Below are director Peter Bogdanovich's responses when Newsweek asked him to list what he considered The Five Most Important Films, as well as to a couple of other questions. I thought we might open it up to our own enlightened members as well, so join in with your own anwswers!
My Five Most Important Movies:
by Peter Bogdanovich
1. "How Green Was My Valley." Director John Ford can make you cry and laugh faster than anybody.
2. "To Have and Have Not." Howard Hawks is probably the most consistently engaging director in all genres.
3. "The Shop Around the Corner." Ernst Lubitsch is a master of the oblique, with the lightest touch in movies.
4. "Grand Illusion." Jean Renoir is simply the best director in the Western world.
5. "Touch of Evil." Orson Welles: still the touchstone for most of today's directors.
A truly classic movie that you're embarrassed you haven't seen: I'm embarrassed to admit I've seen all of them.
The movie you have watched the most times in your life: " Citizen Kane ," because it's so consistently surprising, and "Rio Bravo," because it's so relentlessly entertaining.
5 Most Important Films?
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MissGoddess
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My Five Most Important Movies
I'm not sure if this is the context in which the question is asked, but I am approaching it as The Five Movies That Had the Greatest Influence on Me and the Way I Watch Movies
In the order in which I saw them:
1. CITIZEN KANE: The first movie I saw where my reaction was, "Wow! I didn't know movies could look like this, be sooo different than anything else I've seen, tell a fascinating story, AND be entertaining." I was somewhere in the range of 11-13 years old. It is still my favorite movie and Welles is still a favorite director.
2. THE MALTESE FALCON: The first film noir that I saw (I think I knew the tone was special, but not why). My second Bogart movie (first was...CASABLANCA). Snappy dialogue and iconic acting all around. Not bad for Huston's debut.
3. DUCK SOUP: I loved Groucho from You Bet Your Life and had enjoyed MONKEY BUSINESS, HORSEFEATHERS and A DAY AT THE RACES, but DUCK SOUP just blew those (and me) away. Anarchy and wordplay have never been more fun...or serious.
4. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN: The first non-comedic silent that I remember seeing or, if it wasn't, the first to have a real impact. Knowing who EISENSTEIN was and what montage is came later. For years, it was second only to CITIZEN KANE as a favorite. Not in my Top 15 anymore, but still obviously an influence.
5. BONNIE AND CLYDE: I hate violence and blood. I have loved this movie -- and especially the last scene -- since I first saw it in a theatre in 1967. It transcends its constituent parts and (unlike EASY RIDER) the zeitgeist when released and remained fresh. Fashion, story, sex, romance, rebellion and a ballet of violence. Maybe it can be blamed for the prevalence of much of the negative aspects of those things in contemporary movies, but it sure works for me it this one. Without this and THE MALTESE FALCON, would I have ever gotten to GUN CRAZY?
A truly classic movie that you're embarrassed you haven't seen: THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS --I keep waiting for a pristine uncut copy to surface in a dumpster in Andorra, or somewhere, and be released by Criterion on a Region 1 DVD with loads of extras. Should I give up and just watch it on VHS?
The movie you have watched the most times in your life: I don't know, but probably CITIZEN KANE, followed by DUCK SOUP, CASABLANCA, PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM, DR. ZHIVAGO, DINER, DR. STRANGELOVE, and CATCH-22.
I'm not sure if this is the context in which the question is asked, but I am approaching it as The Five Movies That Had the Greatest Influence on Me and the Way I Watch Movies
In the order in which I saw them:
1. CITIZEN KANE: The first movie I saw where my reaction was, "Wow! I didn't know movies could look like this, be sooo different than anything else I've seen, tell a fascinating story, AND be entertaining." I was somewhere in the range of 11-13 years old. It is still my favorite movie and Welles is still a favorite director.
2. THE MALTESE FALCON: The first film noir that I saw (I think I knew the tone was special, but not why). My second Bogart movie (first was...CASABLANCA). Snappy dialogue and iconic acting all around. Not bad for Huston's debut.
3. DUCK SOUP: I loved Groucho from You Bet Your Life and had enjoyed MONKEY BUSINESS, HORSEFEATHERS and A DAY AT THE RACES, but DUCK SOUP just blew those (and me) away. Anarchy and wordplay have never been more fun...or serious.
4. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN: The first non-comedic silent that I remember seeing or, if it wasn't, the first to have a real impact. Knowing who EISENSTEIN was and what montage is came later. For years, it was second only to CITIZEN KANE as a favorite. Not in my Top 15 anymore, but still obviously an influence.
5. BONNIE AND CLYDE: I hate violence and blood. I have loved this movie -- and especially the last scene -- since I first saw it in a theatre in 1967. It transcends its constituent parts and (unlike EASY RIDER) the zeitgeist when released and remained fresh. Fashion, story, sex, romance, rebellion and a ballet of violence. Maybe it can be blamed for the prevalence of much of the negative aspects of those things in contemporary movies, but it sure works for me it this one. Without this and THE MALTESE FALCON, would I have ever gotten to GUN CRAZY?
A truly classic movie that you're embarrassed you haven't seen: THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS --I keep waiting for a pristine uncut copy to surface in a dumpster in Andorra, or somewhere, and be released by Criterion on a Region 1 DVD with loads of extras. Should I give up and just watch it on VHS?
The movie you have watched the most times in your life: I don't know, but probably CITIZEN KANE, followed by DUCK SOUP, CASABLANCA, PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM, DR. ZHIVAGO, DINER, DR. STRANGELOVE, and CATCH-22.
Last edited by ChiO on February 4th, 2008, 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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MissGoddess
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charliechaplinfan
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The five movies most important to me are
CITY LIGHTS - My favorite Chaplin feature. It is one of the most touching love stories put on film. It's comedy it timeless, it has some wonderful sight gags, the hilarity of the drinking scenes juxtaposed against the relationship betwen the Tramp and the blind flower girl. It also has the most perfect ending of any film.
What happens next between the Tramp and the girl? it's up to the viewer to decide.
My first introduction to Chaplin and to silent comedy. A milestone in my viewing.
SOME LIKE IT HOT - My first introduction to the films of Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon. One of my favorite directors and favorite actors. Not a minute of film is wasted, not a line of dialogue misused, everyone perfectly cast. Marilyn might have been difficult to work with but I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role. Tony Curtis, doing Cary Grant. Hilarious.
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - A classic packed with the happiest songs. Put together to utilise some songs that MGM had previously used in a myriad of other films, it works so perfectly. Whenever I'm feeling down or stressed the DVD goes on. My son and daughter have grown up knowing all the music.
The Broadway Ballet is sensational
THE BICYCLE THIEVES - This film blew me away when I first saw it. It's so powerful and moving, the little boy and his father, the poverty and the families dependence on the family bicycle. It's heart breaking. It got me watching all kinds of foreign cinema addressing all kinds of issues and using different story telling methods and techniques. It opens up a whole new avenue of film.
BRINGING UP BABY - I love screwball comedy, it might not be the best but it was the first film of the genre I watched. Like with Some Like it Hot not a piece of dialogue is wasted. Two wonderful acotrs who look like they are having a ball together, flaunting the censors ( how did they get away with that walk out of the restuarant) Cary Grant in a pink negligee (maybe i just like men dressing in women's clothes) the leopard, the dinosaur, George. It's perfect.
I can never hear ' I can't give you anything but love' without thinking if it.
FILMS I'VE REWATCHED THE MOST - all the above except The Bicycle Theives. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, CABARET, CASABLANCA, ROMAN HOLIDAY, REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
CLASSIC FILMS I HAVEN'T WATCHED YET - PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, BIRTH OF A NATION, THE SEARCHERS.
gosh, this was far more difficult than I anticipated.
CITY LIGHTS - My favorite Chaplin feature. It is one of the most touching love stories put on film. It's comedy it timeless, it has some wonderful sight gags, the hilarity of the drinking scenes juxtaposed against the relationship betwen the Tramp and the blind flower girl. It also has the most perfect ending of any film.
What happens next between the Tramp and the girl? it's up to the viewer to decide.
My first introduction to Chaplin and to silent comedy. A milestone in my viewing.
SOME LIKE IT HOT - My first introduction to the films of Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon. One of my favorite directors and favorite actors. Not a minute of film is wasted, not a line of dialogue misused, everyone perfectly cast. Marilyn might have been difficult to work with but I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role. Tony Curtis, doing Cary Grant. Hilarious.
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - A classic packed with the happiest songs. Put together to utilise some songs that MGM had previously used in a myriad of other films, it works so perfectly. Whenever I'm feeling down or stressed the DVD goes on. My son and daughter have grown up knowing all the music.
The Broadway Ballet is sensational
THE BICYCLE THIEVES - This film blew me away when I first saw it. It's so powerful and moving, the little boy and his father, the poverty and the families dependence on the family bicycle. It's heart breaking. It got me watching all kinds of foreign cinema addressing all kinds of issues and using different story telling methods and techniques. It opens up a whole new avenue of film.
BRINGING UP BABY - I love screwball comedy, it might not be the best but it was the first film of the genre I watched. Like with Some Like it Hot not a piece of dialogue is wasted. Two wonderful acotrs who look like they are having a ball together, flaunting the censors ( how did they get away with that walk out of the restuarant) Cary Grant in a pink negligee (maybe i just like men dressing in women's clothes) the leopard, the dinosaur, George. It's perfect.
I can never hear ' I can't give you anything but love' without thinking if it.
FILMS I'VE REWATCHED THE MOST - all the above except The Bicycle Theives. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, CABARET, CASABLANCA, ROMAN HOLIDAY, REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
CLASSIC FILMS I HAVEN'T WATCHED YET - PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, BIRTH OF A NATION, THE SEARCHERS.
gosh, this was far more difficult than I anticipated.
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MissGoddess
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Hi CCFan---I may get to see City Lights on the big screen in a couple of months and I'm really looknig forward to it. I haven't seen it in a long while.
I really have to get around to watching The Bicycle Thief---I saw it in part before but now I really should see it "for real". I guess I will have to put it as my "never watched classic".
I really have to get around to watching The Bicycle Thief---I saw it in part before but now I really should see it "for real". I guess I will have to put it as my "never watched classic".
THE BICYCLE THIEVES, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC and BIRTH OF A NATION came very close to making my Five Most Important list. THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC is one of my Five Favorite Films.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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charliechaplinfan
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- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
MissGoddess I'm so envious. I'd love to any Chaplin film on a big screen. The close up in the final scene is etched in my mind. It's one of the great scenes in film were you wait the whole film to get there and then when it's gone you need to see it again. The end of An Affair to Remember takes me in the same way.
Chio, I have seen all the Dreyer films that were released as Region 2 ans each one has impressed me. Dreyer was an absolute genius but it seems from what I read The Passion of Joan of Arc was his masterpiece. I hope I'm not disappointed.
I've no excuse for not watching Birth of A Nation I have it but I keep watching other films never quite finding the right time to watch it. I think it's because I know I'm going to have to really concentrate to get as much as I can from it.
Chio, I have seen all the Dreyer films that were released as Region 2 ans each one has impressed me. Dreyer was an absolute genius but it seems from what I read The Passion of Joan of Arc was his masterpiece. I hope I'm not disappointed.
I've no excuse for not watching Birth of A Nation I have it but I keep watching other films never quite finding the right time to watch it. I think it's because I know I'm going to have to really concentrate to get as much as I can from it.
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MissGoddess
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important movies
I think Bogdanovich listed his FAVORITES.
Here's a couple of 'important' ones:
'The Jazz Singer' and '42nd St'.
I didn't like the former, I would say it's very important in that it opened the door.
Before the latter, musicals were just photographed stage plays. I don't know who gets the credit, Bacon, Berkeley, Zanuck? The movie started the trend.
I see 'Citizen Kane' listed. It was. most certainly, a groundbreaker.
The ones I watch over and over are musicals. 'On the Avenue', 'It's Love Again'. Not because they're important but because I like them.
Here's a couple of 'important' ones:
'The Jazz Singer' and '42nd St'.
I didn't like the former, I would say it's very important in that it opened the door.
Before the latter, musicals were just photographed stage plays. I don't know who gets the credit, Bacon, Berkeley, Zanuck? The movie started the trend.
I see 'Citizen Kane' listed. It was. most certainly, a groundbreaker.
The ones I watch over and over are musicals. 'On the Avenue', 'It's Love Again'. Not because they're important but because I like them.
charliechaplinfan said:
And seeing Antonin Artaud on film is a kick. This is truly the Theatre of Cruelty.
I have see eight Dreyer films and I agree -- absolute genius. I can also understand why someone may not care for seven of those films. But not to like THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC would warrant burning at the stake. The rapid cutting makes it look different than the others, but it is the most powerful and dramatic statement on film that I have seen on on the power of the individual vs. authority.I have seen all the Dreyer films that were released as Region 2 ans each one has impressed me. Dreyer was an absolute genius but it seems from what I read The Passion of Joan of Arc was his masterpiece. I hope I'm not disappointed
And seeing Antonin Artaud on film is a kick. This is truly the Theatre of Cruelty.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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charliechaplinfan
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- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
I took Important to mean films that opened my mind to the wonderful world of film and made me realize it's potential.
When I've looked at my list again, there is a concentration of comedy films. The one I would substitute for a drama is Some Like it Hot for Sunset Boulevard. I discovered them at about the same time. I remember thinking how talented is the man who can make a fabulous comedy and the utterly gripping Sunset Boulevard.
When I've looked at my list again, there is a concentration of comedy films. The one I would substitute for a drama is Some Like it Hot for Sunset Boulevard. I discovered them at about the same time. I remember thinking how talented is the man who can make a fabulous comedy and the utterly gripping Sunset Boulevard.
The five films that have emerged as "the most important" to me personally are:
1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) As a highly impressionable kid, this film, along with 2. THEM! (1954) showed me that fear could not only be fun but exhilarating as well. These two cemented forever my lifelong passion for film. 3. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) introduced me to the pleasures of raw emotions being freely and openly expressed in a simple but heroic way. Nicholas Ray, without my even realizing it, taught me more about the world I lived in than any public school ever could have. 4. PSYCHO (1960) showed me that one single movie could be as relentlessly unpredictable and shocking as anything on the six o'clock news; I have never stopped thanking Mr. Hitchcock for giving me the opportunity to laugh (albeit nervously) at my own nightmares. 5. Edgar G. Ulmer's DETOUR (1945) awakened my senses to the delirious sensations of high art disguised as minimalist, poverty-row film noir.
The classic film I'm embarrassed to admit I've never seen: There are probably more than I care to admit, but one that comes to mind is Hitchcock's REBECCA (1940).
The film(s) I've seen more times than I can even count: Without exaggerating, I'm now in triple digits with BODY SNATCHERS and THEM! Following close behind are REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, OUT OF THE PAST, CASABLANCA and CITIZEN KANE.
1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) As a highly impressionable kid, this film, along with 2. THEM! (1954) showed me that fear could not only be fun but exhilarating as well. These two cemented forever my lifelong passion for film. 3. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) introduced me to the pleasures of raw emotions being freely and openly expressed in a simple but heroic way. Nicholas Ray, without my even realizing it, taught me more about the world I lived in than any public school ever could have. 4. PSYCHO (1960) showed me that one single movie could be as relentlessly unpredictable and shocking as anything on the six o'clock news; I have never stopped thanking Mr. Hitchcock for giving me the opportunity to laugh (albeit nervously) at my own nightmares. 5. Edgar G. Ulmer's DETOUR (1945) awakened my senses to the delirious sensations of high art disguised as minimalist, poverty-row film noir.
The classic film I'm embarrassed to admit I've never seen: There are probably more than I care to admit, but one that comes to mind is Hitchcock's REBECCA (1940).
The film(s) I've seen more times than I can even count: Without exaggerating, I'm now in triple digits with BODY SNATCHERS and THEM! Following close behind are REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, OUT OF THE PAST, CASABLANCA and CITIZEN KANE.
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Mr. Arkadin
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Five films that have been important to me would be:
Harvey (1950)
This was the first movie I ever remember seeing. My father introduced it to me when I was extremely young. Harvey is mainly looked at as a comedy, but in actuality it's a very interesting look at mankind and how one's view of it defines character.
El Cid (1961)
Another very early film for me (maybe 6 or 7 yrs old?). Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar is an amazing example of spirituality, honor, justice, and mercy. As in Stars in My Crown (1950), two friends are of completely different faiths and races, but they never condradict their loyalty to their beliefs or each other.
Day of Wrath (1943)
This was my first foreign film and still my favorite of Dryers works. I entered into a new world in seeing films from other countries and I've never quite recovered. Does Anne have supernatural powers? Can she command life or death? It doesn't really matter as she is simply a scapegoat for societies own wicked conscience.
The Lion in Winter (1970)
A Christmas card from Hell, Lion is perhaps one of the most perceptive views of family, manipulation, and the art of verbal fencing ever to grace the screen. As Henry says: "It's good to be King", but where does that leave everybody else?
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Holden's Bishop Pike deals with failure. Failure to live up to his own ideals and code, command his men, or even the betrayal of his own body to perform as it once did. Unlike others who find acceptance, Pike's salvation comes from honoring his debts--even when it costs him all.
A classic I'm embarassed to admit I haven't seen:
Lots I'm sure, but to pick one: Boys Town (1938)
Something I've watched more times than I can remember: This one's even more difficult, but three films I've intensely studied over the years are Los Olividados (The Young and the Damned [1950]), Citizen Kane (1941), and Europa 51 (1952)
Harvey (1950)
This was the first movie I ever remember seeing. My father introduced it to me when I was extremely young. Harvey is mainly looked at as a comedy, but in actuality it's a very interesting look at mankind and how one's view of it defines character.
El Cid (1961)
Another very early film for me (maybe 6 or 7 yrs old?). Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar is an amazing example of spirituality, honor, justice, and mercy. As in Stars in My Crown (1950), two friends are of completely different faiths and races, but they never condradict their loyalty to their beliefs or each other.
Day of Wrath (1943)
This was my first foreign film and still my favorite of Dryers works. I entered into a new world in seeing films from other countries and I've never quite recovered. Does Anne have supernatural powers? Can she command life or death? It doesn't really matter as she is simply a scapegoat for societies own wicked conscience.
The Lion in Winter (1970)
A Christmas card from Hell, Lion is perhaps one of the most perceptive views of family, manipulation, and the art of verbal fencing ever to grace the screen. As Henry says: "It's good to be King", but where does that leave everybody else?
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Holden's Bishop Pike deals with failure. Failure to live up to his own ideals and code, command his men, or even the betrayal of his own body to perform as it once did. Unlike others who find acceptance, Pike's salvation comes from honoring his debts--even when it costs him all.
A classic I'm embarassed to admit I haven't seen:
Lots I'm sure, but to pick one: Boys Town (1938)
Something I've watched more times than I can remember: This one's even more difficult, but three films I've intensely studied over the years are Los Olividados (The Young and the Damned [1950]), Citizen Kane (1941), and Europa 51 (1952)