Baumer's 50 most important films of all time (JFK 3, Earthlings 2.....FREE YOUR MIND! THE MATRIX NUMBER 1)

[baumer]

16 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Huh, I would've thought either GORILLAS IN THE MIST or THE COVE are better choices -- unless they're going to show up as well.

 

There's purposely only one documentary on this list.  Not because I don't think they are important but at the same time, I want to keep this more about fictional films.  I could do another list about non fiction....but for now, only one very very powerful documentary will show up.

[Dementeleus]

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

[The Panda]

On May 31, 2016 at 5:38 PM, Treecraft said:

Domestic:

Potter: $2.39B

Star Wars: $3.18B

MCU: $3.71B

 

Worldwide:

Potter: $7.7B

MCU: $10.2B

 

 

Factor in merchandise and such and Potter isn't close

[Dementeleus]

Just now, Baumer said:

 

There's purposely only one documentary on this list.  Not because I don't think they are important but at the same time, I want to keep this more about fictional films.  I could do another list about non fiction....but for now, only one very very powerful documentary will show up.

 

I wonder what documentary it could possibly be?

[baumer]

2 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

 

I'd have to look that up.

[Fancyarcher]

Free Willy is pretty good, and Snow White is an absolute classic and one of the most influential films ever made, no doubt about that.

[baumer]

3 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

I wonder what documentary it could possibly be?

 

I honestly don't think you know.  I'm not sure if we have ever spoken about it.

[Porthos]

5 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

 

Google is telling me that it is Cinderella that you are thinking of.  And Google couldn't possibly be wrong.

 

edit

LINKS: 

http://www.frontierlandstation.com/cinderella-the-film-that-saved-a-company/

http://www.rotoscopers.com/2015/03/18/how-did-cinderella-save-walt-disney-animation/

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-24/entertainment/ca-24480_1_disney-studio

 

But if that isn't it, dunno.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Porthos

[Fancyarcher]

6 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

 

No that's Cinderella. Snow White was Disney's first feature, and Sleeping Beauty was a flop upon original release. It's failure, actually forced the studio to adopt Xerox technology, a process that Ub Iwerks help create, so they could cut back on the budget of their animation. Hence why a lot of their animated films in the sixties and seventies look rather dry, and recycle animation from time to time.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Daniel Dylan Davis

[Ethan Hunt]

6 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

I wonder what documentary it could possibly be?

 

 

[Dementeleus]

3 minutes ago, Baumer said:

 

I honestly don't think you know.  I'm not sure if we have ever spoken about it.

 

Oh, in that case it's not what I'm thinking of.

[DAR]

2 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

Snow White did initially.  But after the studio produced very few hits.  Pinocchio and Fantasia weren't money makers right away.  Things like Bambi and Dumbo kept the studio above water.  But the 40s brought about WWII and the Package films.  It wasn't until Cinderella things turned around but then Walt was starting to think of Disneyland.  Thing is you could go up until the Little Mermaid to find a point where Disney wasn't in some trouble

[cannastop]

10 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Didn't SNOW WHITE basically save Disney from bankruptcy? Or am I thinking of SLEEPING BEAUTY?

You're actually thinking of Dumbo. Seriously.

[Eric is Quiet]

Snow white kinda sorta did save Disney. While the studio was doing well financially, Walt poured almost all of the studio's budget, as well as him mortgaging his own house in order to make the film possible, making it pretty much the Waterworld of the 30s, minus the crushing disappointment. But as said, Cinderella also was another big risk with a giant budget at the time, and could have closed the studio down, since a lot of money was lost during WWII. Sleeping Beauty though was a flop in the box office, which made the studio hesitant on another fairy tale until The Little Mermaid came and put Disney back into the limelight.

 

(I'm a huge Disney nerd, BTW, so ask me any Disney-related questions at any time )

[baumer]

Number 41

2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)

Gary Lockwood, Robert Beatty

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

 

 

 

Box office:  56.9 mill

Quick summary:  Kubrick goes from the dawn of mankind to the birth of a new species.

Imdb Summary:  This movie is concerned with intelligence as the division between animal and human, then asks a question: what is the next division? Technology is treated as irrelevant to the quest--literally serving as mere vehicles for the human crew and as a shell for the immature HAL entity. Story told as a montage of impressions, music, and impressive and careful attention to subliminal detail. A very influential film and still a class act, even after almost 50 years.

Why it's important: Kubrick's masterpiece reaches deeper into the grandiosity of cinema than any before. At its time of release, the special effects were extraordinary - even leaving NASA baffled by their detailed accuracy. Thematically, the film explores evolution, the nature of intelligence and the philosophy of life. The greatest science-fiction movie of all time has been hugely influential to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and numerous special-effects technicians. 2001 is hypnotic and unforgettable, as its giant scale and monumental ambition make you feel tiny in comparison.

Kubrick is known for his magnifying attention to detail and that is what makes his movies such a success. 2001 would never have been made if the special-effects weren't good enough or something didn't quite look right - his perfectionism drove his work to lofty heights. 2001 is a thrilling work, it makes us think, it stays with us for a long time as we ponder within ourselves the questions the movie asks. The detailed essence of each scene is remarkable as it is transcendent and works the mind in a way so few movies do. 2001 makes you feel, it evokes a reaction from everybody that watches it and if I could describe my viewing experience of 2001 using a single word, I would use awe.

Why it's important to me:  Upon my first viewing of this I was kind of bored, but over time I learned to appreciate it.  2001 is primarily a technical film. The reason it is slow, and filled with minutae is because the aim was to realistically envision the future of technology (and the past, in the awe inspiring opening scenes). The film's greatest strength is in the details. Remember that when this film was made, man still hadn't made it out to the moon... but there it is in 2001, and that's just the start of the journey. To create such an incredibly detailed vision of the future that 35 years later it is still the best we have is beyond belief - I still can't work out how some of the shots were done. The film's only notable mistake was the optimism with which it predicted mankind's technological (and social) development. It is our shame that the year 2001 did not look like the film 2001, not Kubrick's.
Besides the incredible special effects, camera work and set design, Kubrick also presents the viewer with a lot of food for thought about what it means to be human, and where the human race is going. Yes, the ending is weird and hard to comprehend - but that's the nature of the future. Kubrick and Clarke have started the task of envisioning it, now it's up to the audience to continue. There's no neat resolution, no definitive full stop, because then the audience could stop thinking after the final reel. I know that's what most audiences seem to want these days, but Kubrick didn't let us off so lightly.

[baumer]

10 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

Oh, in that case it's not what I'm thinking of.

 

WTF are you thinking?

 

And no Rubber will not be making an appearance here.

[Fancyarcher]

It's amazing that Baumer had anything to nice say about 2001 at all, considering how much he seems to dislike it. Very good!

 

(Maybe Citizenship Kane will actually show-up on this list, and will actually get something positive from Baumer about the movie, just maybe. )

Edited June 2, 2016 by Daniel Dylan Davis

[baumer]

Number 40

They Live (1998)

Roddy Piper, Keith David

Directed by John Carpenter

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum.

 

 

Box Office:  13 million

Quick Summary:  A film that is way, way, way ahead of it's time. It dares to tell us something isn't quite right with the universe.

Imdb Summary:  Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like "Stay Asleep", "No Imagination", "Submit to Authority". Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued.

Why it's important:  John Carpenter's slow and deliberate immersion of the daunting and worrying fable of the corrupt, deceiving and indifferent economic, social and political society, that has wrapped itself around its people and who in turn have blindly accepted their fate. Multicultural in more forms than anticipated, are the leading and upwardly mobile alien race who have gelled themselves into the Human psyche and exploited it to its full potential. This is the story of an everyman, a no one, a Nada who stumbles upon their secret, via an underground movement, whose mission is to sabotage their plans and awaken the world to its sinister plans. With the help of a pair of sunglasses, that shows the world as it really is, not in color, but a black and white parallel world that the sub-conscious has chosen to ignore. With subliminal messages as "OBEY", "CONFORM", "MARRY AND REPRODUCE", "CONSUME", "WATCH TELEVISION" and "SLEEP". It is through this thought control that the aliens have this world tied up and neatly packaged for its own manipulative uses, to further themselves at the expense of the meek, mild and the lowly sufferers of a job less and hungry world. This is the battle of self-awareness and one mans struggle with a reality check that has these alien beings staging war against the up-rising and rebellious armies from the gutters and streets. They Live You Sleep; where will your consciousness take you when the sleep is washed from your eyes. Welcome to the real world. It's a film that was dismissed as fluff upon release but has gained an enormous amount of respect in certain circles, especially in the climate we live in today.

Why it's important to me:  Like another film that is bound to make this list, it's a film that is about the human race being asleep.  We are being worn down and forced to live by rules that are unbeknownst to us.  Waking up from this sleep we are all in is tough to do.  This film tries to show and tell us that there's more to our world that meets the eye.  I won't get into too much detail because I'll just end up repeating myself later on.  But I love films that take these kinds of risks.  On a non-political note, this has one of the best hand to hand combat scenes in film history where Roddy Piper actually suplexes Keith David.  It's pretty glorious.

[baumer]

8 minutes ago, Daniel Dylan Davis said:

It's amazing that Baumer had anything to nice say about 2001 at all, considering how much he seems to dislike it.

 

(Maybe Citizenship Kane will actually show-up on this list, and will actually get something positive from Baumer about the movie, just maybe. )

 

I don't ever remember saying anything negative about 2001.  I've never praised it all that much but I don't remember dissing it?  

[Fancyarcher]

4 minutes ago, Baumer said:

 

I don't ever remember saying anything negative about 2001.  I've never praised it all that much but I don't remember dissing it?  

 

I remember you saying you found it boring and a bit overrated, understandably so, since it's hell of a slow movie. Maybe I was thinking of something else. I'm pleased you at least appreciate it from what it is, anyway.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Daniel Dylan Davis