Goodfellas (1990)

We recently watched Goodfellas to continue with the AFI 100 Greatest project (which we are hoping to get back on its feet soon). I had never seen it before, and was told by Max that there were virtually no women in the movie. This did not fill me with the greatest anticipation because it is beginning to bug me that so many of the films that made the top 100 are disproportionately male in their actors, characters, content and target audience.

This, however, was an exception to my rule that male = dull. I thought it was a brilliant movie - particularly the cinematography. From the outset, the film was engaging in its choice of camera angles and movement. I remarked to Max that the camera was treated as a character all of its own, rather than a passive observer. In the beginning we hear the voice of the narrator, Henry Hill, and how he had "always wanted to be a gangster." From the moment the music of Tony Bennett's "Rags to Riches" began, I had high hopes... and I was not disappointed!

Martin Scorsese is a wonderfully talented director. We are taken through the early life of Henry Hill. The qualities that make gangster life so appealing to Henry are atrocious, but through the use of the camera we understand that it offers a fast pace of life for a young man with few other options. The film follows the mob lives of three pivotal figures in 1960s, 70s and 80s New York. It really takes you into that life and culture in a way that is deserving of a spot in the 100 Greatest Movie list.

Although you would have to be something less than human to sympathize with the characters in this movie, it still takes you on a whirlwind journey and lets you understand the game that they were all caught up in. I give the movie two thumbs up!

I will have to concur with most of what Holly said about The Graduate. As stated, the movie Garden State outright copies many of the same themes of The Graduate; which after seeing the latter, I have much less respect for Garden State. What seems to differentiate the two films is that The Graduate is more of a universal film- almost everyone will understand the feeling of isolation, that the characters feel throughout the story. Hoffman and Bancroft play their roles wonderfully.

Also as Holly stated, this film was a product of its time, that is, of generational unrest and the destruction of traditional roles and institutions. To be honest, while believable, these themes come across as rather quaint upon viewing the film now. 

Overall, The Graduate defiantly deserves its spot on the list, as a modern classic! 

The Graduate

Wow! We have neglected this blog ever since we watched The Graduate, which was months ago now. But, having seen it a number of times, I feel I can still review the movie fairly. It is a great movie, definitely deserving of its place in the Top 100. The Graduate still holds up today, and while it is reminiscent of the 60s, its cinematic feel has not aged. Its technique is remarkably modern and fresh, which leads me to believe that, in the 1960s, the movie was probably extremely original.

It is kind of embarrassing for me to have to admit that I saw Garden State, the Zach Braff movie that was extremely popular several years ago, before I got around to seeing The Graduate. So watching it made me realize just how much of the original was borrowed for the Braff movie. I mean, the storyline of a young, disenchanted and apathetic man returning to his home town, in which everyone but him is squirming with excitement, meeting a woman who can provide an escape from his psychological state? And how about the use of Simon and Garfunkel's music? Or the scene in which Dustin Hoffmann's character Benjamin is forced to dive into a pool wearing snorkeling gear? All of these were somewhat recreated in Garden State, which the young generation of the 2000s went crazy for! I have to admit that I was among them, but now I don't give Braff half as much credit having seen the Mrs. Robinson movie.

I loved Anne Bancroft in this film as the seductive, and finally destructive, older woman. Can we imagine Doris Day playing this same role? (Day was a candidate for the part early on.. but she was far too wholesome, surely!) I didn't know too much about the plot of The Graduate other than "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me... aren't you?" and I was surprised to learn that apart from this famous sequence there was a sweet love story. Like other sixties movies of the time, The Graduate celebrates the conquering of the freedom of youth over their parents' stifling expectations and traditions. If you can stomach that, then you will enjoy The Graduate!

The Graduate

"The Graduate" was made in 1967 and directed by Mike Nichols. It stars Dustin Hoffman as a recent college graduate with no well-defined aim in life who is seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). This scene, and the line "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me, aren't you?" is widely known, referred to and parodied. Mrs. Robinson has become a name for any seductive older woman after the success of the film.

The film is the highest ranked on the AFI list that we have seen so far. In 1998 it was ranked at number 7, and in the updated list it is down ten places to number 17.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

I have to agree with Max; I was disappointed with the film and feel that the "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" sequence was particularly hard to watch. It felt as though a whole shift of mood had taken place, and although I'm all for musicals, in which songs break the dialog frequently, this was so out of place in terms of the tone of the film that it felt like the director was just tripping and decided to add it in for his own amusement.

This movie was reminiscent of "Easy Rider" and also harkened back to the first film we saw for this blog, "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," and in a funny way seemed like a mixture of these two. I say that because the whole premise of the film is, just like in "Easy Rider," the thrill of two men abandoning all responsibility and taking off across the American landscape. The scenes in which they scour over the terrain get old quickly, as was the case with "Treasure."

I struggle to imagine what has kept "Butch Cassidy" in the hearts and minds of film buffs for all these years. Perhaps if I were to revisit the film I would begin to understand, but I know I won't be able to bring myself for a little while...

A mullet of a movie...

First, sorry for the looooong absence, my partner in crime was jetting around the world.

Secondly, the title of this post says it all. I suspect that the only people who enjoy this film where those born before 1980. There is of course nothing wrong with old films- I happen to enjoy many black and white movies. But, the problem with this one, is that the film is just so boring. This movie is like a mullet, at one time it had to have been popular, and maybe there was even some merit to getting a mullet; but, now is no time to don a mullet, and there is nothing cool about Butch Cassidy.

What makes this movie even more difficult is how the screenwriters clearly threw out one liners, but they all fall flat on the audience. In fact, I cannot think of one time that the script made me laugh. And, oh God, don't ever make me watch that god awful bike scene again.

As a reviewer, I am obliged to come up with one at least one good thing to say about this movie...Besides the scenery, the effect of having the unstoppable pursuers chasing them through the desert is pretty cool. But, other than that, watch HBO's John Adams and avoid this movie.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Yeehaw...

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is ranked 73 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies. On the tenth anniversay list, it fell twenty-three places, but is still ranked as one of the best westerns of all time.

The film follows the antics of two infamous train robbers: Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and his partner The Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) as they attempt to escape from the law. The film came out in 1969, and received almost immediate acclaim; according to Wikipedia, "...Adjusted for inflation, the film ranks among the top 100 grossing movies of all time and the top 10 for its decade".