Baumer's Top 100 films you have probably heard of but more than likely haven't seen. #1: Cute Clever Mischievous, but don't feed them after midnight!

[baumer]

Some of you are sick of lists.  I can appreciate this.  But lists are also a lot of fun.  They get a lot of participation here and really, who doesn't love a countdown.  

 

Tele did his list of films that were under appreciated or just not well known.  He had a lot of excellent films on his list but a lot of them were films many of us haven;'t heard of.  This prompted a conversation we had on what's app.  I told him I thought there were a lot of films that people have heard of but have just never gotten around to seeing.  He agreed.  

My guess is because this site is probably mostly in the age group of 18-30, there are a lot of really famous films that came out right around the time you guys were born but you just never got around to seeing them.  For example, in 1988, Rain Man won best picture.  But Mississippi Burning was a strong contender as well and my guess is not a lot of you have seen it.  

 

This is the type of film that will make my list and no this will not be horror heavy.  There will be some but less than 5% of the films on here will be horror.  There will be a few films on here that are films you might not have heard of, but most of them will be top 100 yearly films that were wide releases and made by studios.  

 

I'll start this tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we all enjoyed Tele's.  

[Eric Prime]

[baumer]

You guys should check out cooleric's list of important films as well.  Very detailed and very well written.

 

http://forums.boxofficetheory.com/topic/21965-coolerics-cool-25-my-most-meaningful-films/

 

[Eric Prime]

3 minutes ago, Baumer said:

You guys should check out cooleric's list of important films as well.  Very detailed and very well written.

 

http://forums.boxofficetheory.com/topic/21965-coolerics-cool-25-my-most-meaningful-films/

 

[Daxtreme]

Oh neat, another list!

 

3 hours ago, Baumer said:

Some of you are sick of lists.

 

My reaction to those people:

 

 

Tele's list made me discover some films, my latest one being...

 

Lady Snowblood (1973)

 

 

So thanks Tele  

 

I'll be sure to follow this. And hopefully know more films the first time around  

[baumer]

I've just completed the list of 100 films I'll be naming here.  I think all of them are pretty mainstream.  But I really think a lot of people here have not seen them...so we''l start soon.

[The Futurist]

Go Canucks !

[Dementeleus]

58 minutes ago, Baumer said:

I've just completed the list of 100 films I'll be naming here.  I think all of them are pretty mainstream.  But I really think a lot of people here have not seen them...so we''l start soon.

 

I assume you'll have stuff like LA HAINE, AU REVOIR LES INFANTS, KOLYA, and T'AM E GUILASS, right?

[baumer]

The official start of this will be tomorrow, but here are the first two.  This will give you an idea of what the list is like.  And I am deliberately starting off with two heavy hitters, kind of to prove a point...that being that there are some really famous films out there that I'm willing to be that many haven't seen.  And this isn't just directed at all of you.  This is also for me.  While I have obviously seen every film on this list, there are a myriad of famous films I've never seen.  Tele named quite a few of them.  So.....

 

Number 100

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr

Box office:  303 million WW

 

This movie is a wonderful blend of science fiction and real life. Spielberg, in this film and E.T., does a wonderful job of portraying how the life of an adult and child would be affected by the knowledge of alien life. It's an amazing story how one man can lose focus on his life, family and himself as he searches for answers. The movie also establishes, in my mind, Richard Dreyfus as one of the premier actors in the industry. This and Jaws and American Graffiti are perhaps his best performances. The director, once again, does a wonderful job of portraying the "ordinary man," in extraordinary situations. Has just the right amount of realism, magic, and mystery to keep you watching the first time, and then again and again.  It's a famous film but one that might not be as widely viewed by today's youth as it was in the 70's and 80's.

 

Interesting facts:  I don't have the exact numbers but Spielberg and Lucas were really good friends even in the 70's.  They traded points on each other's film that was to open in 1977.  I think Lucas gave Spielberg 1 point on Star Wars and Spielberg got the same from Star Wars.  Close Encounters was a big hit but Star Wars was obviously much bigger which in turn got Spielberg quite the nice pay day from a film he had nothing to do with.

 

Columbia Pictures was on the verge of bankruptcy and they begged Spielberg to finish it in time for a 1977 release.  He complied and Columbia was basically saved from chapter 11 because of CE3K.

 

 

 

 

Here's the terrific trailer from 1977:

 

 

 

Number 99

Casualties of War (1989)

Directed by Brian DePalma

Starring:  Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Ving Rhames, Dale Dye, John C. Reilly

Box office:  18.6 million

 

Here is a portion of my review from 1989...for the rest of it, go here:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097027/reviews-9

 

May contain small spoilers:

Someone once wrote, "War is hell." And I can only assume that is true. When a war is finished one side is declared winner and the other one has to pay war reparations. But really, there is never a winner in war. Life is lost, land is destroyed and crimes are committed. And I think that is the real issue in this film. If a crime is committed in the battle field, does one deserve to get punished for it? I have never been to war (thankfully) but I still think my opinion is a valid one. No one deserves to be brutalized ( I understand death on the battlefield is acceptable) or violated during war. That means anyone from a POW to an innocent civilian. Watching this film made me look at us as human beings and ask the question that I have asked so many times. What's wrong with us? What is it that makes people behave the way we do towards each other or towards other living things? It is a question that I think is impossible to get an answer for. Watching this film is hard because it takes a dark and evil subject and puts it right before our eyes. Reading about it would be bad enough, but to see it right before our eyes on 35 mm film is raw. And it is an experience that I will never forget.

This is one of the grittiest, most realistic and frustrating films to watch. What we see is six soldiers that are in the battle field. They kidnap a village girl because they are angry and frustrated with the war. She has nothing to do with it and the only crime she has committed is that she is a Vietnemese girl. Two of the soldiers are adament about the kidnapping and only one of them is dead set against it and actually shows remorse and resistance. The leader is Meserve, played with ferociousness by Sean Penn. I believed his portrayal so much that I really have a hard time watching him as the fun loving Spicolli in Fasttimes now. He plays Meserve with anger, bitterness and spite. He is angry, at what? Who knows. The war, the situation, the surroundings. Probably all of that. But his anger goes much deeper than that. I think he is just angry for being born and he is taking it out on the world, and this one unfortunate village girl happens to be his scratching post.

The rape scenes are especially hard to watch. They are on par with any of the rape scenes in Last House On The Left, and her death is just as disturbing as the ones in LHOTL and 8mm. Her death was meaningless and it could have been avoided. And when she died, I felt terrible. I felt ashamed that as a member of the human species one of my own kind could do this to another human.

Casualties of War gets forgotten about when talking about great war films but imo, it should be in that conversation.  It's not the best of the best, but it is raw and emotionally explosive and it has incredible performances by all involved.  

 

Interesting stuff:  This is John c. Reilly's first movie.

Sean Penn would make fun of Michael J. Fox.  He'd tease him about his height and the fact that he was "just a TV actor".  This was done with DePalma's approval as he wanted genuine friction between the two so that it played out authentically on screen.

Based on true events.

 

 

 

 

[75Live]

^^

 

two good flicks  

 

and a good start

[WrathOfHan]

I've seen Close Encounters, it's great. More people should see it.

[baumer]

Yes, I do realize that a lot of you will have seen a lot of these.  I just think there are enough members here who haven't seen all of them, or maybe most of them.  

 

As for you @75live, I'm going to guess you've seen at least 95% of the list.

[75Live]

1 minute ago, Baumer said:

Yes, I do realize that a lot of you will have seen a lot of these.  I just think there are enough members here who haven't seen all of them, or maybe most of them.  

 

As for you @75live, I'm going to guess you've seen at least 95% of the list.

 

That's probably a good estimate  

 

[The Stingray]

Baumer, I expect you to rep horror strongly. Unlike Tele who completely shunned our favorite genre.

 

[baumer]

1 minute ago, The Stingray said:

Baumer, I expect you to rep horror strongly. Unlike Tele who completely shunned our favorite genre.

 

 

It'll be represented for sure.....but it won't dominate.  But there's definitely a good mix in here.

[Fancyarcher]

Close Encounters (it's great), and Causalities of War (haven't seen it), are both films that I'm familiar with. Hopefully this list gets a bit more obscure though.

[Jack Nevada]

Pretty sure most people have seen Close Encounters

[RandomCat]

2 hours ago, Daxtreme said:

Lady Snowblood (1973)

 

 

So thanks Tele  

 

I'll be sure to follow this. And hopefully know more films the first time around  

 

Barnes is having a Criterion Sale. This is my purchase once I get paid this week.

[Dementeleus]

47 minutes ago, The Stingray said:

Baumer, I expect you to rep horror strongly. Unlike Tele who completely shunned our favorite genre.

 

 

Completely?

 

[Daxtreme]

1 hour ago, Baumer said:

Yes, I do realize that a lot of you will have seen a lot of these.  I just think there are enough members here who haven't seen all of them, or maybe most of them.  

 

As for you @75live, I'm going to guess you've seen at least 95% of the list.

 

I haven't seen Casualties of War so I think you will be right