Tele's 100 Favorite Movies aka "Comfort Food" (complete)

[baumer]

FIlms themes' popularity is defined by the films' popularity, so it's safe to say SW theme is ahead of Jaws and Indy.

 

I disagree.  The recognition of a film's theme is not relegated to the amount of money the film made.  There are a litany of other factors.  Jaws is just as iconic as SW is and the theme is used at Universal's theme park and has been for about 30 years.  It's been imitated, made fun of, parodied and so on.  The JAWS theme is imo at least as recognized.

[Plain Old Tele]

9. The Road Warrior (1981)

 

Another movie which helped reinvent the modern action film. George Miller stripped down his story to an absolute minimum, and rooted it deep in mythology. The story of a loner who, for his own reasons, helps defend a family/town/whatever of innocents is as old as time, but Miller taps into something rich and primal. He basically translates the visual austerity of American westerns into a post-apocalypse world fueled by road rage. Working with a low budget, Miller basically got together a group of really brave stuntmen, went out into the Australian outback, and went nuts filming some truly crazy car chases and stunts. This movie was a huge worldwide hit and catapulted Mel Gibson to superstardom.

 

[baumer]

Nah, not quite on the same level as Star Wars Main theme or Imperial March. Raiders March is right up there too

I'd also put Mission Impossible theme, He's a Pirate, Welcome to Jurassic Park, Chariots of Fire theme (not sure how well known it is outside of UK to be fair), Also Sprach Zarathustra (if it counts), and of course 007's intro theme.

 

I'd bet the Chariots of Fire theme is very well known, but just not that it's Chariots of Fire.  

[Plain Old Tele]

Also Sprach Zarathustra (if it counts)...

 

It wouldn't count for movie themes, since it wasn't composed for 2001.

[vc2002]

 

 

 

Come on we can't miss its most famous quote

 

[Fancyarcher]

I'm totally shocked by The Road Warrior's inclusion. It's not like I'm surprised at how high it's on this list. Sarcasm aside, the movie is absolutely energetic and awesome action picture.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Avatree]

 

It wouldn't count for movie themes, since it wasn't composed for 2001.

I know but it is known mostly for being 2001's theme. As I said, wasn't sure if it would count

[baumer]

[The Futurist]

It wouldn't count for movie themes, since it wasn't composed for 2001.

Of course but Kubrick made that piece of music as famous as Michael Jackson s Billy Jean.

[vc2002]

I disagree.  The recognition of a film's theme is not relegated to the amount of money the film made.  There are a litany of other factors.  Jaws is just as iconic as SW is and the theme is used at Universal's theme park and has been for about 30 years.  It's been imitated, made fun of, parodied and so on.  The JAWS theme is imo at least as recognized.

 

I'm not talking about the money. I'm talking about the popularity, the culture influence and so on. SW is obviously ahead of Jaws and pretty much ahead of anything else.

[Plain Old Tele]

8. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

 

John McTiernan's final movie in his impromptu trilogy is my favorite of them all, a tense and suspenseful submarine thriller that just brilliantly glides along. So expertly paced and shot, with such a wonderful cast. What's even more impressive is how exciting and engaging it is even though it doesn't contain that much action. Tom Clancy's world-famous debut novel provides the source material -- of a brilliant Soviet admiral taking a prototype Russian nuclear sub for its own purposes, with the two world superpowers scrambling to figure out his true intentions. Connery has never been better -- as it turns out, he wasn't sure he wanted to do the movie and only signed on when the producers promised to bring his old friend John Milius in to rewrite his dialogue (the two had previously worked together on Milius' entertaining action/adventure THE WIND AND THE LION).

 

Edited March 12, 2015 by Telemachos

[baumer]

I'm not talking about the money. I'm talking about the popularity, the culture influence and so on. SW is obviously ahead of Jaws and pretty much ahead of anything else.

 

 I still disagree with you.  I honestly doubt it's a more recognized theme than Jaws.  

[RobinHood26]

I'm not talking about the money. I'm talking about the popularity, the culture influence and so on. SW is obviously ahead of Jaws and pretty much ahead of anything else.

 

mmmm its hard to judge. YES is the obvious answer but some stuff become so ingrained in our culture you forget. JAWS, they thought the movie script was about a dentist. Shark Week? Shark loving in general, marine biologists, The theme, the fear of shark attacks and so on. 

 

 

If people know what a Great White Shark is, then they know of the movie Jaws. 

[Ozymandias]

 

[baumer]

I'll go a step further about JAWS....when you first step foot in the ocean, if you have seen the movie JAWS, there's a good chance that theme enters your mind, even if it is only for a second or two.  Taking nothing away from SW, just saying that JAWS is instantly recognizable.

[DeeCee]

9. The Road Warrior (1981)

 

Another movie which helped reinvent the modern action film. George Miller stripped down his story to an absolute minimum, and rooted it deep in mythology. The story of a loner who, for his own reasons, helps defend a family/town/whatever of innocents is as old as time, but Miller taps into something rich and primal. He basically translates the visual austerity of American westerns into a post-apocalypse world fueled by road rage. Working with a low budget, Miller basically got together a group of really brave stuntmen, went out into the Australian outback, and went nuts filming some truly crazy car chases and stunts. This movie was a huge worldwide hit and catapulted Mel Gibson to superstardom.

 

On a somewhat sombre note a Mad Max was killed at the location near Silverton this week as a group re-enacted scenes from the movie.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-11/mad-max-fan-dies-in-motorbike-crash-near-silverton/6300006

Edited March 12, 2015 by DeeCee

[Plain Old Tele]

On a somewhat sombre note a Mad Max was killed at the location near Silverton this week as a group re-enacted scenes from the movie.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-11/mad-max-fan-dies-in-motorbike-crash-near-silverton/6300006

 

Yikes. Don't try this at home, kids.

[baumer]

8. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

 

John McTiernan's final movie in his impromptu trilogy is my favorite of them all, a tense and suspenseful submarine thriller that just brilliantly glides along. So expertly paced and shot, with such a wonderful cast. What's even more impressive is how exciting and engaging it is even though it doesn't contain that much action. Tom Clancy's world-famous debut novel provides the source material -- of a brilliant Soviet admiral taking a prototype Russian nuclear sub for its own purposes, with the two world superpowers scrambling to figure out his true intentions. Connery has never been better -- as it turns out, he wasn't sure he wanted to do the movie and only signed on when the producers promised to bring his old friend John Milius in to rewrite his dialogue (the two had previously worked together on Milius' entertaining action/adventure THE WIND AND THE LION).

 

 

Every time I see that dude, all I can ever think of is, "My dear officer, you could not even give me a parking ticket."

[Plain Old Tele]

Every time I see that dude, all I can ever think of is, "My dear officer, you could not even give me a parking ticket."

 

Yes, Joss Ackland, he had a short, good run as the complete dick of a villain. 

[Plain Old Tele]

7. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

 

Yes, I'm treating them as one giant production, conceived in a fit of manic brilliance by Peter Jackson (and encouraged by Bob Shaye). The trilogy single-handedly restored a dead genre to prominence, and it's one of the greatest and most amazing and inspiring film productions of all time -- a work of passion and dedication by every member of the cast and crew.