So the urchins and I have started a project for the summer. I’m big on projects. I’m not always so good at completing projects, but I’m good at thinking them up and good at starting. Committing myself to this project here on the blog might keep us on track. Or the urchins might enjoy the project so much that they clamor for more. Who knows?
The project goes like this: I’ve made a list of 100 classic movies. I compiled the list partly from My List of 107 Best Movies of All TIme, partly from the American Film Institute’s lists, partly from some lists of classic summer movies that I wanted to include. These are the 100 movies that we’re going to try to watch this summer. This is not a list of what I think are the best movies; some of these I haven’t ever seen. And I left out most of the movies that we have all already watched. I also left out a few good movies that I think are still too mature in content for my urchins, ages 18, 15, 13, 11, and 8. (Some of the ones on this list the eleven and eight year old won’t be watching.) We’ve already watched three of the movies on the list this week (reviews coming soon), so I showed them in bold type.
But these are the movies for the Great Movie Project 2010:
12 Angry Men
Adam’s Rib
All the King’s Men
Anatomy of a Murder
Apollo 13
The Apple Dumpling Gang
Back to the Future
Beach Party
The Best Years of our Lives
Big
The Big Sleep
The Black Stallion
Bladerunner
Bonnie and Clyde
Breaking Away
Caine Mutiny
Castaway
Cat Ballou
Charade
Citizen Kane
City Lights
Double Indemnity
Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup
Father Goose
Father of the Bride
Field of Dreams
Fly Away Home
From Here to Eternity
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
The Godfather
The Gold Rush
Gone With the Wind
Good-bye Mr. Chips
The Graduate
Grease
Guns of Navarone
Harvey
High Noon
Hoosiers
How Green Was My Valley
It Happened One Night
The King and I
Kramer vs. Kramer
Laura
Lawrence of Arabia
A League of Their Own
Lillies of the Field
The Longest Day
The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Seven
The Maltese Falcon
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Meet Me in St. Louis
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Moon-Spinners
Night of the Hunter
Ninotchka
North By Northwest
Notorious
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ordinary People
Out of the Past
Parent Trap
Paths of Glory
A Place in the Sun
Pride of the Yankees
Psycho
The Quiet Man
Red River
Rocky
The Searchers
The Secret of Roan Irish
Shane
Singin’ in the Rain
Sixth Sense
Sleepless in Seattle
Stand and Deliver
Stand By Me
A Star is Born
Strangers on a Train
Sullivan’s Travels
Sunset Blvd.
Swing Time
The Ten Commandments
Tender Mercies
The Third Man
The Three Musketeers
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Trouble in Paradise
Unforgiven
The Verdict
The Winslow Boy
Witness for the Prosecution
Wuthering Heights
That’s 96. I can add four more. (Why 100? Because it’s a nice, round, even number?) Does anyone have a suggestion for numbers 97-100? It may be something we didn’t put on the list because we’ve all already seen it, but nevertheless suggest away.
Additions, informed by your comments and by this list at Mere Comments:
Desk Set
Penny Serenade
Rope
Come Back, Little Sheba
Have you already seen In the Good Old Summertime?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041507/
And I don’t see two of my favorite Cary Grant titles on the list (although he does appear here – and maybe you’ve already seen them):
His Girl Friday (great dialogue)
I Was a Male War Bride (which may not be his classic best but I still think it’s a hoot!)
You make the best lists/projects. It’s great to see some titles I haven’t thought of in forever — 12 Angry Men, for instance. And there are plenty I’ve never seen, including The Graduate. (How’s that for pop-culture illiteracy…)
Desk Set is one of my favorite Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn movies — full of cleverness and enough chemistry to inspire a real laughing attack from K.H. in one scene.
What a great list! I’ve seen and enjoyed many of those movies but there are some I’ve never seen, too.
My suggestions to add:
Sweetland
Mama’s Bank Account
The White Cliffs of Dover
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Babe
How about Garden State? (not for kids)
that’s a really good movie.
and if you want a weird one (not for the kids either) Good Dick, funny, weird.bizarre actually
and I purchased this for my kids: Snow buddies. they love dogs!
And bucket list is always a good one.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched The Thin Man movies and really enjoyed them. You could add the first to your list.
Thanks for the suggestions. We’ve seen Sweetland and His Girl Friday. Some of the others will probably be my final four.
May I second Desk Set? I love that one!
I’m movie illiterate. I really need to make time for more fun stuff. . . 🙂
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Into the West (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104522/), Rope (which is, in my opinion, the best Hitchcock http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/). Do you do foreign movies? Because Life is Beautiful, The Seven Samurai, Run Lola Run (a bit mature on the language end), and Summer Hours (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0836700/) are all excellent. You’ve got a great list there, though.
Chariots of Fire – I’m sure you’ve already seen it. I love your idea of being purposive about watching movies. I was also surprised to see that you and somebody else watched Sweetland. I thought I was the only one who found that gem. I loved that movie.
Samantha
How about Shop Around the Corner?! I love that movie!!! Or how about some Errol Flynn? There’s Robin Hood, of course, or one of his sea adventures like Captain Blood.
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