Star power* can’t make a movie hold up forever
On Friday, as is my wont, when on my routine Target run, I browsed through the cheap DVDs and tossed a number in my cart, including, for five bucks, My Best Friend’s Wedding, a movie I so much enjoyed in its initial release that I had bought the VHS. Indeed, the flick remained one of the handful of videos in my collection that I had not yet replaced with DVDs.
But, like two of those I recently replaced, this flick just didn’t hold up well for a repeat (or re-re-repeat) viewing. I mean, I still found the premise clever, a nice twist on the romantic comedy formula. It was well-written, well-directed and well shot. Julia Roberts was at her best (to me, it seems she either hits the target dead-center bullseye or misses completely; this was a bullseye). The other actors were fine. There were some very funny scenes. Director P.J. Hogan cleverly integrated popular songs into the story.
Or maybe it was just my mood last night. After an emotionally challenging weekend and a day full of errands and household chores, I thought a light romantic comedy would be just the ticket to relax. I started losing interest about halfway through the movie–but this flick that usually holds my attention.
Now, compared to those other two movies I recently upgraded to DVD (from VHS) in my collection, this one actually had a story. The other two movies featured that captivating screen presence and eternal beauty, Audrey Hepburn, one of the few women who could get away wearing some of the bizarre fashions of the 1950s and 1960s and look fabulous, you know, especially that hat with an appendage like an insect’s antenna she wears in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
That was one of the two movies that just didn’t hold up. Roman Holiday was the other. I think I so loved those flicks when first I saw them because of the novelty of seeing the young Hepburn light up a screen. I was just becoming a film buff when I first discovered each flick. I was focused on how that Belgian-born beauty lit up the screen that I didn’t need a story. (Virginia Postrel might attribute this to Hepburn’s deep glamour.)
Some movies, like those two, don’t need a story to survive their initial release — or first viewing (or two). They get by on star power alone. So, that once the novelty of the star’s shine in that flick wears off, so does it’s appeal, but the Roberts’ film had a story and such films, if they survive a third viewing (to me at least), tend to continue to captivate no many how many times I watch them.
Maybe it was that the clever promise of My Best Friend’s Wedding had become old hat. Or maybe some stories just become too familiar to us over time.
—–
*and sometimes even story.
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One movie I enjoy watching over and over (even though it drags in spots) is Excalibur. It’s funny when you consider who is in the movie and how they weren’t stars yet on this side of the pond. (and young Helen Mirram as Morganna, yum) The plot is as old as time itself, but the production and the writing keep it for me.
“I never knew how empty my soul, until it was filled,” was my motto until my wife pulled a Gunnivere (well with my enemy and not my friend)
“My pride broke it. My rage broke it! This excellent knight, who fought with fairness and grace, was meant to win. I used Excalibur to change that verdict. I’ve lost, for all time. The ancient sword of my fathers, whose power was meant to unite all men… not to serve the vanity of a single man. I am… nothing.”
Another I enjoy is The Fog (the original, please) Revenants, low tech effects that still look good, and music that though cheesy now, still evokes.
Now 80′s cartoons? They need a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Comment by The_Livewire — July 27, 2010 @ 10:39 am - July 27, 2010
Shawshank Redemption and Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holly Grail, that’s it for movies I can can watch over and over.
Comment by Leah — July 27, 2010 @ 11:52 am - July 27, 2010
Bizarre fashions? BIZARRE FASHIONS? on AUDREY HEPBURN? Are you SURE you’re gay?!? Don’t be surprised if get a visit from the Correct Taste Squad for a little gay re-education!
Comment by Ashpenaz — July 27, 2010 @ 11:56 am - July 27, 2010
It’s a good idea to stop buying DVDs. All movies are going on-line streaming. Besides, DVD are standard definition. You need 1080P high definition (or at least 720P) for watching on the latest 50 inch LCD/Plasmas.
I stopped buying DVDs mainly to prevent obsolesence. You can’t keep up with technology. My VHS collection is gone forever. Blu-Rays are here, but not worth the expense.
A lot of movies cannot hold up with repeat viewings. That’s the way it is, but I definitely enjoy some old classics occasionally.
Comment by anon32353 — July 27, 2010 @ 12:09 pm - July 27, 2010
Oh, and Disney’s 20k leagues under the sea. Still holds up well.
Comment by The_Livewire — July 27, 2010 @ 12:24 pm - July 27, 2010
Movies that still hold up well for me on repeated viewings:
– “Casablanca”
– “Forbidden Planet”
– “About A Boy”
– “The Thing”/”Big Trouble in Little China”
– “Sleepless in Seattle”
– “Cold Comfort Farm”
I’m sure there are others, but these are ones that I will sit down and watch repeatedly. ..bruce..
Comment by bfwebster — July 27, 2010 @ 1:37 pm - July 27, 2010
Looking at my list of movies that I can watch over and over again, the best I can tell is that the thing they have in common is fantastic, quotable dialogue and hilarious one-liners:
Mildred Pierce (“Get out. Get your things out of this house before I throw them into the street and you with them. Get out before I kill you.”)
All About Eve (“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”)
Mean Girls (“Laura, I don’t hate you because you’re fat. You’re fat because I hate you.”)
Superstar (“My feelings would be best expressed in a monologue from the made for TV movie Sybill starring a young Miss Sally Field as a woman with multiple personality disorder.”)
Anchorman (“I am good at three things: fighting; screwing; and reading the news. Now, I have already done one of those things today, so what’s it gonna be?”)
Death Becomes Her (“NOW, a warning?!”)
Ed Wood (“Oh, that. Mexico was…a nightmare. We got into a car accident…he was killed. Our luggage…was stolen. The surgeon…turned out to be a quack. If it hadn’t been for these men…I don’t know how I would have survived.”)
Thelma & Louise (“You know how I feel about Texas! We’re not goin’ that way! Yeah, I know, Louise, but we’re running for our lives. I mean, can’t you make an exception?”)
Steel Magnolias (“Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.”)
Mommie Dearest (“Why can’t you give me the respect that I’m entitled to?! Why can’t you treat me like I would be treated by any stranger on the street?! Because I am NOT one of your FAAAANNS!”)
Bullets Over Broadway (“She’s perky all right. She makes you want to sneak up behind her with a pillow and suffocate her.”)
Comment by Sean A — July 27, 2010 @ 2:34 pm - July 27, 2010
Nobody’s mentioned Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.
All of my movies are re-watchable, though I do go through some long stretches without watching them.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 27, 2010 @ 3:27 pm - July 27, 2010
They hold up less well when tampered with. Yesterday, one of the cable channels aired Superman II. Now, most will agree that was the best in the series, and established Christopher Reeves as THE Klark Kent for a generation. But the channel for some reason aired one of the “Special Anniversary” editions, complete with the special extra bonus extra footage, you know the ones issued on DVD every 10th. 15th, 20th etc anniversary of a films original release.
Well, not only did they include extra footage, that, when viewed, it becomes obvious why it was cut out of the final product in the first place. This “Improved” version also had an alternate beginning! Now, instead of Sups getting rid of a nuke planted under the Eiffel Tower by throwing it into space, thus breaking the three evil Kryptonians out of the Phantom Zone, which worked perfectly well for the plot device mind you, they delete that whole sequence and go back to the end of the first movie – it was one of the two missiles Lex Luthor launched that breaks the PZ. They sliced various scenes from the first and second movies together that really don’t fit chronologically – it’s awkward. It now shows the missile Sups thrown into space from the first movie blowing up and freeing Zod and the gang. And they are coincidentally right by the moon. Next, they go back to using the original footage from Sup’s II; the action cuts to Lex and Ned Beatty already in prison, convicted of their crimes. That trial, even in the late 70′s, would have taken many many months if not years to try. But then, in the next scene, the three villains descend upon the astronauts and cosmonauts working on whatever on the moon… Wow! Did it really take the Super Kryptonians that long to get to the moon, when it was very close to begin with???? Wait? Were there cosmonauts in the original – it gets so confusing!
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 27, 2010 @ 3:31 pm - July 27, 2010
Patton, Casino, The Ten Commandments (For very personal and sentimental reasons), goodfellas, and a couple others I cant think of all top the list of films I can watch all the way through repeatedly and not get bored with.
In fact when my cable when kapput a few years back one of the only channels I could see was one that played Casino like 3 times a day, and I watched it three times a day for like 4 days lol.
There are a lot of films that stunned me when I was younger but slowly lost their appeal for me. Don’t tell my friends but Star Wars no longer has the draw it did in my heart that it did just 10 years ago (and no it’s not solely caused by the prequels and yes my friends are almost all Star Wars Geeks).
Moods change, tastes change and times change. Movie preferences change too. =)
Comment by Stone K — July 27, 2010 @ 3:44 pm - July 27, 2010
Sonic,
The version you saw was the ‘Donner Cut’ what the director wanted in making the movie. Some would call it the ‘pure’ version. YMMV of course.
Stargate had a deleted scene that made it into the director’s cut that should have never been cut. I’d always wondered why they didn’t dial from earth and walk back through. (The Series makes it clear that the gates are one way dialing-to-destination)
In a 3 minute scene cut from the theatrical movie one of the soldiers asks the question. Kowalski says “They tried that with the probe, the gates are one way only.”
I was like “What? You deleted THAT scene?”
I can’t watch Stargate anymore though. I keep looking at Spader-as-Jackson and see the Secretary
Comment by The_Livewire — July 27, 2010 @ 6:25 pm - July 27, 2010
JAWS, Hellraiser, John Carpenter’s The Thing, & Halloween all hold up really well, despite the dated clothes & hair. One of my most favorite films is Disney’s Sleeping Beauty; the 3 fairies steal the show. I also like Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 27, 2010 @ 7:20 pm - July 27, 2010
The Donner Cut eh?
Well, that just further reinforces what we were taught in film / video production classes – that the director is usually the worst person to have control over editing decisions.
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 27, 2010 @ 7:24 pm - July 27, 2010
Yes, John Carpenter’s The Thing is still a very watchable movie. Though it’s not as old, I would say Jurassic Park will hold up very well.
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 27, 2010 @ 7:25 pm - July 27, 2010
I’m going through a Buffy phase right now. It’s not a movie, but I find I can watch the episodes over and over again. I’m in Season 3 and I’m waiting for Anya to come back!!!
Comment by Ashpenaz — July 27, 2010 @ 7:25 pm - July 27, 2010
BTW, Dan, I love it when you do non political posts like this. Wish you’d do more of them. But that’s just me.
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 27, 2010 @ 7:26 pm - July 27, 2010
Ash, Buffy was a theatrical release before it was a TV show.
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 27, 2010 @ 7:27 pm - July 27, 2010
Ash, Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out in 1992 as s single movie; it starred Donald Sutherland, Pee Wee Herman, & Kristie What’s-her0-ace as Buffy. Joss Whedon still was part of it, but he hated how the movie came out. Thus, Buffy got reborn as the television series a few years later.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 27, 2010 @ 8:52 pm - July 27, 2010
One movie that continues to suprise and charm me is Bill Forsyth’s, ‘Local Hero’. As Roger Ebert wrote in 1983, “Here is a small film to treasure, a loving, funny, understated portrait of a small Scottish town and its encounter with a giant oil company…And what could have been a standard plot about conglomerates and ecology, etc., turns instead into a wicked study of human nature.”
Comment by mike — July 27, 2010 @ 9:05 pm - July 27, 2010
Fun post:
Lion in Winter: “I was tired. I was busy. They were friends.”
Comment by Tom — July 27, 2010 @ 9:10 pm - July 27, 2010
FYI: Chained Heat is still holding up nicely. (“Don’t you turn your back on me you chalk-faced whore” always makes me think of M’Chel Obama.)
Comment by V the K — July 27, 2010 @ 9:50 pm - July 27, 2010
#15: Get out of here, Ash. You haven’t even seen Xanadu. And Buffy The Vampire Slayer SUCKS. It is unbelievably overrated, has stupid dialogue, pathetic special effects (even for TV), and Sarah Michelle Gellar is a horrible actress.
Comment by Sean A — July 27, 2010 @ 10:02 pm - July 27, 2010
I believe it’s the vampires who suck, not the Slayer.
It’s difficult to trust an acting critique from someone who lists Steel Magnolias as a rewatchable, or even once-watchable movie.
I have watched Sarah Michelle Gellar since she was Erica’s daughter on All My Children–which may be one more reason no one was surprised when I came out. She was absolutely the best thing in Scooby Doo. And her unhappy scowl make The Grudge the classic that it is.
At least we agree about All About Eve and Bullets Over Broadway. I’d have to toss in The Philadelphia Story.
Here’s an odd fact–I like Lucille Ball’s Mame better than Rosilind Russell’s. I just rewatched the RR Mame and realized that Lucy had a better handle on the character. She also said “sons of bitches” which is how the quote is supposed to go.
Comment by Ashpenaz — July 27, 2010 @ 10:40 pm - July 27, 2010
#23: “Here’s an odd fact–I like Lucille Ball’s Mame better than Rosilind Russell’s. I just rewatched the RR Mame and realized that Lucy had a better handle on the character.”
That’s not an odd fact, Ash. It’s blasphemy.
Comment by Sean A — July 27, 2010 @ 11:16 pm - July 27, 2010
ME TOO. I disparaged it as a child because it wasn’t faithful enough to the books, but then it grew on me. (And Sterling Holloway’s Cheshire Cat is very, very camp.)
Other titles on my “highly-rewatchable” list are:
Auntie Mame
From Dusk Till Dawn
The Music Man
Murder by Death
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Team America
(That list represents roughly one-fifth of my not-very-large DVD library.)
P.S. I was fully prepared to back up Ashpenaz on the merits of BTVS, even though I preferred Firefly as far as Joss Whedon’s stuff goes — but then Ash had to go and say that he liked Lucy’s “Mame”
better than Roz’sat all.P.P.S. I could watch the “I’m Alive” opening number in a continuous loop until I passed out, along with the “Dancin’” sequence where the pseudo-Andrews Sisters and their Big Band merge with proto-’80s New Wave, but overall, Xanadu has way too many snooze sections. (Nonetheless, I have it on DVD.)
Comment by Throbert McGee — July 28, 2010 @ 12:12 am - July 28, 2010
I’ve never seen Rosalind Russell’s Auntie Mame, but I recently saw Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday and thought she was great, so I suppose I ought to check it out. I am very familiar with the muscial Mame, but the Lucy version was so bad it still hurts to think about it more than 30 years after I last saw it.
That’s too bad you didn’t like Roman Holiday on a re-viewing. I just saw it for the first time a few months ago, as well, and I thought it was great and I wondered why I hadn’t seen it before.
As far as my rewatchable list, I don’t often re-watch movies, but among movies I’ve seen recently, some of those that I wouldn’t mind re-watching (or that I’ve watched more than once and really enjoyed) include (in no particular order):
Midnight
Mamma Mia!
High Noon
Chocolat
Barcelona
Fargo
After Hours
Pecker
Adaptation
This is Spinal Tap
The Straight Story
Bringing Up Baby
Since several people have mentioned Xanadu, I must say that I didn’t see it when it first came out; in fact, I didn’t see it for the first time until about 20 years later, and then I was stunned by how truly ridiculous it was. I’ve never tried to re-watch the whole film, but I have found myself looking up some of the sequences again on Youtube, just so I could watch them and laugh about them again.
Comment by Kurt — July 28, 2010 @ 2:01 am - July 28, 2010
In all these comments I can’t believe that no one mentioned a single flix by Alfred Hitchcock. Maybe I’m just older than you all but how can anyone not watch the following films when they show up on TV:
Vertigo
Rear Window
Notorious
Rope
The Birds
Psycho
The Thirty Nine Steps
Stranger on a Train
Shadow of a Doubt (My Fav, Joseph Cotton and Teresa Wright)
Frenzy
Marnie
North by Northwest
Family Jewels
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Sabouteur
Witness for the Prosecution
Lifeboat (Another Fav, Bankhead and Bendix, brillant)
To Catch a Thief
Any how many more I can’t even think of at the moment. Damn, I am getting old
Comment by John in Dublin CA — July 28, 2010 @ 2:47 am - July 28, 2010
And let me add:
Spellbound
Comment by John in Dublin CA — July 28, 2010 @ 2:54 am - July 28, 2010
One could find better classics in a toilet.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 28, 2010 @ 4:17 am - July 28, 2010
Actually the Grudge reminds me of what I don’t like about modern horror.
I’m of the school of ‘Don’t show, don’t tell, reveal’. The Fog and Alien both are examples of this trope. You don’t see the Alien until the end, and in the fog half the horror is realizing what the monsters are, and why.
I’d also mention there are films where the actors are worth rewatching, but the movie, not so much. Interview with a Vampire is one of those. Kirsten Dunst scared the hell out of me as Claudia. Under Seige for Tommy Lee Jones. X-Men 2, while I can watch it again, the key is Ian McKellan. (How awesome is Sir McKellan? Watch Magneto’s Jailbreak and see how he is able to project just standing there) Plus he gets all the good lines.
“Mr. Laurio, never trust a beautiful woman, especially one who’s interested in you. “
Comment by The_Livewire — July 28, 2010 @ 6:51 am - July 28, 2010
The African Queen
The Man Who Would Be King
Patton
Best in Show
Hobson’s Choice
The Mission
A Man for All Seasons
Cool Hand Luke
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Shawshank Redemption
Dr. Strangelove, Or How ……
Tom Jones
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Comment by heliotrope — July 28, 2010 @ 10:59 am - July 28, 2010
Gone With The Wind
Evita
A Hard Day’s Night
Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf
Suddenly Last Summer
Hair
Chicago
Yellow Submarine
BBC Miss Marple with Joan Hickson (and not the new one!!!)
Poirot
BBC Good Neighbors
I was an obsessed Lost fan but I haven’t decided if I want to rewatch it. Can I go through all that again?
Comment by Ashpenaz — July 28, 2010 @ 12:05 pm - July 28, 2010
I loved Xanadu as a 7 year old child when I saw it in at the movies, although I never really understood the story at all. I thought the opening sequence was creepy & wonderful at the same time while the muses slowly turned from paintings on a wall to flesh & blood to ELO’s “I’m Alive.”
I rewatched Xanadu at 13 in 1985 & didn’t feel the same love I did at 7. I have the Xanadu CD, but not the DVD…yet.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 28, 2010 @ 1:45 pm - July 28, 2010
Sunset Boulevard
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 28, 2010 @ 3:50 pm - July 28, 2010
But ONLY if it’s David Suchet.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 28, 2010 @ 7:55 pm - July 28, 2010
I think movies with supposed near-future tech in them are challenged, because often the devices end up looking very dated in a very short time.. This is especially true for movies that are set in the near future.
Robocp was a very good movie. When it came out though, I saw the previews and thought it would be just silly. Then one day, soon after it came out, one of my classmates in screen writing class showed up with a copy of the script in hand. First off, this is pre-internet days, so getting your paws on something like that, especially so soon after its theatrical release, was almost unheard of…. and WAY cool! Once I started reading the script I quickly changed my initial opinion of the potential quality of the movie. I went to see it and was very glad I did. I am not much of a fan of Ver Hoven when he go all gore – which is strange, because I LOVE when Cronenberg does!… Scanners is still a guilt pleasure.
Fast forward twelveish years. Me and the Sonic-mate had recently purchased our first DVD player. We had been revisiting some old favorites, and, since this was a movie we both liked very much, we decided it was time to revisit it in all its now digital glory. It is still a very good movie, and the strength of Peter Weller’s performance helps it hold up well. What didn’t hold up well at all…. was the use of Ford Taurus as the futuristic car. Yes, it was a break from the past as far as the auto industry goes in the 80′s, but MAN, every time you see the car in a shot, you can’t help but notice just how dated it looks, even with the “futuristic” wheel well covers applied. It just jars you out of the story.
Movies that are set far into the future, Alien, Aliens, Blade Runner, yes, even 2001 Space Odyssey, or movies set in a galaxy far, far away, all have the advantage of inventing all the tech from scratch. They can make things up as they go along. And yes, I do think Blade Runner still shines some thirty-two years later. It is a masterpiece.
Comment by Sonicfrog — July 28, 2010 @ 8:16 pm - July 28, 2010
“The Last Valley,” starring Michael Caine and Omar Sharif and directed by none other than James “Shogun” Clavell. And almost nobody remembers this film even exists.
Comment by Wesley M. — July 29, 2010 @ 12:10 am - July 29, 2010
“Buffy” and “She’s all That” along with “Six Degrees of Separation (despite its disappointing ending) are some of my repeat favorites. So leave my Sarah Michelle alone, please! And George Peppard never gets old along with Patricia Neal and Audrey in that classic. Peppard’s character as a romantic male is a credit to my gender. Woof.
For something obscure and wacky/funny, check out Gareth Hunt, the wonderful ‘Avengers’ actor, in the dinner-order scene from “It Couldn’t Happen Here.” He plays this outrageous ventriloquist. The waitress is so funny too. British humour at its best. I can watch that scene over and over.
Comment by Patrick — July 29, 2010 @ 11:17 pm - July 29, 2010
Great as Russell is in the title role, massive credit must also go to Peggy Cass (as Agnes Gooch) and Joanne Barnes (as Gloria Upson), who both threaten to steal every scene they’re in. (And their characters get nearly as many quotable lines as Mame herself.)
Comment by Throbert McGee — July 30, 2010 @ 3:30 am - July 30, 2010
Alien
Aliens
Return of the Living Dead (original)
Night of the Living Dead (original)
Dawn of the Dead (original)
Day of the Dead (original)
28 Days Later
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
Logan’s Run
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 30, 2010 @ 10:09 am - July 30, 2010