One of the top of my list is The Last Starfigher. It is a solid "coming of age" story, with great early CG effects. It also was the last film with Robert Preston (The Music Man) and provided a wonderful way to say goodbye to him. Interestingly, it also had a very young Wil Wheaton (Star Trek TNG, Toy Soldiers) in one of the background scenes for a few moments.
I just bought "Dark Star" on Ebay (used dvd) based on several recommendations here. Seller Gohastings has one more if anyone wants. Somewhat hard to find. http://www.ebay.com/itm/381041501226
One of the top of my list is The Last Starfigher. It is a solid "coming of age" story, with great early CG effects. It also was the last film with Robert Preston (The Music Man) and provided a wonderful way to say goodbye to him. Interestingly, it also had a very young Wil Wheaton (Star Trek TNG, Toy Soldiers) in one of the background scenes for a few moments.
One of my favorites also. My son and I watched that at least 30 times when it first came out.
We had The Last Starfighter on laser disc, but like over half the collection, it finally succumbed to the dreaded laser rot. Side B eventually became unwatchable.
Re Dark Star: For those that may not know, it's actually a student film (USC), that managed a commercial release. It was made by some no-names, John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, who ever they are. I mean, you wonder where some of these guys went after their film school days.
And notably, it was John Carpenter's low-budget magic on Dark Star that got George Lucas' attention and resulted in him working on the special effects for Star Wars.
Supposedly the "Beachball with Claws" segment of the film was reworked into the plot of the movie Alien, as some audiences found it scary rather than funny. I found that segment funny as well as the "oh good you've decided to clean the elevator shaft" segment.
And notably, it was John Carpenter's low-budget magic on Dark Star that got George Lucas' attention and resulted in him working on the special effects for Star Wars.
I think you meant O'Bannon. He did some computer animation for Star Wars. Not sure Carpenter was involved, but then, Lucas had a lot of people working on the first Star Wars.
I think the Beachball-to-Alien bit might be apocryphal, and was one of the "we've had this idea for a long time" defenses due to the actual and threatened lawsuits over the Alien story. I always thought the suits were silly, as the basic framework of a terrible alien trapped on board a space ship is quite common in science fiction. Plus. there are plenty of real-life insects on earth that do the same thing. The first time I saw Alien I immediately thought, "they got this idea from the tarantula hawk!" Turns out there are hundreds, if not thousands, of species that plant eggs, then hatch through their hosts body. Old stuff, though certainly, the exact sequence of the life-cycle of the alien is unique.
As scary as Alien was, John Carpenter's The Thing was much more scary. I couldn't eat jumbo shrimp for years after watching that thing!
"The Thing" brings to mind "The Fly". 1986 with Jef Goldblum.
One of the rare occasions when a rehash of an old movie, the original Fly movie dates from 1957, is actually far better than the original. Great stuff.
Carpenter's The Thing benefitted from a huge improvement in special effects and was able to hew much more closely to Campell's original story than the 1950's movie could hope to, capturing its sense of mistrust and paranoia. The Fly remake was totally sold by the acting of Goldblum and Geena Davis and a script that wasn't afraid to give us lines like "How does BrundleFly eat?" and "Be very afraid."
I notice the list doesn't have Akira or Ghost in the Shell. Is this because they are animation? Both of these are absolutely wicked. If you do count animation, these are way up there.
Also pretty much anything by Studio Ghibli is great, despite being for kids. Do start with Totoro.
The favorite movie list was created by members of this forum voting for their favorite movie(s). There was never any restriction as to what was eligible to be on the list (other than it had to be an actual movie, I guess). All that was necessary was for someone to mention the movie's title in a post.
Initially I asked that people limit their choices to no more than five, but that requirement went down the tubes pretty quick.
The list hasn't been updated in over two years and there was little activity in this thread for a long time, but it seems to have resurfaced recently. If there is interest I can surely add more movies to the list, or someone could copy it and start a new thread with more recent movies added.
Just my cockeyed observation but it seems no one wants to die laughing.
How about Red Skelton in "The Fuller Brush Man" or even Jerry Lewis or maybe one of the Bob and Bing on the road movies.
Good call on an old comedy, Tim. I still love to watch "No Time for Sergeants" and "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines". Bury me with those videotapes in my hands.
Comments
One of the top of my list is The Last Starfigher. It is a solid "coming of age" story, with great early CG effects. It also was the last film with Robert Preston (The Music Man) and provided a wonderful way to say goodbye to him. Interestingly, it also had a very young Wil Wheaton (Star Trek TNG, Toy Soldiers) in one of the background scenes for a few moments.
One of my favorites also. My son and I watched that at least 30 times when it first came out.
The DVD is now in my library.
Re Dark Star: For those that may not know, it's actually a student film (USC), that managed a commercial release. It was made by some no-names, John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, who ever they are. I mean, you wonder where some of these guys went after their film school days.
I think you meant O'Bannon. He did some computer animation for Star Wars. Not sure Carpenter was involved, but then, Lucas had a lot of people working on the first Star Wars.
I think the Beachball-to-Alien bit might be apocryphal, and was one of the "we've had this idea for a long time" defenses due to the actual and threatened lawsuits over the Alien story. I always thought the suits were silly, as the basic framework of a terrible alien trapped on board a space ship is quite common in science fiction. Plus. there are plenty of real-life insects on earth that do the same thing. The first time I saw Alien I immediately thought, "they got this idea from the tarantula hawk!" Turns out there are hundreds, if not thousands, of species that plant eggs, then hatch through their hosts body. Old stuff, though certainly, the exact sequence of the life-cycle of the alien is unique.
As scary as Alien was, John Carpenter's The Thing was much more scary. I couldn't eat jumbo shrimp for years after watching that thing!
One of the rare occasions when a rehash of an old movie, the original Fly movie dates from 1957, is actually far better than the original. Great stuff.
Also pretty much anything by Studio Ghibli is great, despite being for kids. Do start with Totoro.
Initially I asked that people limit their choices to no more than five, but that requirement went down the tubes pretty quick.
The list hasn't been updated in over two years and there was little activity in this thread for a long time, but it seems to have resurfaced recently. If there is interest I can surely add more movies to the list, or someone could copy it and start a new thread with more recent movies added.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4y8YAMPFhk
Good call on an old comedy, Tim. I still love to watch "No Time for Sergeants" and "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines". Bury me with those videotapes in my hands.
Oops, did I just date myself?