September 15, 1999
My Favorite Movies, Vol. 1 - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
Well the AFI did it a while back, Ebert does it, and so does everyone with a column or show, these days. So for a change of pace, let me rattle off the movies that have either touched or are just favorites of mine. We have to do this in two parts so here’s part one, in no particular order:
TO SIR WITH LOVE, Sidney Poitier is very good in this film. He plays a teacher new to London and new to a bunch of unruly kids. His methods and style wins them over and the viewer.
SECRETS AND LIES is an explosive film that evokes the most harrowing of human emotion. Discovering your roots and changing the lives of people you hardly know. Brenda Blethyn is damned good and Mike Leigh is at his best, so far.
ON GOLDEN POND stars Jane Fonda as a daughter coming home to her parents. Not just any parents, but her real-life dad Henry Fonda and her mother played by Katherine Hepburn. The Great Kate and the Fonda Sr. won Oscars. It’s painfully real and raw with emotion, and funny at times.
SUDDENLY, this obscure film is one of Frank Sinatra’s finest performances. He plays a guy who wants to kill the President and holds up a small family in the process. Chillingly good.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH, is the definitive film that depicts America’s depression. Henry Fonda leads an ensemble cast that takes the great Steinbeck work to great heights.
AUNTIE MAME, the great Roz, Rosalind Russell has a tour de force romp as the most favorite of Aunt’s around. She plays this role with great force, she makes you laugh and touches you at the same time.
ALL ABOUT EVE, Bette Davis is superb in this movie. It’s a great behind the scenes look at the working theatre, before the advent of theatrical divas.
MRS. BROWN, this film that depicts Queen Victoria’s interesting relationship with the commoner, Mr. Brown. Judi Dench as Victoria, is so good, you forget that Dench is an actress. She is beyond remarkable.
RAGING BULL, director Martin Scorsese depicts the life story of boxing great, Jake La Motta. Starring Robert DeNiro as La Motta, you can see why he won an Oscar. One of the greatest actors of our time plus one of the greatest directors of all time, equals a damned good film.
QUIZ SHOW, Robert Redford proved, besides being a good actor, he could be a good director. Depicting the quiz show scandals of the 1950’s, Redford makes it so real, it’s like watching a documentary.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER? One of the great casts in film history, Spencer Tracy, in his last movie, with The Great Kate herself, Katherine Hepburn play a couple who’s daughter comes home with a new beau. Not just any beau, but a black man in that of Sidney Poitier. Great monologues, terrific dialogue, this film doesn’t fail to move.
THE GODFATHER I, II and III Many have said part three was a piece of garbage, once immersed in the first two, you can’t help either loving or hating the last. It showcases the mob, at it’s grandest and tragic. It’s a tale of a family, a tale of passion, revenge and loyalty. A must-view for any film-goer.
In the same year The Godfather opened, CABARET, won more Oscar’s than it. It’s Liza Minnelli’s finest performance on film. She is radiant and fresh, Bob Fosse’s great vision and Kander and Ebb throughout, make this a musical not to miss.
PSYCHO, one of the scariest pictures ever. Probably Hitchcock’s most recognizable. Great film. Janet Leigh was good and Anthony Perkins brilliant, so brilliant it’s scary.
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is Elizabeth Taylor’s finest performance, same goes for Richard Burton. They were the world’s most glamorous couple and played the world’s most human couple in this Mike Nichols directed picture. It’s raw as hell and as good as it gets.
PATTON George C. Scott played Patton so convincingly, whenever I hear Patton I think of this performance. Scott and the great general himself are indespensible.
NETWORK Faye Dunnaway, Peter Finch and Beatrice Straight, won Oscars in this tale of a television network’s attempt to boost the ratings. Very good and with the great Paddy Chayefsky’s words, this is one of the best.
THE APOSTLE, Robert Duvall’s finest performance. Conveys human emotion like no other film before or since.
THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, one of the first films to ever touch me. Gary Cooper as the great ball player Lou Gerhig, was nothing short of memorable and touching.
FUNNY GIRL, arguably Barbra Striesand’s greatest performance. She is fresh, fascinating and fabulous. One of the last great musicals.
CALIFORNIA SUITE is a Neil Simon gem. This movie has got an amazing cast that includes Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith and Michael Caine, among others. It is a riot!
THE THIN RED LINE, shows us the most human side of conflict, conscience. Brilliant cinematography and a brilliant movie.
I just thought that SHORT CUTS, the Robert Atlman picture, was one of the most innovative films this decade. Featuring an all-star-cast, and I do mean all-star, you’d have to see it to believe it.
Gena Rowlands is one of the finest actresses of the last 30 years. Her brilliant performance as Gloria in GLORIA is kick-ass. She shines, moves, touches, and is so great.
MOTHER is one of the funniest movies ever. Albert Brooks wrote, starred and directed as the son to Debbie Reynolds’ mother. Debbie Reynolds was very good, as was Lisa Kudrow in a minor role. There are so many funny lines, it is just great.
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .