2.16.2008

I’m off to a slow start (Movie Update)

It’s been one week since I’ve set my goal to watch IMDB’s top 95 movies. I’ve only been able to take two off that list. Rear Window (#14) and The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (#4). Here’s my attempt at a review:
Rear Window – A very good movie. I haven’t seen a lot of Hitchcock, but everything I’ve seen of him I’ve enjoyed. The movie didn’t end the way I thought it would. I’m quite surprised, for year’s I’ve wanted to see this but never thought to see it out. I’ve always known the plot and how it ended, or at least how I thought it ended. I’m pleasantly surprised that over all the conversations I’ve heard mentioning this film, I didn’t hear one spoiler.

If you like suspense movies, I can’t think of a better one. Oh, and a tip, watch it in one sitting. I usually watch moves late at night and often have to break them up over 2 nights. I made that mistake with this one. Don’t do that.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – This is a film which I never would have seen had I not set this goal. I have never been a fan of westerns (but 3:10 to Yuma may have corrected this error). I really liked this movie, it has a way of really drawing you in and getting to know the characters. I would have liked to see more of Angel Eyes, though. That said, my biggest complaint was that it was way too long – three damn hours! I did a little research on this movie and saw that ~17 minutes had been restored. I think they could have cut out about an hour of this one. It was also interesting to see Don Altobello playing a Mexican bandit. If you like westerns you’ve probably seen this one, if you don’t, give it a shot. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the length.

Only 59 more to go. Next up: Metropolis (#70), Seven Samurai (#10), and Once Upon a Time in the West (#20). At least that’s the plan.

UPDATE: The version of Metropolis is this one. Not sure if that means it's a good restoration or not, it doesn't even look like the reviewers on Amazon can agree. Anyhow, this is the Kino Video version FWIW.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

make sure you get a decent print of metropolis. there are some dvds out there that are really awful.