Greatest Movies

The Greatest Movies Ever: The Ultimate Ranked List of the 101 Best Films of All Time!
$22.95
There are so many obvious omissions as well as many others that are better off listed as greatest overated, that this book is not only a joke, but purposefully misleading. First some omissions-Where is Ben-Hur, 10 Commandments, Usual Suspects, Stagecoach or the ridiculously funny A Shot in the Dark. There are many things that make up a great movie- great acting(not actors), great unique story, and It's impact on future generations of the public and movies. Movies that have no business in the book are- 1-#11 Nashville. Come on; I love Robert Altman, but that is 3 hours of one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. It was shot more like a Documentary. Lots of great actors but that is about it.#22 Double Indemnity-Great actors but the script is completely implausable and just plain stupid. A better choice for film noir is Out of the past, with Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and the greatest Femme-fatale- Jane Greer. Now on to the gangster movie-Yes the Godfather Saga is great, but Citizen Kane is still #1, and Goodfellas as #26 is a joke. A much better choice is Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, where the first hour is devoted to backstory explaining why the main characters are what they became. Not to mention the amazing performance by the then 12 year old Jennifer Connelly. The authors obviously don't like Sergio Leone, otherwise how can you not have The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on the list, when it should be in the top ten. It's influence even today is indeniable. Instead they have a movie like Bonnie and Clyde- again great actors, but stupid movie.Oh yeah, how about a Beatle's movie-please that is just plain ridiculous. Or Star Wars as only #52, and the Third Man as #57. It seems like they put them in there as an afterthought, when both belong in the top 20. There are many more "errors", but it is pretty clear that this book was designed for the uneducated movie fan in order to sway them away from some obvious classics. Only buy this if you want to be angered by the horrible choices and order in which they were placed. Any book of great movies that leaves out Ben-Hur and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, should be read with a grain of salt(poisoned salt).

The Greatest Story Ever Told
$2.99
This is a great movie depicting Jesus spreading the gospel, traveling with the apostles and ending with the cruxifiction and ressurection. For a movie that is over 3 hours, I think it flows well. With many movies like this made during this era (1950-1970), The movie features great actors (Like Charlton Heston as John the Baptist), Fantastic visuals (The landscape shots are breathtaking) and costumes, this movie is a classy rendition of the Life and Death of Christ.

Defining Moments in Movies: The Greatest Films, Stars, Scenes and Events that Made Movie Magic
$24.95
Beautiful and abundant images compliment some generally well written and well thought out editorials about defining movie moments in cinematic history. At its price point this is a virtual no-brainer for the ardent film buff. I wouldn't suggest it as a 'sit down and read through it book but more as a 'bit at a time' sort of book. Good for short moments in time in a very small room (ahem).

Telling the positive side of things without mentioning the negatives is only half of the coin. Downside is some reviewers get a bit pretentious, picking alternate scenes in a film rather than going with the popular choice or paying more attention to under-appreciated directors while ignoring some major players. I love Fritz Lang but 10 of his films appear worth reflecting on versus only one film for David Lean and Roman Polanski. Also the book could have used some better editing. In the index, Davis Lynch is credited with directing Eraserhead with David Lynch listed for Blue Velvet right above it. How hard was that to spot particularly as it is the last listing under L?

Also, someone named Kim Newman wrote that Virginia Rappe's death was a key event in movies (even this is a stretch as it isn't in a movie but around the film business). The writer suggests that somehow her real-life death in 1921 had a direct influence on the establishing of the Hays Code and use in 1934 (13 years later). Yesterday's news sister and ignores the reality of shocking films (for the time) that really made a difference like Baby Face (1933).

101 Greatest Movie Quotes - 24x36 poster
$3.95
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