOT love a film with a line like, “Her womb was a barren place where my seed could find no purchase”? Totes brill. Plus, the beginning of my lifelong and unhealthy obsession with Holly Hunter.
- Princess Bride. Thanks to this film, I have successfully avoided involvement in a land war in Asia. Wuv. Twoo wuv.
- It’s a Wonderful Life. Stay away from the colorized version or I’ll shank you.
- Wizard of Oz. Judy Garland. Ruby slippers. Witches. Munchkins. Flying Monkeys. Direct line of succession to “Defying Gravity.” What more do you people effing need?!
What would your stuck-in-your-DNA movies be?
Crazy, I’ll have to inventory and see what films are in my DNA. I relate to all of your selections (save Khan, Doctor Doolittle, and Hello Dolly.) Raising Arizona lines come up about once EVERY fortnight, Princess Bride is my wife’s all time favorite. I have a number of movies that if, while surfing channels, you MUST stop and view to the end (A Few Good Men, Back To the Future, The Lonely Guy, Princess Bride, and a few more.) I’ll have to scrape some cells from my toothbrush and get back to you.
drew
Look forward to seeing your list, Drew. Watch out about the mouth scrapes, though. Law enforcement officials may cross-reference for relatives of yours who may be fugitives. This is the world we live in now. Oy.